Wednesday, 19 September 2012 13:58

St. Thomas More, 1478-1535, is patron of religious freedom.
Born June 22, 1478, in London, Thomas studied at Oxford, married and had four children. King Henry VIII took this brilliant lawyer into his service in 1518, knighted him and named him lord chancellor. But Thomas broke with the king when he divorced Catherine of Aragon and set himself up as supreme head of the church in England. In 1532 Thomas resigned his post, and in 1534 was arrested when he refused to take the oath to the new Act of Succession. Imprisoned for more than a year in the Tower of London, he was convicted of treason and beheaded.

O God our Creator,
from your provident hand we have received
our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
You have called us as your people and given us
the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God,
and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society.
We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters
gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(Prayer provided by the USCCB)