St Andrews Seminary - Mapav Yearbook (Rochester, NY)

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S A T O R Saint John Fisher It is necessary to lose in order to win! A seemingly absurd statement, but after a little though perhaps not so absurd as it seems. One only need glimpse the annals of history to dis' cover that man has always yielded or surrendered something to attain a truly progressive end. There is no achievement, no real progress withf out sacrifice. It is primarily due to the sacrifice and efforts of such men as Saint John Fisher that the Catholic Church exists in England to' day. We are now seeing more than ever the fruits of the labor of such individuals, inasmuch as there is evident in England today a revival of Catholic principles and thought. john Fisher, as a martyr, willingly sacrified his life in order that Church, at least to some degree, might retain its footing in the British Empire. His wish was granted, but the price was his life. Many lessons may be gleaned from the heroic deeds of this recently canonized saint, but one in particular, may be mentioned here. Our own lives are absolutely not too much to sacrifice, that Almighty God's institution on earth, the Roman Catholic Church, may survive. Born at Beverley, Yorkshire, England in the year 1459, John Fisher passed his childhood and received his early education in his native town. When he was about twenty years of age, he took up his residence at Cambridge as a university student. After a few years of study he received both a B. A. and M. A. degree. Possessing a genuine love and zeal for learning, he was at' tached in particular to the classics. It seems that during the period when his chief interest was Cambridge University, Cxford became hostile to the teaching of Greek and removed it from its curriculum. Erasmus, a Dutch scholar, and theof logian, claims that only because of the efforts of john Fisher was Greek retained at Cambridge. About the year 1500, he became involved with the court of England through his position as chaplain and confessor to Margaret Beaufort, the mother of King Henry VII, who was then reigning. Little did john Fisher realized at this time that Margaret's son, the future King Henry VIII, would one day sentence him to death. In Cctober of the year 1504, Fisher was consecrated Bishop of the See of Rochester. Continuing his connections with the court, he became Prince Henry's tutor. Queen Margaret and Henry VII thirty ROBERT EDELMAN, '40 died in 1509. John was asked to preach both eulogiesg on these occasions he demonstrated his ability as orator and writer. When the question of Henry VIII's divorce from Queen Catherine of Aragon arose, Fisher became the queen's most trusted friend, counf sellor, and supporter. Henry VIII desired a di' vorce because of his violent passion for Anne Boleyn. Fisher appeared in the legate's court in defense of the queen and astonished his audience with the announcement that he was willing to die on behalf of the indissolubility of marriage. The whole question was eventually referred to Rome, ending john's personal interest ii. the matter. However, Henry never forgave him for his attif tude. The King secretly went through the form of marriage with Anne Boleyn. In 1634, Parliament passed the Act of Succession by which all who were called upon to acknowledge Henry and Anne as rightful heirs to the throne were com' pelled to do so under the pain of treason. john Fisher refused the oath and was sent to the Tower of London, where in his confinement he endured great sufferings and hardships. In the year 1535, Fisher was appointed a Cardinal by Pope Paul III. Apparently the Pope hoped that by elevating John he would dissolve the hostile attitude of the English government toward john. However, Henry forbade the Carf dinal's hat to be brought into England, and prof claimed that he would send the saint's head to Rome instead. john received a trial by jury with the charge that he refused to acknowledge the King of England to be the legitimate king and also the head of the Church of England. He was condemned to be hanged, but the mode of exe' cution was altered to decapitation. His headless body was stripped and left on the scaffold until evening when it was thrown naked into a grave. Afterwards it was removed and laid beside that of Sir Thomas More. It must be understood that a defense of Cathf olicism in England was imperative in Saint john Fisher's time. Both the Sacrament of Matrimony and the Primacy of the Pope attacked by the governmet of England. In our own times there is prevalent an entirely erroneous concept of mar' riage and another saint, martyr, and scholar such as Saint John Fisher is needed.

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S A T O R Papa Pius XII I-Iabemus Papam! Haec verba ante diem VI Nonis Martiis per totum mundum audita sunt. Eugenio Cardinalis Pacelli, successor Sancti Petri, sibi nomen, Pium XII, imposuerat. Erat maxima laetitia delectu Sancti Collegi Cardinaf lium Cardinalis Pacelli ubique ingenio suo coli' tur. Certe Spiritus Sanctus conventum guberf navit. Vere Papa Pius XII aptissimus suo muneri est. Novus Pontifex longus atque tenuis est. Quamquam robur consiliumque ei sunt, suae mores notantur summa suavitate benignitateque. Ad Cathedram Sancti Petri fert virtutes, quae eum, eruditissimum, peritissime versatum in rebus rei publicae, designant. Plerumque pietaf tem, humilitatem, benignitatem, profundam curam animarum, in quas ille primus pastor est, fert. In vita sua res gestas secundissimas perfecit. Erat insignis discipulusg ordinatus, professor constitutehatur. Serius, legatus ad Bojariam JOHN NORRIS, '41 missus est. In hoc officio inter nationes bellicosas, gerentes Magnum Bellum, pacem constituere conatus est. Post novas res in Germania, electus est particeps Sancti Collegi Cardinalium. Ref cusavit, autem, quod retrahere ducereque vitam sacredotis humilis vellet. At post paucos annos, contra desideria sua, Cardinalis factus est. In sermone, quam ea oc' casione praedicavit, Cardinalis Pacelli exclamf avit: Quamquam Dominus noster nostro tem' pose ab suis servis sacrihcium sanguinis non saepe poscit, ut prioribus diebus Ecclesiae. Jesus Christus ab eis cordis sacrificium semper cupitf' Secretarius Status, multa de terris mundi didicit, praesertim de Civitatibus Foederatis. Occasiones crebras habuit utendi linguis quas scit, apud quas sunt Anglica, Gallica, Germanica, Latinaque. Hic est homo qui nos, Catholicos, his annis in rebus ecclesiasticis moderatur. Defende eum, O Spiritus Sancte! Per Aspera Ad Astra Hortus est pulchrus 4 so started a Latin course six short year ago. Nominative, genitive, dative and the other cases, the position of the verb at the end of the sentence, the peculiar conf jugation of verbs f all these were once very mysf tifying. Subsequent courses were concerned with Caesar, Cicero, Vergil, Horace, Tacitus, Livy, and Saint Augustineg quite an imposing list. Each course grew out of the former with gaps that were easily bridged with a little application. If an outsider, that is, one not of our num' ber, were to glance at the list above, he would admit that he had no idea that there were so many Latin authors, undoubtedly his next im' pulse would be to release a deep sigh of relief that he did not have to go beyond Cicero. This would not be so in the case of a seminarian, for these courses are the background for serious studies in Latin. As a universal language Latin is no more' however its influence is still greatly felt in a modern world which speaks a variety of tongues. The Catholic Church uses it as she has used it from very early beginnings, as is shown by the writings of Saint Jerome, Saint Augustine, and the others of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church. Because Latin is no longer subject to change, because it is a dead language, the Church finds it most appropriate for her Divine Services and for her official communication throughout the world. thiftyftwo jERoME SCHIFFERLI, '39 The Latin language is still the necessary founf dation of onefhalf of human knowledge and the forms created by Roman genius underlie the whole of our civilization. In Greece man first learned to be human, under Rome mankind first learned to be civilized. Law, government, citizen' ship are all creations of the Latin race and the foundations of these have been handed down in the Latin tongue. The main sources of our tragf edies, comedies, poetry, drama, history, and lit' erature have their foundation in Rome, after Greece fell. Latin is highly essential for wordf building and is absolutely essential for a goodf working vocabulary as all of us well know. Latin, because it is such a flowing, beautiful, succinct, and brilliant language has been highly praised by many men. Among these praises there is hardly one more perfect than that by the master Latin stylist, Cicero himself, in his Pro Archia: Haec studia adolescentiam agunt, sen' ectutem oblectant, secundas res ornant, adversis perfugium ac solatium praebent. Delectant domi, non impediunt foris, pernoctant nobiscum, peref grinantur, rusticanturg . . . Nullam enim virtus aliam mercedem laborum periculorumque desidf erat praeter hanc laudis et gloriaef' Nothing more need be added to this masterf piece of oratorical skill, for enough motives can be gleaned from the quoted passage to make the study of Latin literature not a task, but a veritf able pleasure for everyone who seeks the higher culture in his life.