Intentions of the Holy Father for April

Ecology and Justice. That governments may foster the protection of creation and the just distribution of natural resources.
Hope for the Sick. That the Risen Lord may fill with hope the hearts of those who are being tested by pain and sickness.

Models of Integrity

St. Thomas More (martyr) and St. John Fisher (bishop martyr)

How does one get holy while living in the world? That question underlies the life of every layperson and even every diocesan priest. We answer it with the way we live our life. The first basic ingredient to supernatural holiness is natural goodness, because grace builds on nature. The first basic ingredient to goodness is integrity. We might call integrity the virtue by which, or condition in which all of one's "parts" fit into a cohesive whole. I have integrity when I can truly say, "There is one me. I am who I am, and that's all that I am. I do not put on different acts or change faces for different audiences." Clearly, different circumstances call for different behavior; but when all these different behaviors originate with a person who is being himself, then they are integrated with each other. As I have struggled to grow in integrity, I have had to give certain things. Lying clearly has to go. But so do those behaviors that I might be tempted to lie about, and for that matter, those behaviors about which I would even be embarrassed if they became public knowledge. After all, even without lying, one might easily hide part of one's self from certain people. This hiding will lead to a rift in one's self. In that sort of situation, the parts of one's self run the danger of splitting from each other.

St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher are both excellent models of integrity because they would not split themselves. Each knew in his heart that King Henry VIII had no right to divorce his wife and take another while she yet lived; though all the world asked them to submerge their conscience so that they could continue to prosper, they refused. Even to save their lives they refused to so much as hide their conscience. "For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" (Mt 16:26). St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher knew the meaning of those words. We can't even sit back and say, "Oh, but they had it easy." They had few supporters and both lived in professions that give themselves to nuance and compromise: lawyer and bishop. If by the grace of God, they could suffer unto death rather than betray our Lord, why should we expect less grace from Him?

Growing in integrity is essential because it allows us to act as one whole person, undivided and unalloyed. Without it, genuine charity is compromised by undetected, manipulative motivations. Without it, our chastity is compromised by a body over which our soul has no real control. Without it, under the contradictory pressures the world can put upon us, our faith, which sits at the center of our being, may be snapped in half at the very end. Growth in integrity is a daily process that is greatly aided by regular confession. In confession we claim and own the darkest, most painful and despicable part of ourself: our sins and sinfulness. Rather than rationalize, we take responsibility. From there we can receive the grace to amend our ways, to mend the tears and iron out the wrinkles in the fabric of our character.

St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, pray for us.

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