During the reign of King Henry VIII, Bishop John Fisher was a fierce supporter of the pope, and directly opposed the King’s desire to be head of the Church of England. He also openly denounced the divorce between the King and Queen Catherine of Aragon. It didn’t take long for Fisher to be on a short list of enemies who would later be killed for their opposition.
Before he died, Fisher wrote to his sister and encouraged her in the faith. He laid out multiple meditations (later published as The Ways to Perfect Religion) and ended them all with seven short sentences. He explained to his sister, “Now then, good sister, I trust that these considerations, if you often read them with good deliberation, and truly imprint them in your remembrance, they will somewhat inflame your heart with the love of Christ Jesus, and that love once established in you all the other points and ceremonies of your religion shall be easy unto you, and no wit painful; you shall then comfortably do everything that to good religion appertaineth, without any great weariness … And if you will use these short prayers following, for every day in the week, I think it shall be unto you profitable. For thus you may in your heart shortly pray, what company soever you be amongst.”
Fisher then listed the following prayers.
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And today we celebrate...