The Sadness of Christ (Yale University Press Translation) [Paperback]

Thomas, Sir, Saint More (Author), Gerard Wegemer (Author), Clarence H. Miller (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0933932669 | ISBN-13: 978-0933932661 | Publication Date: June 1, 1997

This book was the last that St. Thomas More wrote in the Tower of London before he was executed for standing firm in his Catholic faith. In it, he explores the Gospel passages that depict the agony of Our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane. He depicts Christ as a model of virtue in the face of suffering and persecution — and along the way, he includes valuable and eternally relevant reflections on prayer, courage, friendship, statesmanship, and more. Here is an excellent resource for Lent or anytime!

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Scepter Pubs (June 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0933932669
• ISBN-13: 978-0933932661
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #830,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful thoughts of a man on the way to his martyrdom, October 11, 2002

By 

Ryan P. Hilderbrand (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sadness of Christ (Yale University Press Translation) (Paperback)

St. Thomas More writes a series of meditations on the passion of Christ in this short volume, beginning with the betrayal of the Iscariot and ends with the actual capture and trial of Jesus. More wrote this volume while contemplating his upcoming martyrdom; while seeing his friends from the London Carthusian Charterhouse being martyred; while receiving messages of encouragement from Bishop John Fisher, who resided in worse conditions in the cell below him in the infamous Tower of London.

This volume is a wonderful volume for meditation, but needs to be taken slowly. More was not one for long, flowery sentences, and thus wrote very simply. The initial urge is to read quickly. It is best to take in each word with this volume and picture Christ's suffering in one's mind while reading. A good book.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent spiritual reading., July 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Sadness of Christ (Yale University Press Translation) (Paperback)

I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is one great meditation on Our Lord's passion. St. Thomas More is clear and succint. He takes ideas to their logical conclusion, and definitely has a gift in this regard- the gifts that made him a great lawyer and statesman, as well as a glorious martyr are quite prominent in his meditations. He'll remind you to pray like you're speaking to God and love like God Himself suffered & died for you. I really liked the book and I have no doubt that it helped me grow in my knowledge of God's love, myself, and my response to God's love.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars St. Martha Parish Bulletin Book Club March 2002 Selection, February 28, 2002

By 

Susan Ruotsala Storm, Ph.D. (Okemos, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sadness of Christ (Yale University Press Translation) (Paperback)

St. Martha Parish in Okemos, Michigan Bulletin Book Club March 2002 Selection Fr. Jonathan Wehrle, Pastor
As Roman Catholics we accept that we will die to this earth and be born into another. Our religion is rich in historic saints whose sufferings and trials mirror our contemporary human reaction to impending death. St. Thomas More is an example. He refused, even when faced with execution and death in Renaissance England, to deny his Christian life. Rather, he focused "sharply on Christ's human reaction to His approaching death." [p. v]
St. Thomas More wrote his last book with the purpose of contrasting "Christ's way of acting with our own." [p. vi] More, a lawyer and judge, served King Henry VIII as Chancellor of the Roman Catholic Church of England until he resigned in protest at the actions the king was taking to destroy the Catholic Church in England. While King Henry VIII did sunder the Church of England from Rome and further abused human and religious rights, it was not without the ultimate protest from More. Reflecting upon Christ's steadfastness provided solace for More in the Tower of London awaiting trial and his last confession and execution.
This final work of St. Thomas More's shares his reflections on the Passion and Death of Christ. Christ as fully God begged as man his Father to remove the passion to come, but humbly submitted when the choice was presented. More concludes from this that while Christ made distinctions, we also "sometimes apply to our whole selves things which actually are true only of the soul [made in the image and likeness of God], and on the other hand we sometimes speak of our selves when strict accuracy would require us to speak of our bodies alone." [p. 30]
More, seeming quite contemporary, includes a Collection of Scriptural Quotes and Reflections and presents the case for such as right reason as a key to the next world, but also for making ourselves every day "living members, sweet Savior Christ, of Your holy mystical body, Your Catholic Church." [p. 154] While More did not wish to die to this world, he reflects that "Whoever saves his life in such a way that he displeases God shall soon afterwards, with no little grief, find his life thoroughly displeasing." [p. 144]
More's work in this text unmistakeably imprints the imagery in todays Catholic Church as one body of people called Church with Christ as its Head.