Putting to death your former friends. Henry VIII, St Thomas More, and St John Fisher.

One thing stands out in the life of Henry VIII. As a young man he was devout. He was a constant visitor to the shrinees of Our Lady and even after his divorce he visited Walsingham to give thanks for the birth of a son. Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher were very close to him. He would listen to their advice and vist them often. It would have been unthinkable before his divorce that he would turn on two such friends and have them executed. Perhaps the guilt he felt was shown by the way he cut himself off from their executions. He could not face them and allowed others to do the wicked deeds. I am sure however their faces haunted him and on his deathbed he was heard praying to Our Lady of Walsingham. Perhaps in the beginning he did not want to be such a tyrant but having by his actions abandoned true friendship he was surrounded by people who had their own agenda for the Church and Henry just went along with it. Here is something I have never thought of before. Today let us pray to St John fisher and St Thomas More for the soul of King Henry. If he is in purgatory the prayers of former friends will be powerful.