May You Live in Interesting Times . . . Prayer and the Tudors
For a couple of years now I have been listening to the "History Extra" podcast from BBC History Magazine. You may have heard that about a year ago the remains of Richard III were found near a parking garage! They are about to be interred with more dignity. This find, among other things has sparked much interest in revisiting the "Wars of the Roses" which came to an end when the Tudors established themselves on the English throne.
Was Richard III a villain or a victim? There is quite a lot of debate. The times, they were . . . convoluted. That's something we recognize and when we move a little farther on in English history even more so.
The Reformation came along with the Renaissance. Humanism had holy exponents, Thomas More and Erasmus, for example. Not only was Church life interwoven with the social structures (our rather sociological way of looking at things these days) but maybe more importantly the reasons for Church life and for spirituality were clear. People did broadly believe in an afterlife and understood their earthly lives to have consequences.
While we don't live in times when we are prone to talk about our lives in philosophical terms, it is still true that we seek meaning. We hunger for some finality and definiteness that fulfills us. Are we not living and dying and pouring out our lives about all these things all the time? Why should it surprise us that religious faith should be so very important?
When we look back at the reign of Henry VIII and his successors we often focus on the excesses not noticing the context. People, low- and high-born continued to live their lives and have spiritual aspirations, admittedly at times in a very fraught and dangerous environment.
I have just received a Linn Audio CD Linn (Linn Audio Music Listings) of music in the Tudor period, called "The Tudors at Prayer", by a group called "Magnificat". It features Catholic and Protestant music notably by some composers like Thomas Tallis who "rowed on both shores of the river", if I can put it that way. He wrote both for Protestant and Catholic monarchs. The music is stunning! Some of the music on this disc was performed at secret Catholic Masses away from the gaze of the law and the odious punishment that would otherwise follow.
It reminded me that people were praying and expressing their faith and love and dialoguing with the Almighty in the midst of all this convolutedness.
In these days when some think that the excesses of human passion can be avoided by simply blunting religion, we would do well to revisit the context of the lives of the vast vast majority of people of faith who continue to converse with God with all their hearts, minds and voices - and often in great beauty.
We might well ask what got people through the religious wars of England. It could be surprising to imagine that it was God still drawing souls into intimacy.
It is soulful conversation with one another and the humility to seek one another's help that will diminish extremism. It is a great challenge to be wise and prudent in these times.
Such beautiful music as this reminds me that there were great hearts and souls at work even in the midst of much turmoil.
Was Richard III a villain or a victim? There is quite a lot of debate. The times, they were . . . convoluted. That's something we recognize and when we move a little farther on in English history even more so.
The Reformation came along with the Renaissance. Humanism had holy exponents, Thomas More and Erasmus, for example. Not only was Church life interwoven with the social structures (our rather sociological way of looking at things these days) but maybe more importantly the reasons for Church life and for spirituality were clear. People did broadly believe in an afterlife and understood their earthly lives to have consequences.
While we don't live in times when we are prone to talk about our lives in philosophical terms, it is still true that we seek meaning. We hunger for some finality and definiteness that fulfills us. Are we not living and dying and pouring out our lives about all these things all the time? Why should it surprise us that religious faith should be so very important?
When we look back at the reign of Henry VIII and his successors we often focus on the excesses not noticing the context. People, low- and high-born continued to live their lives and have spiritual aspirations, admittedly at times in a very fraught and dangerous environment.
I have just received a Linn Audio CD Linn (Linn Audio Music Listings) of music in the Tudor period, called "The Tudors at Prayer", by a group called "Magnificat". It features Catholic and Protestant music notably by some composers like Thomas Tallis who "rowed on both shores of the river", if I can put it that way. He wrote both for Protestant and Catholic monarchs. The music is stunning! Some of the music on this disc was performed at secret Catholic Masses away from the gaze of the law and the odious punishment that would otherwise follow. It reminded me that people were praying and expressing their faith and love and dialoguing with the Almighty in the midst of all this convolutedness.
In these days when some think that the excesses of human passion can be avoided by simply blunting religion, we would do well to revisit the context of the lives of the vast vast majority of people of faith who continue to converse with God with all their hearts, minds and voices - and often in great beauty.
We might well ask what got people through the religious wars of England. It could be surprising to imagine that it was God still drawing souls into intimacy.
It is soulful conversation with one another and the humility to seek one another's help that will diminish extremism. It is a great challenge to be wise and prudent in these times.
Such beautiful music as this reminds me that there were great hearts and souls at work even in the midst of much turmoil.
