Blessed Hugh More

Welcome to the eighth Saint of the Month! August 28 is the feast day of Blessed Hugh More.

Bl. Hugh was born in Lincolnshire to a wealthy Protestant family, and educated at Oxford. He converted to Catholicism while in Reims, and studied for the priesthood in France. He was arrested for his faith when he returned to England, and was banished. In 1588 he tried to return to England, and he was caught and killed, at just twenty-five years old.

From the little we know about Bl. Hugh’s life, it’s obvious that he was full of zeal and enthusiasm for his faith. We don’t know exactly what arguments or experiences convinced him to become Catholic, but once converted, he loved his new Faith so much that banishment and danger of death couldn’t stop him from trying to share it with his fellow countrymen.

Oftentimes feeling enthusiastic is hard, if not impossible. Our feelings are obstinate things, and they sometimes respond with just blankness when they’re supposed to be enthusiastic. This shouldn’t be discouraging, though. For all we know, the greatest saints may have struggled with feeling zealous. Our job is to be zealous – to not let spiritual dryness discourage us, but to keep “doing what a zealous person would do” until we become that zealous person. Because really, how you feel is not the point; it’s what you do that matters.

Blessed Hugh More, please pray for us, and help us work zealously for our Faith.

NB – My brain has been churning and working, and I think this will be the last “Saint of the Month” post as such; I’m planning on expanding it into a monthly “Slice of Catholic Life” type post which may have book reviews, thoughts on random spiritual topics, upcoming feast days, etc. So watch out for that in September. 🙂