Hi,
Saint of the Day December 29, 2002
St. Thomas Becket
A strong man who wavered for a moment, but then
learned one cannot come to terms with evil and so
became a strong churchman, a martyr and a saint—that
was Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, murdered
in his cathedral on December 29, 1170.
His career had been a stormy one. While archdeacon of
Canterbury, he was made chancellor of England at the
age of 36 by his friend King Henry II. When Henry felt
it advantageous to make his chancellor the archbishop
of Canterbury, Thomas gave him fair warning: he might
not accept all of Henry’s intrusions into Church
affairs. Nevertheless, he was made archbishop (1162),
resigned his chancellorship and reformed his whole way
of life!
Troubles began. Henry insisted upon usurping Church
rights. At one time, supposing some conciliatory
action possible, Thomas came close to compromise. He
momentarily approved the Constitutions of Clarendon,
which would have denied the clergy the right of trial
by a Church court and prevented them from making
direct appeal to Rome. But Thomas rejected the
Constitutions, fled to France for safety and remained
in exile for seven years. When he returned to England,
he suspected it would mean certain death. Because
Thomas refused to remit censures he had placed upon
bishops favored by the king, Henry cried out in a
rage, “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest!”
Four knights, taking his words as his wish, slew
Thomas in the Canterbury cathedral.
Within three years Thomas was a saint of the Church
and his tomb a shrine of pilgrimage. Henry II himself
did penance at Thomas’s tomb, but a later Henry (VIII)
despoiled that tomb and scattered the saint’s relics.
Thomas Becket, however, remains a hero-saint down to
our own times.
love + prayers,
Joseachayan / Jeddah
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