Saint Thomas Becket
Archevêque de Cantorbéry,
martyr (+ 1170)
Il était né à Londres d'une famille normande. Il fit de bonnes études à Londres et à Paris et le roi Henri II Plantagenêt choisit ce brillant sujet comme chancelier. Enchanté de son administration, il le fait nommer archevêque de Canterbury, pensant ainsi résoudre les difficultés qu'il connaît avec les évêques de son royaume. Thomas change du tout au tout. De fastueux, il devient ascétique; de servile, il se trouve bientôt en conflit avec le roi, qui veut imposer sa loi par-dessus celle de l'Église romaine. Il invite les pauvres à sa table et prend l'habit de moine. La querelle s'envenime au point qu'il doit s'enfuir en France. Il rejoint alors l'abbaye cistercienne de Pontigny en Bourgogne. Il regagne Canterbury en novembre 1170, et c'est là que, dans sa cathédrale, peu après Noël, quatre familiers de roi vont l'abattre devant l'autel après qu'il eût refusé de lever les excommunications qu'il avait portées contre les évêques trop dociles à l'égard du roi.
De souche normande, Thomas Becket est né à Londres. Archidiacre de Coutances et chancelier d'Angleterre, il est élu évêque de Cantorbéry. Face à son ami le roi Henry II, il défend les intérêts de l'Eglise. Calomnié et poursuivi dans sa cathédrale, il est massacré, avec la complicité du roi.
Un an plus tard, Henry II vient recevoir le pardon du pape à la porte de la cathédrale d'Avranches. Thomas Becket est canonisé et le diocèse de Coutances est un des premiers à lui rendre un culte. Une église lui est dédiée dans le faubourg de Saint Lô, ainsi qu'un croisillon de la cathédrale.
Source: Liturgie des heures du diocèse de Coutances et Avranches 1993 où il est fêté le 7 mai.
Saint Thomas Becket naquit à Londres le 21 décembre 1117. Il fit ses études à Oxford et Paris, puis vint étudier le Droit Canon à Auxerre. De retour en Angleterre, il fut ordonné prêtre. En 1162, il fut nommé archevêque de Cantorbéry. Le roi Henri II s'opposait alors de multiples façons à l'indépendance de l'Église dans son royaume et l'archevêque Thomas lui résista. Il fut contraint de s'exiler en France et se retira à l'abbaye de Pontigny où il demeura deux ans. Puis il se rendit à Sens où il resta quatre années, prêchant dans les églises et les couvents des environs.
Retourné en Angleterre, il fut assassiné dans sa cathédrale le 29 décembre 1170.
* Au siècle suivant, un autre archevêque de Cantorbéry, saint Edme,
viendra aussi se réfugier à l'abbaye de Pontigny. Il mourra en France en 1240:
son corps repose à Pontigny.
Saint Thomas Becket - diocèse de Sens-Auxerre
- L'église de Cuiseaux (71) est dédiée à St Thomas Becket, archevêque de Cantorbery. Elle renferme une statue de ce saint.
Au 29 décembre au martyrologe romain, mémoire de saint Thomas Becket, évêque et
martyr. Pour la défense de la justice et de la liberté de l'Église, il fut
contraint de quitter le siège de Cantorbéry et même le royaume d'Angleterre et
de vivre en exil en France. Revenu en Angleterre au bout de six ans, il eut
encore beaucoup à supporter jusqu'à ce que, en 1170, des chevaliers du roi
Henri II le frappent de l'épée dans sa cathédrale et qu'ainsi il s'en aille
vers le Christ.
Martyrologe romain
Saint Thomas Becket,
priez pour nous ! A la manière des coulisses du théâtre, soufflez-nous comment
s'y prendre Pour ne tolérer ni l'intolérable, ni l'abus de pouvoir, ni
l'iniquité. Après vous et avec vous, apprenez-nous l'intransigeance Sans
renoncer à l'amitié Sans détruire l'amour du conjoint Encore moins l'amour de
l'enfant. Gardez-nous de murer l'avenir, de voiler nos propres contradictions.
Au nom de la communion des saints, Saint Thomas Becket, Avec le vent du large,
Soufflez-nous le pardon, Celui que l'on reçoit et celui que l'on donne. Saint
Thomas Becket, priez pour nous
(L. Malle)
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/329/Saint-Thomas-Becket.html
Saint Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket ou Thomas
de Londres comme on l'appelait alors, naquit probablement en 1118 dans une
famille de la bourgeoisie londonienne qui connut des revers de fortune. Le
soutien d’un de ses parents lui permit de faire de brillantes études à Paris.
Il entra au service de l'archevêque Thibaud de Cantorbéry qui lui fit faire
d'intéressants voyages à Rome (1151-1153) et aux écoles de Bologne et d’Auxerre
où l’on formait des juristes. Finalement il se lia avec le futur Henri II
Plantagenêt, qui, un an après son accession au trône d’Angleterre, le nomma
chancelier d’Angleterre, après que l’archevêque l’eut nommé archidiacre de
Cantorbéry.
Thomas, fastueux
ministre, seconda efficacement Henri II dans son œuvre générale de restauration
monarchique après les troubles du règne d'Etienne de Blois (1135-1154).
L'Eglise d'Angleterre avait profité de cette période de faiblesse pour sortir
de la soumission où la tenait jadis la monarchie normande, pour conquérir ses «
libertés » que le Roi entendait rogner. Croyant trouver un auxiliaire docile en
son chancelier, Henri II nomma Thomas archevêque de Cantorbéry (mai 1162),
réunissant entre les mêmes mains la chancellerie et une province ecclésiastique
qui comprenait dix-sept des dix-neuf diocèses anglais. Thomas qui avait reçu en
deux jours l’ordination sacerdotale et le sacre épiscopal, abandonna sa charge
séculière, changea sa vie du tout au tout et se voua sans réserve à la défense
des droits de l'Eglise. Lorsqu’en janvier 1164 Henri II voulut imposer à
l’Eglise les Constitutions de Clarendon qui prétendaient revenir aux anciennes
coutumes du royaume contre le droit canon, Thomas Becket fut un adversaire
résolu. Après de multiples péripéties juridiques où l’archevêque-primat fut
trahi par ses confrères d’York et de Londres, il dut s'exiler en France où il
demeura six ans (1164-1170), notamment à l'abbaye cistercienne de Pontigny où
il s’imposa l’observance monastique. Lorsqu'il rentra dans sa patrie après une
paix boiteuse conclue à Fréteval dans le Maine (22 juillet 1170), les
difficultés recommencèrent d’autant plus qu’avant de s’embarquer il avait frappé
de suspense tous ses suffragants plus ou moins coupables de rébellion contre
lui (1° décembre 1170).
Une phrase ambiguë
d'Henri II (« N'y aura-t-il donc personne pour me débarrasser de ce clerc
outrecuidant ? ») amena quatre chevaliers normands à assassiner l'archevêque
dans sa cathédrale le 29 décembre 1170.
Dans la nuit de Noël
1170, après avoir célébré la messe, Thomas Becket, archevêque de Cantorbéry et
primat d'Angleterre, monta en chaire et, en termes formels, prédit qu'il serait
bientôt massacré par les impies ; puis, comme l'auditoire se récriait, il
invectiva vivement ceux qui mettaient la division entre le Roi et le Pasteur et
les excommunia « comme les pestes du genre humain et les ennemis du bien
public. » Le lendemain de la fête des saints Innocents, vers onze heures du
matin, quatre personnages vinrent le menacer chez lui et lui dirent que sa
résistance lui coûterait la vie ; il répondit avec douceur et fermeté : « Je ne
fuirai pas, j'attendrai avec joie le coup de la mort, je suis prêt à la
recevoir », et montrant sa tête, il ajouta : « c'est là que vous me frapperez !
» Après dîner, il était à l'église pour les vêpres, les quatre assassins
forcèrent l'entrée du cloître et comme les moines cherchaient à les empêcher
d'entrer dans l'église, l'archevêque dit : « Il ne faut pas garder le temple de
Dieu comme on garde une forteresse ; nous ne triompherons pas de nos ennemis en
combattant, mais en souffrant. Pour moi, je suis prêt à être sacrifié pour la
cause de l'Eglise dont je défends les droits. » Les quatre assassins entrèrent
donc dans l'église en criant : « Où est Thomas Becket ? Où est ce traître au
Roi et à l'Etat ? Où est l'Archevêque ? » L’archevêque se présenta : « Me voici
! Non pas traître à l'Etat, mais prêtre de Jésus-Christ. » Les assassins lui
crièrent : « Sauve-toi, autrement tu es mort ! » Thomas répondit : « Je n'ai
garde de fuir ; tout ce que je demande, c'est de donner mon âme pour celles en
faveur desquelles mon Sauveur a donné tout son sang. Cependant, je vous défends,
de la part de Dieu tout-puissant, de maltraiter qui que ce soit des miens. » Ne
pouvant arriver à le traîner dehors, les quatre assassins le frappèrent dans
l'église : « Je meurs volontiers pour le nom de Jésus et la défense de
l'Eglise. »
Thomas Becket triompha
dans sa mort. Ce qu'il n'avait pu obtenir par l'effort de sa vie, il le réalisa
par son martyre. Le peuple le vénéra aussitôt comme un saint, et le pape
Alexandre III frappa Henri II, compromis dans ce meurtre, d’interdit personnel
; pour obtenir son pardon, le Roi dut faire un pèlerinage humiliant au tombeau
de Thomas Becket et se soumettre à la pénitence publique de la flagellation (21
mai 1172). Des miracles ayant attesté la glorification de Thomas Becket,
Alexandre III le canonisa le 21 février 1173. Toujours est-il que la châsse du
martyr devint le but d'un des pèlerinages les plus célèbres de la chrétienté.
En 1538, Henri VIII se donna le ridicule de procéder à la « décanonisation » de
saint Thomas Becket.
SOURCE : http://missel.free.fr/Sanctoral/12/29.php
Martyrdom
of Thomas Becket, English Alabaster
Saint Thomas Beckett,
Dieu et l’Église avant tout
Publié le 29
décembre 2016 par Camille Meyer
Thomas Beckett
(1120-1170) n’a rien gardé de la cour quand il est nommé évêque de Cantorbéry
par Henri II de Plantagenêt. Il va vivre une incroyable conversion faisant de
lui un fervent défenseur et martyr de l’Église.
Né en 1117 et originaire
de Londres, Thomas Beckett est le fils de riches marchands roturiers. Après des
études à Cantorbéry puis à Bologne (Italie), le jeune homme rentre en
Angleterre. Talentueux, il attire l’attention de Thibaut du Bec, archevêque de
Cantorbéry qui l’envoie à Rome en mission puis le nomme archidiacre de la cité
royale du Kent.
Le conseiller d’Henri II
d’Angleterre
La place de conseiller du
roi d’Angleterre est vacante. Avec l’appui de l’archevêque, Thomas va
devenir le nouveau chancelier du royaume. Grand ami du roi, ferme
diplomate, administrateur efficace et redouté, ceux qui entourent Beckett
obéissent au roi. Âgé d’une dizaine d’années de plus qu’Henri, il sait
gouverner et a un fort ascendant sur lui, ce qui déplaît fortement à Aliénor
d’Aquitaine, mère de Richard Cœur de Lion et reine d’Angleterre. Cette dernière
va d’ailleurs tout faire pour l’évincer. En 1162, Thibaut du Bec meurt. Henri
II s’arrange alors pour nommer (ce qui va à l’encontre du droit ecclésiastique
et canonique) Thomas Beckett archevêque de Cantorbéry, le 3 juin 1162,
charge la plus importante de l’Église anglaise. Dès lors, les deux amis
détiennent l’un le pouvoir spirituel et l’autre le pouvoir temporel. Cette
décision aurait dû faire d’Henri II un monarque absolu .
Sa conversion
Mais Thomas Beckett
change. Il va vivre une réelle conversion en recevant les ordres
sacerdotaux et épiscopaux. Il prend conscience de toute la signification de sa
charge et souhaite poursuivre sur le chemin du Christ. Il ne veut plus servir
Henri II mais l’Église et cela, le roi va très mal le prendre. Portant le
cilice, l’homme mondain devient austère et donne tous ses biens aux plus
démunis. Désormais il veut vivre modestement et se consacre entièrement aux
affaires de son Église. A l’époque, un archevêque à la charge d’un vaste
territoire et de beaucoup de biens. Beckett est donc garant de l’éducation, de
la santé et de l’assistance données à tous ceux qui vivent sur le comté de
Cantorbéry.
Beckett prend position
L’Église est divisée au
12ième siècle, Alexandre III est élu pape à la suite d’Adrien IV. Mais une
petite minorité d’évêque pro germanique préfère le cardinal prêtre
Octavien. Beckett prend position et se soumet à l’autorité d’Alexandre III.
De retour en Angleterre, il souhaite mettre en place les recommandations faites
par le nouveau pape: libérer l’Église d’Angleterre de la monarchie en demandant
l’exemption complète de toute juridiction civile et demandant le contrôle
exclusif de sa juridiction par le clergé. Henri II est furieux. Il convoque
l’assemblée à Clarendon et lui soumet seize demandes, limitant notamment le
pouvoir ecclésial et revenant sur les accords passés par Henri Ier en 1107 et
par Étienne d’Angleterre en 1136. Si le clergé accepte, Beckett refuse de
signer, la guerre entre les deux est déclarée.
Henri II veut se
débarrasser cet archevêque gênant. Il tente de le faire condamner et le
convoque à Northampton le 8 octobre 1164, l’accusant de contester l’autorité
royale. L’autre désaccord vient du refus de l’archevêque de marier Guillaume
Plantagenêt (frère d’Henri II) et Isabelle de Warenne pour consanguinité.
Beckett doit alors
quitter l’Angleterre. Il s’embarque incognito pour la France où le pape
Alexandre III (exilé de Rome) et Louis VII, roi de France, l’accueillent. La
France voyant aussi et surtout le moyen de se venger d’Aliénor d’Aquitaine. Il
passera par l’abbaye cistercienne de Pontigny et à l’Abbaye Sainte Colombe de
Saint Denis les Sen
La tentative de
réconciliation
Voyant le mécontentement
du clergé anglais, Henri II doit se réconcilier avec Thomas Beckett. Un
seul moyen au Moyen-Age, le « baiser de paix » mais le roi refuse. Le
« baiser de paix » se fait sur la bouche, le principe étant
d’échanger les souffles et de permettre aux âmes de chacun de se rencontrer. En
soit, un geste hautement symbolique. Il faudra qu’Alexandre III menace Henri II
d’excommunication, pour qu’un semblant de paix se fasse. L’archevêque
revient donc en Angleterre.
Son assassinat
Le roi refuse de rendre à
l’Église les propriétés ecclésiastiques malgré les demandes de Beckett. Henri
II a alors cette phrase malheureuse: « n’y aura-t-il personne
pour me débarrasser de ce clerc roturier ? ». Quatre chevaliers du roi le
prirent comme un ordre. Pénétrant dans la cathédrale de Cantorbéry le 29
décembre 1170, ils massacrèrent Thomas Beckett peu avant l’office des vêpres.
Les témoins accuseront immédiatement le roi d’avoir commandité cet assassinat.
Henri II, mal vu par
l’Église, malmené par son peuple, n’a d’autres choix, en 1172, que d’obéir à
Alexandre III et de faire pénitence en public, à genoux sur la tombe du futur
saint. Canonisé en 1173, Saint Thomas Beckett est mort sans se défendre et pour
la liberté de l’Église d’Angleterre.
Camille Meyer
Diplômée de l'Institut
Européen de Journalisme (IEJ) de Paris, ancienne de Secrets d'Histoire sur
France 2 . Aujourd'hui, Camille est rédactrice web et responsable des réseaux
sociaux.
Enseigne
de pèlerinage en plomb représentant Thomas Becket, vendue aux pèlerins se
rendant sur sa tombe à Canterbury, XIVe siècle, 3.9 x 1.5
Saint Thomas Becket
Archevêque de Cantorbéry,
Martyr
(1117-1170)
Saint Thomas de
Cantorbéry, par son courage indomptable à défendre les droits de l'Église, est
devenu l'un des plus célèbres évêques honorés du nom de saints et de martyrs.
Dès sa jeunesse, il fut élevé aux plus hautes charges de la magistrature; mais
l'injustice des hommes détacha du monde ce coeur plein de droiture et de
sincérité, et il entra dans l'état ecclésiastique. Là encore, son mérite
l'éleva aux honneurs, et le roi Henri II le nomma son chancelier. Il ne fit que
croître en vertu, donnant le jour aux affaires et passant la meilleure partie
de la nuit en oraison. Il n'était que le distributeur de ses immenses revenus:
les familles ruinées, les malades abandonnés, les prisonniers, les monastères
pauvres, en avaient la meilleure part.
Le roi l'obligea
d'accepter l'archevêché de Cantorbéry. Thomas eut beau dire au prince, pour le
dissuader, qu'il s'en repentirait bientôt: celui-ci persista, et le chancelier
reçut le sacerdoce (car il n'était encore que diacre) et l'onction épiscopale.
Sa sainteté s'accrut en raison de la sublimité de ses fonctions. On ne le
voyait jamais dire la Sainte Messe, sinon les yeux baignés de larmes; en
récitant le Confiteor, il poussait autant de soupirs qu'il prononçait de mots.
Il servait les pauvres à table trois fois par jour; à la première table, il y
avait treize pauvres; à la seconde, douze; à la troisième, cent.
Thomas avait bien prévu:
les exigences injustes du roi obligèrent l'archevêque à défendre avec fermeté
les droits et les privilèges de l'Église. Henri II, mal conseillé et furieux de
voir un évêque lui résister, exerça contre Thomas une persécution à outrance.
Le pontife, abandonné par les évêques d'Angleterre, chercha un refuge en
France. Il rentra bientôt en son pays, avec la conviction arrêtée qu'il allait
y chercher la mort; mais il était prêt.
Un jour les émissaires du
roi se présentèrent dans l'église où Thomas priait; il refusa de fuir, et fut
assommé si brutalement, que sa tête se brisa et que sa cervelle se répandit sur
le pavé du sanctuaire. C'est à genoux qu'il reçut le coup de la mort. Il
employa ce qui lui restait de force pour dire: "Je meurs volontiers pour
le nom de Jésus et pour la défense de l'Église."
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie
des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_thomas_becket.html
SAINT THOMAS DE CANTORBÉRY *
Thomas veut dire abyme,
jumeau, et coupé. Abyme, c'est-à-dire, profond en humilité, ce qui est clair
par son cilice, et, en lavant les pieds des pauvres ; jumeau, car dans sa
prélature, il eut deux qualités éminentes, celle de la parole et celle de l’exemple.
Il fut coupé dans son martyre.
Thomas de Cantorbéry,
restant à la cour du roi d'Angleterre vit commettre différentes actions
contraires à la religion; il se retira alors pour se mettre sous la conduite de
l’archevêque de Cantorbéry qui le nomma son archidiacre. Il se rendit cependant
aux instances de l’archevêque qui lui conseilla de conserver la charge de
chancelier du roi, afin que, par la prudence, dont il était excellemment doué,
il devînt un obstacle au mal que les méchants pourraient exercer contre
l’église. Le roi avait pour lui tant d'affection que, lors du décès de
l’archevêque, il voulut l’élever sur le siège épiscopal. Après de longues
résistances, il consentit à recevoir ce fardeau sur les épaules. Mais tout
aussitôt il fut changé en un autre homme: il était devenu parfait, il
mortifiait sa chair par le cilice et parles jeûnes ; car il portait non
seulement un cilice au lieu de chemise, mais il avait des caleçons de poil de
chèvre qui le couvraient jusqu'aux genoux. Il employait une telle adresse à
cacher sa sainteté que, tout en conservant une honnêteté exquise, sous des
habits convenables et n'ayant que des meubles décents, il se conformait aux
moeurs de chacun. Tous les jours, il lavait à genoux les pieds de treize
pauvres auxquels il donnait un repas et quatre pièces d'argent. Le roi
s'efforçait de le faire plier à sa volonté au détriment de l’église, en
exigeant qu'il sanctionnât; lui aussi, des coutumes dont ses prédécesseurs
avaient joui contre les libertés ecclésiastiques. Il n'y voulut jamais
consentir, et il s'attira ainsi la haine du roi et des princes. Pressé un jour
par le roi, lui et quelques évêques, sous l’influence de la mort dont on les
menaçait et trompé par les conseils de plusieurs grands personnages, il
consentit de bouche à céder au voeu du monarque; mais s'apercevant qu'il
pourrait en résulter bientôt un grand détriment pour les âmes, il s'imposa dès
lors de plus rigoureuses mortifications il cessa de dire la messe, jusqu'à ce
qu'il eût pu obtenir d'être relevé, par le souverain Pontife, des suspenses
qu'il croyait avoir encourues. Requis de confirmer par écrit ce qu'il avait
promis de bouche, il résista au roi avec énergie, prit lui-même sa croix pour
sortir de la cour, aux clameurs des impies qui disaient : « Saisissez le
voleur, à mort le traître: » Deux personnages éminents et pleins de foi vinrent
alors lui assurer avec serment qu'une foule de grands avaient juré sa mort.
L'homme de Dieu, qui craignait pour l’église plus encore que pour lui, prit la
fuite, et vint trouver à Sens le juge Alexandre, et avec des recommandations
pour le monastère de Pontigny, il arriva en France. De son côté, le roi envoya
à Rome demander des légats afin de terminer le différend mais il n'éprouva que
dés refus, ce qui l’irrita plus encore contre le prélat. Il mit la saisie sur
tous ses biens et sur ceux de ses amis, exila tous es membres de sa famille,
sans avoir aucun égard pour la condition ou le sexe, le rang ou l’âge des
individus. Quant au saint, tous les jours, il priait pour le roi et pour le
royaume d'Angleterre. Il eut alors une révélation qu'il rentrerait dans son
église, et qu'il recevrait du Christ la palme du martyre. Après sept ans
d'exil, il lui fut accordé de revenir et fut reçu avec de grands honneurs.
Quelques jours avant le
martyre de Thomas, un jeune homme mourut et ressuscita miraculeusement et il
disait avoir été conduit jusqu'au rang le plus élevé des saints où il avait vu
une place vide parmi les apôtres. Il demanda à qui appartenait cette place, un
ange lui répondit qu'elle était réservée par le Seigneur à un illustre prêtre
anglais. Un ecclésiastique qui tous les jours célébrait la messe en l’honneur
de, la Bienheureuse Vierge, fut accusé auprès de l’archevêque qui le fit
comparaître devant lui et le suspendit de son office, comme idiot et ignorant.
Or, le bienheureux Thomas avait caché sous son lit son cilice qu'il, devait
recoudre quand il en aurait le temps; la bienheureuse Marie apparut au prêtre
et lui dit : « Allez dire à l’archevêque que celle pour l’amour de laquelle
vous disiez vos messes a recousu son cilice qui est à tel endroit et qu'elle y
a laissé le fil rouge dont elle s'est servi. Elle vous envoie pour qu'il ait à
lever, l’interdit dont il vous a frappé. » Thomas en entendant cela et trouvant
tout ainsi qu'il avait été dit, fut saisi, et en relevant le prêtre de son
interdit, il lui recommanda de tenir cela sous le secret. Il défendit, comme
auparavant les droits de l’Église et il ne se laissa fléchir ni par la
violence, ni par les prières du roi. Comme donc on ne pouvait l’abattre en
aucune manière, voici venir avec leurs armes des soldats du roi qui demandent à
grands cris où est l’archevêque. Il alla au-devant d'eux et leur dit : «Me
voici, que voulez-vous? » «Nous venons, répondent-ils, pour te tuer tu n'as pas
plus long temps à vivre. » Il leur dit : « Je suis prêt à mourir pour Dieu,
pour la défense de la justice et la liberté de l’Église. Donc si c'est, à moi
que vous en voulez, de la part du Dieu tout-puissant et sous peine d'anathème,
je vous défends de faire tel marque ce soit à ceux qui sont ici, et je,
recommande la cause de l’Église et moi-même à Dieu, à la bienheureuse Marie, à
tous les saints et à saint Denys. » Après quoi sa tête vénérable tombe sous le
glaive des impies, la couronne de son chef est coupée, sa cervelle jaillit sur
le pavé de l’église et il est sacré martyr du Seigneur l’an 1174. Comme les
clercs commençaient Requiem aeternam de la messe des morts qu'ils allaient
célébrer pour lui, tout aussitôt, dit-on, les choeurs des anges interrompent la
voix des chantres et entonnent la messe d'un martyr : Laetabitur justus in
Domino, que les autres clercs continuent. Ce changement est vraiment l’ouvrage
de la droite du TrèsHaut, que le chant de la tristesse ait été changé en un
cantique de louange, quand celui pour lequel on venait de commencer les prières
des morts, se trouve à l’instant partager les honneurs des hymnes des martyrs.
Il était vraiment doué d'une haute sainteté ce martyr glorieux du Seigneur
auquel les anges donnent ce témoignage d'honneur si éclatant en l’inscrivant
eux-mêmes par avance au catalogue des martyrs. Ce saint souffrit donc la mort
pour l’Église, dans une église; dans le lieu saint, dans un temps saint, entre
les mains des prêtres et des religieux, afin que parussent au grand jour et la
sainteté du patient et la cruauté des persécuteurs. Le Seigneur daigna opérer
beaucoup d'autres miracles par son saint, car en considération de ses mérites,
furent rendus aux aveugles la vue, aux sourds l’ouïe, aux boiteux le marcher,
aux morts la vie. L'eau dans laquelle on lavait les linges trempés de son sang,
guérit beaucoup de malades. Par coquetterie et afin de paraître plus belle, une
dame d'Angleterre désirait avoir des yeux vairons et pour cela elle vint, après
en avoir fait le veau, nu-pieds au tombeau de saint Thomas. En se levant après
sa prière, elle se trouva tout à fait aveugle; elle se repentit alors et
commença à prier saint Thomas de lui rendre au moins les yeux tels qu'elle les
avait, sans parler d'yeux vairons, et ce fut à peine si elle put l’obtenir.
Un plaisant avait apporté
dans un vase, à son maître à table, de l’eau ordinaire au lieu de l’eau de
saint Thomas. Ce maître lui dit : « Si tu ne m’as jamais rien volé, que saint
Thomas te laisse apporter l’eau, mais si tu es coupable de vol, que cette eau
s'évapore aussitôt. » Le serviteur, qui savait avoir rempli le vase; il n'y
avait qu'un instant, y consentit. Chose merveilleuse ! On découvrit le vase, et
il fut trouvé vide et de cette manière le serviteur fut reconnu menteur et
convaincu d'être fin voleur. Un oiseau, auquel on avait appris à parler, était
poursuivi par un aide, quand il se mit à crier ces mots qu'on lui avait fait
retenir: « Saint Thomas, au secours, aide-moi. L'aigle tomba mort à l’instant
et l’oiseau fut sauvé. Un particulier que saint Thomas avait beaucoup aimé
tomba gravement malade; il alla à son tombeau prier pour recouvrer la santé :
ce qu'il obtint à souhait. Mais en revenant guéri, il se prit à penser que
cette guérison n'était peut-être pas avantageuse à son âme. Alors il retourna
prier au tombeau et demanda que si sa guérison ne devait pas lui être utile
pour son salut, son infirmité lui revînt, et il en fut ainsi qu'auparavant. La
vengeance divine s'exerça sur ceux qui l’avaient massacré : les uns se
mettaient les doigts en lambeaux avec les dents, le corps des autres: tombait
en pourriture ; ceux-ci moururent de paralysie, ceux-là succombèrent
misérablement dans des accès de folie.
*Tirée de sa vie écrite
par plus de dix auteurs contemporains.
La Légende dorée de
Jacques de Voragine nouvellement traduite en français avec introduction,
notices, notes et recherches sur les sources par l'abbé J.-B. M. Roze, chanoine
honoraire de la Cathédrale d'Amiens, Édouard Rouveyre, éditeur, 76, rue de
Seine, 76, Paris mdccccii
SOURCE : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/voragine/tome01/014.htm
Saint Thomas Beckett,
Archevêque de Canterbury, Martyr (+ 1170)
Autre biographie:
Fils de Gilbert et Matilda, un couple issu de la noblesse de Normandie et installé à Londres, où son père occupe un emploi dans le commerce.
Thomas est d’abord confié aux Moines de l’abbaye Merton, puis il étudie à
Londres et à Paris, avant de rentrer en Angleterre à l’âge de 21 ans.
Lorsque son père décède, il se retrouve dans une situation financière difficile et commence à travailler comme clerc pour l’Archevêque Thibaud de Canterbury, lui aussi originaire de Normandie.
Ce dernier s’attache rapidement à Thomas et décide de le prendre à son service
régulier. Dès lors, il lui demande de l’accompagner dans ses déplacements à la
cour, où le jeune Henry II Plantagenêt ne tarde pas lui aussi à le prendre en
sympathie.
Thomas décide de partir étudier le droit canon et le droit civil successivement à Bologne et Auxerre.
De retour dans son pays, il est consacré archidiacre de Canterbury et est
bientôt chargé de plusieurs missions diplomatiques auprès du roi de France.
En 1155, il est nommé chancelier d’Angleterre et il s’acquitte de sa charge avec beaucoup de sagesse et d’intelligence.
Sept ans plus tard, et après avoir été ordonné Prêtre, il abandonne sa charge à
la chancellerie pour succéder à Thibaud (décédé en 1161) comme Archevêque de
Canterbury.
Dès lors, il modifie son style de vie, délaissant les habits luxueux pour se vêtir à la manière des Moines.
Il prend bientôt des mesures pour régler les nombreux problèmes qui perdurent
au sein du clergé, ce qui provoque des frictions avec le monarque.
Les divergences de points
de vue débouchent bientôt sur un véritable conflit, qui oppose les deux hommes
sur deux points principaux : la juridiction de l’Église et de l’état sur les
membres du clergé soupçonnés d’avoir commis des délits et sur la liberté d’en
appeler à Rome.
Toute tentative d’en arriver à un accord s’avérant impossible, Thomas choisit de s’exiler en France, où il demeure pendant 6 ans, installé au Monastère Cistercien de Pontigny.
Henry ayant menacé de chasser de son royaume tous les Moines Cisterciens s’ils
continuent à offrir l’hospitalité à Thomas, celui-ci déménage chez les
Bénédictines de l’Abbaye Sainte-Colombe de Sens, qui bénéficient de la
protection du roi de France, Louis VII.
Plusieurs tentatives de médiation avec le Pape Alexandre III échouent et c’est
finalement après avoir fait couronner son fils par l’Archevêque d’York qu’Henry
propose la paix.
Thomas rentre alors en Angleterre, où il est accueilli avec réticence par le
clergé, mais la situation se dégrade à nouveau très rapidement après que le
Pape ait décidé d’excommunier tous les Évêques d’Angleterre déclarés coupables
d’avoir usurper les droits de l’Archevêque de Canterbury.
Henry se trouve alors en Normandie lorsqu’il apprend la nouvelle. Dans un terrible accès de colère, il fait alors une déclaration qui sera lourde de conséquences : « mais personne ne réussira donc jamais à me débarrasser de ce Prêtre turbulent! ».
Quatre chevaliers qui assistent à la scène décident alors de traverser la Manche pour se rendre directement à Canterbury.
Le 29 Décembre 1170, accompagnés d’un bataillon de soldats, ils se présentent à
la Cathédrale et demandent à parler à l’Archevêque, bien décidés à
l’assassiner, croyant ainsi obéir à la volonté du souverain et convaincus
d’avoir son appui.
Ils pénètrent dans la Cathédrale et se saisissent de Thomas, qu’ils traînent
jusque sur les marches de son autel avant d’abattre à plusieurs reprises une
lourde épée sur sa tête.
Durant les quelques minutes que dure son agonie, il est en Prière.
La mort de Thomas provoque un choc très grand dans toute la chrétienté et Henry est alors contraint de faire acte public de pénitence.
Thomas est Canonisé seulement deux ans après sa mort par le Pape Alexandre III.
Saint-Thomas Becket est le patron du clergé séculier.
Lecture
Quelle est donc la raison de la mort de Thomas Becket ?
A y bien regarder, il est mort pour ce qui est la cause de l’antagonisme entre le monde et l’Église.
L’Église est établie dans tous les pays pour s’adresser à tous, aux grands et aux petits, aux personnes de tout rang et de toute condition.
Pour diriger et, en un certain sens intervenir en conscience, et dans le cas de misère morale des princes que le monde adule dès leur petite enfance, pour promulguer aussi la loi et enseigner, ce faisant, la Foi.
Là est le conflit : le monde n’aime pas recevoir de leçons. Les rois d’Israël n’aimaient pas les prophètes. L’Église peut, elle aussi, en venir à s’opposer au monde et à s’élever comme témoin contre lui.
Tel fut le conflit entre le monde et Thomas Becket
John Henry Newman, Sermon
SOURCE : https://www.reflexionchretienne.fr/pages/vie-des-saints/decembre/saint-thomas-becket-archeveque-de-cantorbery-martyr-1117-1170-fete-le-29-decembre.html
et http://jubilatedeo.centerblog.net/6573900-Les-saints-du-jour-mardi-29-Decembre
Saint Thomas Becket
Quatrième leçon. Thomas,
né à Londres, en Angleterre, succéda à Théobald, Évêque de Cantorbéry. Il avait
exercé auparavant, et avec honneur, la charge de chancelier et il se montra
fort et invincible dans les devoirs de l’épiscopat. Henri II, roi d’Angleterre,
ayant voulu, dans une assemblée des prélats et des grands de son royaume,
porter des lois contraires à l’intérêt et à la dignité de 1’ Église, Thomas
s’opposa à.la cupidité du roi avec tant de constance, que, n’ayant voulu fléchir,
ni devant les promesses ni devant les menaces, il se vit obligé de se retirer
secrètement, parce qu’il allait être emprisonné. Bientôt tous ses parents, ses
amis et ses partisans furent chassés du royaume, après qu’on eut fait jurer à
tous ceux dont l’âge le permettait, d’aller trouver Thomas, afin d’ébranler,
par la vue de l’état pitoyable des siens, cette sainte résolution, dont ne
l’avaient nullement détourné ses propres souffrances. Il n’eut égard ni à la
chair ni au sang, et aucun sentiment trop humain n’ébranla sa constance
pastorale.
Répons du Commun d’un
Martyr
Cinquième leçon. Il se
rendit auprès du Pape Alexandre III, qui le reçut avec bonté et le recommanda
aux moines du monastère de Pontigny, de l’Ordre de Cîteaux, vers lequel il se dirigea.
Dès qu’Henri l’eut appris, il envoya des lettres menaçantes au Chapitre de
Cîteaux, dans le but de faire chasser Thomas du monastère de Pontigny. Le saint
homme, craignant que cet Ordre ne souffrît quelque persécution à cause de lui,
se retira spontanément, et sur l’invitation de Louis, roi de France, il alla
demeurer auprès de lui. Il y resta jusqu’à ce que, par l’intervention du
Souverain Pontife et du roi, il fut rappelé de l’exil, et rentra en Angleterre
à la grande satisfaction du royaume entier. Comme il s’appliquait, sans rien
craindre, à remplir les devoirs d’un bon pasteur, des calomniateurs vinrent
rapporter au roi qu’il entreprenait beaucoup de choses contre le royaume et la
tranquillité publique : en sorte que ce prince se plaignait souvent de ce que,
dans son royaume, il y avait un Évêque avec lequel il ne pouvait avoir la paix.
Sixième leçon. Ces
paroles du roi ayant fait croire à quelques détestables satellites qu’ils lui
causeraient un grand plaisir s’ils faisaient mourir Thomas, ils se rendirent
secrètement à Cantorbéry, et allèrent attaquer l’Évêque, dans l’église même où
il célébrait l’Office des Vêpres. Les clercs voulant leur fermer l’entrée du
temple, Thomas accourut aussitôt, et ouvrit lui-même la porte, en disant aux
siens : « L’église de Dieu ne doit pas être gardée comme un camp ; pour moi, je
souffrirai volontiers la mort pour l’Église de Dieu. » Puis, s’adressant aux
soldats : « De la part de Dieu, dit-il, je vous défends de toucher à aucun des
miens. » Il se mit ensuite à genoux, et après avoir recommandé l’Église et son
âme à Dieu, à la bienheureuse Marie, à saint Denys et aux autres patrons de sa
cathédrale, il présenta sa tête au fer sacrilège, avec la même constance qu’il
avait mise à résister aux lois très injustes du roi. Ceci arriva le quatre des
Calendes de janvier, l’an du Seigneur onze cent soixante et onze ; et la
cervelle du Martyr jaillit sur le pavé du temple. Dieu l’ayant bientôt illustré
par un grand nombre de miracles, le même Pape Alexandre l’inscrivit au nombre
des Saints.
Au troisième nocturne.
Lecture du saint Évangile
selon saint Jean.
En ce temps-là : Jésus
dit aux pharisiens : Je suis le bon pasteur. Le bon pasteur donne sa vie pour
les brebis. Et le reste.
Homélie de saint Jean
Chrysostome.
Septième leçon. Elle est
grande, mes très chers frères, elle est grande, dis-je, la dignité de prélat
dans l’Église, et elle exige beaucoup de sagesse et de force en celui qui en
est revêtu ! Notre courage doit selon l’exemple proposé par Jésus-Christ, être
tel que nous donnions notre vie pour nos brebis, que jamais nous ne les
abandonnions, et que nous résistions généreusement au loup. C’est en cela que
le pasteur diffère du mercenaire. L’un s’inquiète peu de ses brebis, et n’a de
vigilance que pour ses propres intérêts ; mais l’autre s’oublie lui-même et
veille constamment au salut de son troupeau. Jésus-Christ donc, après avoir
caractérisé le pasteur, signale deux sortes de personnes qui nuisent au
troupeau : le voleur, qui ravit et égorge les brebis, et le mercenaire, qui ne
repousse pas le voleur et ne défend pas les brebis confiées à sa garde.
Huitième leçon. C’est là
ce qui arrachait autrefois à Ézéchiel ces invectives : « Malheur aux pasteurs
d’Israël ! Ne se paissaient-ils pas eux-mêmes ? N’est-ce pas les troupeaux que
les pasteurs font paître ? » Mais eux, ils faisaient le contraire : conduite
des plus criminelles, et source de calamités nombreuses. Ainsi, ajoute le
Prophète : « Ils ne ramenaient pas (au bercail les brebis) égarées ; celles qui
étaient perdues, ils ne les cherchaient pas ; ils ne bandaient point les plaies
de celles qui étaient blessées ; ils ne fortifiaient pas celles qui étaient
faibles ou malades, parce qu’ils le paissaient eux-mêmes et non leur troupeau.
» Saint Paul exprime la même vérité en d’autres termes : « Tous cherchent leurs
propres intérêts et non ceux de Jésus-Christ. »
Neuvième leçon. Le Christ
il se fait voir bien différent du voleur et du mercenaire : différent d’abord
de ceux qui viennent pour la perte des autres, quand il dit « être venu pour
qu’ils aient la vie, et l’aient très abondamment » ; différent ensuite des
pasteurs négligents qui ne se souciaient pas de voir des loups ravir les
brebis, en disant qu’il « donne sa vie pour ses brebis, afin qu’elles ne
périssent pas ». En effet, bien que les Juifs cherchassent à le faire mourir,
il continuait à répandre sa doctrine ; il n’a point abandonné ni trahi ceux qui
croyaient en lui, mais il est demeuré ferme et il a souffert la mort. C’est
pourquoi souvent il dit : « Je suis le bon pasteur. » Comme on ne voyait pas de
preuve de ce qu’il avançait (car cette parole : « Je donne ma vie », n’eut son
accomplissement que peu de temps après, et celle-ci : « afin qu’elles aient la
vie, et qu’elles l’aient très abondamment », ne devait se réaliser qu’au siècle
futur), que fait-il ? Il confirme une des assertions par l’autre.
Dom Guéranger, l’Année
Liturgique
Un nouveau Martyr vient
réclamer sa place auprès du berceau de l’Enfant-Dieu. Il n’appartient point au
premier âge de l’Église ; son nom n’est point écrit dans les livres du Nouveau
Testament, comme ceux d’Étienne, de Jean, et des enfants de Bethléhem.
Néanmoins, il occupe un des premiers rangs dans cette légion de Martyrs qui n’a
cessé de se recruter à chaque siècle, et qui atteste la fécondité de l’Église
et la force immortelle dont l’a douée son divin auteur. Ce glorieux Martyr n’a
pas versé son sang pour la foi ; il n’a point été amené devant les païens, ou
les hérétiques, pour confesser les dogmes révélés par Jésus-Christ et proclamés
par l’Église. Des mains chrétiennes l’ont immolé ; un roi catholique a prononcé
son arrêt de mort ; il a été abandonné et maudit par le grand nombre de ses
frères, dans son propre pays : comment donc est-il Martyr ? Comment a-t-il
mérité la palme d’Étienne ? C’est qu’il a été le Martyr de la Liberté de
l’Église.
En effet, tous les
fidèles de Jésus-Christ sont appelés à l’honneur du martyre, pour confesser les
dogmes dont ils ont reçu l’initiation au Baptême. Les droits du Christ qui les
a adoptés pour ses frères s’étendent jusque-là. Ce témoignage n’est pas exigé
de tous ; mais tous doivent être prêts de rendre, sous peine de la mort
éternelle dont la grâce du Sauveur les a rachetés. Un tel devoir est, à plus
forte raison, imposé aux pasteurs de l’Église ; il est la garantie de
l’enseignement qu’ils donnent à leur propre troupeau : aussi, les annales de
l’Église sont-elles couvertes, à chaque page, des noms triomphants de tant de
saints Évêques qui ont, pour dernier dévouement, arrosé de leur sang le champ
que leurs mains avaient fécondé, et donné, en cette manière, le suprême degré
d’autorité à leur parole.
Mais si les simples
fidèles sont tenus d’acquitter la grande dette de la foi par l’effusion de leur
sang ; s’ils doivent à l’Église de confesser, à travers toute sorte de périls,
les liens sacrés qui les unissent à elle, et par elle, à Jésus-Christ, les
pasteurs ont un devoir de plus à remplir, le devoir de confesser la Liberté de
l’Église. Ce mot de Liberté de l’Église sonne mal aux oreilles des politiques.
Ils y voient tout aussitôt l’annonce d’une conspiration ; le monde, de son
côté, y trouve un sujet de scandale, et répète les grands mots d’ambition
sacerdotale ; les gens timides commencent à trembler, et vous disent que tant
que la foi n’est pas attaquée, rien n’est en péril. Malgré tout cela, l’Église
place sur ses autels et associe à saint Étienne, à saint Jean, aux saints
Innocents, cet Archevêque anglais du XIIe siècle, égorgé dans sa Cathédrale
pour la défense des droits extérieurs du sacerdoce. Elle chérit la belle maxime
de saint Anselme, l’un des prédécesseurs de saint Thomas, que Dieu n’aime rien
tant en ce monde que la Liberté de son Église ; et au XIXe siècle, comme au
XIIe, le Siège Apostolique s’écrie, par la bouche de Pie VIII, comme elle l’eût
fait par celle de saint Grégoire VII : C’est par l’institution même de Dieu que
l’Église, Épouse sans tache de l’Agneau immaculé Jésus-Christ, est LIBRE, et
qu’elle n’est soumise à aucune puissance terrestre [7].
Or, cette Liberté sacrée
consiste en la complète indépendance de l’Église à l’égard de toute puissance
séculière, dans le ministère de la Parole, qu’elle doit pouvoir prêcher, comme
parle l’Apôtre, à temps et à contre-temps, à toute espèce de personnes, sans
distinction de nations, de races, d’âge, ni de sexe ; dans l’administration de
ses Sacrements, auxquels elle doit appeler tous les hommes sans exception, pour
les sauver tous ; dans la pratique, sans contrôle étranger, des conseils aussi
bien que des préceptes évangéliques ; dans les relations, dégagées de toute
entrave, entre les divers degrés de sa divine hiérarchie ; dans la publication
et l’application des ordonnances de sa discipline ; dans le maintien et le
développement des institutions qu’elle a créées ; dans la conservation et
l’administration de son patrimoine temporel ; enfin dans la défense des privilèges
que l’autorité séculière elle-même lui a reconnus, pour assurer l’aisance et la
considération de son ministère de paix et de charité sur les peuples.
Telle est la Liberté de
l’Église : et qui ne voit qu’elle est le boulevard du sanctuaire lui-même ; que
toute atteinte qui lui serait portée peut mettre à découvert la hiérarchie, et
jusqu’au dogme lui-même ? Le Pasteur doit donc la défendre d’office, cette
sainte Liberté : il ne doit ni fuir, comme le mercenaire ; ni se taire, comme
ces chiens muets qui ne savent pas aboyer, dont parle Isaïe [8]. Il est la
sentinelle d’Israël ; il ne doit pas attendre que l’ennemi soit entré dans la
place pour jeter le cri d’alarme, et pour offrir ses mains aux chaînes, et sa
tête au glaive. Le devoir de donner sa vie pour son troupeau commence pour lui
du moment où l’ennemi assiège ces postes avancés, dont la franchise assure le
repos de la cité tout entière. Que si cette résistance entraîne de graves
conséquences, c’est alors qu’il faut se rappeler ces belles paroles de Bossuet,
dans son sublime Panégyrique de saint Thomas de Cantorbéry, que nous voudrions
pouvoir ici citer tout entier : « C’est une loi établie, dit-il, que l’Église
ne peut jouir d’aucun avantage qui ne lui coûte la mort de ses enfants, et que,
pour affermir ses droits, il faut qu’elle répande du sang. Son Époux l’a
rachetée par le sang qu’il averse pour elle, et il veut qu’elle achète par un
prix semblable les grâces qu’il lui accorde. C’est par le sang des Martyrs
qu’elle a étendu ses conquêtes bien loin au. delà de l’empire romain ; son sang
lui a procuré et la paix dont elle a joui sous les empereurs chrétiens, et la
victoire qu’elle a remportée sur les empereurs infidèles. Il paraît donc
qu’elle devait du sang à l’affermissement de son autorité, comme elle en avait
donné à l’établissement de sa doctrine ; et ainsi la discipline, aussi bien que
la foi de l’Église, a dû avoir ses Martyrs. »
Il ne s’est donc pas agi,
pour saint Thomas et pourtant d’autres Martyrs de la Liberté ecclésiastique, de
considérer la faiblesse des moyens qu’on pourrait opposer aux envahissements
des droits de l’Église. L’élément du martyre est la simplicité unie à la force
; et n’est-ce pas pour cela que de si belles palmes ont été cueillies par de
simples fidèles, par de jeunes vierges, par des enfants ? Dieu a mis au cœur du
chrétien un élément de résistance humble et inflexible qui brise toujours toute
autre force. Quelle inviolable fidélité l’Esprit-Saint n’inspire-t-il pas à
l’âme de ses pasteurs qu’il établit comme les Époux de son Église, et comme
autant de murs imprenables de sa chère Jérusalem ? « Thomas, dit encore
l’Évêque de Meaux, ne cède pas à l’iniquité, sous prétexte qu’elle est armée et
soutenue d’une main royale ; au contraire, lui voyant prendre son cours d’un
lieu éminent, d’où elle peut se répandre avec plus de force, il se croit plus
obligé de s’élever contre, comme une digue que l’on élève à mesure que l’on
voit les ondes enflées. »
Mais, dans cette lutte,
le Pasteur périra peut-être ? Et, sans doute, il pourra obtenir cet insigne
honneur. Dans sa lutte contre le monde, dans cette victoire que le Christ a
remportée pour nous, il a versé son sang, il est mort sur une croix ; et les
Martyrs sont morts aussi ; mais l’Église, arrosée du sang de Jésus-Christ, cimentée
parle sang des Martyrs, peut-elle se passer toujours de ce bain salutaire qui
ranime sa vigueur, et forme sa pourpre royale ? Thomas l’a compris ; et cet
homme, dont les sens sont mortifiés par une pénitence assidue, dont les
affections en ce monde sont crucifiées par toutes les privations et toutes les
adversités, a dans son cœur ce courage plein de calme, cette patience inouïe
qui préparent au martyre. En un mot, il a reçu l’Esprit de force, et il lui a
été fidèle.
« Selon le langage
ecclésiastique, continue Bossuet, la force a une autre signification que dans
le langage du monde. La force selon le monde s’étend jusqu’à entreprendre ; la
force selon l’Église ne va pas plus loin que de tout souffrir : voilà les
bornes qui lui sont prescrites. Écoutez l’Apôtre saint Paul : Nondum usque ad
sanguinem restitistis ; comme s’il disait : Vous n’avez pas tenu jusqu’au bout,
parce que vous ne vous êtes pas défendus jusqu’au sang. Il ne dit pas jusqu’à
attaquer, jusqu’à verser le sang de vos ennemis, mais jusqu’à répandre le
vôtre. _ « Au reste, saint Thomas n’abuse point de ces maximes vigoureuses. Il
ne prend pas par fierté ces armes apostoliques, pour se faire valoir dans le
monde : il s’en sert comme d’un bouclier nécessaire dans l’extrême besoin de l’Église.
La force du saint Évêque ne dépend donc pas du concours de ses amis, ni d’une
intrigue finement menée. Il ne sait point étaler au monde a sa patience, pour
rendre son persécuteur plus odieux, ni faire jouer de secrets ressorts pour
soulever les esprits. Il n’a pour lui que les prières des pauvres, les
gémissements des veuves et des orphelins. Voilà, disait saint Ambroise, les
défenseurs des Évêques ; voilà leurs gardes, voilà leur armée. Il est fort,
parce qu il a un esprit également incapable et de crainte et de murmure. Il
peut dire véritablement à Henri, roi d’Angleterre, ce que disait Tertullien, au
nom de toute l’Église, à un magistrat de l’Empire, grand persécuteur de
l’Église : Non te terremus, qui nec timemus. Apprends à connaître quels nous sommes,
et vois quel homme c’est qu’un chrétien : Nous ne pensons pas à te faire peur,
et nous sommes incapables de te craindre. Nous ne sommes ni redoutables ni
lâches : nous ne sommes pas redoutables, parce que nous ne savons pas cabaler ;
et nous ne sommes pas lâches, parce que nous savons mourir. »
Mais laissons encore la
parole à l’éloquent prêtre de l’Église de France, qui fut lui-même appelé aux
honneurs de l’épiscopat dans l’année qui suivit celle où il prononça ce
discours ; écoutons-le nous raconter la victoire de l’Église par saint Thomas
de Cantorbéry :
« Chrétiens, soyez
attentifs : s’il y eut jamais un martyre qui ressemblât parfaitement à un
sacrifice, c’est celui que je dois vous représenter. Voyez les préparatifs :
l’Evêque est à l’église avec son clergé, et ils sont déjà revêtus. Il ne faut
pas chercher bien loin la victime : le saint Pontife est préparé, et c’est la
victime que Dieu a choisie. Ainsi tout est prêt pour le sacrifice, et je vois
entrer dans l’église ceux qui doivent donner le coup. Le saint homme va
au-devant d’eux, à l’imitation de Jésus-Christ ; et pour a imiter en tout ce
divin modèle, il défend à son clergé toute résistance, et se contente de
demander sûreté pour les siens. Si c’est moi que vous » cherchez, laissez, dit
Jésus, retirer ceux-ci. Ces choses étant accomplies, et l’heure du sacrifice
étant arrivée, voyez comme saint Thomas en commence la cérémonie. Victime et
Pontife tout ensemble, il présente sa tête et fait sa prière. Voici les vœux
solennels et les paroles mystiques de ce sacrifice : Et ego pro Deo mori
paratus sum, et pro assertione justitiœ, et pro Ecclesiae libertate ; dummodo
effusione sanguinis mei pacem et libertatem consequatur. Je suis prêt à mourir,
dit-il, pour la cause de Dieu et de son Église ; et toute la grâce que je
demande, c’est que mon sang lui rende la paix et la liberté qu’on veut lui
ravir. Il se prosterne devant Dieu ; et comme dans le Sacrifice solennel nous
appelons les Saints nos intercesseurs, il n’omet pas une partie si considérable
de cette cérémonie sacrée : il appelle les saints Martyrs et la sainte Vierge
au secours de l’Église opprimée ; il ne parle que de l’Église ; il n’a que
l’Église dans le cœur et dans la bouche ; et, abattu par le coup, sa langue
froide et inanimée semble encore nommer l’Église. »
Ainsi ce grand Martyr, ce
type des Pasteurs de l’Église, a consommé son sacrifice ; ainsi il a remporté
la victoire ; et cette victoire ira jusqu’à l’entière abrogation de la coupable
législation qui devait entraver l’Église, et l’abaisser aux yeux des peuples.
La tombe de Thomas deviendra un autel ; et au pied de cet autel, on verra
bientôt un Roi pénitent solliciter humblement sa grâce. Que s’est-il donc passé
? La mort de Thomas a-t-elle excité les peuples à la révolte ? le Martyr a-t-il
rencontré des vengeurs ? Rien de tout cela n’est arrivé. Son sang a suffi à
tout. Qu’on le comprenne bien : les fidèles ne verront jamais de sang-froid la
mort d’un pasteur immolé pour ses devoirs ; et les gouvernements qui osent
faire des Martyrs en porteront toujours la peine. C’est pour l’avoir compris
d’instinct, que les ruses de la politique se sont réfugiées dans les systèmes
d’oppression administrative, afin de dérober habilement le secret de la guerre
entreprise contre la Liberté de l’Église. C’est pour cela qu’ont été forgées
ces chaînes non moins déliées qu’insupportables, qui enlacent aujourd’hui tant
d’Églises. Or, il n’est pas dans la nature de ces chaîner de se dénouer jamais
; elles ne sauraient être que brisées ; mais quiconque les brisera, sa gloire
sera grande dans l’Église de la terre et dans celle du ciel ; car sa gloire
sera celle du martyre. Il ne s’agira ni de combattre avec le fer, ni de
négocier par la politique ; mais de résister en face et de souffrir avec
patience jusqu’au bout.
Écoutons une dernière
fois notre grand orateur, relevant ce sublime élément qui a assuré la victoire
à la cause de saint Thomas : « Voyez, mes Frères, quels défenseurs trouve
l’Église dans sa faiblesse, et combien elle a raison de dire avec l’Apôtre : Cum
infirmor, tunc potens sum. Ce sont ces bienheureuses faiblesses qui lui donnent
cet invincible secours, et qui arment en sa faveur les plus valeureux soldats
et les plus puissants conquérants du monde, je veux dire, les saints Martyrs.
Quiconque ne ménage pas l’autorité de l’Église, qu’il craigne ce sang précieux
des Martyrs, qui la consacre et la protège. »
Or, toute cette force,
toute cette victoire émanent du berceau de l’Enfant-Dieu ; et c’est pour cela
que Thomas s’y rencontre avec Étienne. Il fallait un Dieu anéanti, une si haute
manifestation d’humilité, de constance et de faiblesse selon la chair, pour
ouvrir les yeux des hommes sur la nature de la véritable force. Jusque-là on
n’avait soupçonné d’autre vigueur que celle des conquérants à coups d’épée,
d’autre grandeur que la richesse, d’autre honneur que le triomphe ; et
maintenant, parce que Dieu venant en ce monde a apparu désarmé, pauvre et
persécuté, tout a changé de face. Des cœurs se sont rencontrés qui ont voulu
aimer, malgré tout, les abaissements de la Crèche ; et ils y ont puisé le
secret d’une grandeur d’âme que le monde, tout en restant ce qu’il est, n’a pu
s’empêcher de sentir et d’admirer.
Il est donc juste que la
couronne de Thomas et celle d’Étienne, unies ensemble, apparaissent comme un
double trophée aux côtés du berceau de l’Enfant de Bethléhem ; et quant au
saint Archevêque, la Providence de Dieu a marqué divinement sa place sur le
Cycle, en permettant que son immolation s’accomplît le lendemain de la fête des
saints Innocents, afin que la sainte Église n’éprouvât pas d’incertitude sur le
jour qu’elle devrait assigner à sa mémoire. Qu’il garde donc cette place si
glorieuse et si chère à toute l’Église de Jésus-Christ ; et que son nom reste,
jusqu’à la fin des temps, la terreur des ennemis de la Liberté de l’Église,
l’espérance et la consolation de ceux qui aiment cette Liberté que le Christ a
acquise aussi par son sang.
La Liturgie de l’Église
d’Angleterre rendait à saint Thomas un culte plein de tendresse et
d’enthousiasme. Nous extrairons plusieurs pièces de l’ancien Bréviaire de
Salisbury, et nous donnerons d’abord un ensemble formé de la plupart des
Antiennes des Matines et des Laudes. Tout l’Office est rimé, suivant l’usage du
XIIIe siècle, auquel ces compositions appartiennent.
Thomas, élevé au
souverain sacerdoce, se trouve tout à coup changé en un autre homme.
Sous ses vêtements de
clerc, il revêt secrètement le cilice du moine ; plus fort que la chair, il
réprime les révoltes de la chair.
Agriculteur fidèle, il
arrache les ronces du champ du Seigneur ; de ses vignes il repousse et il
chasse les renards.
Il ne souffre point que
les loups dévorent les agneaux, ni que les animaux malfaisants traversent le
jardin confié à sa garde.
On l’exile ; ses biens
sont la proie des méchants ; mais, au milieu du feu de la tribulation, Thomas
n’est pas atteint.
Des satellites de Satan
pénètrent dans le temple ; ils en font le théâtre d’un forfait inouï.
Thomas marche au-devant
des épées menaçantes ; il ne cède ni aux menaces, ni aux glaives, pas même à la
mort.
Lieu fortuné, heureuse
église où vit la mémoire de Thomas ! heureuse terre qui a produit un tel prélat
! Heureuse contrée qui, avec amour, recueillit son exil !
Le grain tombe, et c’est
pour produire une abondance de froment ; le vase d’albâtre est brisé, et c’est
pour répandre la suavité du parfum.
L’univers entier
s’empresse à témoigner son amour pour le Martyr ; ses prodiges multipliés
excitent en tout lieu l’étonnement.
Les pièces qui suivent ne
sont pas moins dignes de mémoire, pour l’affection et la confiance qu’elles
expriment à notre grand Martyr.
Ant. Le Pasteur immolé,
au milieu de son troupeau achète la paix au prix de son sang. O douleur pleine
d’allégresse ! ô joie remplie de tristesse ! par la mort du Pasteur, le
troupeau respire ; la mère en pleurs applaudit à son fils, vivant et victorieux
sous le glaive.
R/. Cesse tes plaintes, ô
Rachel cesse de pleurer sur la fleur de ce monde, que le monde a brisée ;
Thomas immolé, enseveli est un nouvel Abel qui succède à l’ancien.
Ant. Salut, Thomas !
Sceptre de justice, splendeur du monde, vigueur de l’Église, amour du peuple,
délices du clergé. Tuteur fidèle du troupeau, salut ! Daignez sauver ceux qui
applaudissent à votre gloire.
Nous empruntons au même
Bréviaire de Salisbury le Répons qui suit. Il est remarquable, dans sa forme,
par l’insertion d’une Prose entière, en manière de Verset, après laquelle la
Réclame revient, selon l’usage du XIV° siècle. Nous n’avons pas besoin de
relever la beauté naïve de cette pièce liturgique.
L’épi succombe opprimé
par la paille ; le juste est immolé par l’épée des méchants : * Il échange
contre le ciel cette demeure de boue. V/. Le gardien de la vigne succombe dans
la vigne même, le capitaine dans son camp, le cultivateur dans son aire. * Il
échange contre le ciel cette demeure de boue.
Prose
Que le Pasteur fasse
retentir la trompette de force ;
Qu’il réclame la liberté
de la vigne du Christ,
De cette vigne que le
Christ, sous le manteau de la chair, a choisie pour sienne.
Qu’il a affranchie par le
sang de sa croix.
Une brebis égarée s’est
élevée contre Thomas,
Elle s’est baignée dans
le sang du pasteur immolé.
Le pavé de marbre de la
maison du Christ
S’est rougi d’un sang
précieux.
Le Martyr, décoré de la
couronne de vie,
Semblable au grain dégagé
de la paille,
Est transféré dans les
greniers divins.
* Il échange contre le
ciel cette demeure de boue.
L’Église de France
témoigna aussi par la Liturgie sa vive admiration pour l’illustre Martyr. Adam
de Saint-Victor composa jusqu’à trois Séquences pour célébrer un si noble
triomphe. Nous donnerons ici les deux plus belles. Elles respirent la plus
ardente sympathie pour le sublime athlète de Cantorbéry, et montrent à quel
point était chère la Liberté de l’Église aux fidèles de ces temps, et comment
la cause dont saint Thomas fut le martyr était regardée alors comme celle de la
société chrétienne tout entière. Obligé de nous restreindre, nous regrettons de
ne pouvoir insérer ici la belle Prose des Missels de Liège : Laureata novo
Thoma.
Ière SÉQUENCE.
Réjouis-toi, Sion, et
sois dans l’allégresse ; par tes chants, par tes vœux, éclate dans une
solennelle réjouissance.
Ton pasteur Thomas est
égorgé ; pour toi, ô Christ ! il est immolé, comme une hostie salutaire.
Archevêque et légat, nul
degré d’honneur n’a enflé son âme.
Dispensateur fidèle du
souverain Roi, pour avoir défendu son troupeau, il est condamné à l’exil.
Il combat avec les armes
du pasteur ; il est ceint du glaive spirituel ; il a mérité le triomphe.
Pour la loi de son Dieu,
pour le salut de ses brebis, il a voulu combattre et mourir.
Privée de son chef, veuve
de son pasteur, Cantorbéry se lamentait.
Plus heureuse et battant
des mains, la Gaule Sénonnaise saluait un si grand homme.
Par son absence est
affaiblie, foulée aux pieds, la liberté de l’Église.
Ainsi, tu nous quittas, ô
Pasteur ! Mais rien ne te fit reculer du vrai sentier de la justice.
Naguère, en la cour des
seigneurs, tu étais le premier : tu occupais le poste d’honneur au palais du
roi.
Le vent de la faveur
populaire était pour toi, et tu jouissais de ces applaudissements du siècle,
qui ne durent qu’un temps.
Élevé à la prélature, tu
changeas bientôt ; par un heureux échange, tu devins un homme nouveau.
Tu résistas à
l’adversaire, tu t’opposas comme un mur, tu offris ta tête dans un sacrifice
comme celui du Christ.
Tu as bravé la mort de ta
chair, athlète triomphant !
Une palme glorieuse est
dans tes mains ; des miracles inouïs l’attestent en grand nombre.
Illustre Thomas ! la perle
du clergé, par tes prières efficaces, dompte les assauts de notre chair.
Afin que, enracinés dans
le Christ, la vraie vigne, nous obtenions la couronne de la vie véritable.
Amen.
II° SÉQUENCE.
O Église, ô tendre Mère,
déplore dans tes chants le forfait commis naguère par la Grande-Bretagne.
O France, sois émue de
compassion ; le ciel lui-même, la terre et les mers, pleurent sur ce crime
exécrable.
Oui, l’Angleterre a
commis un crime qu’on n’ose raconter, un forfait immense et qui saisit d’horreur.
Elle a condamné son propre père ; elle l’a massacré sur son siège, auquel il
venait d’être rendu.
Thomas, lui, la fleur
vermeille de l’Angleterre, la gloire première de l’Église, a été immolé dans le
temple de Cantorbéry ; prêtre et victime, il a succombé pour la justice.
Entre le temple et
l’autel, sur le seuil même de l’église, on l’a atteint, mais non vaincu ; le
voile du temple a été fendu en deux par le glaive. Élisée a reçu le coup sur sa
tête vénérable ; Zacharie a été égorgé ; la paix qui venait de se conclure a été
violée ; et les chants d’allégresse se sont changés en lamentations.
Le lendemain de la fête
des Innocents, le Pontife innocent comme eux est traîné à la mort ; on le
frappe, on répand sa cervelle sur le pavé avec la pointe du glaive. Le temple
acquiert une nouvelle gloire par le sang qui rougit ses dalles, au moment où le
Pontife revêt la robe empourprée du martyre.
La fureur des meurtriers
est au comble ; ils ont conspiré contre la vie du juste, et leur épée s’est
abattue sur sa tête en présence même du Seigneur. Le Pontife accomplissait
l’œuvre de sanctification : là même il est sanctifié ; il immolait, et on
l’immole. Il laisse ainsi aux hommes l’exemple de son sublime courage.
Cet holocauste choisi
devient célèbre dans tout l’univers ; c’est le Pontife lui-même offert à Dieu,
comme une victime d’agréable odeur ; on a frappé sa tête à l’endroit où la
couronne la rendait plus sacrée ; en retour, il a reçu une double tunique
d’honneur ; et le privilège de son trône archiépiscopal est désormais reconnu.
Le Juif regarde avec
insolence, le païen idolâtre poursuit de ses sarcasmes des chrétiens qui ont
violé le pacte sacré, et dont la rage n’a pas su épargner même un des pères de
la chrétienté Rachel repousse les consolations ; elle pleure le fils qu’elle a
vu immoler jusque sur son sein maternel, le fils dont le trépas arrache tant de
larmes aux chrétiens pieux.
C’est là le Pontife que
le suprême architecte a placé glorieux au faite de l’édifice céleste, parce
qu’il a triomphé du glaive homicide des Anglais.
Pour n’avoir pas craint
la mort, pour avoir livré sa tête avec son sang, au sortir de ce séjour
terrestre, il est entré pour jamais dans le Saint des Saints.
Les prodiges attestent
combien fut précieuse sa mort ; que ses prières, nous soient un secours
favorable pour l’éternité.
Amen.
Ainsi s’épanchait, par la
voix sacrée de la Liturgie, l’amour du peuple catholique pour saint Thomas de
Cantorbéry. Ainsi la victoire de l’Église était-elle réputée la victoire de
l’humanité elle-même, dans les siècles catholiques. Il n’entre point dans notre
plan d’écrire la vie des Saints dans cette Année liturgique déjà si remplie ;
nous ne pourrons donc développer ici en détail le caractère de ce grand Martyr
de la plus sacrée des libertés. Cependant, nous croyons faire plaisir à nos
lecteurs, en produisant sois leurs yeux un témoignage touchant de l’affection
et de l’estime qu’avait inspirées Thomas à ceux qui avaient été témoins des
vertus évangéliques de ce prélat fidèle et désintéressé, auquel le roi son ami,
et plus tard son meurtrier, ne pardonna jamais de s’être démis des hautes
fonctions de Chancelier du royaume d’Angleterre, le jour où il fut promu à
l’archevêché de Cantorbéry. La lettre qu’on va lire fut écrite par un Français,
Pierre de Blois, Archidiacre de Bath, et adressée aux Chanoines de Beauvoir,
peu de jours après le martyre du Saint, quand son sang était encore chaud sur
le pavé de l’Église Primatiale de l’Angleterre. Cette lettre est un cri de
victoire ; mais combien la victoire de l’Église, dans laquelle elle ne verse
d’autre sang que le sien, est pure et paisible !
« Il est décédé, le
Pasteur de nos âmes, lui dont je voulais pleurer le trépas ; mais que dis-je ?
il s’est retiré plutôt qu’il n’est décédé ; il s’en est allé, il n’est pas mort.
En effet, la mort par laquelle le Seigneur a glorifié son Saint n’est pas une
mort, mais un sommeil. C’est un port, c’est la porte de la vie, l’entrée dans
les délices de la patrie céleste, dans les puissances du Seigneur, dans l’abîme
de l’éternelle clarté. Prêt à partir pour un voyage lointain, il a pris a avec
lui les subsides de la route, pour revenir à la pleine lune. Son âme, qui s’est
retirée de son corps riche de mérites, rentrera, opulente, dans cette ancienne
demeure, au jour de la résurrection générale. La mort envieuse et pleine de
ruse a voulu voir si, dans ce trésor, il se trouvait quelque chose qui
appartînt à son domaine. Lui, en homme prudent et circonspect, n’avait pas
voulu risquer sa vraie vie. Dès longtemps il t désirait la dissolution de son
corps pour être avec Jésus-Christ ; dès longtemps il aspirait à sortir de ce
corps de mort. Il a donc jeté un peu de poussière à la face de cette vieille
ennemie, comme un tribut. C’est delà qu’est sortie cette rumeur populaire et
fausse qu’une bête féroce avait dévoré Joseph. La tunique dont on l’a dépouillé
n’était donc qu’une fausse messagère de sa mort ; car Joseph est vivant, et il
domine sur toute la terre d’Égypte. Sa bienheureuse âme, débarrassée de
l’enveloppe de cette poussière corruptible, s’est envolée libre au ciel.
« Oui, il a été appelé au
ciel, cet homme dont le monde n’était pas digne. Cette lumière n’est pas
éteinte ; un souffle passager l’a inclinée, afin qu’elle brillât ensuite avec
plus de clarté, afin qu’elle ne fût plus sous le boisseau, mais éclatât
davantage aux yeux de ceux qui sont dans la maison. Aux regards des insensés il
a paru mourir ; mais sa vie est cachée avec Jésus-Christ en Dieu. La mort a
semblé l’avoir vaincu et dévoré ; mais la mort a été ensevelie dans a son
triomphe. Vous lui avez accordé, Seigneur, u le désir de son cœur ; car
longtemps il milita pour vous, fidèle à votre service, à travers les voies les
plus dures. Dès son adolescence, il montra la maturité de la vieillesse ; et on
le vit réprimer les révoltes de la chair par les veilles, par les jeûnes, par
les disciplines, par le cilice et la garde d’une continence perpétuelle. Le
Seigneur se le choisit pour Pontife, afin qu’il fût, au milieu de son peuple,
un chef, un docteur, un miroir de vie, un modèle de pénitence, un exemplaire de
sainteté. Le Dieu des sciences lui » avait donné une langue éloquente, et avait
répandu en lui avec abondance l’esprit d’intelligence et de sagesse, afin qu’il
fût entre les doctes le plus docte, entre les sages le plus sage, entre les
bons le meilleur, entre les grands le plus grand. Il était le héraut de la
parole divine, la trompette de l’Évangile, l’ami de l’Époux, la colonne du
clergé, l’œil de l’aveugle, le pied du boiteux, le sel de la terre, la lumière
de la patrie, le ministre du Très-Haut, le vicaire du Christ, le Christ même du
Seigneur.
« Il était droit dans le
jugement, habile dans le gouvernement, discret dans le commandement, modeste
dans le parler, circonspect dans les conseils, tempérant dans la nourriture,
pacifique dans la colère, un ange dans la chair, doux au milieu des injures,
timide dans la prospérité, ferme dans l’adversité, prodigue dans les aumônes,
tout entier à la miséricorde. Il était la gloire des moines, les délices du
peuple, la terreur des princes, le Dieu de Pharaon. D’autres, quand ils sont
élevés sur le siège éminent de l’Épiscopat, se montrent tout aussitôt enclins à
flatter la chair ; ils craignent toute souffrance du corps comme un supplice ;
leur désir en toutes choses est de jouir longtemps de la vie. Celui-ci, au
contraire, dès le jour de sa promotion, désira avec passion la fin de cette
vie, ou plutôt le commencement d’une vie meilleure ; c’est pour cela que, se
revêtant de la livrée du pèlerin, il a bu, sur la voie, l’eau du torrent, et
pour cela, son nom est élevé en gloire dans la patrie. Ainsi, nos seigneurs et
frères, les Moines de l’Église cathédrale, sont-ils devenus tout à coup des
pupilles qui ont perdu leur Père. »
Le seizième siècle vint
encore ajouter à la gloire de saint Thomas, lorsque l’ennemi de Dieu et des
hommes, Henri VIII d’Angleterre, osa poursuivre de sa tyrannie le Martyr de la
Liberté de l’Église jusque dans la châsse splendide où il recevait depuis près
de quatre siècles les hommages de la vénération de l’univers chrétien. Les
sacrés ossements du Pontife égorgé pour la justice furent arrachés de l’autel ;
un procès monstrueux fut instruit contre le Père de la patrie, et une sentence
impie déclara Thomas criminel de lèse-majesté royale. Ces restes précieux furent
placés sur un bûcher ; et dans ce second martyre, le feu dévora la glorieuse
dépouille de l’homme simple et fort dont l’intercession attirait sur
l’Angleterre les regards et la protection du ciel. Aussi, il était juste que la
contrée qui devait perdre la foi par une désolante apostasie ne gardât pas dans
son sein un trésor qui n’était plus estimé à son prix ; et d’ailleurs le siège
de Cantorbéry était souillé. Cranmer s’asseyait sur la chaire des Augustin, des
Dunstan, des Lanfranc, des Anselme, de Thomas enfin ; et le saint Martyr,
regardant autour de lui, n’avait trouvé parmi ses frères de cette génération
que le seul Jean Fischer, qui consentît à le suivre jusqu’au martyre. Mais ce
dernier sacrifice, tout glorieux qu’il fût, ne sauva rien. Dès longtemps la
Liberté de l’Église avait péri en Angleterre : la foi n’avait plus qu’à
s’éteindre.
Invincible défenseur de
l’Église de votre Maître, glorieux Martyr Thomas ! Nous venons à vous, en ce
jour de votre fête, pour honorer les dons merveilleux que le Seigneur a déposés
en votre personne. Enfants de l’Église, nous aimons à contempler celui qui l’a
tant aimée, et qui a tenu à si grand prix l’honneur de cette Épouse du Christ,
qu’il n’a pas craint de donner sa vie pour lui assurer l’indépendance. Parce
que vous avez ainsi aimé l’Église aux dépens de votre repos, de votre bonheur
temporel, de votre vie même ; parce que votre sacrifice sublime a été le plus
désintéressé de tous, la langue des impies et celle des lâches se sont
aiguisées contre vous, et votre nom a souvent été blasphémé et calomnié. O
véritable Martyr ! digne de toute croyance dans son témoignage, puisqu’il ne
parle et qu’il ne résiste que contre ses intérêts terrestres. O Pasteur associé
au Christ dans l’effusion du sang et dans la délivrance du troupeau ! nous vous
vénérons de tout le mépris que vous ont prodigué les ennemis de l’Église ; nous
vous aimons de toute la haine qu’ils ont versée sur vous, dans leur
impuissance. Nous vous demandons pardon pour ceux qui ont rougi de votre nom,
et qui ont regardé votre martyre comme un embarras dans les Annales de
l’Église. Que votre gloire est grande, ô Pontife fidèle ! d’avoir été choisi
pour accompagner avec Étienne, Jean et les Innocents, le Christ, au moment où
il fait son entrée en ce monde ! Descendu dans l’arène sanglante à la onzième
heure, vous n’avez pas été déshérité du prix qu’ont reçu vos frères de la
première heure ; loin de là, vous êtes grand parmi les Martyrs. Vous êtes donc
puissant sur le cœur du divin Enfant qui naît en ces jours mêmes pour être le
Roi des Martyrs. Permettez que, sous votre garde, nous pénétrions jusqu’à lui.
Comme vous, nous voulons aimer son Église, cette Église chérie dont l’amour l’a
forcé à descendre du ciel ; cette Église qui nous prépare de si douces
consolations dans la célébration des grands mystères auxquels votre nom se
trouve si glorieusement mêlé. Obtenez-nous cette force qui fasse que nous ne
reculions devant aucun sacrifice, quand il s’agit d’honorer notre beau titre de
Catholiques.
Assurez l’Enfant qui nous
est né, Celui qui doit porter sur son épaule la Croix comme le signe de sa
principauté, que, moyennant sa grâce, nous ne nous scandaliserons jamais ni de
sa cause, ni de ses défenseurs ; que, dans la simplicité de notre attachement
envers la sainte Église qu’il nous a donnée pour Mère, nous placerons toujours
ses intérêts au-dessus de tous les autres ; car elle seule a les paroles de la
vie éternelle, elle seule a le secret et l’autorité de conduire les hommes vers
ce monde meilleur qui seul est notre terme, seul ne passe pas, tandis que tous
les intérêts de la terre ne sont que vanité, illusion, et le plus souvent
obstacles à l’unique fin de l’homme et de l’humanité.
Mais, afin que cette
Église sainte puisse accomplir sa mission et sortir victorieuse de tant de
pièges qui lui sont tendus dans tous les sentiers de son pèlerinage, elle a
besoin par-dessus tout de Pasteurs qui vous ressemblent, ô Martyr du Christ !
Priez donc afin que le Maître de la vigne envoie des ouvriers, capables non
seulement de la cultiver et de l’arroser, mais encore de la défendre à la fois
du renard et du sanglier qui, comme nous en avertissent les saintes Écritures,
cherchent sans cesse à y pénétrer pour la ravager. Que la voix de votre sang
devienne de plus en plus tonnante en ces jours d’anarchie, où l’Église du
Christ est asservie sur tant de points de cette terre qu’elle est venue
affranchir. Souvenez-vous de l’Église d’Angleterre qui lit un si triste
naufrage, il y a trois siècles, par l’apostasie de tant de prélats, tombés
victimes de ces mêmes maximes contre lesquelles vous aviez résisté jusqu’au
sang. Aujourd’hui qu’elle semble se relever de ses ruines, tendez-lui la main,
et oubliez les outrages qui furent prodigués à votre nom, au moment où l’Ile des
Saints allait sombrer dans l’abîme de l’hérésie. Souvenez-vous aussi de
l’Église de France qui vous reçut dans votre exil, et au sein de laquelle votre
culte fut si florissant autrefois. Obtenez pour ses Pasteurs l’esprit qui vous
anima ; revêtez-les de cette armure qui vous rendit invulnérable dans vos rudes
combats contre les ennemis de la Liberté de l’Église. Enfin, quelque part, en
quelque manière que cette sainte Liberté soit en danger, accourez au secours,
et que vos prières et votre exemple assurent une complète victoire à l’Épouse
de Jésus-Christ.
[7] Libera est
institutione divina, nullique obnox laterrenae potestati, Ecclesia intemerata
sponsa immaculati Agni Christi Jesu. Litterae Apostolicae ad Episcopos
provinciae Rhenanae, 3o Junii 183o.
[8] LVI, 10.
[9] Psalm. XCVIII.
[10] Psalm. XLIV.
Bhx Cardinal
Schuster, Liber Sacramentorum
Cette fête (de St Thomas
de Cantorbéry) est entrée dans le calendrier de la Curie romaine et, par suite,
dans le missel, seulement très tard, c’est-à-dire au XIIIe siècle, quand le
culte envers le saint Primat d’Angleterre fut assez répandu même en Italie.
Pourtant elle ne fut jamais accueillie parmi les solennités stationnales,
quoique l’office de ce jour appartienne au Propre du Temps et non au Propre des
Saints.
La messe a un caractère
grandiose, pathétique, elle est riche de sentiment et révèle l’impression que
fit à l’Europe chrétienne l’assassinat de l’évêque de Cantorbéry, accompli par
quelques sicaires, dans sa propre cathédrale, à l’heure des vêpres. Après les
fleurs rouges dont les Innocents ont enguirlandé la crèche de l’Enfant de
Betlehem, il convient qu’un des plus puissants Pontifes du moyen âge vienne y
déposer une couronne de roses, au nom de tout l’épiscopat catholique. C’est
pour cette raison que la messe traitera, en y revenant à plusieurs reprises,
des qualités et des devoirs d’un évêque et d’un pasteur d’âmes.
L’introït provient d’un
texte grec qui fut d’abord attribué à la fête de sainte Agathe. «
Réjouissons-nous tous dans le Seigneur, aujourd’hui que nous célébrons la fête
du martyr Thomas, dont la confession réjouit les anges, en sorte qu’ils en
louent le Fils de Dieu. » On y ajoute le verset initial du psaume 32 : «
Exultez, ô justes, dans le Seigneur ; le cantique de louange sied bien à ceux
qui sont bons. »
La collecte est pleine de
pieuse majesté : « O Dieu pour l’Église de qui le glorieux pontife Thomas tomba
sous les coups de glaive des impies, faites que tous ceux qui implorent son
secours obtiennent l’effet de leurs prières. »
La lecture est tirée de
la lettre aux Hébreux, là où sont mis en comparaison le sacerdoce typique de
l’Ancienne Alliance et celui du Christ (V, 1-6). Le ministère sacerdotal est
une mission de compassion et de miséricorde, c’est pourquoi Dieu a voulu qu’il
fût exercé, non par les anges, esprits très purs et éloignés de toute faiblesse
de la chair, mais par les hommes fragiles et, par suite, plus aptes à
comprendre les faiblesses d’autrui et à y compatir. Pour cette raison, le
Christ se revêtit, lui aussi, de notre nature humaine, afin de nous montrer,
d’une façon plus sensible encore, sa condescendance infinie. Il appartient
enfin à Dieu d’élire ceux qu’il destine à être ses médiateurs et les ministres
de ses miséricordes. Personne ne peut s’attribuer de soi-même de telles
fonctions, c’est pourquoi Jésus fut élu pontife de notre confession par Dieu
son Père.
Le répons-graduel est
pris dans l’Ecclésiastique (XLIV, 20) et loue le grand pontife qui fut, durant
sa vie, l’objet spécial des divines complaisances, de préférence aux autres. Il
mérita cette grâce par l’observance de la loi de Dieu.
Le verset alléluiatique
provient de l’évangile de saint Jean (X, 11), là où Jésus se compare au bon
Pasteur qui connaît ses brebis et en est également connu.
La lecture évangélique
est la même que le second dimanche après Pâques (Joan., X, 11-16), mais elle
prend ici une signification spéciale. Là, c’est le Souverain Pasteur, Jésus,
qui, dans la solennité pascale, s’immole pour son troupeau ; aujourd’hui, au contraire,
c’est le disciple qui a parfaitement suivi l’exemple de Jésus, versant son sang
pour la liberté de la famille chrétienne, contre l’oppression d’un prince
devenu un tyran.
L’offertoire est tiré du
psaume 20 : « Seigneur, vous avez mis sur sa tête une couronne de pierres
précieuses. Il vous a demandé la vie, et vous la lui avez donnée, intarissable.
Louange à Yahweh. »
Dans la prière sur les
oblations, nous supplions Dieu de les sanctifier, afin que, par l’intercession
du bienheureux pontife et martyr Thomas, elles attirent sur nous le regard
bienveillant de la divine miséricorde.
Le verset de la Communion
est identique au verset alléluiatique et provient de saint Jean. Cette fois,
pourtant, il est appliqué à Jésus, qui nourrit son troupeau avec son sang.
La collecte eucharistique
est très ancienne. On y a joint seulement la mention du martyr : « Que cette
Communion, Seigneur, nous purifie de nos fautes, et que, par l’intercession du
bienheureux pontife Thomas, martyr, elle nous rende participants de la divine
Rédemption. »
Combien sublime est la
vocation pastorale, et quelle vertu solide elle requiert ! Les saints Pères,
expliquant ce texte de l’Apôtre à Timothée, « il faut que l’évêque soit
irrépréhensible », enseignent communément que celui-ci doit être déjà en état
de perfection solidement acquise, en tant qu’il doit avoir extirpé de lui-même,
auparavant, toute racine d’amour-propre, pour ne plus chercher que la gloire de
Dieu et le salut des âmes. En effet, la charité est un mouvement de l’âme au
dehors d’elle-même, vers Dieu et tout ce qui se rapporte à lui. Quand l’âme se
replie sur elle-même, alors elle s’éloigne de la loi de parfait amour pour
tomber dans le défaut de l’égoïsme. Charitas non quaerit quae sua sunt, c’est
pourquoi l’office Pastoral qui est justement un office de suprême amour et de
désintéressement, exige l’oubli de soi-même, pour ne plus voir devant soi que
Dieu et sa gloire dans la sanctification des fidèles.
Dom Pius Parsch, le Guide
dans l’année liturgique
Le bon pasteur invite les
pasteurs des âmes à la Crèche.
Je voudrais bien établir
une relation entre Noël et la fête d’aujourd’hui. Néanmoins il faut reconnaître
que la fête de saint Thomas n’a pas, comme les trois fêtes précédentes, de
rapports voulus avec la fête de Noël. Saint Thomas n’appartient pas à l’escorte
du Roi nouveau-né.
1. Saint Thomas de
Cantorbéry. — Thomas Becket, né en 1118 d’une famille de marchands, étudia à
Londres et à Paris, entra au service de l’archevêque Théobald de Cantorbéry,
mais devint en 1155 lord chancelier du roi Henri II d’Angleterre et en 1162
archevêque de Cantorbéry. Celui qui avait été jusque là un courtisan facile
montra, dès qu’il fut évêque, une grande énergie à lutter contre le roi pour la
liberté de l’Église et l’inviolabilité des biens ecclésiastiques. Cette lutte
lui coûta la prison, l’exil et finalement le martyre (+29 décembre 1171). Dès
1173, il fut proclamé saint. En 1539, Henri VIII fit brûler ses ossements. Le
bréviaire nous raconte : « Des calomniateurs vinrent dire au roi que l’évêque
faisait maint complot contre le roi et contre la tranquillité du royaume et le
roi lui-même se plaignit que, dans son propre royaume, il n’y avait qu’un seul
prêtre avec lequel il ne pût avoir la paix. A cause de ces déclarations royales,
quelques courtisans impies crurent faire plaisir au roi en le débarrassant de
Thomas. Ils se rendirent secrètement à Cantorbéry et attaquèrent l’évêque au
moment où celui-ci assistait aux Vêpres. Comme ses prêtres se précipitaient
pour leur fermer l’entrée, l’évêque ouvrit lui-même, les portes en disant aux
siens : « La maison de Dieu ne doit pas être défendue à la manière d’un camp,
et pour l’Église de Dieu j’irai volontiers au devant de la mort. » Il dit
ensuite aux soldats : « Je vous l’ordonne, au nom de Dieu, gardez-vous de faire
du mal à aucun des miens. » Ensuite, il se jeta à genoux, recommanda à Dieu, à
la bienheureuse Vierge Marie, à saint Denys et aux autres saints patrons de son
Église son troupeau et lui-même et, avec le même courage héroïque avec lequel
il avait résisté aux lois royales, il inclina sa tête sainte et l’offrit au
glaive sacrilège. C’était le 29 décembre 1171. Sa cervelle jaillit sur tout le
dallage de l’église. »
2. La messe (Gaudeamus
omnes). — La messe contient toute une série de textes propres et l’Introït lui
donne déjà une certaine solennité : « Réjouissons-nous tous dans le Seigneur en
ce jour de fête que nous célébrons en l’honneur de saint Thomas martyr. » Le
leitmotiv de la messe est : « Je suis le bon pasteur, je connais mes brebis...
» Nous l’entendons trois fois : à l’Alléluia, à l’Évangile et à la Communion.
Cette comparaison du bon pasteur est doublement exacte à la messe, dans le
Christ et dans saint Thomas. Le Christ réalise à chaque messe le don de lui-même
pour ses brebis. Thomas est l’image du Christ et membre de son corps mystique
(Offert.). Pour nous, qui nous offrons mystiquement au Saint-Sacrifice avec le
Christ et avec Thomas, ayons part à l’amour, à la fidélité, au dévouement du
Pasteur. Très impressionnante aussi, très belle et d’un grand sens liturgique
est la magnifique Épître tirée de la lettre de saint Paul aux Hébreux. Elle
nous explique le sacerdoce du Christ. Le Christ, l’éternel grand-prêtre, offre
son sacrifice sanglant : ce sacrifice se continue à la messe par le ministère
du sacerdoce consacré des prêtres de l’Église et du sacerdoce général du
peuple. Remarquons encore que les leçons sont tirées du commun des martyrs
évêques de l’Église grecque (cf. la fête de saint Josaphat, le 14 novembre).
3. Les Heures de la fête.
— Saint Jean Chrysostome, qui fut lui-même un bon pasteur qui offrit sa vie
pour ses brebis, nous parle, au bréviaire, de l’importance du ministère de
pasteur.
« C’est une grande chose
que la prélature dans l’Église, elle demande une grande sagesse et un grand
courage, comme le Seigneur le recommande : nous devons donner notre vie pour
nos brebis et ne jamais les abandonner, nous devons résister courageusement au
loup. C’est là la différence entre le pasteur et le mercenaire : l’un ne se
préoccupe que de sa propre sécurité et néglige ses brebis, l’autre se sacrifie
lui-même pour l’assurer la sécurité de ses brebis. — Car aux faux pasteurs
Ézéchiel a déjà dit : Malheur aux pasteurs d’Israël : ils se paissent eux-mêmes
Ne sont-ce pas les brebis qui doivent être nourries par les pasteurs ? »
4. Les lectures de
l’Écriture. — Nous commençons aujourd’hui une série suivie de lectures de
l’Écriture ; nous lisons les Épîtres de saint Paul, nous continuerons de les
lire jusqu’au samedi avant la Septuagésime. Si l’Église propose justement à ce
moment cette lecture, elle a assurément un motif. L’Apôtre des Gentils doit
prendre la parole au moment de l’Épiphanie, la fête de l’Église des nations.
Isaïe pendant l’Avent a promis le royaume de Dieu, Paul doit montrer la gloire
de ce royaume dans sa manifestation. Il n’est guère d’autre livre qui pourrait
mieux que l’Épître aux Romains représenter la grandeur du royaume de Dieu. Il y
a assurément là une rencontre d’un sens profond. Le Roi nouveau-né est entouré
d’Isaïe et de saint Paul.
Les lectures commencent
donc avec l’Épître aux Romains qui est la plus importante des lettres de saint
Paul, son Credo. Saint Paul explique l’œuvre de la Rédemption du Christ dans
toute sa profondeur et dans toute son étendue. L’Épître est adressée à la communauté
chrétienne de Rome encore ; inconnue de lui. Cette communauté se composait de
fidèles venus en partie de la Gentilité et en partie du monde Juif. Comme le
judaïsme voyait en saint Paul un ennemi acharné, l’Apôtre est obligé, dans
cette Épître, de s’expliquer souvent sur les relations de l’Évangile avec la
loi mosaïque. Paul écrivit cette Épître à Corinthe (58 après J.-C.) en pleine
activité missionnaire dans l’Orient. Il désirait déjà ardemment aller à Rome ;
l’Épître est un témoignage de ce grand désir.
Aujourd’hui nous lisons
le premier chapitre. Il constitue l’introduction et l’exposé du thème général.
Nous connaissons déjà les premiers versets par la messe de la vigile de Noël.
Le Christ nous y est représenté, dans une formule brève et pleine, comme Homme
et Dieu. Puis l’Apôtre expose le sujet de sa lettre. Dans la foi à l’Évangile
réside le salut pour toute l’humanité : Juifs et païens. « L’Évangile est la
force de Dieu pour quiconque croit, d’abord pour les Juifs, ensuite pour les
païens. » Or, avant que l’Évangile fût annoncé, toute l’humanité était, par sa
propre faute, exposée au jugement et à la condamnation de Dieu. Saint Paul le
prouve d’abord pour les païens (18-32). Bien qu’il y ait une connaissance
naturelle de Dieu — car le Créateur nous parle par sa création — le monde païen
a abandonné le vrai Dieu et s’est laissé aller à l’idolâtrie. La conséquence
fut une déchéance morale profonde. « Ce qui en Dieu est invisible, sa puissance
éternelle et sa divinité, se manifeste, depuis la création du monde, dans ses
œuvres, si bien qu’ils n’ont aucune excuse. Et bien qu’ils connussent Dieu, ils
ne l’ont pas honoré comme Dieu... mais ils sont devenus vains dans leurs
pensées et leur cœur insensé s’est obscurci... Ils ont échangé la gloire du Dieu
immuable pour des images d’hommes mortels, d’oiseaux, de quadrupèdes, de
serpents. C’est pourquoi Dieu les a abandonnés au moyen de leurs passions à
l’impureté de telle sorte qu’ils ont déshonoré leur corps... Ainsi Dieu les
abandonna aux passions déshonorantes. » Saint Paul trace ensuite un tableau
effrayant de la corruption morale du paganisme.
SOURCE : http://www.introibo.fr/29-decembre#nh10
St.
Thomas Becket faces King Henry II in a dispute; Henry II and Thomas Becket.
This is taken from 'Peter of Langtoft, Chronicle of England' which was probably
written and pictures added during the reign of Edward II (1307-1327). In 1162
King Henry II persuaded his Chancellor Thomas Becket, to become Archbishop of
Canterbury, although Becket warned him that his chief loyalty would then be to
the Church and not to the king. They disagreed about many matters. One of the
most important was whether clergy who had broken the law could be tried in the
King's courts or whether they could appear only before the Church courts.
Eventually in 1170 Becket was murdered by three of the King's knights and Henry
was blamed. Circa 1307, http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/SODimages3/108_BecketHenryII.jpg;
original held in British Library, Royal 20 A II folio.
Also
known as
Thomas Beckett
Thomas of Canterbury
7 July (translation
of relics)
Profile
Of Norman ancestry. Educated at
Merton Priory,
the University
of Paris, in Bologna, Italy,
and in Auxerre, France. Civil and canon lawyer. Soldier and
officer. Archdeacon of Canterbury, England,
ordained in 1154.
Friend of King Henry
II. Chancellor of England. Ordained on 2 June 1162 and
appointed archbishop of Canterbury on 3 June 1162.
Opposed the King‘s
interference in ecclesiastical matters which led to his being exiled several
times and eventually murdered by supporters of the king. Martyr.
Born
21 December 1118 at London, England
murdered on 29
December 1170 in
the Cathedral at Canterbury, England
some relics enshrined at
the Ladyewell Shrine in Lancaster, England
21
February 1173 by Pope Alexander
III
in England
Exeter
College, Oxford
Northampton, diocese of
Southwark, England, archdiocese of
Stoneyhurst
College, Lancashire
archbishop with
a wounded head
archbishop holding
an inverted sword
archbishop kneeling
before his murderers
archbishop being murdered in church
crosier with
a battle-axe head
at the top
Additional
Information
A
Garner of Saints, by Allen Banks Hinds, M.A.
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Golden
Legend: Saint Thomas
Golden
Legend: Translation the relics of Saint Thomas
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Francis
Xavier Weninger
Saints
and Saintly Dominicans, by Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie
Cormier, O.P.
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
Short
Lives of the Saints, by Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly
Stories
of the Saints for Children, by Mary Seymour
The
Liturgical Year, by Father Prosper
Gueranger
The Holy Blissful Martyr,
Saint Thomas of Canterbury, by Father Robert
Hugh Benson
books
Becket or the Honor of God, by Jean Anouilh
Murder in the Cathedral, by T S Eliot
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
other
sites in english
Murder
of Thomas Becket, by Edward Grim
images
video
e-books
Becket,
Archbishop of Canterbury, by James Craigie Robertson
Life
and Times of Thomas Becket, by James Anthony Froude
Life of
Thomas a Becket, by Henry Hart Milman
Materials
for the History of Thomas Becket
Saint
Thomas of Canterbury: His Death and Miracles, v1, by Edwin Abbott Abbott
Saint
Thomas of Canterbury: His Death and Miracles, v2, by Edwin Abbott Abbott
The
Life and Letters of Thomas A Becket, v1 by John Allen Giles
The
Life and Letters of Thomas A Becket, v2 by John Allen Giles
The
Life and Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket, by Father John Morris
The
Life of S. Thomas Becket of Canterbury, by Mrs Hope
The
Activities of Thomas Becket During His Exile in France, by William
Sylvester Adams
Thomas
Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, by William Holden Hutton
Thomas
of London Before His Consecration, by Lewis B Radford
—
A Reliquary of
Saint Thomas Becket Made for John of Salisbury, by Joseph Breck
Historical
Memorials of Canterbury, by Arthur Penrhyn Stanley
Pilgrimages
to Saint Mary of Walsingham and Saint Thomas of Canterbury, by Desiderius
Erasmus
What
Became of the Bones of Saint Thomas?, by Arthur James Mason
— Dramas
Becket, by
Baron Alfred Tennyson
Saint
Thomas of Canterbury: A Dramatic Poem, by Aubrey de Vere
Thomas A
Becket, by Paul Bleckley
Thomas
a Becket, by Patrick Scott
Thomas
a Becket, A Tragedy, by Gideon Hiram Holister
Thomas
a’Becket: A Tragedy, by Alexander Hamilton
Thomas
A Becket: A Dramatic Chronicle, by George Darley
Thomas
Becket: The Mitre and the Crown, by Alfred Waites
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
sites
en français
Abbé
Christian-Philippe Chanut
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
websites
in nederlandse
nettsteder
i norsk
Readings
Hereafter, I want you to
tell me, candidly and in secret, what people are saying about me. And if you
see anything in me that you regard as a fault, feel free to tell me in private.
For from now on, people will talk about me, but not to me. It is dangerous for
men in power if no one dares to tell them when they go wrong. – Saint
Thomas Becket to a friend on his way to ordination
For our sake Christ
offered himself to the Father upon the altar for the cross. He now looks down
from heaven on our actions and secret thoughts, and one day he will give each
of us the reward his deeds deserve. It must therefore be our endeavor to
destroy the right of sin and death, and by nurturing faith and uprightness of
life, to build up the Church of Christ into a holy temple of the Lord. The
harvest is good and one reaper or even several would not suffice to gather all
of it into the granary of the Lord. Yet the Roman Church remains the head of
all the churches and the source of Catholic teaching. Of this there can be no
doubt. Everyone know that the keys of the kingdom of heaven were given to
Peter. Upon his faith and teaching the whole fabric of the Church will continue
to be built until we all reach full maturity in Christ and attain to unity in
faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Of course many are needed to plant and
many to water now that the faith has spread so far and the population become so
great. Nevertheless, no matter who plants or waters, God gives no harvest
unless what he plants is the faith of Peter, and unless he himself assents to
Peter’s teaching. All important questions that arise among God’s people are
referred to the judgment of Peter in the person for the Roman Pontiff. Under
him the ministers of Mother Church exercise the powers committed to them, each in
his own sphere of responsibility. Remember then how our fathers worked out
their salvation; remember the sufferings through which the Church has grown,
and the storms the ship of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board.
Remember how the crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new radiance
to their faith. The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing
truth that without real effort no one wins the crown. – from a letter
by Saint Thomas
Beckett
MLA
Citation
“Saint Thomas a
Becket“. CatholicSaints.Info. 30 May 2024. Web. 3 January 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-thomas-a-becket/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-thomas-a-becket/
Book of Saints
– Thomas of Canterbury
Article
(Saint) Bishop Martyr (December
29) (12th
century) Saint Thomas
A’Becket, born in London December
21, A.D. 1118,
was first educated at Merton
Abbey, whence he passed to the University
of Paris. Though he had fair prospects in lay-life,
he embraced the Ecclesiastical state at the age of twenty-three, and was
ordained deacon by Archbishop Theobald
(A.D. 1154).
Soon after, with the favour of King Henry
II, he rose to the high office of Chancellor of the Realm. So well did he
acquit himself of his charge that, at the death of Archbishop Theobald,
he was promoted to the Archbishopric of Canterbury (A.D. 1162),
the King again
helping. Nevertheless, Saint Thomas
was constrained to spend the remaining eight years of his life in resisting the
unjust encroachments of the monarch on
the liberties of the Church. He was soon driven into banishment into France,
and (a short reconciliation between him and Henry having been brought about)
only returned to Canterbury to
be attacked, with the King‘s
connivance, in his own Cathedral,
by four knights, and brutally slain at
the foot of the Altar (December
29, A.D. 1170).
Popular feeling was wholly with the Martyr,
who was canonised as
early as A.D. 1173. King Henry
was forced to do public penance for his crime; and the Martyr‘s shrine at Canterbury became
the most frequented place of pilgrimage in England,
and remained so until the change of religion in the sixteenth
century.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Thomas of Canterbury”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
12 October 2023. Web. 3 January 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-thomas-of-canterbury/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-thomas-of-canterbury/
_-_cropped.jpg)
Thomas
Becket (from a window of Canterbury cathedral)
This
is in fact not a medieval representation of Thomas Becket but a fabrication by
Samuel Caldwell Jr, dating from 1919. It is part of window nVII in the Trinity
Chapel Ambulatory of en:Canterbury Cathedral, most, if not all
of which, dates to 1949, designed in a convincingly medieval style by Calwell
Jr. The panel is made up from some fragments of medieval glass and much modern
glass painted and acid-etched to look ancient. While the head is a medieval piece
dating to the late 12th or early 13th century, its provenance is unclear and it
is highly unlikely that it shows Thomas Becket.
Caldwell
Jr was Canterbury Cathedral's stained glass restorer during the first half of
the 20th century. He had at his disposal a large number of fragments of
medieval glass, and he used those in several places (e.g. the North Oculus
window in the northern transept of Canterbury Cathedral) to fill gaps in the
medieval windows, or - as in the panel above - to fabricate convincing fakes.
Source:
Caviness, M. The Windows of Christ Church Cathedral Canterbury, London 1981,
p175
St. Thomas Becket
Feastday: December 29
Birth: 1118
Death: 1170
There is a romantic
legend that the mother of Thomas Becket was a Saracen princess who followed his
father, a pilgrim or crusader, back from the Holy Land, and wandered
about Europe repeating
the only English words she knew, "London" and "Becket,"
until she found him. There is no foundation for
the story. According to a contemporary writer, Thomas Becket was the son of
Gilbert Becket, sheriff of London; another relates that both parents were
of Norman blood. Whatever his parentage, we know with certainty that the future
chancellor and archbishop of Canterbury was
born on St.
Thomas day, 1118, of a good family,
and that he was educated at a school of canons regular at Merton Priory in
Sussex, and later at the University of Paris. When Thomas returned from France,
his parents had
died. Obliged to make his way unaided, he obtained an appointment as clerk to
the sheriff's court, where he showed great ability. All accounts describe him
as a strongly built, spirited youth, a lover of field sports, who seems to have
spent his leisure time in
hawking and hunting. One day when he was out hunting with his falcon, the bird
swooped down at a duck, and as the duck dived, plunged after it into the river.
Thomas himself leapt in to save the valuable hawk, and the rapid stream swept
him along to a mill, where only the accidental stopping of the wheel saved his
life. The episode serves to illustrate the impetuous daring which characterized
Becket all through his life.
At the age of twenty-four Thomas was given a post in the household of
Theobald, archbishop of
Canterbury, and while there he apparently resolved on a career in the Church,
for he took minor orders.
To prepare himself further, he obtained the archbishop's permission to
study canon law at
the University of Bologna, continuing his studies at Auxerre, France. On coming
back to England, he became provost of
Beverley, and canon at Lincoln and
St. Paul's cathedrals. His ordination as deacon occurred in 1154. Theobald appointed
him archdeacon of
Canterbury, the highest ecclesiastical office in England after a bishopric or
an abbacy, and began to entrust him with the most intricate affairs; several
times he was sent on important missions to Rome. It was Thomas' diplomacy that
dissuaded Pope Eugenius III from sanctioning the coronation of
Eustace, eldest son of Stephen, and when Henry of Anjou, great grandson of
William the Conqueror, asserted his claim to the English crown and became King
Henry II, it was not long before he appointed this gifted churchman as
chancellor, that is, chief minister. An old chronicle describes Thomas as
"slim of growth, and pale of hue, with dark hair, a long nose, and a
straightly featured face.
Blithe of countenance was he, winning and lovable in conversation, frank of
speech in his discourses but slightly stuttering in his talk, so keen of
discernment that he could always make difficult questions plain after a wise
manner." Thomas discharged his duties as chancellor conscientiously and
well.
Like the later chancellor of the realm, Thomas Moore, who also became a martyr and
a saint, Thomas Becket was the close personal friend as well as the loyal
servant of his young sovereign. They were said to have one heart and one mind between
them, and it seems possible that to Becket's influence were due, in part, those
reforms for which Henry is justly praised, that is, his measures to secure
equitable dealing for all his subjects by a more uniform and efficient system
of law. But it was not only their common interest in matters of state that
bound them together. They were also boon companions and spent merry hours
together. It was almost the only relaxation Thomas allowed himself, for he was
an ambitious man. He had a taste for magnificence, and his household was as
fine—if not finer—than the King's. When he was sent to France to
negotiate a royal marriage, he took a personal retinue of two hundred men, with
a train of several hundred more, knights and squires, clerics and servants,
eight fine wagons, music and singers, hawks and hounds, monkeys and mastiffs.
Little wonder that the French gaped in wonder and asked, "If this is the
chancellor's state, what can the King's be like?" His entertainments, his
gifts, and his liberality to the poor were also on a very lavish scale.
In 1159 King Henry raised an army of mercenaries in France to
regain the province of Toulouse, a part of the inheritance of his wife, the
famous Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Thomas served Henry in this war with
a company of seven hundred knights of his own. Wearing armor like any other
fighting man, he led assaults and engaged in single combat. Another churchman,
meeting him, exclaimed: "What do you mean by wearing such a dress? You
look more like a falconer than a cleric. Yet you are a cleric in
person, and many times over in office-archdeacon of Canterbury, dean of
Hastings, provost of
Beverley, canon of
this church and that, procurator of
the archbishop, and like to be archbishop, too, the rumor goes!" Thomas
received the rebuke with good humor.
Although he was proud, strong-willed, and irascible, and remained so all his
life, he did not neglect to make seasonal retreats at
Merton and took the discipline imposed on him there. His confessor during
this time testified
later to the blamelessness of his private life, under conditions of extreme
temptation. If he sometimes went too far in those schemes of the King which
tended to infringe on the ancient prerogatives and rights of the Church, at
other times he opposed Henry with vigor.
In 1161 Archbishop Theobald died.
King Henry was then in Normandy with
Thomas, whom he resolved to make the next primate of
England. When Henry announced his intention, Thomas, demurring, told him:
"Should God permit
me to be the archbishop of
Canterbury, I would soon lose your Majesty's favor, and the affection with
which you honor me would be changed into hatred. For there are several things
you do now in prejudice of the rights of the Church which make me fear you
would require of me what I could not agree to; and envious persons would not
fail to make it the occasion of endless strife between us." The King paid
no heed to this remonstrance, and sent bishops and
noblemen to the monks of Canterbury, ordering them to labor with the same zeal to
set his chancellor in the see as they would to set the crown on the young
prince's head. Thomas continued to refuse the promotion until the legate of
the Holy See, Cardinal Henry
of Pisa, overrode his scruples. The election took
place in May, 1162. Young Prince Henry, then in London, gave the necessary
consent in his father's name. Thomas, now forty-four years old, rode to Canterbury and
was first ordained priest by
Walter, bishop of
Rochester, and then on the octave of Pentecost was
consecrated archbishop by
the bishop of
Winchester. Shortly afterwards he received the pallium sent
by Pope Alexander III.
From this day worldly grandeur no longer marked Thomas' way of life. Next his
skin he wore a hairshirt, and his customary dress was a plain black cassock, a
linen surplice, and a sacerdotal stole about
his neck. He lived ascetically, spent much time in
the distribution of alms, in reading and discussing the Scriptures with Herbert
of Bosham, in visiting the infirmary, and supervising the monks at their work.
He took special care in selecting candidates for Holy Orders. As ecclesiastical
judge, he was rigorously just.
Although as archbishop Thomas
had resigned the chancellorship, against the King's wish, the relations between
the two men seemed to be unchanged for a time. But a host of
troubles was brewing, and the crux of all of them was the relationship between
Church and state. In the past the landowners, among which the Church was one of
the largest, for each hide [1] of land they held, had paid annually two
shillings to the King's officers, who in return undertook to protect them from
the rapacity of minor tax-
gatherers. This was actually a flagrant form of
graft and the King now ordered the money paid into his own exchequer. The archbishop protested,
and there were hot words between him and the King. Thenceforth the King's
demands were directed solely against the clergy, with no mention of other
landholders who were equally involved.
Then came the affair of Philip de Brois, a canon accused
of murdering a soldier.
According to a long-established law, as a cleric he
was tried in an ecclesiastical court, where he was acquitted by the judge,
the bishop of
Lincoln, but ordered to pay a fine to the deceased man's relations. A king's justice then
made an effort to bring him before his civil court, but he could not be tried
again upon that indictment and told the king's justice so
in insulting terms. Thereat Henry ordered him tried again both for the
original murder charge—and
for his later misdemeanor. Thomas now pressed to have the case referred to his
own archiepiscopal court; the King reluctantly agreed, and appointed both lay
and clerical assessors. Philip's plea of a previous acquittal was accepted as
far as the murder was
concerned, but he was punished for his contempt of a royal court. The King
thought the sentence too
mild and remained dissatisfied. In October, 1163, the King called the bishops of
his realm to a council at Westminster, at which he demanded their assent to an
edict that thenceforth clergy proved guilty of crimes against the civil law should
be handed over to the civil courts for punishment.
Thomas stiffened the bishops against
yielding. But finally, at the council of Westminster they assented reluctantly
to the instrument known as the Constitutions of Clarendon, which embodied the
royal "customs" in Church matters, and including some additional
points, making sixteen in all. It was a revolutionary document: it provided
that no prelate should
leave the kingdom without royal permission, which would serve to prevent appeals to
the Pope; that no tenant-in-chief should be excommunicated against the King's
will; that the royal court was to decide in which court clerics accused of
civil offenses should be tried; that the custody of vacant Church benefices and
their revenues should go to the King. Other provisions were equally damaging to
the authority and prestige of the Church. The bishops gave
their assent only with a reservation, "saving their order," which was
tantamount to a refusal.
Thomas was now full of remorse for having weakened, thus setting a bad example
to the bishops, but at the same time he
did not wish to widen the breach between himself and the King. He made a futile
effort to cross the Channel and put the case before the Pope. On his part, the
King was bent on vengeance for what he considered the disloyalty and
ingratitude of the archbishop. He ordered Thomas to give up certain castles and
honors which he held from him, and began a campaign to persecute and discredit
him. Various charges of chicanery and financial dishonesty were brought against
Thomas, dating from the time he
was chancellor. The bishop of
Winchester pleaded the archbishop's discharge. The plea was disallowed; Thomas
offered a voluntary payment
of his own money, and that was refused.
The affair was building up to a crisis, when, on October 13, 1164, the King
called another great council at Northampton. Thomas went, after celebrating
Mass, carrying his archbishop's cross in his hand. The Earl of Leicester came
out with a message from the King: "The King commands you to render your
accounts. Otherwise you must hear his judgment." "Judgment?"
exclaimed Thomas. "I was given the church of Canterbury free
from temporal obligations. I am therefore not liable and will not
plead with regard to them. Neither law nor reason allows children to
judge and condemn their fathers.
Wherefore I refuse the King's judgment and yours and everyone's. Under God,
I will be
judged by the Pope alone."
Determined to stand out against the King, Thomas left Northampton that
night, and soon thereafter embarked secretly for Flanders. Louis VII, King of
France, invited Thomas into his dominions. Meanwhile King Henry forbade anyone
to give him aid.
Gilbert, abbot of
Sempringham, was accused of having sent him some relief. Although the abbot had
done nothing, he refused to swear he had not, because, he said, it would have
been a good deed
and he would say nothing that might seem to brand it as a criminal act. Henry
quickly dispatched several bishops and
others to put his case before Pope Alexander, who was then at Sens. Thomas also
presented himself to the Pope and showed him the Constitutions of Clarendon,
some of which Alexander pronounced intolerable, others impossible. He rebuked
Thomas for ever having considered accepting them. The next day Thomas confessed
that he had, though unwillingly, received the see of Canterbury by
an election somewhat
irregular and uncanonical, and had acquitted himself badly in it. He resigned
his office, returned the episcopal ring to the Pope, and withdrew. After
deliberation, the Pope called him back and reinstated him, with orders not to
abandon his office, for to do so would be to abandon the cause of
God. He then recommended Thomas to the Cistercian abbot at
Pontigny.
Thomas then put on a monk's habit, and submitted himself to the strict rule of
the monastery. Over in England King Henry was busy confiscating the goods of
all the friends, relations, and servants of the archbishop, and banishing them,
first binding them by oath to go to Thomas at Pontigny, that the sight of their
distress might move him. Troops of these exiles soon appeared at the abbey.
Then Henry notified the Cistercians that
if they continued to harbor his enemy he would sequestrate all their houses in
his dominions. After this, the abbot hinted
that Thomas was no longer welcome in his abbey. The archbishop found
refuge as the guest of King Louis at the royal abbey of
St. Columba, near Sens.
This historic quarrel dragged on for three years. Thomas was named by the Pope
as his legate for
all England except York, whereupon Thomas excommunicated several of his
adversaries; yet at times he showed himself conciliatory towards the King. The
French king was also drawn into the struggle, and the two kings had
a conference in 1169 at Montmirail. King Louis was inclined to take Thomas'
side. A reconciliation was
finally effected between Thomas and Henry, although the lines of power were not
too clearly drawn. The archbishop now
made preparations to return to his see. With a premonition of his fate, he
remarked to the bishop of Paris in
parting, "I am going to England to die." On December 1, 1172, he
disembarked at Sandwich, and on the journey to Canterbury the
way was lined with cheering people, welcoming him home. As he rode into
the cathedral city
at the head of a triumphal procession, every bell was ringing. Yet in spite of
the public demonstration, there was an atmosphere of foreboding.
At the reconciliation in
France, Henry had agreed to the punishment of Roger, archbishop of
York, and the bishops of
London and Salisbury, who had assisted at the coronation of
Henry's son, despite the long-established right of
the archbishop of Canterbury to
perform this ceremony and
in defiance of the Pope's explicit instructions. It had been another attempt to
lower the prestige of the primate's see. Thomas had sent on in advance of his
return the papal letters suspending Roger and confirming the excommunication of
the two bishops involved.
On the eve of
his arrival a deputation waited on him to ask for the withdrawal of these
sentences. He agreed on condition that
the three would swear thenceforth to obey the Pope. This they refused to do,
and together went to rejoin King Henry, who was visiting his domains in France.
At Canterbury Thomas
was subjected to insult by one Ranulf de Broc, from whom he had demanded the
restoration of Saltwood Castle, a manor previously belonging to the
archbishop's see. After a week's stay there he went up to London, where Henry's
son, "the young King," refused to see him. He arrived back in Canterbury on
or about his fifty-second birthday. Meanwhile the three bishops had
laid their complaints before the King at Bur, near Bayeux, and someone had
exclaimed aloud that there would be no peace for the realm while Becket lived.
At this, the King, in a fit of rage, pronounced some words which several of his
hearers took as a rebuke to them for allowing Becket to continue to live and
thereby disturb him. Four of his knights at once set off for England and made
their way to the irate family at
Saltwood. Their names were Reginald Fitzurse, William de Tracy, Hugh de
Morville, and Richard le
Bret.
On St. John's day Thomas received a letter warning him of danger, and all
southeast Kent was in a state of ferment. On the afternoon of December 29, the
four knights came to see him in his episcopal palace. During the interview they
made several demands, in particular that Thomas remove the censures on the
three bishops. The knights withdrew, uttering threats and oaths. A few minutes
later there were loud outcries, a shattering of doors and clashing of arms, and
the archbishop, urged on by his attendants, began moving slowly through
the cloister passage
to the cathedral. It was now twilight and vespers were
being sung. At the door of the north transept he
was met by some terrified monks, whom he commanded to get back to the choir.
They withdrew a little and he entered the church, but the knights were seen
behind him in the dim light. The monks slammed the door on them and bolted it.
In their confusion they shut out several of their own brethren, who began
beating loudly on the door.
Becket turned and cried, "Away, you cowards ! A church is not a
castle." He reopened the door himself, then went towards the choir,
accompanied by Robert de Merton, his aged teacher and confessor, William
Fitzstephen, a cleric in
his household, and a monk, Edward Grim. The others fled to the crypt and
other hiding places, and Grim alone remained. At this point the knights broke
in shouting, "Where is Thomas the traitor?" "Where is the
archbishop?" "Here I am," he replied, "no traitor,
but archbishop and priest of
God!" He came down the steps to stand between the altars of Our Lady and
St. Benedict.
The knights clamored at him to absolve the bishops, and Thomas answered firmly,
"I cannot do other than I have done. Reginald, you have received many
favors from me.
Why do you come into my church armed?" Fitzurse made a threatening gesture
with his axe. "I am ready to die," said Thomas, "but God's curse
on you if you harm my people." There was some scuffling as they tried to
carry Thomas outside bodily.
Fitzurse flung down his axe and drew his sword. "You pander, you owe me
fealty and submission!" exclaimed the archbishop. Fitzurse shouted back,
"I owe no fealty contrary to the King ! " and knocked off Thomas'
cap. At this, Thomas covered his face and called aloud on God and
the saints. Tracy struck a blow, which Grim intercepted with his own arm, but
it grazed Thomas' skull and blood ran down into his eyes. He wiped the stain
away and cried, "Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit!"
Another blow from Tracy beat him to his knees, and he pitched forward onto his
face, murmuring, "For the name of Jesus and in defense of
the Church I am willing to die." With a vigorous thrust Le Bret struck
deep into his head, breaking his sword against the pavement, and Hugh of Horsea
added a blow, although the archbishop was
now dying. Hugh de Morville stood by but struck no blow. The murderers,
brandishing their swords, now dashed away through the cloisters, shouting
"The King's men! The King's men!" The cathedral itself
was filling with people unaware of the catastrophe, and a thunderstorm was
breaking overhead.[2] The archbishop's body lay in the middle of the transept,
and for a time no
one dared approach it. A deed of such sacrilege was
bound to be regarded with horror and indignation. When the news was brought to
the King, he shut himself up and fasted for forty days, for he knew that his
chance remark had sped the courtiers to England bent on vengeance. He later
performed public penance in Canterbury Cathedral and
in 1172 received absolution from
the papal delegates.
Within three years of his death the archbishop had
been canonized as a martyr. Though far from a faultless character, Thomas
Becket, when his time of
testing came, had the courage to lay down his life to
defend the ancient rights of the Church against an aggressive state. The
discovery of his hairshirt and
other evidences of austerity, and the many miracles which were reported at his
tomb, increased the veneration in which he was held. The shrine of the
"holy blessed martyr," as Chaucer called him, soon became famous, and
the old Roman road running from London to Canterbury known
as "Pilgrim's Way." His tomb was
magnificently adorned with gold, silver, and jewels, only to be despoiled by
Henry VIII; the fate of
his relics is
uncertain. They may have been destroyed as a part of Henry's policy to
subordinate the English Church to the civil authority. Mementoes of this saint
are preserved at the cathedral of
Sens. The feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury is
now kept throughout the Roman Catholic Church,
and in England he is regarded as the protector of the secular clergy.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=12
Thomas Becket (of
Canterbury) BM (RM)
Born in London (Cheapside), England, 1118; died in Canterbury, England, 1170;
canonized 1173.
It is significant that
Henry VIII, when he broke away from the Church and appointed himself the head
of the church in England, should have elected to remove Thomas, who had died
four centuries earlier, from the long calendar of English saints. St. Thomas
died for the rights of the Church, under the then reigning king, Henry II, which
his successor finally abrogated. In the 16th century his shrine, which had been
a major pilgrimage site for 400 years, was destroyed and the relics that it
contained were burned (although some say they were transferred to Stoneyhurst).
Thomas stands for the
principle of God against Caesar. Somewhere between these two points, between
these respective duties, comes a dividing line, where the territories meet. A
man of conscience must decide on which side he will stand. It is the old
conflict between Church and State. It was on that difficult border line that
Thomas was called upon to live and die.
What he resisted in those
early years, other men did not see or understand, but he foresaw the dangers
ahead that eventually overwhelmed the Church in England. It reached its full
climax when Crammer was elected archbishop of Canterbury in 1533. The same
conflict goes on today elsewhere, under other forms, though Christ foretold
that Satan will not finally overcome the Church.
Thomas was born into an
ordinary, hard-working Norman family and was baptized the same day. As he grew,
his mother Matilda used to weigh the child and give the same amount of bread to
the poor that the scales showed--a generous form of charity. His father Gilbert,
the sheriff of London, ensured that Thomas was given a good, well- rounded
education. First, he was sent as a student to the monks at Merton Abbey in
Surrey, then to London, and later went to the University of Paris, returning to
England when he was 21.
He was tall and handsome,
with keen features, loved good living and fine clothing, and was fond of
outdoor sport, so he made many friends as a young man and left his mark. All
remarked upon his purity of life. He loved the lovely things of God, the noble
horse, the swift flying falcon, and God looked upon him with pleasure.
His father's death left
him in straitened circumstances. So, from about 1142, he was employed as a
clerk at the court of Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury. Because of his noble
bearing, his shrewdness and capability, the archbishop himself noticed him. He
began to trust him more with important documents, to confide in him and
eventually won his friendship. He took him into his regular service, travelling
together on the king's business, they visited France and Rome and various parts
of the Continent. Thus Thomas came into contact with the highest in the land,
even became a close friend of the king himself, who like the archbishop took a
fancy to him.
About this time Thomas
obtained permission to study canon and civil law at Bologna and Auxerre, which
afterward fitted him well for the work he was to undertake. He was awarded for
his many services by the benefices of several churches, as was customary in
those days, though he was not yet a priest.
In 1154, while still
quite young, Thomas was ordained a deacon and appointed archdeacon of
Canterbury. In this position, Archbishop Theobald used him as a negotiator with
the Crown. Thomas became a favorite of Henry of Anjou when he convinced Pope
Eugene III not to recognize the succession of King Stephen of Blois' son,
Eustace, thus ensuring Henry's right to the English throne as Henry II.
The following year
(1155), at Theobald's suggestion, Thomas was made Chancellor of England, a post
in which he loyally served Henry II for seven years as statesman, diplomat, and
soldier. Thomas's personal efficiency, lavish entertainment, and support for
the king's interests even, on occasion, against those of the Church, made him
an outstanding royal official.
All these dignities were
a wonderful ascent, but Thomas rose rapidly to power by his ability and by his
magnetic personality, which all who associated with him remarked upon. The
state of the country improved greatly under his rule as chancellor; his
business was to administer the law and this he did with impartiality to all
alike, to churchmen as well as laymen.
God brought this servant
along a strange and long road, preparing step by step the instrument of his
design, as he does with every individual according to the plan of life and work
he has chosen for him.
When the king selected
him for his final post, being his close friend, he must have thought he would
have an obedient tool, which he could use as he wished. He had made a wrong choice
to carry out his evil designs. He wished to curb the power of the Church, to
regulate her benefices to make appointments to suit himself, in fact to take
from the Church the rights which were peculiarly her own. Though Thomas had
outwardly appeared worldly, he loved rather the things of God and His Church.
"If you make me Archbishop," he said, "you will regret it. You
say you love me now; well that love will turn to hatred."
So it came about as he
had foretold. When accepting the office of archbishop of Canterbury in 1162, he
took over the authority--his training and character fitted him for so high a
dignity but henceforth he would be a different man; from the day of his
election he completely changed. He had served the king, now he was to serve the
King of kings, where glory lies in discipline and humility. To Henry's
amazement and annoyance, Thomas resigned the chancellorship and was ordained a
priest the day before his episcopal consecration.
He had not wished to be
made archbishop, but when the office fell to him, his style of life changed
radically. As Thomas put it, he changed from being "a patron of
play-actors and a follower of hounds, to being a shepherd of souls." Now
that he was a priest he lived as one, putting aside all the costly robes he
used as Chancellor; he wore the habit of a monk.
Every morning he said his
Mass in the cathedral with great devotion and even with tears, as those who saw
him testify. Nightly he took part in the divine office that was chanted by the
community of monks, of which he was the head. He was also profuse in alms-
giving. Daily he attended to the business in hand, which must have been very
great, since now he was primate of England.
Now that he was
archbishop, he intended to carry out the proper duties of his state in life.
These included the paternal care of the king's soul, tactlessly and annoyingly
presented by his former friend.
There were many abuses to
rectify, disputes about church lands and property, clergy who were not ready to
forego their privileges. Some of his own prelates were rebellious; their
relatives, who were closely related and supporters of the king, made trouble.
In fact, two of the major points of conflict with Henry concerned the
respective jurisdictions of church and state over clergymen convicted of
crimes, and the freedom to appeal to Rome. On account of the alienation of
church lands, Thomas, who knew the state of affairs better than anyone else,
predicted trouble; it was not long in coming to a head.
In the controversy, Henry
claimed to be acting according to the customs of his grandfather that were
codified in the Constitutions of Clarendon. In the view of Henry's mother,
Matilda, this codification was a mistake. It also failed to take into account
such recent developments as the Gregorian Reform and the investiture
controversy. Becket accepted these Constitutions at first, but after
understanding their implications, rejected them. Thus ensured the conflict.
At the famous assembly at
Northampton in 1164, Thomas faced his opponents. He foresaw that many of the
knights would not be willing to fall in with his decrees, that they would even
go so far as to do away with him, if it suited their purpose; he was courageous
and unmoved by their threats: "If I am murdered," he told the bishops,
"I enjoin you to lay the interdict upon these districts." The king,
who was also present, lost his temper and showed his real purpose in the former
election: "You are my man," he said, "I raised you from nothing
and now you defy me."
"Sir," said
Thomas, "Peter was raised from nothing yet he ruled the Church."
"Yes," replied the king, "but Peter died for his Lord."
"I, too, will die for him when the time comes," answered Thomas.
"You will not yield
to me then?" asked the king. "I will not, Sir," answered Thomas.
Seeing there could be no
solution, Thomas thought it best to accept exile rather than any compromise
with Henry II over the rights of the Church. Perhaps the king would see reason
and then grant the Church her rights. Thomas left the country and took refuge
in France, where he remained for over six years. Upon the pope's
recommendation, Thomas entered the Cistercian monastery at Pontigny, until
Henry threatened to eliminate all Cistercian monks from his realm if they
continued to harbor Thomas. Then, in 1166, he moved to Saint Columba Abbey at
Sens, which was under the protection of King Louis VII of France.
Both sides appealed to
Pope Alexander III, who tried hard to find an acceptable solution. The conflict
grew more bitter as Henry seemed bent on Thomas's ruin and Thomas censured the
king's supporters and even attempted to obtain an interdict.
At last King Louis VII of
France persuaded Henry II to go to Thomas and make peace but no promises were
made on either side. Henry thought that on his return Thomas would not press
his claims. Henry admitted the freedom of appeals to Rome, but kept the real
power with himself.
Scarcely had Thomas been
welcomed back to his community in England when on December 1, 1170, they began
to quarrel again. When Henry heard, in Normandy, that the pope had
excommunicated the recalcitrant bishops for usurping the rights of the
archbishop of Canterbury and that Thomas would not release them until they
swore obedience to the pope, he flew into a violent, reckless rage, saying:
"Is there no one who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" These
were words spoken in anger and not intentional; however, four knights who were
with the king, determined to take matters into their own hands. They took ship
and crossed to England at once. It was in Advent and Christmas was approaching.
On December 29, 1170,
four knights with a troop of soldiers appeared outside Canterbury Cathedral
demanding to see the archbishop. They were determined to murder Archbishop Becket,
believing they had the blessing of Henry II to do so.
With a few priest
attendants, for most of the community of monks were in the church saying
vespers, the archbishop was in the palace adjoining, attending to business.
Sensing trouble they at first urged him, then eventually forced him against his
will to go into the church, not only to avoid the rabble but to find sanctuary
there, closing the doors behind them. Thomas forbade them under obedience to
close the doors: "A church must not be turned into a castle," he
said.
"Why do you behave
so?" he asked. "What do you fear?" "They can do naught but
what God permits."
In the semi-darkness, for
it was past dusk at that time of the year, the knights with drawn swords
forcing their way into the church demanded angrily, "Where is the traitor,
where is the archbishop?"
"Here I am,"
said Thomas, "no traitor but a priest of God. I wonder that in such attire
you have entered into the church of God. What is it you want with me?" One
of the knights raised his sword as if to strike the holy man, but his companion
stretching out his arm, shielded the blow.
"Put up your
sword," said St. Thomas, "not such is the defense the Lord would
have."
The knights rushing
forward together perpetrated their foul deed-- they slew St. Thomas on the
steps of his own sanctuary and scattered his brains upon the floor. As he was
killed by successive blows, Thomas repeated the names of those archbishops
martyred before him: Saint Denis and Saint Elphege of Canterbury. Then he said,
"Into Your hand, O Lord, I commend my spirit."
His last words, according
to one eye-witness, were: "Willingly I die for the name of Jesus and in
defense of the Church."
Near to the high-altar,
where the seat was, upon which he and all his predecessors from time immemorial
had been enthroned, he was martyred and gave up his soul to God. Every step of
his martyrdom is linked with that of the Passion of Christ; from the incident
in the cloister-garth, where he was first apprehended with his few companions,
to his burial in the tomb, which was newly hewn out of the rock. In truth there
is a marvelous similitude between the deaths of Master and servant that his
early biographers, voicing the sentiments of the common people, were not slow
to use.
All Christendom was
aghast. Henry was forced to do public penance for the murder of Thomas,
including the construction of the monastery at Witham in Somerset, described in
the life of Saint Hugh of Lincoln.
Many miracles followed
immediately upon his death. Within ten years, 703 miracles were recorded. He
was universally acclaimed a saint even before his canonization by Pope
Alexander III, two years after his death. Thomas was not flawless; he was
imperious and obstinate, ambitious and violent. Yet all the time more exalted
qualities were also exhibited. The years of exile at Pontigny and Sens were a
time of preparation for the final ordeal.
Thomas was a martyr for
Christ, most like to him in his death. The solemn translation of the relics to
a new shrine behind the high altar took place in the year 1220 (July 7). The
ceremony was the most magnificent ever seen and people came from all over
Europe to assist at it.
The shrine-tomb of St.
Thomas Becket was of unparalleled splendor, perhaps the richest in the whole
world. Nothing of it now remains for it was plundered of all its riches during
the reign of Henry VIII. It has been thus described: "All above the
stonework was first of wood, jewels of gold set with stone, covered with plates
of gold, wrought upon with gold wire, then again with jewels, gold as brooches,
images, angels, rings, ten or twelve together, clawed with gold into the ground
of gold. The spoils of which filled to chests, such as six or eight men could
but convey one out of the Church. At one side was a stone with an angel of
gold, pointing thereunto, offered there by a king of France, which king Henry
put into a ring and wore on his thumb" (Morris).
St. Thomas was a fearless
champion of truth and righteousness, against wicked and unscrupulous men. Even
the king made reparation and did penance at his shrine. He teaches us that we
must be prepared to face persecution and even death for our faith and for the
rights of the Church against the state.
In most European
countries today the state is supreme--God and religion have no place. We are
soldiers of Christ, confirmed and anointed with the holy chrism; let us be
strong and fearless then in our endeavor. Pray to St. Thomas in your present
need. He died for the faith for which we should all live (Abbott, Attwater,
Belloc, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Duggan, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Hope,
Hutton, Knowles, Morris, Murray, Speaight, Tancred, White).
St. Thomas is generally
portrayed as an archbishop killed at the altar by three knights, his crucifer
by him. There can be differences. Sometimes (1) there is only one knight, (2)
there is a candle-bearer by him, (3) he has a sword in his bleeding head, (4)
the tail of his horse is cut off as he rides through Rochester, (5) angels sing
Laetabitur justus at his requiem, (6) he is consecrated in the presence of the
king, or (7) he is accompanied by his crucifer in the presence of the Pope. He
is venerated at Sens (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1229.shtml
St. Thomas Becket
Martyr, Archbishop of Canterbury,
born at London,
21 December, 1118 (?); died at Canterbury,
29 December, 1170. St. Thomas was born of parents who,
coming from Normandy,
had settled in England some
years previously. No reliance can be placed upon the legend that his
mother was a Saracen.
In after life his humble birth
was made the subject of spiteful comment, though his parents were
not peasants, but people of some mark, and from his earliest years their son
had been well taught and had associated with gentlefolk. He learned to read
at Merton Abbey and then studied in Paris.
On leaving school he
employed himself in secretarial work, first with Sir Richer de
l'Aigle and then with his kinsman, Osbert Huitdeniers, who was
"Justiciar" of London.Somewhere about
the year 1141, under circumstances that are variously related, he entered the
service ofTheobald, Archbishop of Canterbury,
and in that household he won his master's favour and eventually
became the most trusted of all his clerks. A description embodied in the Icelandic Saga and
derived probably from Robert of Cricklade gives a vivid portrait of him at this
period.
To look upon he was slim of growth and pale of hue, with dark hair, a
long nose, and a straightly featured face. Blithe of countenance was he,
winning and loveable in his conversation, frank of speech in his
discourses, but slightly stuttering in his talk, so keen of discernment and
understanding that he could always make difficult questions plain after a wise
manner.
Theobald recognized his
capacity, made use of him in many delicate negotiations, and, after allowing
him to go for a year to study civil and canon
law at Bologna and Auxerre, ordained him deacon in
1154, after bestowing upon him several preferments, the most important of which
was the Archdeaconry of Canterbury (see Radford,
"Thomas of London", p. 53).
It was just at
this period that King Stephen died and the young monarch Henry
II became unquestioned master of the kingdom. He took
"Thomas of London",
as Becket was then most commonly called, for his chancellor, and in that
office Thomas at the age of thirty-six became, with the possible
exception of the justiciar, the most powerful subject in Henry's wide
dominions. The chroniclers speak with wonder of
the relations which existedbetween the chancellor and the
sovereign, who was twelve years his junior. People declared that "they had
but one heart and one mind". Often the king and
his minister behaved like two schoolboys at play. But although
theyhunted or rode at the head of an army together it was no mere
comradeship in pastime which united them. Both were hard workers, and both, we
may believe, had the prosperity of the kingdom deeply at heart.
Whether the chancellor, who was after all the elder man, was the true originator
of the administrative reforms which Henry introduced
cannot now be clearly determined. In many matters they saw eye to eye. The
king's imperial views and love of
splendour were quite to the taste of his minister.
When Thomas went to France in
1158 to negotiate amarriage treaty, he travelled with such pomp that the
people said: "If this be only the chancellor what must be
the glory of the king himself?"
In
1153 Thomas acted as justice itinerant
in three counties. In 1159 he seems to have been the chief organizer of Henry's expedition
to Toulouse,
upon which he accompanied him, and though it seems to be untrue that
the impost of "scutage" was called into existence for
that Occasion (Round, "Feudal England", 268-73),
still Thomas undoubtedly pressed on the exaction of this money contribution
in lieu of military service and enforced it against ecclesiastics in
such a way that bitter complaints were made of the disproportionately heavy
burden this imposed upon the Church.
In the military operations Thomas took a leading part,
and Garnier, a French chronicler, who lived to write of
the virtues of St. Thomas and his martyrdom,
declares that in these encounters he saw himunhorse many French knights. Deacon though
he was, he lead the most daring attacks in person,
and EdwardGrim also gives us to understand that in laying waste the
enemy's country with fire and sword the chancellor's principles did not
materially differ from those of the other commanders of his time. But although,
as men then reported, "he put off the archdeacon", in
this and other ways, he was very far from assuming the licentious manners of
those around him. No word was ever breathed against his personal purity. Foul
conduct or foul speech, lying or unchastity were hateful to
him, and on occasion he punished them severely. He seems at all times to have
had clear principles with regard to the claims of the Church,
and even during this period of his chancellorship he more than once
risked Henry's grievous
displeasure. For example, he opposed the dispensation which Henry for
political reasons extorted from the pope,
and strove to prevent the marriage of Mary, Abbess ofRomsey,
to Matthew of Boulogne. But to the very limits of what his conscience permitted, Thomas identified
himself with his master's interests, and Tennyson is true to history when
he makes the archbishop say:
I served our Theobald well
when I was with him:
I served King
Henry well as Chancellor:
I am his no more, and I must serve the Church.
Archbishop
Theobald died in 1161, and in the course of the next year Henry seems
to have decided that it would be good policy to prepare the way for
further schemes of reform by securing the advancement of his chancellor to
the primacy. Our authorities are agreed that from the
first Thomas drew back in alarm. "I know your
plans for the Church,"
he said, "you will assert claims which I, if I were archbishop,
must needs oppose." But Henry would
not be gainsaid, and Thomas at the instance
of Cardinal Henry of Pisa,
who urged it upon him as a service toreligion, yielded in spite of his
misgivings. He was ordained priest on Saturday in Whitweek and consecrated bishop the
next day, Sunday, 3 June, 1162. It seems to have been St.
Thomas who obtained for England theprivilege of
keeping the feast of the Blessed
Trinity on that Sunday, the anniversary of his consecration,
and more than a century afterwards
this custom was adopted by the papal Court,
itself and eventually imposed on the whole world.
A great change took place
in the saint's way
of life after his consecration as archbishop.
Even as chancellor he had practised secret austerities, but now in view of
the struggle he clearly saw before him he gave himself to fastings
and disciplines, hair
shirts, protracted vigils, and constant prayers.
Before the end of the year 1162 he stripped himself of all signs of
the lavish display which he had previously affected. On 10 Aug. he went
barefoot to receive the envoy who brought him the pallium from Rome.
Contrary to the king's wish he resigned the chancellorship. Whereupon Henry seems
to have required him to surrender certain ecclesiastical preferments
which he still retained, notably the archdeaconry, and when this was not
done at once showed bitter displeasure. Other misunderstandings soon followed.
The archbishop,
having, as he believed, the king's express permission, set about to
reclaim alienated estates belonging to his see,
a procedure which again gave offence. Still more serious was the open
resistance which he made to the king's proposal that a voluntary offering to
the sheriffs should be paid into the royal treasury. As the first recorded
instance of any determined opposition to the king's arbitrary will in
a matter of taxation, the incident is of much constitutional importance.
The saint's protest seems to have been successful, but
the relations with the king only grew more strained.
Soon after this the great matter of
dispute was reached in the resistance made by Thomas to the king's
officials when they attempted to assert jurisdiction over
criminous clerks. The question has been dealt with in some detail in the
article ENGLAND.
That the saint himself
had no wish to be lenient with criminous clerks has been well shown
by Norgate (Angevin Kings, ii, 22). It was with him simply a
question of principle. St.
Thomas seems all along to have suspected Henry of
a design to strike at the independence of what the king regarded as a too
powerful Church. With this view Henry summoned
the bishops at Westminster (1
October, 1163) to sanctioncertain as yet unspecified articles which
he called his grandfather's customs (avitæ consuetudines), one of
theknown objects of which was to bring clerics guilty
of crimes under the jurisdiction of
the secular courts. The other bishops,
as the demand was still in the vague, showed a willingness to submit, though
with the condition "saving our order", upon which St.
Thomas inflexibly insisted. The king's resentment was thereupon manifested
by requiring the archbishop to
surrender certain castles he had hitherto retained, and by
other acts of unfriendliness. In deference to what
he believed to be the pope's wish,
the archbishop in
December consented to make some concessions by giving a personal and
private undertaking to the king to obey his customs "loyally and
in good
faith". But when Henry shortly
afterwards at Clarendon (13 January, 1164) sought to draw the sainton
to a formal and public acceptance of the "Constitutions of
Clarendon", under which name the sixteen articles, the avitæ
consuetudines as finally drafted, have been commonly known, St. Thomas,
though at first yielding somewhat to the solicitations of the other bishops,
in the end took up an attitude of uncompromising resistance.
Then followed a period of
unworthy and vindictive persecution.
When opposing a claim made against him by Johnthe
Marshal, Thomas upon a frivolous pretext was found guilty
of contempt of court. For this he was sentenced to pay
£500; other demands for large sums of money followed, and finally, though a
complete release of all claims against him as chancellor had been given on his
becoming archbishop,
he was required to render an account of nearly all the moneys which had passed
through his hands in his discharge of the office. Eventually a sum of nearly
£30,000 was demanded of him. His fellow bishops summoned
by Henry to
a council at Northampton,
implored him to throw himself unreservedly upon the king's mercy, but St.
Thomas, instead of yielding, solemnlywarned them and threatened them.
Then, after celebrating Mass,
he took his archiepiscopal cross into
his own hand and presented himself thus in the royal council chamber.
The king demanded that sentence should be passed upon him, but in the
confusion and discussion which ensued the saint with
uplifted cross made his way through the mob
of angry courtiers. He fled away secretly that night (13 October,
1164), sailed in disguise fromSandwich (2 November), and after being
cordially welcomed by Louis VII of France,
he threw himself at the feet of Pope
Alexander III, then at Sens,
on 23 Nov. The pope,
who had given a cold reception to certain episcopalenvoys sent
by Henry,
welcomed the saint very
kindly, and refused to accept his resignation of his see.
On 30 November, Thomas went to take up his residence at the Cistercian Abbey
of Pontigny in Burgundy,
though he was compelled to leave this refuge a year later, as Henry,
after confiscating the archbishop's property and
banishing all the Becket kinsfolk, threatened to wreak his vengeance on
the whole Cistercian
Order if they continued to harbour him.
The negotiations
between Henry,
the pope,
and the archbishop dragged
on for the next four years without the position being sensibly changed.
Although the saint remained
firm in his resistance to the principle of the Constitutions of Clarendon, he
was willing to make any concessions that could be reasonably asked of him, and
on 6 January, 1169, when the kings of England and France were
in conference at Montmirail, he threw himself atHenry's feet,
but as he still refused to accept the obnoxious customs Henry repulsed
him. At last in 1170 some sort of reconciliation was patched up. The question
of the customs was not mentioned and Henry professed
himself willing to be guided by the archbishop's council as
to amends due to the See
of Canterbury for the recent violation of its rights in
the crowning of Henry's son
by the Archbishop of York.
On 1 December, 1170, St. Thomas again landed in England, and was
received with every demonstration of popular enthusiasm. But trouble almost
immediately occurred in connection with the absolution of two of
the bishops, whose sentence of excommunication St. Thomas had brought
with him, as well as over the restoration by the de Broc family of
thearchbishop's castle
at Saltwood. How far Henry was
directly responsible for the tragedy which soon after occurred on 29 December
is not quite clear. Four knights who
came from France demanded
the absolution of
the bishops. St.
Thomas would not comply. They left for a space, but came back
at Vesper time with a band of armed men. To
their angry question, "Where is the traitor?"
the saint boldly
replied, "Here I am, no traitor, but archbishop andpriest of God."
They tried to drag him from the church, but were unable, and in the end
they slew him where he stood, scattering his brains on the pavement.
His faithful companion, Edward Grim, who bore
his cross, was wounded in the struggle.
A tremendous reaction of
feeling followed this deed of blood. In an extraordinary brief space
of time devotion to the martyred archbishop had
spread all through Europe.
The pope promulgated the bull of canonization,
little more than two years after the martyrdom,
21 February, 1173. On 12 July, 1174, Henry
II did public penance, and was scourged at the archbishop's tomb.
An immense number of miracles were
worked, and for the rest of the Middle
Ages the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury was one of
the wealthiest and most famous in Europe.
The martyr's holy remains
are believed to have been destroyed in September, 1538, when nearly all the
othershrines in England were
dismantled; but the matter is by no means clear, and, although the
weight of learned opinion is adverse, there are still those
who believe that a skeleton found in the crypt in
January, 1888, is the body of St. Thomas. The story that Henry
VIII in 1538 summoned the archbishop to
stand his trial for high treason, and that when, in June, 1538, the trial
had been held and the accused pronounced contumacious, the body was
ordered to be disinterred and burnt, is probably apocryphal.
Sources
By far the best English
life is MORRIS, The Life of St. Thomas Becket (2nd ed., London,
1885); there is a somewhat fuller work of L'HUILLIER, Saint Thomas de
Cantorbery (2 vols., Paris, 1891); the volume by DEMIMUID, St. Thomas
Becket (Paris, 1909), in the series Les Saints is not abreast of
modern research. There are several excellent lives by Anglicans, of which
HUTTON, Thomas Becket (London, 1900), and the account by NORGATE
in Dict. Nat. Biog., s.v. Thomas, known as Thomas a Becket, are
probably the best. The biography by ROBERTSON, Becket, Archbishop of
Canterbury (London, 1859), is not sympathetic. Nearly all the sources of
the Life, as well as the books of miracles worked at the shrine, have been
edited in the Rolls Series by ROBERTSON under the title Materials for the
History of Thomas Becket (7 vols., London, 1875-1883). The valuable Norse
saga is edited in the same series by MAGNUSSON, Thomas Saga Erkibyskups (2
vols., London, 1884). The chronicle of GARNIER DE PONT S. MAXENCE, Vie de
St. Thomas Martyr, has been edited by HIPPEAU (Paris, 1859). The miracles have
been specially studied from an agnostic standpoint by ABBOT, Thomas of
Canterbury, his death and miracles (2 vols., London, 1898). Some valuable
material has been collected by RADFORD, Thomas of London before his
Consecration (Cambridge, 1894). On the relics see MORRIS, Relics of
St. Thomas (London, 1888); THORNTON, Becket's Bones (Canterbury,
1900); WARD, The Canterbury Pilgrimages (London, 1904); WARNER
in Eng. Hist. Rev., VI (1891), 754-56.
Thurston, Herbert. "St. Thomas Becket." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1912.29 Dec. 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14676a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Thomas M. Barrett. St. Thomas
Becket, pray for us.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14676a.htm
St. Thomas a’ Becket
There is a romantic legend that the mother of Thomas Becket was a Saracen
princess who followed his father, a pilgrim or crusader, back from the Holy
Land, and wandered about Europe repeating the only English words she knew,
“London” and “Becket,” until she found him. According to a contemporary writer,
Thomas Becket was the son of Gilbert Becket, sheriff of London. Whatever his
parentage, we know with certainty that the future chancellor and archbishop of
Canterbury was born on St. Thomas day, 1118, of a good family, and that he was
educated at a school of canons regular at Merton Priory in Sussex, and later at
the University of Paris.
Early in 1155 Becket became chancellor to the young king Henry II and was soon
his trusted adviser; as well as controlling the King’s secretariat, he raised
money for the King’s wars, accompanied the King’s armies, conducted diplomatic
negotiations, and had charge of the King’s eldest son. In May 1162 Henry
recommended Becket to the monks of Canterbury as successor to Theobald; he was
consecrated archbishop on June 3 by the bishop of Winchester.
Becket surprised and angered the King by resigning the chancery and showing
that he intended to support the large claims to independence and special
privilege which had been developed by the clergy in the preceding 50 years.
Henry was determined to restore all royal powers as they had been in the time
of his grandfather King Henry I; inevitably he and Becket were soon in bitter
conflict. The first serious cause of friction was the problem of “criminous
clerks” – clergy accused of serious crimes. The question was whether these
clerks should be judged and punished in the King’s courts or in those of the
Church, where they would escape capital punishment.
In October 1163 the King required the bishops to confirm unconditionally the
“customs of his grandfather, ” and he renewed the demand at Clarendon in
January 1164. The bishops again refused, but Becket was persuaded to give a
verbal promise. The customs, defining the rights of the King over the Church,
were then written down for the first time, in 16 clauses later known as the
Constitutions of Clarendon. Becket refused to seal them, and the King then
promoted legal proceedings against him on unrelated, trumped-up charges. At
Northampton (October 1164), Henry ordered the bishops and barons to judge
Becket, who, however, forbade them and appealed to the Pope. He then fled
secretly to France and submitted the customs to the Pope, offering to resign,
but Pope Alexander III ordered him to retain his office and condemned 10 of the
customs. Alexander could not, however, give effective support to Becket, since
he was himself a refugee, driven from Italy by the Emperor and the antipope.
For nearly six years Becket lived in exile, first in Pontigny, later in Sens,
with a few followers. He attempted to negotiate with the King, the bishops of
England, and the Pope. The bishop of London, the archbishop of York, and the
bishop of Salisbury all actively supported the King; others who may have been
more sympathetic to Becket were isolated by Henry’s control of the ports and
cowed by his ruthless methods.
Becket’s only weapon was his power to excommunicate offenders and to lay an
interdict on their lands. Even this weapon was blunted by the difficulty of finding
anyone to convey and publish the sentences in England and by carefully devised
judicial appeals to the Pope. Moreover, on two occasions the Pope, in response
to threats and promises from Henry, forbade Becket to use his powers.
Negotiations continued but came to nothing, as the King insisted on
unconditional acceptance of the customs, while Becket insisted on inserting the
words “saving the honour of God and my order.”
In June 1170 Henry infringed the rights of Canterbury by having his son crowned
by the archbishop of York; this offense forced the Pope more definitely to
Becket’s side. Henry feared excommunication and an interdict not only on
England but on his less loyal and more vulnerable Continental lands. He
therefore allowed peace to be made with the archbishop, not mentioning the
customs, and avoided giving Becket the kiss of peace. Becket, well aware of his
danger, returned to England on December 1; on December 29 he was brutally
murdered by four knights from the King’s court. Henry denied that he had
ordered or desired the archbishop’s death; his guilt must remain an open
question.
Becket was immediately regarded as a martyr, and miracles were reported. He was
canonized on Feb. 21, 1173. His tomb attracted innumerable pilgrims to
Canterbury and brought great wealth to the monks, who had done little for him
in his lifetime. It was destroyed in 1538, and almost all representations of
him were obliterated by royal order, for his memory was particularly offensive
to King Henry VIII, bent on establishing supremacy over the Church.
Becket’s struggle achieved very little. Most of the disputed customs passed
into law, and the bishoprics of England were filled with men who had helped the
King to oppose him. But on two important points the King had to give way. In
1172, in Avranches, when he was reconciled to the Church, he agreed to allow
appeals from Church courts in England to the court of the Pope, without
reference to the King’s court, thus abrogating one of the customs. And in 1176
he agreed that “criminous clerks” should be tried and punished in the Church
courts, excepting only those charged with first offenses. In both these matters
Becket’s opposition and death affected the law of England for nearly 4
centuries.
SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-thomas-a-becket/
ST. THOMAS BECKET OF
CANTERBURY
FEAST DAY: DECEMBER 29TH
[The following is from
the book PICTORIAL LIVE OF THE SAINTS, COPILED FROM "BUTLER'S LIVES"
AND OTHER APPROVED SOURCES., BENZIGER BROTHERS, PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC
SEE.
THOMAS, son of Gilbert
Becket, was born in Southwark, England, A.D. 1117. When a youth he was attached
to the household of Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, who sent him to Paris
and Bologna to study law. He became Archdeacon of Canterbury, then Lord High
Chancellor of England; and in 1160, when Archbishop Theobald died, the king insisted
on the consecration of St Thomas in his stead. St. Thomas refused, warning the
king that from that hour their friendship would be broken. In the end he
yielded, and was consecrated. The conflict at once broke out; St. Thomas
resisted the royal customs, which violated the liberties of the Church and the
laws of the realm. After six years of contention, partly spent in exile, St.
Thomas, with full foresight of martydom before him, returned as a good shepherd
to his Church. On the 29th of December, 1170, just as vespers were beginning,
four knights broke into the cathedral, crying: "Where is the archbishop?
where is the traitor?" The monks fled, and St. Thomas might easily have
escaped. But he advanced, saying : "Here I am—no traitor, but archbishop.
What seek you ?" "Your life," they cried. "Gladly do I give
it," was the reply; and bowing his head, the invincible martyr was hacked
and hewn till his soul went to God. Six months later Henry II. submitted to be
publicly scourged at the Saint's shrine, and restored to the Church her full
rights.
REFLECTION.-"Learn
from St. Thomas," says Father Faber, "to fight the good fight even to
the shedding of blood, or, to what men find harder, the shedding of their good
name by pouring it out to waste on the earth."
INTERCESSORY PRAYER:
Today, ask Saint Thomas to help us be courageous witnesses of the Catholic
faith.
SOURCE : http://jesus-passion.com/saint_thomas_becket4.htm
SAINT THOMAS BECKET
BISHOP, MARTYR—1118-1170
Feast: December 29
There is a romantic
legend that the mother of Thomas Becket was a Saracen princess who followed his
father, a pilgrim or crusader, back from the Holy Land, and wandered about
Europe repeating the only English words she knew, "London" and
"Becket," until she found him. There is no foundation for the story.
According to a contemporary writer, Thomas Becket was the son of Gilbert
Becket, sheriff of London; another relates that both parents were of Norman
blood. Whatever his parentage, we know with certainty that the future
chancellor and archbishop of Canterbury was born on St. Thomas day, 1118, of a
good family, and that he was educated at a school of canons regular at Merton
Priory in Sussex, and later at the University of Paris. When Thomas returned
from France, his parents had died. Obliged to make his way unaided, he obtained
an appointment as clerk to the sheriff's court, where he showed great ability.
All accounts describe him as a strongly built, spirited youth, a lover of field
sports, who seems to have spent his leisure time in hawking and hunting. One
day when he was out hunting with his falcon, the bird swooped down at a duck,
and as the duck dived, plunged after it into the river. Thomas himself leapt in
to save the valuable hawk, and the rapid stream swept him along to a mill,
where only the accidental stopping of the wheel saved his life. The episode
serves to illustrate the impetuous daring which characterized Becket all through
his life.
At the age of twenty-four
Thomas was given a post in the household of Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury,
and while there he apparently resolved on a career in the Church, for he took
minor orders. To prepare himself further, he obtained the archbishop's
permission to study canon law at the University of Bologna, continuing his
studies at Auxerre, France. On coming back to England, he became provost of
Beverley, and canon at Lincoln and St. Paul's cathedrals. His ordination as
deacon occurred in 1154. Theobald appointed him archdeacon of Canterbury, the
highest ecclesiastical office in England after a bishopric or an abbacy, and
began to entrust him with the most intricate affairs; several times he was sent
on important missions to Rome. It was Thomas' diplomacy that dissuaded Pope
Eugenius III from sanctioning the coronation of Eustace, eldest son of Stephen,
and when Henry of Anjou, great grandson of William the Conqueror, asserted his
claim to the English crown and became King Henry II, it was not long before he
appointed this gifted churchman as chancellor, that is, chief minister. An old
chronicle describes Thomas as "slim of growth, and pale of hue, with dark
hair, a long nose, and a straightly featured face.
Blithe of countenance was
he, winning and lovable in conversation, frank of speech in his discourses but
slightly stuttering in his talk, so keen of discernment that he could always
make difficult questions plain after a wise manner." Thomas discharged his
duties as chancellor conscientiously and well.
Like the later chancellor
of the realm, Thomas Moore, who also became a martyr and a saint, Thomas Becket
was the close personal friend as well as the loyal servant of his young
sovereign. They were said to have one heart and one mind between them, and it
seems possible that to Becket's influence were due, in part, those reforms for
which Henry is justly praised, that is, his measures to secure equitable
dealing for all his subjects by a more uniform and efficient system of law. But
it was not only their common interest in matters of state that bound them
together. They were also boon companions and spent merry hours together. It was
almost the only relaxation Thomas allowed himself, for he was an ambitious man.
He had a taste for magnificence, and his household was as fine—if not
finer—than the King's. When he was sent to France to negotiate a royal
marriage, he took a personal retinue of two hundred men, with a train of
several hundred more, knights and squires, clerics and servants, eight fine
wagons, music and singers, hawks and hounds, monkeys and mastiffs. Little
wonder that the French gaped in wonder and asked, "If this is the
chancellor's state, what can the Ring's be like?" His entertainments, his
gifts, and his liberality to the poor were also on a very lavish scale.
In 1159 King Henry raised
an army of mercenaries in France to regain the province of Toulouse, a part of
the inheritance of his wife, the famous Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Thomas served Henry in
this war with a company of seven hundred knights of his own. Wearing armor like
any other fighting man, he led assaults and engaged in single combat. Another
churchman, meeting him, exclaimed: "What do you mean by wearing such a
dress? You look more like a falconer than a cleric. Yet you are a cleric in
person, and many times over in office-archdeacon of Canterbury, dean of
Hastings, provost of Beverley, canon of this church and that, procurator of the
archbishop, and like to be archbishop, too, the rumor goes!" Thomas
received the rebuke with good humor.
Although he was proud,
strong-willed, and irascible, and remained so all his life, he did not neglect
to make seasonal retreats at Merton and took the discipline imposed on him there.
His confessor during this time testified later to the blamelessness of his
private life, under conditions of extreme temptation. If he sometimes went too
far in those schemes of the King which tended to infringe on the ancient
prerogatives and rights of the Church, at other times he opposed Henry with
vigor.
In 1161 Archbishop
Theobald died. King Henry was then in Normandy with Thomas, whom he resolved to
make the next primate of England. When Henry announced his intention, Thomas,
demurring, told him: "Should God permit me to be the archbishop of
Canterbury, I would soon lose your Majesty's favor, and the affection with
which you honor me would be changed into hatred. For there are several things
you do now in prejudice of the rights of the Church which make me fear you
would require of me what I could not agree to; and envious persons would not
fail to make it the occasion of endless strife between us." The King paid
no heed to this remonstrance, and sent bishops and noblemen to the monks of Canterbury,
ordering them to labor with the same zeal to set his chancellor in the see as
they would to set the crown on the young prince's head. Thomas continued to
refuse the promotion until the legate of the Holy See, Cardinal Henry of Pisa,
overrode his scruples. The election took place in May, 1162. Young Prince
Henry, then in London, gave the necessary consent in his father's name. Thomas,
now forty-four years old, rode to Canterbury and was first ordained priest by
Walter, bishop of Rochester, and then on the octave of Pentecost was
consecrated archbishop by the bishop of Winchester. Shortly afterwards he
received the pallium sent by Pope Alexander III.
From this day worldly
grandeur no longer marked Thomas' way of life. Next his skin he wore a
hairshirt, and his customary dress was a plain black cassock, a linen surplice,
and a sacerdotal stole about his neck. He lived ascetically, spent much time in
the distribution of alms, in reading and discussing the Scriptures with Herbert
of Bosham, in visiting the infirmary, and supervising the monks at their work.
He took special care in selecting candidates for Holy Orders. As ecclesiastical
judge, he was rigorously just.
Although as archbishop
Thomas had resigned the chancellorship, against the King's wish, the relations
between the two men seemed to be unchanged for a time. But a host of troubles
was brewing, and the crux of all of them was the relationship between Church
and state. In the past the landowners, among which the Church was one of the
largest, for each hide [1] of land they held, had paid annually two shillings
to the King's officers, who in return undertook to protect them from the
rapacity of minor tax- gatherers. This was actually a flagrant form of graft
and the Ring now ordered the money paid into his own exchequer. The archbishop
protested, and there were hot words between him and the Ring. Thenceforth the
King's demands were directed solely against the clergy, with no mention of
other landholders who were equally involved.
Then came the affair of
Philip de Brois, a canon accused of murdering a soldier.
According to a
long-established law, as a cleric he was tried in an ecclesiastical court,
where he was acquitted by the judge, the bishop of Lincoln, but ordered to pay
a fine to the deceased man's relations. A king's justice then made an effort to
bring him before his civil court, but he could not be tried again upon that
indictment and told the king's justice so in insulting terms. Thereat Henry
ordered him tried again both for the original murder charge—and for his later
misdemeanor. Thomas now pressed to have the case referred to his own
archiepiscopal court; the King reluctantly agreed, and appointed both lay and
clerical assessors. Philip's plea of a previous acquittal was accepted as far as
the murder was concerned, but he was punished for his contempt of a royal
court. The King thought the sentence too mild and remained dissatisfied. In
October, 1163, the King called the bishops of his realm to a council at
Westminster, at which he demanded their assent to an edict that thenceforth
clergy proved guilty of crimes against the civil law should be handed over to
the civil courts for punishment.
Thomas stiffened the
bishops against yielding. But finally, at the council of Westminster they assented
reluctantly to the instrument known as the Constitutions of Clarendon, which
embodied the royal "customs" in Church matters, and including some
additional points, making sixteen in all. It was a revolutionary document: it
provided that no prelate should leave the kingdom without royal permission,
which would serve to prevent appeals to the Pope; that no tenant-in-chief
should be excommunicated against the Ring's will; that the royal court was to
decide in which court clerics accused of civil offenses should be tried; that
the custody of vacant Church benefices and their revenues should go to the
King. Other provisions were equally damaging to the authority and prestige of
the Church. The bishops gave their assent only with a reservation, "saving
their order," which was tantamount to a refusal.
Thomas was now full of
remorse for having weakened, thus setting a bad example to the bishops, but at
the same time he did not wish to widen the breach between himself and the King.
He made a futile effort to cross the Channel and put the case before the Pope.
On his part, the Ring was bent on vengeance for what he considered the
disloyalty and ingratitude of the archbishop. He ordered Thomas to give up
certain castles and honors which he held from him, and began a campaign to
persecute and discredit him. Various charges of chicanery and financial
dishonesty were brought against Thomas, dating from the time he was chancellor.
The bishop of Winchester pleaded the archbishop's discharge. The plea was
disallowed; Thomas offered a voluntary payment of his own money, and that was
refused.
The affair was building
up to a crisis, when, on October 13, 1164, the King called another great
council at Northampton. Thomas went, after celebrating Mass, carrying his
archbishop's cross in his hand. The Earl of Leicester came out with a message
from the King: "The King commands you to render your accounts. Otherwise
you must hear his judgment." "Judgment?" exclaimed Thomas.
"I was given the church of Canterbury free from temporal obligations. I am
therefore not liable and will not plead with regard to them. Neither law nor
reason allows children to judge and condemn their fathers.
Wherefore I refuse the
King's judgment and yours and everyone's. Under God, I will be judged by the Pope
alone."
Determined to stand out
against the Ring, Thomas left Northampton that night, and soon thereafter
embarked secretly for Flanders. Louis VII, Ring of France, invited Thomas into
his dominions. Meanwhile King Henry forbade anyone to give him aid.
Gilbert, abbot of
Sempringham, was accused of having sent him some relief. Although the abbot had
done nothing, he refused to swear he had not, because, he said, it would have
been a good deed and he would say nothing that might seem to brand it as a criminal
act. Henry quickly dispatched several bishops and others to put his case before
Pope Alexander, who was then at Sens. Thomas also presented himself to the Pope
and showed him the Constitutions of Clarendon, some of which Alexander
pronounced intolerable, others impossible. He rebuked Thomas for ever having
considered accepting them. The next day Thomas confessed that he had, though
unwillingly, received the see of Canterbury by an election somewhat irregular
and uncanonical, and had acquitted himself badly in it. He resigned his office,
returned the episcopal ring to the Pope, and withdrew. After deliberation, the
Pope called him back and reinstated him, with orders not to abandon his office,
for to do so would be to abandon the cause of God. He then recommended Thomas
to the Cistercian abbot at Pontigny.
Thomas then put on a
monk's habit, and submitted himself to the strict rule of the monastery. Over
in England King Henry was busy confiscating the goods of all the friends,
relations, and servants of the archbishop, and banishing them, first binding
them by oath to go to Thomas at Pontigny, that the sight of their distress
might move him. Troops of these exiles soon appeared at the abbey. Then Henry
notified the Cistercians that if they continued to harbor his enemy he would
sequestrate all their houses in his dominions. After this, the abbot hinted
that Thomas was no longer welcome in his abbey. The archbishop found refuge as
the guest of King Louis at the royal abbey of St. Columba, near Sens.
This historic quarrel
dragged on for three years. Thomas was named by the Pope as his legate for all
England except York, whereupon Thomas excommunicated several of his
adversaries; yet at times he showed himself conciliatory towards the King. The
French king was also drawn into the struggle, and the two kings had a
conference in 1169 at Montmirail. King Louis was inclined to take Thomas' side.
A reconciliation was finally effected between Thomas and Henry, although the
lines of power were not too clearly drawn. The archbishop now made preparations
to return to his see. With a premonition of his fate, he remarked to the bishop
of Paris in parting, "I am going to England to die." On December 1,
1172, he disembarked at Sandwich, and on the journey to Canterbury the way was
lined with cheering people, welcoming him home. As he rode into the cathedral
city at the head of a triumphal procession, every bell was ringing. Yet in
spite of the public demonstration, there was an atmosphere of foreboding.
At the reconciliation in
France, Henry had agreed to the punishment of Roger, archbishop of York, and
the bishops of London and Salisbury, who had assisted at the coronation of
Henry's son, despite the long-established right of the archbishop of Canterbury
to perform this ceremony and in defiance of the Pope's explicit instructions.
It had been another attempt to lower the prestige of the primate's see. Thomas
had sent on in advance of his return the papal letters suspending Roger and
confirming the excommunication of the two bishops involved. On the eve of his
arrival a deputation waited on him to ask for the withdrawal of these
sentences. He agreed on condition that the three would swear thenceforth to
obey the Pope. This they refused to do, and together went to rejoin King Henry,
who was visiting his domains in France.
At Canterbury Thomas was
subjected to insult by one Ranulf de Broc, from whom he had demanded the
restoration of Saltwood Castle, a manor previously belonging to the
archbishop's see. After a week's stay there he went up to London, where Henry's
son, "the young King," refused to see him. He arrived back in
Canterbury on or about his fifty-second birthday. Meanwhile the three bishops
had laid their complaints before the King at Bur, near Bayeux, and someone had
exclaimed aloud that there would be no peace for the realm while Becket lived.
At this, the King, in a fit of rage, pronounced some words which several of his
hearers took as a rebuke to them for allowing Becket to continue to live and
thereby disturb him. Four of his knights at once set off for England and made
their way to the irate family at Saltwood. Their names were Reginald Fitzurse,
William de Tracy, Hugh de Morville, and Richard le Bret.
On St. John's day Thomas
received a letter warning him of danger, and all southeast Kent was in a state
of ferment. On the afternoon of December 29, the four knights came to see him
in his episcopal palace. During the interview they made several demands, in
particular that Thomas remove the censures on the three bishops. The knights
withdrew, uttering threats and oaths. A few minutes later there were loud
outcries, a shattering of doors and clashing of arms, and the archbishop, urged
on by his attendants, began moving slowly through the cloister passage to the
cathedral. It was now twilight and vespers were being sung. At the door of the
north transept he was met by some terrified monks, whom he commanded to get
back to the choir. They withdrew a little and he entered the church, but the
knights were seen behind him in the dim light. The monks slammed the door on
them and bolted it. In their confusion they shut out several of their own
brethren, who began beating loudly on the door.
Becket turned and cried,
"Away, you cowards ! A church is not a castle." He reopened the door
himself, then went towards the choir, accompanied by Robert de Merton, his aged
teacher and confessor, William Fitzstephen, a cleric in his household, and a
monk, Edward Grim. The others fled to the crypt and other hiding places, and
Grim alone remained. At this point the knights broke in shouting, "Where
is Thomas the traitor?" "Where is the archbishop?" "Here I
am," he replied, "no traitor, but archbishop and priest of God!"
He came down the steps to stand between the altars of Our Lady and St.
Benedict.
The knights clamored at
him to absolve the bishops, and Thomas answered firmly, "I cannot do other
than I have done. Reginald, you have received many favors from me.
Why do you come into my
church armed?" Fitzurse made a threatening gesture with his axe. "I
am ready to die," said Thomas, "but God's curse on you if you harm my
people." There was some scuffling as they tried to carry Thomas outside
bodily.
Fitzurse flung down his
axe and drew his sword. "You pander, you owe me fealty and
submission!" exclaimed the archbishop. Fitzurse shouted back, "I owe
no fealty contrary to the King ! " and knocked off Thomas' cap. At this,
Thomas covered his face and called aloud on God and the saints. Tracy struck a
blow, which Grim intercepted with his own arm, but it grazed Thomas' skull and
blood ran down into his eyes. He wiped the stain away and cried, "Into Thy
hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit!" Another blow from Tracy beat him to
his knees, and he pitched forward onto his face, murmuring, "For the name
of Jesus and in defense of the Church I am willing to die." With a
vigorous thrust Le Bret struck deep into his head, breaking his sword against
the pavement, and Hugh of Horsea added a blow, although the archbishop was now
dying. Hugh de Morville stood by but struck no blow. The murderers, brandishing
their swords, now dashed away through the cloisters, shouting "The King's
men! The King's men!" The cathedral itself was filling with people unaware
of the catastrophe, and a thunderstorm was breaking overhead.[2] The
archbishop's body lay in the middle of the transept, and for a time no one
dared approach it. A deed of such sacrilege was bound to be regarded with
horror and indignation. When the news was brought to the King, he shut himself
up and fasted for forty days, for he knew that his chance remark had sped the
courtiers to England bent on vengeance. He later performed public penance in
Canterbury Cathedral and in 1172 received absolution from the papal delegates.
Within three years of his
death the archbishop had been canonized as a martyr. Though far from a
faultless character, Thomas Becket, when his time of testing came, had the
courage to lay down his life to defend the ancient rights of the Church against
an aggressive state. The discovery of his hairshirt and other evidences of
austerity, and the many miracles which were reported at his tomb, increased the
veneration in which he was held. The shrine of the "holy blessed
martyr," as Chaucer called him, soon became famous, and the old Roman road
running from London to Canterbury known as "Pilgrim's Way." His tomb
was magnificently adorned with gold, silver, and jewels, only to be despoiled
by Henry VIII; the fate of his relics is uncertain. They may have been
destroyed as a part of Henry's policy to subordinate the English Church to the
civil authority. Mementoes of this saint are preserved at the cathedral of
Sens. The feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury is now kept throughout the Roman
Catholic Church, and in England he is regarded as the protector of the secular
clergy.
Endnotes:
1 A hide of land was the
amount considered necessary for the support of one household; it varied from
eighty to a hundred acres, according to location.
2 T. S. Eliot's play,
"The Murder in the Cathedral," gives us the dramatic sequence of
events with high artistry.
Materials for the History
of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, ed. J. C. Robertson, 1881. Vol. V,
Epistle cxxiii.
Letter to All the Clergy
of England *
Thomas, by the grace of
God humble minister of the church> of Canterbury, to his reverend brothers,
all the bishops, by God's grace, of the province of Canterbury,—if, indeed,
they all wrote me,—greeting and a will to do what as yet they do not.
. . . One thing I say to
you, to speak out, saving your peace. For a long time I have been silent,
waiting if perchance the Lord would inspire you to pluck up your strength
again; if perchance one, at least, of you all would arise and take his stand as
a wall to defend the house of Israel, would put on at least the appearance of
entering the battle against those who never cease daily to attack the army of
the Lord. I have waited; not one has arisen. I have endured; not one has taken
a stand. I have been silent; not one has spoken. I have dissimulated; not one
has fought even in appearance....
May God lift the veil
from your hearts that you may know what you ought to do. Let any man of you say
who knows if ever since my promotion I have taken from anyone of you his ox or
his ass or his money, if I have judged anyone's cause unjustly, if out of
anyone's loss I have won gain for myself, and I will return it fourfold. If I
have done nothing to offend you, why leave me alone to defend the cause of God?
. . .
Let us then, all
together, make haste to act so that God's wrath descend not on us as on
negligent and idle shepherds, that we be not counted dumb dogs, too feeble to
bark, that passersby speak not scorn of us.... In truth, if you hear me, be
assured that God will be with you and with us all, in all our ways, to uphold peace
and defend the liberty of the Church. If you will not hear, let God be judge
between me and you and from your hands demand account for the confusion of the
Church.... But this hope I have stored in my breast, that he is not alone who
has the Lord with him. If he fall, he shall not be destroyed for the Lord
himself upholds him with his hand . . .
My lord knows with what
intent he chose to have us exalted. Let his purpose reply to him and we will
reply to him, as our office requires of us, that by God's mercy we are more
faithful in our severity than are those who flatter him with lies. For better
are the blows of a friend than the false kisses of an enemy. By implication you
charge us with ingratitude. We believe that no criminal act brings with it disgrace
unless it comes from the soul. So if a man unintentionally commits murder,
although he is called a murderer and is one, still he does not bear the guilt
of murder. So we say that even if by right of lordship we owe our lord king
service, if we are bound by the law of kings to show him reverence, if we have
upheld him as lord, if we have treated him as our own son with fatherly
affection, and if then in council, to our grief, he has not listened to us and
we, as our office compels us, are severe in our censure of him, we believe we
are doing more for him and with him than against him, and more deserve
gratitude from him than a charge of ingratitude or punishment....
You remind us of the
danger to the Roman Church, of loss of temporal possessions.
There is danger indeed to
us and ours, without mentioning the danger to souls. You imply a threat of the
lord king's withdrawal (which God forbid!) from fealty and devotion to the
Roman Church. God forbid, I say, that our lord king's fealty and devotion should
ever for some temporal advantage or disadvantage swerve from fealty and
devotion to the Roman Church. Such conduct, which would be wicked and
reprehensible m a private man, would be far more so in a prince, who draws many
along with him and after him.... Do you in your discretion look to it that the
words of your mouths do not infect some other man or men, to the loss and
damnation of their souls, like the golden cup, called the cup of Babylon, which
is smeared within and without with poison, but from which one may drink and not
fear the poison because he sees the gold. Even such may be the effect of your
conduct on the people....
In the midst of
tribulation and bloodshed the Church from of old has increased and multiplied.
It is the way the Church to win her victories when men are persecuting her, to
arrive at under standing when men are refuting her, to gain strength when men
are forsaking her. Do not, my brothers, weep for her but for yourselves who are
making by your acts and words a name, and not a great one, for yourselves in
everyone's mouth, who are calling down on yourselves the hatred of God and of
the world, preparing a snare for the innocent, and fashioning new and ingenious
reasons for overthrowing the liberty of the Church. By God's mercy, brothers,
you are laboring in vain, for the Church, although often shaken, will stand in
the courage and steadfastness on which she was steadfastly founded, until the
Son of perdition arises. As for him, we do not believe he will arise in the
West, unless the order of events and the sequence of history is wrongfully
altered.
But if your concern is
for the temporal things, we should fear more a danger to the soul than to them.
For the Scripture says: "What doth it profit a man to gain the whole world
and lose his own soul?" Hence the peril to us and to ours we utterly
scorn. He is not to be feared who kills the body, but He who kills both body
and soul....
Pray for us that our
faith fail not in tribulation and that we may safely say with the Apostle that
neither death nor life nor angels nor any creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which has subjected us to affliction until He come Who
will come, and will do with us according to his mercy, and will lead us into
the land of promise, the land flowing with milk and honey....
* This letter was written
in 1166, while Thomas was in exile in France, in reply to a letter from the
bishops and other clergy of England, deploring his hostile and implacable
attitude towards Ring Henry and urging him for the sake of the Church to be
more conciliatory and forgiving.
Saint Thomas Becket,
Bishop, Martyr. Celebration of Feast Day is December 29.
Taken from "Lives of
Saints", Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc.
Provided Courtesy of:
Eternal Word Television Network. 5817 Old Leeds Road. Irondale, AL 35210
www.ewtn.com
SOURCE : http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/THOMBECK.htm
St
Thomas Becket enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury from a Nottingham Alabaster
in the Victoria & Albert Museum
St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop
of Canterbury, Martyr
A.D. 1170
ST. THOMAS BECKET was born in London in 1117, on the 21st of December. His
father Gilbert Becket was a gentleman of middling fortune, who, in his youth,
made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with divers others, and falling into the hands
of the Saracens, remained a year and a half a prisoner, or rather a slave, to
one of their emirs, or admirals. An only daughter of this emir hearing him one
day explain the Christian faith, and declare, upon the question being put to
him, that he should with the greatest joy lay down his life for the love of
God, if he was made worthy of such a happiness, was so touched, as to conceive
on the spot a desire of becoming a Christian. This she made known to Mr.
Becket, who contented himself with telling her, that she would be very happy if
God gave her that grace, though it were attended with the loss of every thing
this world could afford. He and his fellow-slaves soon after made their escape
in the night-time, and returned safe to London. The young Syrian lady privately
left her father’s house and followed him thither, and being instructed in the
faith and baptized by the name of Maud or Mathildes, she was married to him in
St. Paul’s church by the bishop of London. Soon after Gilbert went back into
the East, to join the crusade or holy war, and remained in those parts three
years and a half. Maud was brought to bed of our saint a little time after his
departure, about a twelvemonth after their marriage, and being herself very
pious, she taught her son from his infancy to fear God, and inspired him with a
tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin. His father, after his return to England,
was, in his turn, sheriff 2 of
London. Fitz-Stephens assures us, that he never put money out at interest, and
never embarked in any commerce, but being contented with his patrimony, lived
on the annual income. His death, in 1138, left our saint exposed to the dangers
of the world at an age when the greatest mistakes in life are frequently
committed. But he had been educated in habits of temperance, obedience, and
self-denial, and was so thoroughly grounded in the maxims of the gospel as to
stand firmly upon his guard, and to do nothing but by good advice. His father
had placed him in his childhood in a monastery of canon regulars, and after his
death, Thomas continued his studies in London, where Fitz-Stephens informs us
there were then three very great schools belonging to the three principal
churches, in which public declamations were made, and frequent literary
disputations held with great emulation between both masters and scholars. Here
Thomas pursued his studies till the age of twenty-one years, when having lost
his mother he discontinued them for a year: but considering the dangers which
surrounded him while unemployed, he resolved to re-assume them. He therefore
went first to Oxford, and shortly after to Paris, where he applied himself
diligently to the canon law, and various other branches of literature. When he
came back to London, he was first made clerk or secretary to the court of the
city, and distinguished himself by his capacity in public affairs. He was
afterwards taken into the family of a certain young nobleman in the country,
who was extremely fond of hunting and hawking. In this situation, Thomas began
to be carried away with a love of these diversions, which were become his only
business; so that by this company he grew more remiss in the service of God. An
awakening accident opened his eyes. One day, when he was eager in the pursuit
of game, his hawk made a stoop at a duck, and dived after it into a river.
Thomas, apprehensive of losing his hawk, leaped into the water, and the stream
being rapid, carried him down to a mill, and he was saved only by the sudden stopping
of the wheel, which appeared miraculous. Thomas, in gratitude to God his
deliverer, resolved to betake himself to a more serious course of life, and
returned to London. His virtue and abilities gave him a great reputation; and
nothing can sooner gain a man the confidence of others as that inflexible
integrity and veracity, which always formed the character of our saint. Even in
his childhood he always chose rather to suffer any blame, disgrace, or
punishment, than to tell an untruth; and in his whole life he was never found
guilty of a lie in the smallest matter.
A strict intimacy had intervened between Theobald, who was advanced to the
archbishopric of Canterbury in 1138, and our saint’s father, they being both
originally from the same part of Normandy, about the village of Tierrie. Some
persons, therefore, having recommended Thomas to that prelate, he was invited
to accept of some post in his family. Attended only with one squire, named
Ralph of London, he joined the archbishop, who then was at the village of Harwe
or Harrow. Thomas was tall of stature, his countenance was beautiful and
pleasing, his senses quick and lively, and his discourse very agreeable. Having
taken orders a little before this, he was presented by the Bishop of Worcester
to the church of Shoreham, 3 afterwards
by the abbot of St. Alban’s to that of Bratfield. 4 With
the leave of the archbishop he went to Italy, and there studied the canon law a
year at Bologna; then some time at Auxerre. After his return the archbishop
ordained him deacon, and he was successively preferred to the provostship of
Beverley, and to canonries at Lincoln’s and at St. Paul’s in London: the
archbishop nominated him archdeacon of Canterbury, which was then looked upon
as the first ecclesiastical dignity in England after the abbacies and
bishoprics, which gave a seat in the house of lords. 5 The
archbishop committed to our saint the management of the most intricate affairs,
seldom did any thing without his advice, sent him several times to Rome on
important errands, and never had reason to repent of the choice he had made, or
of the confidence he reposed in him. The contest between King Stephen and the
Empress Maud with her son Henry II. had threatened the kingdom with a dreadful
flame, which was only prevented by a mutual agreement of the parties, ratified
by the whole kingdom, by which Stephen was allowed to hold the crown during
life, upon condition that at his death it should devolve upon Henry the right heir.
Notwithstanding this solemn settlement, Stephen endeavoured to fix the crown on
his son Eustachius. Theobald refused to consent to so glaring an injustice; for
which he was banished the kingdom, but recalled with honour shortly after. The
conduct of the archbishop on this occasion was owing to the advice of Thomas,
who thus secured the crown in peace to Henry. Theobald, who had before made him
his archdeacon, and by a long experience had found him proof against all the
temptations of the world, and endued with a prudence capable of all manner of
affairs, recommended him to the high office of lord chancellor of England, to
which King Henry, who had ascended the throne on the 20th of December, 1154,
readily exalted him in 1157. The saint’s sweetness of temper, joined with his
integrity and other amiable qualities, gained him the esteem and affection of
every one, especially of his prince, who took great pleasure in his
conversation, often went to dine with him, and committed to his care the
education of his son, Prince Henry, to be formed by him in sound maxims of
honour and virtue. He sent him also into France to negotiate a treaty with that
crown, and conclude a marriage between his son Henry and Margaret, daughter to
Lewis the Younger, king of France; in both which commissions he succeeded to
his master’s desires. 6 Amidst
the honours and prosperity which he enjoyed, he always lived most humble,
modest, mortified, recollected, compassionate, charitable to the poor without
bounds, and perfectly chaste; and triumphed over all the snares which wicked
courtiers, and sometimes the king himself, laid for his virtue, especially his
chastity. 7 The
persecutions which envy and jealousy raised against him he overcame by meekness
and silence.
Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, died in 1160. King Henry was then in
Normandy with his chancellor, whom he immediately resolved to raise to that
dignity. Some time after, he bade him prepare himself to go to England for an
affair of importance, and in taking leave explained his intentions to him.
Thomas, after alleging many excuses, flatly told the king: “Should God permit
me to be archbishop of Canterbury I should soon lose your majesty’s favour, and
the great affection with which you honour me would be changed into hatred. For
your majesty will be pleased to suffer me to tell you, that several things you
do in prejudice of the inviolable rights of the church, make me fear you would
require of me what I could not agree to: and envious persons would not fail to
make this pass for a crime, in order to make me lose your favour.” Such was the
generous liberty of this man of God, and his serious desire to deliver himself
from the dangers which threatened him. The king paid no regard to his
remonstrances; and sent over certain noblemen into England to manage the
affairs with the clergy of the kingdom, and the chapter of Canterbury, ordering
them to labour with the same ardour to place the chancellor in the see of
Canterbury as they would to set the crown on his son’s head. St. Thomas obeyed
in going to England, but refused to acquiesce in accepting the dignity till the
Cardinal of Pisa, legate from the holy see in England, overruled all his
scruples by the weight of his authority. The election was made on the eve of
Whitsunday in 1162, a synod of bishops at London ratified the same, and the
prince, then in London, gave his consent in his father’s name, and the saint
set out immediately from London to Canterbury. On the road he gave a private
charge to one of the clergy of his church, to advertise him of all the faults
which he should observe in his conduct; for even an enemy by his reproaches is
often more useful to us than a flattering friend. The archbishop soon after his
consecration received the pallium from Pope Alexander III., which John of
Salisbury brought him from Rome. He had hitherto employed all his time in
prayer to beg the light of heaven, and from that time began to exert himself in
the discharge of his pastoral duties. Next his skin he always wore a hair
shirt; over this he put on the habit of a Benedictin monk from the time he was
made archbishop; and over this the habit of a canon, of very light stuff. By
the rule of life which he laid down for his private conduct, he rose at two
o’clock in the morning, and after matins washed the feet of thirteen poor
persons, to each of whom he distributed money. It was most edifying to see him
with profound humility melting in tears at their feet, and begging the
assistance of their prayers. At the hour of prime his almoner washed the feet
of twelve others, and gave them bread and meat. The archbishop returned to take
a little rest after matins, and washing the feet of the first company of poor
persons; but rose again very early to pray and to read the holy scriptures,
which he did assiduously, and with the most profound respect. He found in them
such unction that he had them always in his hands even when he walked, and
desired holy solitude that he might bury himself in them. He kept always a
learned person with him to interpret to him these sacred oracles, whom he
consulted on the meaning of difficult passages; so much did he fear to rely on
his own lights by presumption, though others admired his wisdom and learning.
After his morning meditation he visited those that were sick among his monks
and clergy; at nine o’clock he said mass, or heard one if out of respect and
humility he did not celebrate himself. He often wept at the divine mysteries.
At ten a third daily alms was distributed, in all to one hundred persons; and
the saint doubled all the ordinary alms of his predecessor. He dined at three
o’clock, and took care that some pious book was read at table. He never had
dishes of high price, yet kept a table decently served for the sake of others;
but was himself very temperate and mortified. One day a monk saw him in company
eat the wing of a pheasant, and was scandalized like the Pharisee, saying he
thought him a more mortified man. The archbishop meekly answered him, that
gluttony might be committed in the grossest food, and that the best might be
taken without it, and with indifference. After dinner he conversed a little
with some pious and learned clergymen on pious subjects, or on their functions.
He was most rigorous in the examination of persons who were presented to holy
orders, and seldom relied upon any others in it. Such was the order he had
established in his house that no one in it durst ever receive any present. He
regarded all the poor as his children, and his revenues seemed more properly
theirs than his own. He reprehended with freedom the vices of the great ones,
and recovered out of the hands of several powerful men lands of his church
which had been usurped by them; in which the king was his friend and protector.
He assisted at the council of Tours assembled by Pope Alexander III., in 1163.
He obliged the king to fill the two sees of Worcester and Hereford, which he
had long held in his hands, with worthy prelates whom the saint consecrated.
The devil, envying the advantage which accrued to the church from the good
harmony which reigned between the king and the archbishop, laboured to sow the
seeds of discord between them. St. Thomas first offended his majesty by
resigning the office of chancellor, which, out of complaisance to him, he had
kept some time after he was nominated archbishop. But the source of all this
mischief was an abuse by which the king usurped the revenues of the vacant sees
and other benefices, and deferred a long time to fill them that he might the
longer enjoy the temporalities, as some of his predecessors had sacrilegiously
done before him: which injustice St. Thomas would by no means tolerate. A third
debate was, that the archbishop would not allow lay judges to summon
ecclesiastical persons before their tribunals. By the zeal with which he curbed
the officers or noblemen who oppressed the church or its lands, compelling them
to restore some which they had unjustly usurped, or which had been given them
by former incumbents or bishops who had no right to bestow them, at least
beyond the term of their own lives, he exasperated several courtiers, who began
first to misrepresent his conduct herein to the king. The king, however, still
showed him the greatest marks of favour; and seemed still to love him, as he
had done from his first acquaintance, above all men living. The first sign of
displeasure happened at Woodstock, when the king was holding his court there
with the principal nobility. It was customary to pay two shillings a year upon
every hide of land to the king’s officers, who in place of the sheriffs were
employed to maintain the public peace in every county. This sum the king
ordered to be paid into his exchequer. The archbishop made a modest
remonstrance, that without being wanting in respect to his majesty, this might
not be exacted as a revenue of the crown; adding, “If the sheriffs, their
serjeants, or the officers of the provinces defend the people, we shall not be
wanting to relieve and succour them,” (viz. either with pecuniary supplies and
recompences, and affording them assistance by the constables and other civil
peace-officers.) The king replied with warmth, making use of a familiar impious
oath, “By God’s eyes, this shall be paid as a revenue, or those who do not pay
it, shall be prosecuted by a writ of the royal exchequer.” The archbishop
answered that none of his vassals would pay it, nor any of the clergy. The king
said no more at that time; but his resentment was the greater: and the
complaints at court were only raised against the clergy, without any further
mention of the laity, who were equally concerned. Thus is the case stated by
Grime. The archbishop seems to have spoken of it as a parliamentary affair; nor
are the circumstances sufficiently known for historians to state it fully at
this distance of time. We are only informed that the nobility and the whole
nation, which under Henry I. and Stephen had enjoyed their ancient privileges
and liberties, were then under the greatest apprehensions that the tyranny and
cruel vexations of the Conqueror and his son Rufus, would be revived by Henry
under the title of Conqueror.
Another affair happened which raised a greater flame. A certain priest, called
Philip of Broi, was accused of having murdered a military man. According to the
laws of those times he was to be first tried in the ecclesiastical court, and
if found guilty, degraded, and delivered over to the lay judges to be tried and
punished by them. Philip, after a long trial was acquitted of the murder by a
sentence of his ordinary, the bishop of Lincoln; but seems to have been found
guilty of manslaughter, or of having involuntarily killed the man. For by large
sums of money he satisfied the deceased person’s relations, and received from
them a full release and discharge from all obligations and further prosecution,
as Grime mentions. A king’s sheriff long after this affair, out of a pique
revived this slander of the murder with much harsh language, and threatened to
bring him again to a trial. The priest alleged, that having been once acquitted
by a fair trial according to law, and having moreover a discharge of the
relations and friends of the deceased person, he could not be impeached again
upon the indictment: but growing warm treated the sheriff with very injurious
language. The king sent an order to certain bishops and other officers to try
the offender, both for the former crime of murder and the late misdemeanour;
the murder he denied and produced the sentence by which he had been acquitted
to set aside a second trial; confessed himself guilty of the misdemeanour by
injurious words in his anger, begged pardon, and promised all satisfaction in
his power. The commissioners passed sentence, that for the misdemeanour his
prebend should be confiscated for two years into the king’s hands, who would
order the revenue to be given in alms to the poor at his pleasure; that the
offender should quit the clerical gown, and live in subjection to the king’s
officer, and present him his armour; all which he readily complied with. For
the security of his life the archbishop had taken him under the protection of
the Church. The king thought the sentence too mild, and said to the bishops and
other commissioners, “By God’s eyes you shall swear that you pronounced
sentence according to justice, and did not favour him on account of his
clerical character.” They offered to swear it; but the king betook himself to
his courtiers. Soon after he told the archbishop and bishops that he would
require of them an oath that they would maintain all the customs of the
kingdom. St. Thomas understood that certain notorious abuses and injustices
were called by the king customs. He therefore in a general meeting of
the bishops at Westminster, refused that oath, unless he might add this clause,
“As far as was lawful, or consistent with duty.” The Archbishop of York, and
the Bishops of Chichester and Lincoln, were drawn from their first resolution
against it, and St. Thomas, who had resisted the threats of the king, was
overcome by the tears of the clergy, and complied in an assembly at the king’s
palace of Clarendon, in 1164. He soon after repented of his condescension, and
remained in silence and tears till he had consulted the pope, who was then at Sens,
and begged his absolution. His holiness, in his answer, gave him the desired
absolution from censures, advised him to abstain no longer from approaching the
altar, and exhorted him to repair by an episcopal vigour the fault into which
he had only been betrayed through surprise. The king was extremely offended at
the repentance of the archbishop, and threatened his life; but the prelate
boldly said he never would authorize as custom the notorious oppressions of the
Church, which his predecessors, especially St. Anselm, had zealously condemned
before him. The king, in an assembly of the bishops and nobility at
Northampton, on the 8th of October, 1164, pronounced sentence against him, by
which he declared all his goods confiscated. Several bishops and others
endeavoured to persuade him to resign his archbishopric. But he answered with
great resolution that to do it in such circumstances would be to betray the
truth and the cause of the Church, by which he was bound, by the place which he
held, rather to lay down his life. His persecutions daily increasing, he gave
strict charge to his domestics and friends to remain in silence, peace, and
charity towards their enemies, to bear injuries with patience, and never to
conceive the least sentiment of rancour against any one. His cause in the mean
time was evoked to the holy see, according to his appeal in the council, and he
resolved privately to leave the kingdom. He landed in Flanders in 1164, and
arriving at the abbey of St. Bertin’s, at St. Omer, sent from thence deputies
to Lewis VII. king of France, who received them graciously, and invited the
archbishop into his dominions. King Henry forbade any to send him any manner of
assistance. St. Gilbert, abbot of Sempringham, was called up to London, with
all the procurators of his Order, being accused of having sent him relief.
Though the abbot had not done it, he refused to swear this, because he said it
would have been a virtuous action, and he would do nothing by which he might
seem to regard it as a crime. Nevertheless, out of respect to his great
sanctity, he was dismissed by an order of the king. The pope was then at Sens
in France. The bishops and other deputies from the king of England arrived
there, gained several of the cardinals, and in a public audience accused St.
Thomas before his holiness; yet taking notice that he acquitted himself of his
office with great prudence and virtue, and governed his Church truly like a
worthy prelate. St. Thomas left St. Bertin’s after a few days’ stay, and being
accompanied by the bishop of Triers and the abbot of St. Bertin’s, went to
Soissons. The king of France happened to come thither the next day, and he no
sooner heard that the archbishop of Canterbury was there, but he went to his
lodgings to testify his veneration for his person, and obliged him to accept
from him all the money he should want during his exile. The saint pursued his
journey to Sens, where be met with a cold reception from the cardinals. When he
had audience of the pope he expressed his grief at the disturbances in England,
and his desire to procure a true peace to that church, for which end he
professed himself ready to lay down his life with joy: but then he exaggerated
the evils of a false peace, and gave in a copy of the articles which the king
of England required him to sign, and which he said tended to the entire
oppression of the Church. His justification was so moving, so full, and so
modest, that the cardinals expressed their approbation of his conduct, and the
pope encouraged him to constancy with great tenderness. In a second audience,
on the day following, the archbishop confessed with extreme humility that he
had entered the see though against his will, yet against the canons, in passing
so suddenly from the state of a layman into it, and that he had acquitted
himself so ill of his obligations in it, as to have had no more than the name
of a pastor; wherefore he resigned his dignity into the hands of his holiness,
and, taking the ring off his finger, delivered it to him, and withdrew. After a
long deliberation, the pope called him in again, and, commending his zeal,
reinstated him in his dignity, with an order not to abandon it, for that would
be visibly to abandon the cause of God. Then sending for the abbot of Pontigni,
his holiness recommended this exiled prelate to that superior of the poor of
Jesus Christ, to be entertained by him like one of them. He exhorted the
archbishop to pray for the spirit of courage and constancy.
St. Thomas regarded this austere monastery of the Cistercian Order, not as an
exile, but as a delightful religious retreat, and a school of penance for the
expiation of his sins. Not content with the hair shirt which he constantly
wore, he used frequent disciplines and other austerities, submitted himself to
all the rules of the Order, wore the habit, and embraced with joy the most
abject functions and humiliations. He was unwilling to suffer any distinction,
and would put by the meats prepared for him and seasoned, that he might take
only the portion of the community, and that the dryest, and without seasoning
or sauce; but this he did with address, that it might not be perceived. King
Henry vented his passion against both the pope and the archbishop, confiscated
the goods of all the friends, relations, and domestics of the holy prelate,
banished them from his dominions, not sparing even infants at the breast,
lying-in women, and old men; and obliged by oath all who had attained the age
of discretion to go to the archbishop, that the sight of them and their tears
might move him. This oath they were obliged to take at Lambeth, before Ralph de
Brock, whom Fitz-Stephens calls one of the most daring and profligate of men;
yet into his hands the king had delivered the temporalities of the
archbishopric to be kept; that is, says this author, to be laid waste and
destroyed. These exiles arrived in troops at Pontigny, and the prelate could
not contain his tears. Providence, however, provided for them all by the
charities of many prelates and princes. The queen of Sicily and the archbishop
of Syracuse invited many over thither, and most liberally furnished them with
necessaries. The pope and others laboured to bring the king to a
reconciliation; but that prince threatened his holiness, and committed daily
greater excesses, by threatening letters to the general chapter of Citeaux,
that he would abolish their Order in England if they continued to harbour his
enemy. Whereupon the saint left Pontigni; but a little before this he was
favoured with a revelation of his martyrdom. Whilst he lay prostrate before the
altar in prayers and tears, he heard a voice saying distinctly: “Thomas,
Thomas, my church shall be glorified in thy blood.” The saint asked: “Who art
thou, Lord?” and the same voice answered: “I am Jesus Christ, the Son of the
living God, thy brother.” He wept in taking leave of the monks at Pontigni. The
abbot thought his tears the effect of natural tenderness; but the saint called
him aside, and, bidding him not discover it before his death, told him, he wept
for those who had followed him, who would be scattered like sheep without a
pastor; for God had shown to him the night before, that he should be slain by
four men in his church, whom he saw enter it, and take off the top part of his
head. The king of France sent him the most affectionate assurances of his
protection and respect, and, rejoicing to be able to serve Jesus Christ in the
person of his exiled servant, gave orders with a royal magnificence that he
should be entertained at his expense at Sens. St. Thomas was received there
with all possible joy and respect by the archbishop, and retired to the
monastery of St. Columba, situated half a mile from the city. He excommunicated
all those who should obey the late orders of the king of England in seizing the
estates of the church, and threatened that prince himself, but mildly, and with
strong exhortations to repentance. The king, by his deputies, gained again many
cardinals at Rome, and surprised the pope himself, who began to speak in his
favour, and named two legates a latere who were devoted to him; which
drew complaints from the archbishop. The saint, according to summons, met the
legates at Gisors, on the frontiers of France and Normandy; but finding that
one of them, the cardinal of Pavia, was artfully studying to betray him, wrote
to the pope. Cardinal Otho, the other legate, represented to the king his
obligation of restoring to the church his unjust usurpations and revenues of
the see of Canterbury, which he had received; but his majesty answered he had
no scruple of that, having employed them on the church or on the poor. But the
legate said, he could not answer it at the tribunal of Christ. The king of
France, at the request of his holiness, undertook to be a mediator between the
king of England and the archbishop: The two kings had a conference together
near Gisors. St. Thomas fell at the feet of his sovereign, and was raised by
him. King Henry, among many fair speeches, said he desired no more than the
rights which former holy archbishops had not contested. The king of France said
nothing more could be desired; but the archbishop showed abuses were meant,
which former archbishops had opposed, though they had not been able to
extirpate them. If they tolerated some out of necessity, they did not approve
them, which was demanded of him. The king of France thought him too inflexible,
and the nobles of both kingdoms accused him of pride. The saint was insulted
and forsaken by all, and set out for Sens, expecting to be also banished from
France. But the king of France soon after reflecting on what he had done, sent
for the servant of God, fell at his feet with many tears, begging his pardon
and absolution of his sin, and confessing that he alone had understood the
artifices which were made use of. The archbishop gave him absolution and his
blessing, and returned to Sens. The pope sent two new legates, Gratian and
Vivian, to King Henry, and after them two others; but that prince refused
always to promise the restitution of the church revenues, and the like
articles. St. Thomas never ceased to pray, fast, and weep for the evils of his
church. No prelate had ever stronger temptations to struggle with; and
certainly nothing but conscience and the most steady virtue could ever have
obliged him to have renounced his own interests, and the favour of so great a
king, whom he most affectionately loved, for whose service, in his wars, he
furnished more troops at his own expense than could have been thought possible,
and to whom he always remained most loyal and most faithful. King Henry, among
other injuries done to the good prelate, caused his son to be crowned king by
the archbishop of York, in the very diocess of Canterbury, himself waiting upon
him at supper, and obliged his subjects, even by torments, to renounce the
obedience not only to the archbishop, but also to the pope. But it pleased God
on a sudden to change his heart, and inspire him with a desire of
reconciliation. The archbishop of Sens conducted St. Thomas to his majesty, who
received him with all the marks and expressions of his former esteem and
affection, and, with tears, desired that all their differences might be buried
in oblivion, and that they might live in perfect friendship; nor did he make
the least mention of the pretended customs which had been the occasion of these
disturbances.
The archbishop of York, a man whose life rendered him unworthy of that
character, and the bishops of London and Salisbury, mortal enemies to the
saint, began again to alienate the king from him, by renewing in his breast
former jealousies. The archbishop waited on his majesty at Tours; but could
obtain no more than a promise of the restitution of his lands when he should
have arrived in England. In the meantime he gave leave to the officers of the
archbishop of York to plunder all the goods of his church, and the harvest of
that year. Nevertheless, the archbishop having been seven years absent,
resolved to return to his church, though expecting to meet the crown of
martyrdom. Writing to the king, he closed his letter as follows: “With your majesty’s
leave I return to my church, perhaps to die there, and to hinder at least by my
death its entire destruction. Your majesty is able yet to make me feel the
effects of your clemency and religion; but whether I live or die, I will always
preserve inviolably that charity which I bear you in our Lord; and whatever may
happen to me, I pray God to heap all his graces and good gifts on your majesty
and on your children.” The holy archbishop prepared himself for his journey
with a heart filled with the love of the Cross of Christ, and breathing nothing
but the sacrifice of himself in his cause. Many French noblemen furnished him
with money and all necessaries. That he might thank the king of France, he went
to Paris, and lodged in the abbey of canon regulars of St. Victor, where one of
his hair shirts is still preserved. On the octave of St. Austin, their patron,
he was desired to preach, and made an excellent sermon on these words: And
his dwelling was made in peace. 8 In
taking leave of the French king, he said: “I am going to seek my death in
England.” His majesty answered: “So I believe:” and pressed him to stay in his
dominions, promising that nothing should be wanting to him there. The saint
said: “The will of God must be accomplished.” He sent over to England the
sentence of suspension and interdict which the pope had pronounced against the
archbishop of York and his accomplices, in several unwarrantable proceedings,
and excommunication against Renald of Broke, and certain others. The saint
embarked at Witsan, near Calais, but landed at Sandwich, where he was received
with incredible acclamations of joy. He had escaped several ambuscades of his
enemies on the road. The archbishop of York demanded absolution from his
censures in a threatening manner: St. Thomas meekly offered it, on condition
the other, according to the custom of the church, would swear to submit to the
conditions which should be enjoined him. The other refused to do this, and went
over to Normandy, with the bishops of London and Salisbury, to accuse the
archbishop to the king, in doing which passion made slander pass for truth. The
king, in a transport of fury cried out, and repeated several times, that “He
cursed all those whom he had honoured with his friendship, and enriched by his
bounty, seeing none of them had the courage to rid him of one bishop, who gave
him more trouble than all the rest of his subjects.” 9 Four
young gentlemen in his service, who had no other religion than to flatter their
prince, viz. Sir William Tracy, Sir Hugh Morville, Sir Richard Briton, and Sir
Reginald Fitz-Orson, conspired privately together to murder him.
The archbishop was received in London with exceeding great triumph: but the
young king sent him an order to confine himself to the city of Canterbury. The
saint alleged, that he was obliged to make the visitation of his diocese. On
Christmas-day, after mass, he preached his last sermon to his flock, on the
text, “And peace to men of good-will on earth.” In the end he declared, that he
should shortly leave them, and that the time of his death was at hand. All wept
bitterly at this news, and the saint, seeing their tears, could not entirely contain
his own: but he comforted himself with motives of holy faith, and stood some
time absorbed in God in the sweet contemplation of his adorable will. The four
assassins being landed in England, were joined by Renald of Broke, who brought
with him a troop of armed men. They went the next day to Canterbury, and
insolently upbraiding the archbishop with treason, threatened him with death
unless he absolved all those who were interdicted or excommunicated. The saint
answered, it was the pope who had pronounced those censures, that the king had
agreed to it, and promised his assistance therein before five hundred
witnesses, among whom some of them were present, and that they ought to promise
satisfaction for their crimes before an absolution. They, in a threatening
manner, gave a charge to his ecclesiastics that were present to watch him, that
he might not escape; for the king would make him an example of justice. The
saint said: “Do you imagine that I think of flying: No, no, I wait for the
stroke of death without fear.” Then showing with his hand that part of his head
where God had given him to understand he should be struck, he said: “It is
here, it is here that I expect you.” The assassins went back, put on their
bucklers and arms, as if they were going to a battle, and taking with them the
other armed men, returned to the archbishop, who was then gone to the church,
for it was the hour of vespers. He had forbidden, in virtue of obedience, any
to barricade the doors, saying, the church was not to be made a citadel. The
murderers entered sword in hand, crying out: “Where is the traitor?” No one
answered till another cried: “Where is the archbishop?” The saint then advanced
towards them, saying; “Here I am, the archbishop, but no traitor.” All the
monks and ecclesiastics ran to hide themselves, or to hold the altars, except
three who staid by his side. The archbishop appeared without the least
commotion or fear. One of the ruffians said to him, “Now you must die.” He
answered: “I am ready to die for God, for justice, and for the liberty of his
church. But I forbid you in the name of the Almighty God, to hurt in the least
any of my religious, clergy, or people. I have defended the church as far as I
was able during my life, when I saw it oppressed, and I shall be happy if by my
death at least, I can restore its peace and liberty.” He then fell on his
knees, and spoke these his last words: “I recommend my soul and the cause of
the church to God, to the Blessed Virgin, to the holy patrons of this place, to
the martyrs St. Dionysius, and St. Elphege of Canterbury.” He then prayed for
his murderers, and bowing a little his head, presented it to them in silence.
They first offered to bring him out of the church, but he said: “I will not
stir: do here what you please, or are commanded.” The fear lest the people, who
crowded into the church, should hinder them, made them hasten the execution of
their design. Tracy struck at his head first with his sword: but an
ecclesiastic who stood by, named Edward Grim or Grimfer, (who afterwards wrote
his life,) held out his arm, which was almost cut off; but this broke the blow
on the archbishop, who was only a little stunned with it, and he held up his
head with his two hands as immoveable as before, ardently offering himself to
God. Two others immediately gave him together two violent strokes, by which he
fell on the pavement near the altar of St. Bennet, and was now expiring when
the fourth, Richard Briton, ashamed not to have dipped his sword in his blood,
cut off the top part of his head, and broke his sword against the pavement;
then Hugh of Horsea inhumanly, with the point of his sword, drew out all his
brains, and scattered them on the floor. 10 After
this sacrilege they went and rifled the archiepiscopal palace with a fury which
passion had heightened to madness. The city was filled with consternation,
tears, and lamentations. A blind man recovered his sight by applying his eyes
to the blood of the martyr yet warm. The canons shut the doors of the church,
watched by the corps all night, and interred it privately the next morning,
because of a report that the murderers designed to drag it through the street.
St. Thomas was martyred on the 29th of December, in the year 1170, the
fifty-third of his age, and the ninth of his episcopacy.
The grief of all Catholic princes and of all Christendom, at the news of this
sacrilege, is not to be expressed. King Henry, above all others, at the first
news of it, forgot not only his animosity against the saint, but even the
dignity of his crown, to abandon himself to the humiliation and affliction of a
penitent who bewailed his sins in sackcloth and ashes. He shut himself up three
days in his closet, taking almost no nourishment, and admitting no comfort: and
for forty days never went abroad, never had his table or any diversions as
usual, having always before his eyes the death of the holy prelate. He not only
wept, but howled and cried out in the excess of his grief. He sent deputies to
the pope to assure him that he had neither commanded nor intended that
execrable murder. His holiness excommunicated the assassins, and sent two
legates to the king into Normandy, who found him in the most edifying
dispositions of a sincere penitent. His majesty swore to them that he abolished
the pretended customs and the abuses which had excited the zeal of the saint,
and restored all the church lands and revenues which he had usurped; and was
ordered for his penance to maintain two hundred soldiers in the holy war for a
year. This miraculous conversion of the king and restitution of the liberties
of the church was looked upon as the effect of the saint’s prayers and blood.
Seven lepers were cleansed, the blind, the deaf, the dumb, and others sick of
all kind of distempers were cured by his intercession, and some dead restored
to life. 11 Pope
Alexander III. published the bull of his canonization in 1173. Philip,
afterwards surnamed Augustus, son of Lewis VII. of France, being very sick and
despaired of by the physicians, the king his father spent the days and nights
in tears, refusing all comfort. He was advertised at length three nights in his
sleep by St. Thomas, whom he had known, to make a pilgrimage to his shrine at
Canterbury. He set out against the advice of his nobility, who were
apprehensive of dangers: he was met by King Henry at the entrance of his
dominions, and conducted by him to the tomb of the martyr. After his prayer he
bestowed on the church a gold cup, and several presents on the monks with great
privileges. Upon his return into France he found his son perfectly recovered
through the merits of St. Thomas, in 1179.
God was pleased to chastise King Henry as he had done David. His son the young
king rebelled, because his father refused the cession of any part of his
dominions to him during his own life. He was supported by the greatest part of
the English nobility, and by the king of Scotland, who committed the most
unheard-of cruelties in the northern provinces, which he laid waste. The old
king in his abandoned condition made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas,
walked barefoot three miles before the town over the pebbles and stones, so
that his feet were all bloody, and at the tomb his tears and sighs were the
only voice of his contrite and humble heart before God. He would receive a
stroke of a discipline from all the bishops, priests, and canons, and spent
there that whole day and the night following without taking any nourishment,
and made great presents to the church. The next morning, whilst he was hearing
mass near the tomb, the king of Scotland, his most cruel enemy, was taken
prisoner by a small number of men. Soon after his son threw himself at his feet
and obtained pardon. He indeed revolted again several times: but falling sick,
by the merits of St. Thomas, deserved to die a true penitent. He made a public
confession of his sins, put on sackcloth, and a cord about his neck, and would
be dragged by it out of bed as the most unworthy of sinners, and laid on ashes,
on which he received the viaticum, and died in the most perfect sentiments of
repentance. As to the four murderers, they retired to Cnaresburg, a house
belonging to one of them, namely Hugh of Morville, in the west of England,
where, shunned by all men, and distracted with the remorse of their own
conscience, they lived alone without so much as a servant that would attend
them. Some time after they travelled into Italy to receive absolution from the
pope. His holiness enjoined them a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where three of them
shut themselves up in a place called Montenigro, as in a prison of penance, as
the pope had ordered them, and lived and died true penitents. They were buried
before the gate of the church of Jerusalem, with this epitaph: “Here lie the
wretches who martyred blessed Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury.” The other who
had given the first wound, deferred a little to commence his penance, and
stopping at Cosenza in Calabria, there died of a miserable distemper, in which
his flesh rotted from his body and fell to pieces. He never ceased to implore
with sighs and tears the intercession of St. Thomas, as the bishop of that
city, who heard his confession, testified. All the four murderers died within
three years after the martyrdom of the saint.
The body of the martyr was first buried in the lower part of the church: but
shortly after taken up and laid in a sumptuous shrine in the east end. So great
were the offerings thereat, that the church all round about it abounded with
more than princely riches, the meanest part of which was pure gold, garnished
with many precious stones, as William Lambarte 12 and
Weever 13 assure
us. The largest of these was the royal diamond given by Lewis, king of France.
The marble stones before the place remain to this day very much worn and
hollowed by the knees of the pilgrims who prayed there. The shrine itself is
thus described by John Stow. 14 “It
was built about a man’s height all of stone: then upwards of plain timber,
within which was an iron chest containing the bones of Thomas Becket, as also
the skull with the wound of his death, and the piece cut out of the skull laid
in the same wound. The timber-work of this shrine on the outside was covered
with plates of gold, damasked and embossed, garnished with brooches, images,
angels, chains, precious stones, and great oriental pearls: the spoils of which
shrine in gold and jewels of an inestimable value, filled two great chests, one
of which six or eight men could do no more than convey out of the church. All
which was taken to the king’s use, and the bones of St. Thomas, by command of
Lord Cromwell, were there burnt to ashes, in September, 1538, of Henry VIII.
the thirtieth.” His hair shirt is shown in a reliquary in the English college
at Douay: a small part in the abbey of Liesse: a bone of his arm in the great
church of St. Waldetrude at Mons: 15 his
chalice in the great nunnery at Bourbourg: his mitre, and linen dipped in his
blood, at St. Bertin’s at St. Omer: vestments in many other monasteries,
&c. in the Low Countries, &c. 16
Zeal for the glory of God is the first property, or rather the spirit and
perfection of his holy love, and ought to be the peculiar virtue of every
Christian, especially of every pastor of the church. How is God delighted to
shower down his heavenly graces on those who are zealous for his honour! How
will he glorify them in heaven, as on this account he glorified Phinehas even
on earth! 17 What
zeal for his Father’s glory did not Christ exert on earth! How did this holy
fire burn in the breasts of the apostles and of all the saints! but in the
exercise of zeal itself how many snares are to be feared! and how many
Christians deceive themselves! Self-love is subtle in seducing those who do not
know themselves. Humour, pride, avarice, caprice, and passion, frequently are
passed for zeal. But the true conditions of this virtue are, that it be
prudent, disinterested, and intrepid. Prudent in never being precipitant, in
using address, in employing every art to draw sinners from the dangerous paths
of vice, and in practising patience, in instructing the most stupid, and in
bearing with the obstinacy and malice of the impenitent. It is a mistake to
place holy zeal in an impetuous ardour of the soul, which can be no other than
the result of passion. Secondly, it must be disinterested or pure in its
motive, free from all mixture of avarice, pride, vanity, resentment, or any
passion. Thirdly, it must be intrepid. The fear of God makes his servant no
longer fear men. John the Baptist feared not the tyrant who persecuted him: but
Herod stood in awe of the humble preacher. 18 The
servant of God is not anxious about his own life: but is solicitous that God be
honoured. All that he can suffer for this end he looks upon as a recompense.
Fatigues, contempt, torments or death he embraces with joy. By his constancy
and fidelity he conquers and subdues the whole world. In afflictions and
disgraces his virtues make him magnanimous. It accompanies him in all places and
in every situation. By this he is great not only in adversity, being through it
firm under persecutions and constant in torments, but also in riches, grandeur,
and prosperity, amidst which it inspires him with humility, moderation, and
holy fear, and animates all his actions and designs with religion and divine
charity.
Note 1. Edward Grime is often written Edmund; for these names were
anciently the same, and used promiscuously, as appears in our MSS. of the
middle ages. Yet the etymology differs in the English-Saxon language. Eadward signifies
happy keeper, from ward a keeper. Eadmund is happy peace:
for mund is peace. In law the word Mundbrech is breach of peace. In
proper names Aelmund is all peace: Kinmund, peace to his
kindred: Ethelmund, noble peace: Pharamund, true peace;
though some have construed this true mouth. Edmund, as he is more
frequently called, though Edward in the ancient MSS. of Clair-marais, long
attended St. Thomas, and was his cross-bearer: at the saint’s martyrdom, by
endeavouring to interpose his own body, he received a wound in his arm. After
the archbishop’s death he continued to live at Canterbury, and some years after
wrote his life or passion, which bears the title: Magistri Edvardi Vita vel
Passio S. Thomæ Canct. Archiep. The short prologue begins “Professores Artium.”
The life: “Dilectus igitur,” &c. It ends with a letter of two cardinals to
the archbishop of Sens; these being the last words: “Relaxavit episcopos de
promissione quam ei fecerant, de consuetudinibus observandis et promisit quod
non exigit in futurum.” There follow in the MSS. of the Cistercian abbey of
Clair-marais near St. Omer, four long books of miracles wrought at his shrine
or through his invocation, as inveterate dead palsies cured instantaneously,
&c. [back]
Note 2. Vicecomes. [back]
Note 3. Fitz-Stephens, p. 12. [back]
Note 4. Chron. de Walden, MSS. Cotton. Titus, D. 20. [back]
Note 5. Fitz-Stephens, p. 12. [back]
Note 6. On the extraordinary magnificence with which he performed this
embassy, and the rich presents which he carried, in which were two large casks
of English beer, see Fitz-Stephens. [back]
Note 7. Grime at large. [back]
Note 8. Ps. lxxv. [back]
Note 9. Fitz-Stephens relates, (pp. 64, 65,) that Henry II. sailed from
Normandy to England, to assist at the coronation of his son at London, leaving
orders for Roger, the bishop of Worcester, to follow him; for he was desirous
that as great a number of bishops as possible should be present at the
ceremony. The queen, who remained in Normandy, and Richard de Humet, the
justiciary of Normandy, after the king’s departure, sent him a prohibition when
he was at Dieppe ready to embark; for they understood that he would not assist
at the coronation if it was performed by the Archbishop of York, against the
rights of the see of Canterbury. The king returned immediately to Normandy, and
sending for the Bishop of Worcester, called him traitor, and reproached him
with disobeying his orders, and wishing ill to his family, seeing he refused to
attend at his son’s coronation, when there were so few bishops in England; on
which account he declared, that he deprived him of the revenues of his
bishopric. The prelate, relying on his innocence, alleged modestly the
prohibition he had received. The king was but the more angry, and was for
sending for the queen, who was in a neighbouring castle, and for Richard de
Humet. The bishop begged the queen might not be asked; for she would either
deny it to screen herself, or, by confessing the truth, draw his indignation
upon herself. The king, with much contumelious language, told him, he could
never be the son of his own good uncle by his mother, which uncle had brought
him up in his castle, where he and the bishop had learned together the first
rudiments of literature. The bishop being stung at this reproach, answered his
majesty, that his father, the good Count Roger, had inherited both his honour
and estate by his marriage with the bishop’s mother, that he was uncle by the
mother to his majesty, had brought up his majesty with honour, and had fought
for him against King Stephen sixteen years; for all which services his majesty
had curtailed his brother’s estate, depriving him of two hundred and forty men
out of the thousand which this king’s grandfather, King Henry I., had given him;
and had abandoned his younger brother, whose condition was so destitute, that
barely for bread he was obliged to seek a subsistence amongst the Hospitallers
at Jerusalem. He added, that it was in this manner he was accustomed to
recompense his relations and best friends. Then he said, “Wherefore do you now
threaten to deprive me of the revenues of my bishopric? May they be yours, if
it is not enough for you that you now enjoy an archbishopric, six bishoprics,
and many abbeys, certainly by injustice, and to the imminent danger of your own
soul; and the alms of your ancestors, that were good kings, and the patrimony
and inheritances of Jesus Christ, you convert to your own secular uses.” One of
the courtiers who were present, thinking to please the king, sharply took up
the bishop; and after him another abused him with opprobrious language. But the
king changing the object of his anger, said to this last nobleman: “Worst of
wretches, dost thou think, that, because I say what I please to my cousin and
bishop, it may be allowed thee or any other person to affront or threaten him?
I am scarcely able to contain my hands from thy eyes. Neither thou nor any
other shall be suffered to speak a word against the bishop.” The anger of this
prince easily degenerated into a fit of madness. In the forty-fourth letter
written to St. Thomas, it is mentioned, that the king being at Caen, was
provoked against Richard de Humet, because he said something in defence of the
king of Scots: “Breaking out into contumelious words, he called him traitor,
and hereupon beginning to be kindled with his wanted fury, threw his cap from
his head, ungirt his belt, hurled away his cloak and garments wherewith he was
apparelled, cast off with his own hands a coverlet of silk from his bed, and
sitting as it were upon a dunghill of straw, began to chew the straws.” And in
the next letter it is said: “The boy who delivered a letter to his majesty,
incurred great danger; for the king, endeavouring to pluck out his eyes with
his fingers, proceeded so far as to come to an effusion of blood.” Peter of
Blois had reason to say of him: (ep. 75,) “He is a lamb so long as his mind is
pleased, but a lion, or more cruel than a lion, when he is angry.” And writing
to the Archbishop of Panorma, he said: “His eyes in his wrath seem sparkling
with fire, and lightning with fury.—Whom he hath once hated, he scarcely ever
receiveth again into favour.” This St. Thomas thoroughly understood, and when
he opposed him in defence of the church, sufficiently showed what he expected.
William the Norman, availing himself of the title of Conqueror,
trampled upon all the privileges both of the church and people: but being “a
friend to religion, and a lover of the church and of holy and learned men, he
was their protector, except where his predominant passion of ambition or
interest intervened;” and his dying sentiments give us room to hope, that by
sincere repentance he atoned for all the excesses into which the lust of
dominion, and the dazzling of power and worldly glory might have betrayed him.
But his successor, who was bound by no ties of religion, found no gain sweeter
than the plunder of the church, to raise which, every unjust method was
employed. Such an example was thus set, as furnished a pretence to kings who
had not absolutely lost all sense of religion, to suffer themselves to be
blinded by interest, and, under the specious title of guardians of the revenues
of vacant benefices, to convert them into their own exchequer, and for this
purpose to deprive souls of the comfort, instruction, and relief which they
were entitled to expect from good pastors. From this source numberless
spiritual evils flowed, an effectual remedy to which would have probably made
St. Thomas waive or drop certain other points debated in this controversy: we
are not to reduce it to every incidental or accidental question that was
started, but to have always in view the main point on which the controversy
turned. The eminent sanctity of the martyr, and many circumstances of the
debate are a complete answer to those historians who set this affair in a light
unfavourable to the archbishop, though accidental mistakes could be no
disparagement to a person’s sincere piety and zeal. If he, who best of all men
knew the king, was not to be so easily imposed upon by half promises as those
were who were strangers to him, we are not on this account to condemn him.
In the MS. account of our saint’s miracles it is observed, that the
nation was in the utmost consternation and dread upon the accession of Henry
II. to the throne, lest he should avail himself of the title of a conquest, to
set aside all the rights of the people, and even of particulars, in imitation
of the founder of our Norman line. His maxims and conduct with regard to the
church alarmed the zeal of our primate, whose whole behaviour removes him from
all suspicion of ambitious views. The king’s passionate temper made the evil
most deplorable; and the danger was increased by his capriciousness, which
appeared in his changing his designs in his own private conduct every hour, so
that no one about his person knew what he was to do the next hour, or where he
should be: an unsettledness, which is a sure mark that humour and passion
direct such resolutions. For such was the situation of his court, as Peter of
Blois, who, to his great regret, lived some time in it, tells us: and to the
same, John of Salisbury frequently alludes, in the description he has left us
of a court. Afflictions opened the eyes of this prince and his son: and the
edifying close of their lives, we hope, wiped off the stains which their
passions in their prosperity left on their memory. And is it not reasonable to
presume that both were indebted for this grace, under God, to the prayers of
St. Thomas? As to the saint’s martyrdom, his pure zeal and charity raised the
persecution against him, not any mixed cause, which suffices not to give the
title of martyrdom in the church, though it often enhances its merit before
God. Neither ought a pretence affected by persecutors to make the cause appear
mixed, to deprive the martyr of an honour which it justly increases even before
men, as the fathers observe with regard to some who suffered in the primitive
persecutions; and as it is remarked by Baronius, (Annot. in Mart. hâc die,)
Macquer, (Abrégé Chronologique de l’Hist. Eccles. 16 Siècle, t. 2, p. 489, ed.
2, 1757,) and ingenuously by Mr. Hearne (Præf. in Camdeni Annal. Elisab.) with
regard to many who suffered here under Queen Elizabeth. [back]
Note 10. Bened. Abbas in vitâ Henr. II. t. 1, p. 12. [back]
Note 11. On the miracles wrought at the shrine of St. Thomas, see the acts
of his canonization; the letter of John of Salisbury to William, archbishop of
Sens, legate of the apostolic see; the authors of the life of this holy martyr,
and our historians of that age. The keeper of his shrine, a monk at Canterbury,
was commissioned to commit to writing miracles performed through the saint’s
intercession, which came to his knowledge. An English MS. translation of a
Latin history of these miracles, compiled by a monk who lived in the monastery
of Christ-church at the time of the saint’s martyrdom, is kept in the library
of William Constable, Esq. at Burton Constable, in Holderness, (l. n. 267,)
together with a life of St. Thomas. Certain facts there mentioned show that the
king’s officers had then frequent recourse to the trial of water-ordeal. Two
men were impeached upon the forest act for stealing deer; and being tried by
the water-ordeal, one was cast, and hanged; the other, by invoking St. Thomas’s
intercession, escaped. Another accused of having stolen a whet-stone and pair
of gloves, was convicted by the water-ordeal; and his eyes were dug out, and
some of his members cut off; but were perfectly restored to him by the
intercession of the martyr, which he implored. It is here mentioned, that the
martyr’s body was at first hid by the monks in a vault before the altar of St.
John Baptist and St. Austin, but was soon made known, visited out of devotion,
and honoured by the miraculous cures of several diseased persons. The monks
kept the door of the vault shut with strong bolts and locks, and only admitted
certain persons privately to it: but on Friday in Easter week, on the nones of
April, the door was opened, and all persons were permitted to perform their
devotions at the tomb. After this some of the saint’s enemies and murderers
mustered a troop of armed men to steal the body; to prevent which, the monks
hid it a second time behind the altar of our lady; yet it soon began to be
again resorted to. The feast of the translation of the relics of St. Thomas was
kept on the 7th of July, on which day, Stephen Langton, archbishop of
Canterbury, removed them in 1223, with the utmost state and pomp.
A manuscript relation in English of two hundred and sixty-three
miracles wrought by the intercession of St. Thomas of Canterbury, is in the
hands of Antony Wright, Esq. in Essex.
Miracle 263. James, son of Roger, earl of Clare, forty days old, by
extremity of crying, contracted a rupture so desperate, that all the physicians
declared it incurable without an incision, which the parents would not allow,
as too dangerous, considering the great tenderness of his age and constitution.
All methods used for a cure failing, the child died in the second year of his
age. The countess, his mother, took him on her knees, put into his mouth a little
particle of the relics of St. Thomas, which she had brought from Canterbury,
and prayed for two hours that St. Thomas would, by his intercession with God,
restore him to life. Several knights, the Countess of Warwick, and others were
present. Her chaplain, Mr. Lambert, a venerable old man, sharply rebuked her;
but she continued to pray, adding a vow that if he was restored, he should be
offered to God at the shrine of the martyr, and she would make a pilgrimage
barefoot to Canterbury. The infant at length opened his eyes, and revived. The
mother performed her vow, carried him in her arms to Canterbury, whither she
walked barefoot.
The author of this relation was eye-witness to many of the miracles
he records, and the book was abroad in the hands of the public within one
hundred and fifty years after the death of St. Thomas; for the original copy
belonged to Thomas Trilleck, bishop of Rochester, whose bull bears date March
6th, 1363; and who received the temporalities of that see, Dec. 26, 1364, the thirty-eighth
of Edward III. and died about Christmas, in 1372.
The relation must be very ancient, because the author mentions
bishops giving confirmation to children whilst on horseback, and trials of
felons by water-ordeal. St. Thomas, he says, always alighted on such occasions,
but administered the sacrament in the open air: and at several places where he
was known to have alighted for this purpose, crosses were afterwards set up,
and were famous for miracles. [back]
Note 12. Lambarte in his Perambulation of Kent, anno 1565. [back]
Note 13. Weever’s Funeral Monuments, p. 202. [back]
Note 14. Stow’s Annals in Henry VIII. [back]
Note 15. Brasseur, Thes. Reliquiarum Hannoniæ, p. 199. [back]
Note 16. See Haverden’s True Church, part 3, c. 2, p. 314, where he
answers the slanders of Lesley. [back]
Note 17. Numb. xxv. [back]
Note 18. Mark vi. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume XII: December. The
Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/12/291.html
Feast of St. Thomas Becket
On this, the fifth day of Christmas, after
having honored the martyrdom of St. Stephen, St. John the Evangelist, and the
Holy Innocents, we remember yet another martyr -- St. Thomas Becket (sometimes
known as "Thomas of Canterbury" or Thomas á Becket").
St. Thomas was born in London on 21 December 1118 to Norman parents who'd lived
in England for some time. The Catholic Encyclopedia gives this description of
him as found in the Icelandic Saga:
To look upon he was slim
of growth and pale of hue, with dark hair, a long nose, and a straightly
featured face. Blithe of countenance was he, winning and loveable in his
conversation, frank of speech in his discourses, but slightly stuttering in his
talk, so keen of discernment and understanding that he could always make
difficult questions plain after a wise manner.
Educated in Paris, he
later became the clerk of Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, who sent him to
Bologna and Auxerre to study canon law and ordained him as a deacon.
Around this time, Henry II became King of England and, upon the advice of
Archbishop Theobald, made him his chancellor. Thomas and the King became great
friends due to their mutual interests and love of luxury. Thomas even took up
arms with King Henry when the monarch went to battle in Toulouse, and is said
to have served well as a warrior.
When Archbishop Theobald died in 1161, King Henry did all in his power to see
that Thomas took over his archdiocese. Thomas was not happy about the idea but,
urged on by Cardinal Henry of Pisa, was ordained priest on a Saturday in
Whitweek, and was consecrated as Bishop the next day, Sunday, 3 June, 1162.
After attaining the See of Canterbury, something changed in him. He gave up his
former life of indulgence and focused on penance and prayer. His friendship
with King Henry, however, became strained after he resisted various plans that
Henry wanted to institute -- but the issue that led to St. Thomas's martyrdom
concerned jurisdiction: King Henry wanted all clerics to assent to the
Constitutions of Clarendon (1164) which asserted that the King, not the Church,
had jurisdiction over criminal clerks. Thomas at first assented, but later
stood tall and spoke out for the rights of the Church. Threatened with
imprisonment or death, he fled to the Pope for a resolution to the matter, and
then exiled himself for a few years in a French Cistercian abbey, devoting
himself even more deeply to penance. While there, he also excommunicated the
Bishops of London and Salisbury for siding with the King.
An uneasy peace was worked out between Thomas and Henry, and so Thomas, amid
the cheers of the local people, returned to Canterbury. But he refused to lift
the censures against the Bishops who stood with the King against the Church.
Meanwhile, the second most powerful cleric -- Roger of York -- had the King's
ear, and told him that as long as Thomas lived, the King would never have a
tranquil kingdom. The King is said to have cried, "Who will rid me of this
meddlesome priest?" -- whereupon, four knights -- William de Tracy,
Richard Brito, Hugh de Moreville, and Reginald FitzUrse -- who overheard the
conversation set out to grant the King's wishes. It was the afternoon of 29
December 1170 when the four knights entered Canterbury Cathedral. An eyewitness
named Edward Grim tells us what happened next:
After the monks took
[Thomas] through the doors of the church, the four aforementioned knights
followed behind with a rapid pace. A certain subdeacon, Hugh the Evil-clerk,
named for his wicked offense and armed with their malice, went with them --
showing no reverence for either God or the saints because by following them he
condoned their deed. When the holy archbishop entered the cathedral the monks
who were glorifying God abandoned vespers -- which they had begun to celebrate
for God -- and ran to their father whom they had heard was dead but they saw
alive and unharmed.
They hastened to close the doors of the church in order to bar the enemies from
slaughtering the bishop, but the wondrous athlete turned toward them and
ordered that the doors be opened. "It is not proper," he said,
"that a house of prayer, a church of Christ, be made a fortress since
although it is not shut up, it serves as a fortification for his people; we
will triumph over the enemy through suffering rather than by fighting -- and we
come to suffer, not to resist."
Without delay the sacrilegious men entered the house of peace and
reconciliation with swords drawn; indeed the sight alone as well as the rattle
of arms inflicted not a small amount of horror on those who watched. And those
knights who approached the confused and disordered people who had been
observing vespers but, by now, had run toward the lethal spectacle exclaimed in
a rage: "Where is Thomas Becket, traitor of the king and kingdom?"
No one responded and instantly they cried out more loudly, "Where is the
archbishop?"
Unshaken he replied to this voice as it is written, "The righteous will be
like a bold lion and free from fear," he descended from the steps to which
he had been taken by the monks who were fearful of the knights and said in an
adequately audible voice, "Here I am, not a traitor of the king but a
priest; why do you seek me?" And [Thomas], who had previously told them
that he had no fear of them added, "Here I am ready to suffer in the name
of He who redeemed me with His blood; God forbid that I should flee on account
of your swords or that I should depart from righteousness."
With these words -- at the foot of a pillar -- he turned to the right. On one
side was the altar of the blessed mother of God, on the other the altar of the
holy confessor Benedict -- through whose example and prayers he had been
crucified to the world and his lusts; he endured whatever the murderers did to
him with such constancy of the soul that he seemed as if he were not of flesh.
The murderers pursued him and asked, "Absolve and restore to communion
those you have excommunicated and return to office those who have been
suspended."
To these words [Thomas] replied, "No penance has been made, so I will not
absolve them."
"Then you," they said, "will now die and will suffer what you
have earned."
"And I," he said, "am prepared to die for my Lord, so that in my
blood the Church will attain liberty and peace; but in the name of Almighty God
I forbid that you hurt my men, either cleric or layman, in any way." The
glorious martyr acted conscientiously with foresight for his men and prudently
on his own behalf, so that no one near him would be hurt as he hastened toward
Christ. It was fitting that the soldier of the Lord and the martyr of the
Savior adhered to His words when he was sought by the impious, "If it is
me you seek, let them leave."
With rapid motion they laid sacrilegious hands on him, handling and dragging
him roughly outside of the walls of the church so that there they would slay
him or carry him from there as a prisoner, as they later confessed. But when it
was not possible to easily move him from the column, he bravely pushed one [of
the knights] who was pursuing and drawing near to him; he called him a panderer
saying, "Don't touch me, Rainaldus, you who owes me faith and obedience,
you who foolishly follow your accomplices."
On account of the rebuff the knight was suddenly set on fire with a terrible
rage and, wielding a sword against the sacred crown said, "I don't owe
faith or obedience to you that is in opposition to the fealty I owe my lord
king." The invincible martyr -- seeing that the hour which would bring the
end to his miserable mortal life was at hand and already promised by God to be
the next to receive the crown of immortality -- with his neck bent as if he
were in prayer and with his joined hands elevated above -- commended himself
and the cause of the Church to God, St. Mary, and the blessed martyr St. Denis.
He had barely finished speaking when the impious knight, fearing that [Thomas]
would be saved by the people and escape alive, suddenly set upon him and,
shaving off the summit of his crown which the sacred chrism consecrated to God,
he wounded the sacrificial lamb of God in the head; the lower arm of the writer
was cut by the same blow. Indeed [the writer] stood firmly with the holy
archbishop, holding him in his arms -- while all the clerics and monks fled --
until the one he had raised in opposition to the blow was severed.
Behold the simplicity of the dove, behold the wisdom of the serpent in this
martyr who presented his body to the killers so that he might keep his head, in
other words his soul and the church, safe; nor would he devise a trick or a
snare against the slayers of the flesh so that he might preserve himself
because it was better that he be free from this nature! O worthy shepherd who
so boldly set himself against the attacks of wolves so that the sheep might not
be torn to pieces! and because he abandoned the world, the world -- wanting to
overpower him -- unknowingly elevated him.
Then, with another blow received on the head, he remained firm. But with the
third the stricken martyr bent his knees and elbows, offering himself as a
living sacrifice, saying in a low voice, "For the Name of Jesus and the
protection of the Church I am ready to embrace death."
But the third knight inflicted a grave wound on the fallen one; with this blow
he shattered the sword on the stone and his crown, which was large, separated
from his head so that the blood turned white from the brain yet no less did the
brain turn red from the blood; it purpled the appearance of the church with the
colors of the lily and the rose, the colors of the Virgin and Mother and the
life and death of the confessor and martyr.
The fourth knight drove away those who were gathering so that the others could
finish the murder more freely and boldly. The fifth -- not a knight but a
cleric who entered with the knights -- so that a fifth blow might not be spared
him who had imitated Christ in other things, placed his foot on the neck of the
holy priest and precious martyr and (it is horrible to say) scattered the
brains with the blood across the floor, exclaiming to the rest, "We can
leave this place, knights, he will not get up again."
But during all these incredible things the martyr displayed the virtue of
perseverance. Neither his hand nor clothes indicated that he had opposed a
murderer -- as is often the case in human weakness; nor when stricken did he
utter a word, nor did he let out a cry or a sigh, or a sign signaling any kind
of pain; instead he held still the head that he had bent toward the unsheathed
swords.
As his body -- which had been mingled with blood and brain -- laid on the
ground as if in prayer, he placed his soul in Abraham's bosom. Having risen
above himself, without doubt, out of love for the Creator and wholly striving
for celestial sweetness, he easily received whatever pain, whatever malice, the
bloody murderer was able to inflict. And how intrepidly -- how devotedly and
courageously -- he offered himself for the murder when it was made clear that
for his salvation and faith this martyr should fight for the protection of
others so that the affairs of the Church might be managed according to its paternal
traditions and decrees.
The famous medieval
chronicler, Gervase of Canterbury, who knew Thomas Becket, is our eye-witness as
to how Becket's clothing revealed his penitential nature:
His dead body was removed
and placed in the shrine before the altar of Christ. On the morrow it was
carried by the monks and deposited in a tomb of marble within the crypt. Now,
to speak the truth -- that which I saw with my eyes, and handled with my hands
-- he wore hair-cloth next his skin, then stamin, over that a black cowl, then
the white cowl in which he was consecrated; he also wore his tunic and
dalmatic, his chasuble, pall, and miter; Lower down, he had drawers of
sack-cloth, and over these others of linen; his socks were of wool, and he had
on sandals.
The Golden Legend,
written in A.D. 1275 by Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, relates the
tale of how the Pope came to know of Thomas's death:
...the Pope would daily
look upon the white chasuble that S. Thomas had said Mass in, and the same day
that he was martyred he saw it turned into red, whereby he knew well that that
same day he suffered martyrdom for the right of holy church, and commanded a
Mass of requiem solemnly to be sung for his soul. And when the quire began to
sing requiem, an angel on high above began the office of a martyr: Letabitur
justus, and then all the quire followed singing forth the mass of the office of
a martyr. And the Pope thanked God that it pleased him to show such miracles
for his holy martyr, at whose tomb by the merits and prayers of this holy
martyr our blessed Lord hath showed many miracles. The blind have recovered
their sight, the dumb their speech, the deaf their hearing, the lame their
limbs, and the dead their life.
The murder outraged all
of Europe, and pilgrimages to
the site began almost immediately, with miracles following in abundance.
He was canonized in 1173. King Henry repented and made public penance at the
tomb, allowing himself to be scourged there. Canterbury became the third
greatest site of pilgrimage in all of Europe (Chaucer's "Canterbury
Tales" concerns pilgrimage to his shrine). His relics are said to have
been destroyed in 1538 during the Protestant rebellions foreshadowed by King
Henry's attitudes, but some believe that a skeleton found in the crypt there in
1888 belongs to the martyr.
St. Thomas is one of the patrons of priests. He is symbolized in art with an
axe or sword over or in his head, or with a wounded head, and is usually
depicted at the time of his martyrdom.
Customs
A prayer for the day:
O God, for the sake of
Whose Church the glorious Bishop Thomas fell by the sword of ungodly men:
grant, we beseech Thee, that all who implore his aid, may obtain the good fruit
of his petition. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who livest and reignest with
Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
A bit of music for the
day is the 15th century "St. Thomas, We Honor Thee":
Seynt Thomas honour we,
Thorgh whos blod Holy Chyrch ys made fre.
Al Holy Chyrch was bot a thrall
Thorgh kyng and temperal lordys all,
To he was slane in Cristys hall
And set all thing in unite:
Hys deth hath such auctorite.
Seynt Thomas honour we,
Thorgh whos blod Holy Chyrch ys made fre.
The kyng exilyed hym owt of land
And toke hys good in hys hond,
Forbedyng both fre and bond
That no prayer for hym schuld be,
So fers he schewyd hys crewelte.
Seynt Thomas honour we,
Thorgh whos blod Holy Chyrch ys made fre.
Al ben exilyd that to hym lang,
Wemen, chyldryn, old men among,
Yong babys that wepyd insted of song,
Seynt Thomas said, 'Welcom ye be;
Ilk lond is now your awen contre.
There are no special
foods that I am aware of, but just for fun, I double-dog dare you to make this
12th century sauce -- one described as a "lordly" sauce, that is, a
sauce for lords. I haven't made this sauce myself, and have no idea what one is
supposed to do with it (I assume it's for dipping meats), but, well, here it
is:
One takes cloves and
nutmeg, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon—that is canel—and ginger, all in equal
amounts, except that there should be as much canel as all the other spices; and
add twice as much toasted bread as of everything else, and grind them all together,
and blend with strong vinegar, and place it in a cask. This is a lordly sauce,
and it is good for half a year.
As to entertainment for
the day, T. S. Eliot wrote a play -- "Murder in the Cathedral" --
about St. Thomas's life, and a movie -- "Becket" (1964) --
starring Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton has been made, too.
To read about St. Thomas Becket, see The
Life and Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket: Archbishop of Canterbury (pdf)
from this site's Catholic
Library.
Reading
From Gueranger's Liturgical Year
Another Martyr comes in today, to take his place round the Crib of our Jesus.
He does not belong to the first ages of the Church : -- his name is not written
in the Books of the New Testament, like those of Stephen, John, and the
Innocents of Bethlehem.Yet does he stand most prominent in the ranks of that
Martyr-Host, which has been receiving fresh recruits in every age, and is one
of those visible abiding proofs of the vitality of the Church, and of the
undecaying energy infused into her by her divine Founder. This glorious Martyr
did not shed his blood for the faith ; he was not dragged before the tribunals
of Pagans or Heretics, there to confess the Truths revealed by Christ and
taught by the Church. He was slain by Christian hands ; it was a Catholic King
that condemned him to death ; it was by the majority of his own Brethren, and
they his country-men, that he waas abandoned and blamed. How, then, could he be
a Martyr ? How did he gain a Palm like Stephen's ? He was the Martyr for the
Liberty of the Church.
Every Christian is obliged to lay down his life rather than deny any of the
Articles of our holy Faith: it was the debt we contracted with Jesus Christ,
when he adopted us, in Baptism, as his Brethren. All are not called to the
honour of Martyrdom, that is, all are not required to bear that testimony to
the Truth, which consists in shedding one's blood for it : but all must so love
their Faith, as to
be ready to die rather than deny it, under pain of incurring the eternal death,
from which the grace of our Redeemer has already delivered us. The same
obligation lies still more heavily on the Pastors of the Church. It is the
pledge of the truth of their teachings. Hence, we find, in almost every page of
the History of the Church, the glorious names of saintly Bishops, who laid down
their lives for the Faith they had delivered to their people. It was the last
and dearest pledge they could give of their devotedness to the Vineyard
entrusted to them, and in which they had spent years of care and toil. The
blood of their Martyrdom was more than a fertilising element -- it was a
guarantee, the highest that man can give, that the seed they had sown in the
hearts of men was, in very truth, the revealed Word of God.
But beyond the debt, which every Christian has, of shedding his blood rather
than deny his Faith, that is, of allowing no threats or dangers to make him
disown the sacred ties which unite him to the Church and, through her, to Jesus
Christ -- beyond this, Pastors have another debt to pay, which is that of
defending the Liberty of the Church. To Kings, and Rulers, and, in general, to
all Diplomatists and Politicians, there are few expressions so unwelcome as
this of the Liberty of the Church ; with them, it means a sort of conspiracy.
The world talks of it as being an unfortunate scandal, originating in priestly
ambition. Timid temporising Catholics regret that it can elicit any one's zeal,
and will endeavour to persuade us, that we have no need to fear anything, so
long as our Faith is not attacked. Nowithstanding all this, the Church has put
upon her altars the glorious St. Thomas of Canterbury, who was slain in his
Cathedral, in the 12th century, because he resisted a King's infringements on
the extrinsic Rights of the Church. She sanctions the noble maxim of St.
Anselm, one of St. Thomas' predecessors in the See of Canterbury : Nothing does
God love so much in this world, as the Liberty of his Church; and the Apostolic
See declares by the mouth of Pius the 8th, in the 19th century, the very same
doctrine she would have taught by St. Gregory the 7th, in the 11th century: The
Church, the spotless Spouse of Jesus Christ the immaculate Lamb, is, by God's
appointment, Free, and subject to no earthly power.
But in what does this sacred Liberty consist? It consists in the Church's absolute
independence of every secular power in the ministry of the Word of God, which
she is bound to preach in season and out of season, as St. Paul says, to all
mankind, without distinction of nation, or race, or age, or sex : -- in the
administration of the Sacraments, to which she must invite all men, without
exception, in order to the world's salvation : -- in the practice, free from
all human control, of the Counsels, as well as of the Precepts, of the Gospel :
-- in the unobstructed intercommunication of the several degrees of her sacred
hierarchy : -- in the publication and application of her decrees and ordinances
in matters of discipline : -- in the maintenance and development of the
Institutions she has founded : -- in the holding and governing her temporal
patrimony : -- and lastly, in the defence of those privileges, which have been
adjudged to her by the civil authority itself, in order that her ministry of
peace and charity might be unembarrassed and respected.
Such is the Liberty of the Church. It is the bulwark of the Sanctuary. Every
breach there, imperils the Hierarchy, and even the very Faith, A Bishop may not
flee, as the hireling, nor hold his peace, like those dumb dogs, of which the
Prophet Isaias speaks, and which are not able to bark. He is the Watchman of
Israel: he is a traitor if he first lets the enemy enter the citadel, and then,
but only
then, gives the alarm and risks his person and his life. The obligation of
laying down his life for his flock, begins to be in force at the enemy's first
attack upon the very out-posts of the City, which is only safe when they are
strongly guarded.
The consequence of the Pastor's resistance may be of the most serious nature ;
in which event, we must remember a truth, which has been admirably expressed by
Bossuet, in his magnificent Panegyric on St. Thomas of Canterbury, which we
regret not being able to give from beginning to end. "It is an established
law," he says, " that every success the Church acquires costs her the
life of some of her children, and that in order to secure her rights, she must
shed her own blood. Her Divine Spouse redeemed her by the Blood he shed for her
; and he wishes that she should purchase, on the same terms, the graces he
bestows upon her. It was by the blood of the Martyrs that she extended her
conquests far beyond the limits of the Roman Empire. It was her blood that
procured her, both the peace she enjoyed under the Christian, and the victory
she gained over the Pagan, Emperors. So that, as she had to shed her blood for
the propagation of her teaching, she had also to bleed for the making her
authority accepted. The Discipline, therefore, as well as the Faith, of the
Church, was to have its Martyrs."
Hence it was that St. Thomas, and the rest of the Martyrs for Ecclesiastical
Liberty, never once stopped to consider how it was possible, with such weak
means as were at their disposal, to oppose the invaders of the rights of the
Church. One great element of Martyrdom is simplicity united with courage; and
this explains how there have been Martyrs amongst the lowest classes of the
Faithful, and that young girls, and even children, can show their rich
Palm-branch. God has put into the heart of a Christian a capability of humble
and inflexible resistance, which makes every opposition give way. What, then,
must that fidelity be, which the Holy Ghost has put into the souls of Bishops,
whom he has constituted the Spouses of his Church, and the defenders of his
beloved Jerusalem? “St. Thomas,” says Bossuet, “yields not to injustice, under
the pretext that it is armed with the sword, and that it is a King who commits
it; on the contrary, seeing that its source is high up, he feels his obligation
of resisting it to be the greater, just as men throw the embankments higher
when the torrent swells.”
But, the Pastor may lose his life in the contest! Yes, it may be so he may
possibly have this glorious privilege. Our Lord came into this world to fight
against it and conquer it -- but he shed his blood in the contest, he died on a
Cross. So likewise were the Martyrs put to death. Can the Church, then, that
was founded by the Precious Blood of her Divine Master, and was established by
the blood of the Martyrs — can she ever do without the saving laver of blood,
which reanimates her with vigour, and vests her with the rich crimson of her
royalty? St. Thomas understood this : and when we remember how he laboured to
mortify his flesh by a life of penance, and how every sort of privation and
adversity had taught him to crucify to this world every affection of his heart,
we cannot be surprised at his possessing, within his soul, the qualities which
fit a man for martyrdom -- calmness of courage, and a patience proof against
every trial. In other words, he had received from God the Spirit of Fortitude,
and he faithfully corresponded to it.
“In the language of the Church,” continues Bossuet, “Fortitude has not the
meaning it has in the language of the world. Fortitude, as the world
understands it, is the undertaking great things; according to the Church, it
goes not beyond the suffering every sort of trial, and there it stops. Listen
to the words of St. Paul: Ye have not yet resisted unto blood; a though he
would say: ‘You have not resisted your enemies unto blood.’ He does not say,
‘You have not attacked your enemies and shed their blood;’ but, ‘Your
resistance to your enemies has not yet cost you your blood.’
“These are the high principles of St. Thomas; but see how he makes use of them.
He arms himself with this sword of the Apostle’s teaching, not to make a parade
of courage, and gain a name for heroism, but simply because the Church is
threatened, and he must hold over her the shield of his resistance. The
strength of the holy Archbishop lies not, in any way, either in the
interference of sympathizers, or in a plot ably conducted. He has but to
publish the sufferings he has to patiently borne, and odium will fall upon his
persecutor: certain secret springs need only to be touched by such a man as
this, and the people would be roused to indignation against the King! but the
Saint scorns both plans. All he has on his side is the prayer of the poor, and
the sighs of the widow and the orphan: these, as St. Ambrose would say, these
are the Bishop’s defenders, these his guard, these his army! He is powerful,
because he has a soul that knows not either how to fear or how to murmur. He
can, in all truth, say to Henry, King of England, what Tertullian said, in the
name of the whole Church, to a magistrate of the Roman Empire, who was a cruel
persecutor of the Church: We neither frighten thee, nor fear thee: we
Christians are neither dangerous men, nor cowards; not dangerous, because we
cannot cabal, and not coward, because we fear not the sword.”
Our Panegyrist proceeds to describe the victory won for the Church by her
intrepid Martyr of Canterbury. We can scarcely be surprised when we are told
that during the very year in which he preached this eloquent Sermon, Bossuet
was raised to the episcopal dignity. We need offer no apology for giving the
following fine passage.
“Christians! give me your attention. If there ever were a Martyrdom which bore
the resemblance to a Sacrifice, it was the one I have to describe to you. First
of all, there is the preparation: the Bishop is in the Church with his
Ministers, and all are robed in the sacred Vestments. And the Victim? The
Victim is near at hand -- the Bishop is the Victim chosen by God, and he is
ready. So that all is prepared for the Sacrifice, and they that are to strike
the blow enter the Church. The holy man walks before them, as Jesus did before
his enemies. He forbids his Clergy to make the slightest resistance, and all he
asks of his enemies is that they injure none of them that are present: it is
the close imitation of his Divine Master, who said to them that apprehended
them: If it be I whom ye seek, suffer these to go their way. And when all this
had been done, and the moment for the sacrifice was come, St. Thomas begins the
ceremony. He is both Victim and Priest -- he bows down his head, and offers the
prayer. Listen to the solemn prayer, and the mystical words, of the sacrifice:
And I am ready to die for God, and for the claims of justice, and for the
Liberty of the Church, if only she may gain peace and Liberty by this shedding
of my blood! He prostrates himself before God: and as in the Holy Sacrifice
there is the invocation of the Saints our Intercessors, Thomas omits not so
important a ceremony; he beseeches the Holy Martyrs and the Blessed Mary ever a
Virgin to deliver the Church from oppression. He can pray for nothing but the
Church; his heart beats but for the Church; his lips can speak nothing but the
Church; and when the blow has been struck, his cold and lifeless tongue seems
still to be saying: The Church!”
Thus did our glorious Martyr, the type of a Bishop of the Church, consummate
his sacrifice, thus did he gain his victory; and his victory will produce the
total abolition of the sinful laws which would have made the Church the
creature of the State, and an object of contempt to the people. The tomb of the
Saint will become an Altar; and at the foot of that Altar there will one day
kneel a penitent King, humbly praying for pardon and blessing. What has wrought
this change? Has the death of Thomas of Canterbury stirred up the people to
revolt? Has his Martyrdom found its avengers? No. It is the blood of one, who
died for Christ, producing its fruit. The world is hard to teach, else it would
have long since learned this truth—that a Christian people can never see with
indifference a Pastor put to death for fidelity to his charge; and that a
Government that dares to make a Martyr will pay dearly for the crime. Modern
diplomacy has learned the secret; experience has given it the instinctive craft
of waging war against the Liberty of the Church with less violence and more
intrigue -- the intrigue of enslaving her by political administration. It was
this crafty diplomacy which forged the chains wherewith so many Churches are
now shackled, and which, be they ever so gilded, are insupportable. There is
but one way to unlink such fetters -- to break them. He that breaks them will
be great in the Church of heaven and earth, for he must be a Martyr: he will
not have to fight with the sword, or be a political agitator, but simply, to
resist the plotters against the Liberty of the Spouse of Christ, and suffer
patiently whatever may be said or done against him.
Let us give ear once more to the sublime Panegyrist of our St. Thomas: he is
alluding to this patient resistance, which made the Archbishop triumph over tyranny.
“My Brethren, see what manner of men the Church finds rising up to defend her
in her weakness, and how truly she may say with the Apostle: When I am weak,
then am I powerful. It is this blessed weakness which provides her with
invincible power, and which enlists in her cause the bravest soldiers and the
mightiest conquerors this world has ever seen -- I mean, the Martyrs. He that
infringes on the authority of the Church, let him dread that precious blood of
the Martyrs, which consecrates and protects it.”
Now, all this Fortitude, and the whole of this Victory, come from the Crib of
the Infant Jesus: therefore it is that we find St. Thomas standing near it, in
company with the Protomartyr Stephen. Any example of humility, and of what the
world calls poverty and weakness, which had been less eloquent than this of the
mystery of God made a Little Child, would have been insufficient to teach man
what real Power is. Up to that time, man had no other idea of power than that
which the sword can give, or of greatness than that which comes of riches, or
of joy than such as triumph brings: but when God came into this world and
showed himself weak and poor and persecuted—everything was changed. Men were
found who loved the lowly Crib of Jesus, with all its humiliations, better than
the whole world besides: and from this mystery of the weakness of an Infant God
they imbibed a greatness of soul which even the world could not help admiring.
It is most just, therefore, that the two laurel-wreaths of St. Thomas and St.
Stephen should intertwine round the Crib of the Babe of Bethlehem, for they are
the two trophies of his two dear Martyrs. As regards St. Thomas, divine
Providence marked out most clearly the place he was to occupy in the Cycle of
the Christian Year by permitting his martyrdom to happen on the day following
the Feast of the Holy Innocents; so that the Church could have no hesitation in
assigning the 29th of December as the day for celebrating the memory of the
saintly Archbishop of Canterbury. As long as the world lasts, this day will be
a Feast of dearest interest to the whole Church of God; and the name of Thomas
of Canterbury will be, to the day of judgment, terrible to the enemies of the
Liberty of the Church, and music breathing hope and consolation to hearts that
love that Liberty, which Jesus bought at the price of his Precious Blood.
SOURCE : https://www.fisheaters.com/customschristmasx.html
Golden
Legend – Saint Thomas of Canterbury
Article
Here followeth the Life
of Saint Thomas, martyr, of Canterbury, and first the exposition of his name.
Thomas is as much to say
as abisme or double, or trenched and hewn, he was an abisme
profound in humility, as it appeared in the hair that he wore, and in washing
of the feet of the poor people, double in prelation that was in word and in
ensample, and hewn and trenched in his passion. Saint Thomas the martyr was
son to Gilbert Beckett, a burgess of the city of London, and was born in the
place where as now standeth the church called Saint Thomas of Acre. And this
Gilbert was a good devout man, and took the cross upon him, and went on
pilgrimage into the Holy Land, and had a servant with his knees. And on a
Trinity Sunday received he his dignity, and there was at that time the king
with many a great lord and sixteen bishops. And from thence was sent the abbot
of Evesham to the pope with other clerks for the pall which he gave and brought
to him, and he full meekly received it. And under his habit he ware the habit
of a monk, and so was he under within forth a monk, and outward a clerk, and
did great abstinence making his body lean and his soul fat. And he used to be
well served at his table, and took but little refection thereof, and lived
holily in giving good ensample.
After this, many times
the king went over into Normandy, and in his absence always Saint Thomas had
the rule of his son and of the realm, which was governed so well that the king
could him great thanks, and then abode long in this realm. And when so was that
the king did any thing against the franchise and liberties of holy church,
Saint Thomas would ever withstand it to his power. And on a time when the sees
of London and of Winchester were vacant and void, the king kept them both long
in his hand for to have the profits of them; wherefore Saint Thomas was heavy,
and came to the king and desired him to give those two bishopricks to some
virtuous men. And anon the king granted to him his desire and ordained one
master Roger, bishop of Winchester, and the Earl of Gloucester’s son, bishop of
London, named Sir Robert. And anon after Saint Thomas hallowed the abbey of
Reading, which the first Henry founded. And that same year he translated Saint
Edward, king and confessor at Westminster, where he was laid in a rich shrine.
And in some short time after, by the enticement of the devil, fell great
debate, variance, and strife, between the king and Saint Thomas, and the king
sent for all the bishops to appear tofore him at Westminster at a certain day,
at which day they assembled tofore him, whom he welcomed, and after said to
them how that the archbishop would destroy his law, and not suffer him to enjoy
such things as his predecessors had used tofore him. Whereto Saint Thomas
answered that he never intended to do thing that should displease the king as
far as it touched not the franchise and liberties of holy church. Then the king
rehearsed how he would not suffer clerks that were thieves to have the
execution of the law; to which Saint Thomas said, that he ought not to execute
them, but they longeth to the correction of holy church, and other divers
points; to which Saint Thomas would not agree. To the which the king said: Now
I see well that thou wouldest foredo the laws of this land which have been used
in the days of my predecessors, but it shall not lie in thy power, and so the
king being wroth departed. Then the bishops all counselled Saint Thomas to
follow the king’s intent, or else the land should be in great trouble; and in
like wise the lords temporal that were his friends counselled him the same, and
Saint Thomas said: I take God to record it was never mine intent to displease
the king, or to take any thing that longeth to his right or honour. And then
the lords were glad and brought him to the king to Oxenford, and the king
deigned not to speak to him. And then the king called all the lords spiritual
and temporal tofore him, and said he would have all the laws of his forefathers
there new confirmed, and there they were confirmed by all the lords spiritual
and temporal. And after this the king charged them for to come to him to
Clarendon to his parliament at a certain day assigned, on pain to run in his
indignation, and at that time so departed. And this parliament was holden at
Clarendon, the eleventh year of the king’s reign, and the year of our Lord
eleven hundred and sixty-four. At this parliament were many lords which all
were against Saint Thomas. And then the king sitting in his parliament,in the
presence of all his lords, demanded them if they would abide and keep the laws
that had been used in his forefathers’ days. Then Saint Thomas spake for the
part of holy church, and said: All old laws that be good and rightful, and not
against our mother holy church, I grant with good will to keep them. And then
the king said that he would not leave one point of his law, and waxed wroth
with Saint Thomas. And then certain bishops required Saint Thomas to obey to
the king’s desire and will, and Saint Thomas desired respite to know the laws,
and then to give him an answer. And when he understood them all, to some he
consented, but many he denied and would never be agreeable to them, wherefore
the king was wroth and said he would hold and keep them like as his
predecessors had done before him, and would not minish one point of them. Then
Saint Thomas said to the king with full great sorrow and heavy cheer, Now, my
most dear lord and gracious king, have pity on us of holy church, your bedemen,
and give to us respite for a certain time. And thus departed each man. And
Saint Thomas went to Winchester, and there prayed our Lord devoutly for holy
church, and to give him aid and strength for to defend it, for utterly he
determined to abide by the liberties and franchise, and fell down on his knees
and said, full sore weeping: O good Lord, I acknowledge that I have offended,
and for mine offence and trespass this trouble cometh to holy church, I
purpose, good Lord, to go to Rome for to be assoiled of mine offences; and
departed towards Canterbury. And anon the king sent his officers to his manors
and despoiled them, because he would not obey the king’s statutes. And the king
commanded to seize all his lands and goods into his hands, and then his
servants departed from him, and he went to the seaside for to have gone over
sea, but the wind was against him, and so thrice he took his ship and might not
pass. And then he knew that it was not our Lord’s will that he should yet
depart, and returned secretly to Canterbury, of whose coming his meiny made
great joy. And on the morn came the king’s officers for to seize all his goods,
for the noise was that Saint Thomas had fled the land; wherefore they had
despoiled all his manors and seized them into the king’s hand. And when they
came they found him at Canterbury, whereof they were sore abashed, and returned
to the king informing him that he was yet at Canterbury, and anon after Saint
Thomas came to the king to Woodstock for to pray him to be better disposed
towards holy church. And then said the king to him in scorn: May not we two
dwell both in this land? Art thou so sturdy and hard of heart? To whom Saint
Thomas answered: Sire, that was never my thought, but I would fain please you,
and do all that you desire so that ye hurt not the liberties of holy church,
for them will I maintain while I live, ever to my power. With which words the
king was sore moved, and swore that he would have them kept, and especial if a
clerk were a thief he should be judged and executed by the king’s law, and by
no spiritual law, and said he would never suffer a clerk to be his master in
his own land, and charged Saint Thomas to appear before him at Northampton, and
to bring all the bishops of this land with him, and so departed. Saint Thomas
besought God of help and succour, for the bishops which ought to be with him were
most against him. After this Saint Thomas went to Northampton where the king
had then his great council in the castle with all his lords, and when he came
tofore the king he said: I am come to obey your commandment, but before this
time was never bishop of Canterbury thus entreated, for I am head of the Church
of England, and am to you, Sir King, your ghostly father, and it was never
God’s law that the son should destroy his father which hath charge of his soul.
And by your striving have you made all the bishops that should abide by the
right of the church to be against holy church and me, and ye know well that I
may not fight, but am ready to suffer death rather than I should consent to
lose the right of holy church. Then said the king, Thou speakest as a proud
clerk, but I shall abate thy pride ere I leave thee, for I must reckon with
thee. Thou understandest well that thou wert my chancellor many years, and once
I lent to thee £500 which thou never yet hast repaid, which I will that thou
pay me again or else incontinent thou shalt go to prison. And then Saint Thomas
answered: Ye gave me that £500, and it is not fitting to demand that which ye
have given. Notwithstanding he found surety for the said £500 and departed for
that day. And after this, the next day the king demanded £30,000 that he had
surmised on him to have stolen, he being chancellor, whereupon he desired day
to answer; at which time he said that when he was archbishop he set him free
therein without any claim or debt before good record, wherefore he ought not to
answer unto that demand. And the bishops desired Saint Thomas to obey the king
but in no wise he would not agree to such things as should touch against the
liberties of the church. And then they came to the king, and forsook Saint Thomas,
and agreed to all the king’s desire, and the proper servants of Saint Thomas
fled from him and forsook him, and then poor people came and accompanied him.
And on the night came to him two lords and told to him that the king’s meiny
had emprised to slay him. And the next night after he departed in the habit of
a brother of Sempringham, and so chevissed that he went over sea.
And in the meanwhile
certain bishops went to Rome for to complain on him to the pope, and the king
sent letters to the king of France not to receive him. And the King Louis said
that, though a man were banished and had committed there trespasses, yet should
he be free in France. And so after when this holy Saint Thomas came, he
received him well, and gave him licence to abide there and do what he would. In
this meanwhile the king of England sent certain lords into the pope complaining
on the Archbishop Thomas, which made grievous complaints, which when the pope
had heard said, he would give none answer till that he had heard the Archbishop
Thomas speak, which would hastily come thither. But they would not abide his
coming, but departed without speeding of their intents, and came into England
again. And anon after, S Thomas came to Rome on Saint Mark’s day at afternoon,
and when his caterer should have bought fish for his dinner because it was
fasting day, he could get none for no money, and came and told to his lord
Saint Thomas so, and he bade him buy such as he could get, and then he bought
flesh and made it ready for their dinner. And Saint Thomas was served with a
capon roasted, and his meiny with boiled meat. And so it was that the pope
heard that he was come, and sent a cardinal to
welcome him, and he found him at his dinner eating flesh, which anon returned
and told to the pope how he was not so perfect a man as he had supposed, for
contrary to the rule of the church he eateth this day flesh. The pope would not
believe him, but sent another cardinal which
for more evidence took the leg of the capon in his kerchief and affirmed the
same, and opened his kerchief tofore the pope, and he found the leg turned into
a fish called a carp. And when the pope saw it, he said, they were not true men
to say such things of this good bishop. They said faithfully that it was flesh
that he ate. After this Saint Thomas came to the pope and did his reverence and
obedience, whom the pope welcomed, and after communication he demanded him what
meat he had eaten, and he said: Flesh as ye have heard tofore, because he could
find no fish and very need compelled him thereto. Then the pope understood of
the miracle that the capon’s leg was turned into a carp, and of his goodness
granted to him and to all them of the diocese of Canterbury licence to eat
flesh ever after on Saint Mark’s day when it falleth on a fish day, and pardon
withal, which is kept and accustomed unto this day. And then Saint Thomas
informed the pope how the king of England would have him consent to divers
articles against the liberties of holy church, and what wrongs he did to the
same, and that for to die he would never consent to them. And when the pope had
heard him he wept for pity, and thanked God that he had such a bishop under him
that had so well defended the liberties of holy church, and anon wrote out
letters and bulls commanding all the bishops of Christendom to keep and observe
the same. And then Saint Thomas offered to the pope his bishopric up into the
pope’s hand, and his mitre with the cross and ring, and the pope commanded him
to keep it still, and said he knew no man more able than he was. And after
Saint Thomas said mass tofore the pope in a white chasuble; and after mass he
said to the pope that he knew by revelation that he should suffer death for the
right of holy church, and when it should fall that chasuble should be turned
from white into red. And after he departed from the pope and came down into
France unto the abbey of Pontigny, and there he had knowledge that when the
lords spiritual and temporal which had been at Rome were come home and had told
the king that they might in no wise have their intent, that the king was
greatly wroth, and anon banished all the kinsmen that were longing to Saint
Thomas that they should incontinent void his land, and made them swear that
they should go to him and tell to him that for his sake they were exiled, and
so they went over sea to him at Pontigny and he being there was full sorry for
them. And after there was a great chapter in England of the monks of Citeaux
and there the king desired them to write to Pontigny that they should no longer
keep ne sustain Thomas the Archbishop, for if they did, he would destroy them
of that order being in England. And, for fear thereof they wrote so over to
Pontigny that he must depart thence with his kinsmen, and so he did, and was
then full heavy, and remitted his cause to God. And anon after, the king of
France sent to him that he should abide where it pleased him, and dwell in his
realm and he would pay for the costs of him and his kinsmen. And he departed
and went to Sens, and the abbot brought him on the way. And Saint Thomas told him
how he knew by a vision that he should suffer death and martyrdom for the right
of the church, and prayed him to keep it secret during his life. After this the
king of England came into France, and there told the king how Saint Thomas
would destroy his realm, and then there told how he would foredo such laws as
his elders had used tofore him, wherefore Saint Thomas was sent for, and they
were brought together. And the king of France laboured sore for to set them at
accord, but it would not be, for that one would not minish his laws and
accustoms, and Saint Thomas would not grant that he should do England against
Saint Thomas, and was wroth with him and commanded him to void his realm with
all his kinsmen. And then Saint Thomas wist not whither to go; but comforted
his kinsmen as well as he might, and purposed to have gone in to Provence for
to have begged his bread. And as he was going, the king of France sent for him
again, and when he came he cried him mercy and said he had offended God and
him, and bade him abide in his realm where he would, and he would pay for the
dispenses of him and his kin. And in the meanwhile the king of England ordained
his son king, and made him to be crowned by the Archbishop of York, and other
bishops, which was against the statutes of the land, for the Archbishop of
Canterbury should have consented and also have crowned him, wherefore Saint
Thomas gat a bull for to do accurse them that so did against him, and also on
them that occupied the goods longing to him. And yet after this the king
laboured so much that he accorded the king of England and Saint Thomas which
accord endured not long, for the king varied from it afterward. But Saint
Thomas, upon this accord, came home to Canterbury, where he was received
worshipfully, and sent for them that had trespassed against him, and by the
authority of the pope’s bull openly denounced them accursed unto the time they
come to amendment. And when they knew this they came to him and would have made
him to assoil them by force; and sent word over to the king how he had done,
whereof the king was much wroth and said: If he had men in his land that loved
him they would not suffer such a traitor in his land alive.
And forthwith four
knights took their counsel together and thought they would do to the king a
pleasure, and emprised to slay Saint Thomas, and suddenly departed and took
their shipping towards England. And when the king knew of their departing he
was sorry and sent after them, but they were on the sea and departed ere the
messengers came, wherefore the king was heavy and sorry.
These be the names of the
four knights: Sir Reginald Fitzurse, Sir Hugh de Morville, Sir William de
Tracy, Sir Richard le Breton. On Christmas day Saint Thomas made a sermon at
Canterbury in his own church, and weeping, prayed the people to pray for him,
for he knew well his time was nigh, and there executed the sentence on them
that were against the right of holy church. And that same day as the king sat
at meat all the bread that he handled waxed anon mouldy and hoar, that no man
might eat of it, and the bread that they touched not was fair and good for to
eat.
And these four knights
aforesaid came to Canterbury on the Tuesday in Christmas week about Evensong
time, and came to Saint Thomas and said that the king commanded him to make
amends for the wrongs that he had done, and also that he should assoil all them
that he had accursed anon, or else they should slay him. Then said Thomas: All
that I ought to do by right, that will I with a good will do, but as to the
sentence that is executed I may not undo, but that they will submit them to the
correction of holy church, for it was done by our holy father the pope and not
by me. Then said Sir Reginald: But if thou assoil the king and all other
standing in the curse, it shall cost thee thy life. And Saint Thomas said: Thou
knowest well enough that the king and I were accorded on Mary Magdalene day,
and that this curse should go forth on them that had offended the church.
Then one of the knights
smote him as he kneeled before the altar on the head. And one Sir Edward Grim,
that was his crossier put forth his arm with the cross to bear off the stroke,
and the stroke smote the cross asunder and his arm almost off, wherefore he
fled for fear, and so did all the monks, that were that time at compline. And
then smote each at him, that they smote off a great piece of the skull of his
head, that his brain fell on the pavement. And so they slew and martyred him,
and were so cruel that one of them brake the point of his sword against the
pavement. And thus this holy and blessed Archbishop Saint Thomas suffered death
in his own church for the right of all holy church. And when he was dead they
stirred his brain, and after went in to his chamber and took away his goods,
and his horse out of his stable, and took away his bulls and writings, and
delivered them to Sir Robert Broke to bear into France to the king. And as they
searched his chamber they found in a chest two shirts of hair made full of
great knots, and then they said: Certainly he was a good man; and coming down
into the churchward they began to dread and fear that the ground would not have
borne them, and were marvellously aghast, but they supposed that the earth
would have swallowed them all quick. And then they knew that they had done
amiss. And anon it was known all about, how that he was martyred, and anon
after took this holy body, and unclothed him, and found bishop’s clothing
above, and the habit of a monk under. And next his flesh he wore hard hair,
full of knots, which was his shirt. And his breech was of the same, and the
knots slicked fast within the skin, and all his body full of worms; he suffered
great pain. And he was thus martyred the year of our Lord one thousand one
hundred and seventy-one, and was fifty-three years old. And soon after tidings
came to the king how he was slain, wherefore the king took great sorrow, and
sent to Rome for his absolution.
Now after that Saint
Thomas departed from the pope,
the pope would daily look upon the white chasuble that Saint Thomas had said
mass in, and the same day that he was martyred he saw it turned into red,
whereby he knew well that that same day he suffered martyrdom for the right of
holy church, and commanded a mass of requiem solemnly to be sung for his soul.
And when the quire began to sing requiem, an angel on high above began the
office of a martyr: Letabitur justus, and then all the quire followed singing
forth the mass of the office of a martyr.
And the pope thanked God that it pleased him to show such miracles for his holy
martyr, at whose tomb by the merits and prayers of this holy martyr our
blessed Lord hath showed many miracles. The blind have recovered their sight,
the dumb their speech, the deaf their hearing, the lame their limbs, and the
dead their life. If I should here express all the miracles that it hath pleased
God to show for this holy saint it should contain a whole volume, therefore at
this time, I pass over unto the feast of his translation, where I propose with
the grace of God to recite some of them. Then let us pray to this
glorious martyr to
be our advocate, that by his petition we may come to everlasting bliss. Amen.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/the-golden-legend-the-life-of-saint-thomas-of-canterbury/
Golden
Legend – Translation of Saint Thomas of Canterbury
Here followeth the
Translation of Saint Thomas of Canterbury.
The translation of the
glorious martyr, Saint Thomas of Canterbury, we shall shortly rehearse unto the
laud and praising of Almighty God, then in the fiftieth year after his passion,
which was the year of jubilee, that is of remission. For, of ancient time, the
fiftieth year was called the year of the jubilee of pardon and remission, and is
yet used among religious men. For when a religious man hath continued in his
order fifty years, then he shall be admitted to make his jubilee, and that
made, he is pardoned and hath remission of many observances that tofore he was
bounden unto. Then in this year of jubilee from his passion, was the solemnity
of his translation accomplished, in the time of Honorius, the third pope of
that name. The which granted yearly remissions and indulgences so great and
large, that tofore in no time of mind hath been seen any popes to have granted
and given like. Then let us call to mind that on a Tuesday his translation was
accomplished. On the Tuesday happed to him many things. On a Tuesday he was
born, on a Tuesday he was exiled, on a Tuesday our Lord appeared to him at
Pountney in France, saying: Thomas, my church shall be glorified in thy blood.
On a Tuesday he returned from his exile, and on a Tuesday he suffered
martyrdom.
Then how this holy
translation was fulfilled now ye shall hear. The reverend father in God, Stephen,
Archbishop of Canterbury, Richard, bishop of Salisbury, Walter, the prior of
the same place, with the convent, with spiritual songs and devout hymns, when
it was night, went to the sepulchre of this holy martyr, and all that night and
day of his translation, they persevered in prayers and fastings. And after
midnight, four priests,
elected and thereto chosen, approaching to his body, took up the holy head with
great devotion and reverence, and unto them all offered it for to kiss it. Then
the archbishop, and all the others, made great honour to it, and took all the
relics of the precious body, and laid them in a chest, and shut it fast with
iron locks, and set it in a place for to be kept unto the day that the
translation should be solemnised. The day then of this holy translation being
come, there were present a great innumerable multitude of people, as well of
rich as of poor. There was Pandulphus, a legate of our holy father the pope,
and two archbishops of France, of Rheims and Arles, with many other bishops and
abbots, and also king Harry the Third with earls and barons, which king himself
took the chest upon his shoulders, and with the other prelates and lords,
brought it with great joy and honour in to the place where it is now
worshipped, and was laid in a fair and much rich shrine. At whose holy
translation were showed, by the merits of this holy martyr, Saint Thomas, many
miracles. To blind men was given their sight, to deaf men their hearing, to
dumb men their speech, and to dead men was restored life.
Among all others there
was a man, because of great devotion that he had to be at this holy translation
and visit the holy martyr, which came to the bridge at Brentford by London; and
when he was in the middle of the bridge, meeting there one, was cast into the
water. This man, not forgetting himself, called Saint Thomas unto his help, and
besought him not to suffer his pilgrim to perish, ne to be there drowned. And
five times he sank down to the ground, and five times arose above the water,
and then he was cast to the dry ground. Then he affirmed that he received no
water into his mouth, ne into his ears that did to him grievance ne hurt that
he felt, save in his falling he felt in his mouth a little salt water; and
added more thereto, saying that, when he sank, a bishop held him up that he
might not sink.
This holy translation was
done and accomplished the year of our Lord twelve hundred and twenty, in the
nones of July, at three o’clock, in the fiftieth year after his passion. For
this glorious saint our Lord hath showed many great miracles, as well by his
life, as after his death and martyrdom. For a little tofore his death a young
man died and was raised again by miracle. And he said that he was led to see
the holy order of saints in heaven, and there he saw a seat void, and he asked
for whom it was, and it was answered to him that, it was kept for the great
bishop of England, Saint Thomas of Canterbury. There was also a simple priest that
daily sang no other mass but of our Lady, whereof he was put to Saint Thomas
his ordinary, whom accused, he opposed, and found him full simple of conning,
wherefore he suspended him, and inhibited him his mass. Wherefore this priest was
full sorry, and prayed humbly to our blessed Lady that he might be restored
again to say his mass. And then our blessed Lady appeared to this priest,
and bade him go to Saint Thomas, and bid him by the token that the lady whom
thou servest hath sewed his shirt of hair with red silk, which he shall find
there as he laid it, that he give thee leave to sing mass, and assoil thee of
his suspending and thine inhibiting, and restore thee again to thy service. And
when Saint Thomas heard this he was greatly abashed, and went and found like as
the priest had
said, and then assoiled him to say mass as he did before, commanding him to
keep this thing secret as long as he lived.
There was a lady in
England that desired greatly to have grey eyes, for she had a conceit that she
should be the more beauteous in the sight of the people; and only for that
cause she made a row to visit Saint Thomas upon her bare feet. And when she
came thither, and had devoutly made her prayers to have her desire, suddenly
she wax stark blind, and then she perceived that she had offended and
displeased our Lord in that request, and cried God mercy of that offence, and
besought him full meekly to be restored of her sight again. And by the merits
of the blessed Saint Thomas she was restored to her sight again, and was glad
to have her old eyes, and returned home again, and lived holy to her life’s
end. Also there was a lord’s carver that brought water to him at his table, to
whom the lord said: If thou hast ever stolen anything of mine, I pray God and
Saint Thomas that thou have no water in the bason, and suddenly it was all void
of the water and dry, and there was he proved a thief.
There was a tame bird
kept in a cage whicb was learned to speak. And on a time he fled out of the
cage and flew into the field; and there came a sparrowhawk, and would have
taken this bird and pursued after. And the bird being in great dread cried:
Saint Thomas! help! like as he had heard others speak, and the sparrowhawk fell
down dead. and the bird escaped harmless.
Also there was a man that
Saint Thomas loved much in his days, and he fell in a grievous sickness,
wherefore he went to the tomb of Saint Thomas to pray for his health, and anon
he had his desire and was all whole. And as he turned homeward, being all
whole, then he began to dread lest this health should not be most profitable
for his soul. Then he returned again to the tomb of Saint Thomas, and prayed if
his health were not profitable to his soul, that his old sickness might come
again to him. And it came anon again to him, and endured unto his life’s end.
And in like wise there was a devout blind man which had his sight restored to
him again by the merit of Saint Thomas; but after, he repented him for he could
not be so quiet in his mind as he was before, he had then so much letting by
seeing the vanities of the world. Wherefore he prayed to our Lord that by the
merits of Saint Thomas, he might be blind again to the world as he was before,
and anon he had his desire, and lived after full holily to his life’s end. Who
should tell all the miracles that our blessed Lord hath showed for this holy
martyr, it should overmuch endure, for ever sith his passion unto this day, God hath
showed continually for him many great miracles. Then let us pray this holy
saint to be a special advocate for us wretched sinners unto our Lord God, who
bring us unto his everlasting bliss in heaven.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/golden-legend-translation-of-saint-thomas-of-canterbury/
Weninger’s
Lives of the Saints – Saint Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury
Article
Glorious and celebrated
is the great Archbishop, Saint Thomas, on account of his fortitude in defending
the rights of the Christian Church. He was born at London, in England, of
noble, pious and rich parents, who led him early in the path of virtue, and had
him carefully instructed in the arts and sciences. Thomas progressed rapidly in
both, and gained so high an esteem among both clergy and laity, that Henry II.
chose him as Chancellor of the kingdom. He discharged his functions to the
entire satisfaction of king and people, until the episcopal See of Canterbury
became vacant by the death of Theobald, who had long since ordained Thomas
deacon. The king, of his own free will, appointed Thomas as successor to the
late archbishop. Thomas refused, for a long time, to obey the king’s wish, but at
length, recognizing the will of the Almighty, he accepted the high but
burdensome dignity. No sooner had he done this, than he renounced every bodily
enjoyment, and in consideration of the grave duties of his station, endeavored
so to conduct himself, that his life might shine as a bright example to those
under him. Zeal for the honor of God and the salvation of his flock took entire
possession of his heart, so that he left nothing undone to further both. The
poor and needy enjoyed the greater part of his income,- while he used the rest
for his own maintenance, being far from delighting in pride or luxury, but
devoted to mortifying himself continually. So edify ing a mode of life made the
new Archbishop agreeable both to God and men. But when he claimed several
ecclesiastical benefices, which had been unjustly taken from the church, the
usurpers of these estates roused a part of the people against their shepherd,
disseminated scandalous reports against him, and endeavored to withdraw from
him the love and esteem of the king. At that time, two ecclesiastics had
committed grievous faults; and when Saint Thomas wished to punish them, some of
the courtiers told the king that he, as Lord of the land, should claim the
right of judging and punishing as well the clergy as the laity; that he had the
power over all, and ought not to permit any encroachment on his rights; and
that it was a disgrace to him that the clergy were independent of his power.
Not content with this, they persuaded the king to issue laws entirely contrary
to the rights and liberties of the church, but approved by the highest nobility
of the kingdom, and even by many bishops, whom fear had influenced.
Saint Thomas boldly
resisted these laws, ready rather to die than consent to anything that was against
the vow he had made to God and the Church. This lost him the king’s favor; and
seeing that still greater disturbances might arise if he remained in the
country, he secretly left the court, and with two ecclesiastics, went to Rome,
related to the Pope what had taken place, and begged him to appoint another
Archbishop of Canterbury. The Pope praised his constancy, but would not listen
to his request, but advised him to live in retirement, until the king should
come to the knowledge of his fault. Hence, the holy archbishop went into the
Cistercian monastery of Pontigni, in France, and lived there in great austerity
and holiness, until he was informed that the king of England had notified the
Abbot of Pontigni that he would destroy every monastery of his Order in
England, unless his enemy, Thomas, were dismissed. The holy man then
voluntarily left Pontigni, in order that his presence might not cause evil to
the Order. Louis, king of France, informed of this, came to meet the exiled
Archbishop, and took him to another monastery at Sens, which was named after
Saint Columba. Here he remained until the king of England became reconciled to
him. Thus, after seven years, Saint Thomas returned to his see, and was
received by his flock with inexpressible joy. The Saint discharged his
functions as before with great zeal, not in the least complaining of the wrong
that had been done to him. But his enemies gave him no peace, they accused him
of conspiring against the kingdom and the general welfare of the people, and even
of aspiring to the crown. Senseless and plainly false as these accusations
were, still they made an impression upon the king, who, in his wrath, said more
than once: “Can I have no peace in my kingdom on account of one single priest?
Is there no one who will free me from so proud and obstinate a man?” Some of
those, who heard these words, supposed that the king would regard them with
great favor if they would rid him of the bishop. Hence, they gathered together,
went to Canterbury and entered the church, where the holy man was at Vespers.
The priests present, when they heard of the arrival of the murderers, would
have closed the doors of the church; but Saint Thomas would not permit it. “The
Church,” said he, “is no fort where one prepares for an attack. I am willing to
sacrifice my life for the Church of God.” During this time, the murderers
pressed into the church, and one, of them exclaimed on entering: “Where is
Thomas, the traitor?” I am here!” answered the holy man, “but I am no traitor.
I am a priest of God, and ready to give my blood for God and His Church. But,
in the name of the Almighty, I forbid you to hurt one of my people.” He then
knelt before the altar and commended himself and his church to God, the Divine
Mother, Saint Dionysius and other patrons. He had hardly finished his prayer,
when the most daring of the murderers gave him so violent a stroke with his
sword, that he clove the holy archbishop’s head. The others followed and
maltreated the Saint so cruelly, that his brains were scattered over the steps
leading to the altar, and the pavement before it was covered with blood. After
this, they demolished the episcopal palace, and destroyed everything upon which
they could lay their hands. The religious and priests, who, in fear and
trembling, had endeavored to flee, returned, after the departure of the
assassins from the church, called the other ecclesiastics, and with great
veneration, interred the body of the murdered Saint. In taking off his
clothing, they found a hair-shirt, which the Saint had always worn. This sad
and, at the same time, cruel event took place in the year of our Lord, 1170.
The king, who, although
he had not desired the assassination of the archbishop, had occasioned it by
his angry words, did severe and public penance. The murderers were punished by
the Almighty. He who had dealt the blow, after long internal suffering, in rage
and despair, tore his own body with his teeth, and cut with knives one piece
after another from it, until he miserably expired. The other three, who had
laid their sacrilegious hands on the holy archbishop, wandered insane and
trembling through England, for three years, and at last ended their lives in
despair. They were frequently heard to exclaim:
“The vengeance, the
punishment of God has overtaken us.” The tomb of Saint Thomas was glorified by
many miracles, and all England honored him as a Saint, until the time of Henry
VIII, who separating from the Catholic Church, proclaimed himself head of the
English church. This king, in a most unprecedented manner, summoned Saint
Thomas, who had been dead 490 years, to appear in court, and there sentenced
him as a convicted traitor. In consequence of this act, his holy relics were
exhumed, burned to ashes and then given to the winds. At the same time, a royal
command was issued, no longer to call the archbishop holy or to invoke him as a
Saint. The real cause of this proceeding was, that Saint Thomas had been so
fearless a defender of the rights and privileges of the Church of God and of
the Apostolic See, upon which Henry VIII would set his foot, while, at the same
time, he laid violent hands on the dead, who had so bravely protected them. So
far goes the rage of heresy, regarding neither Christian nor heathen laws;
sparing neither the dead nor the living; and not hesitating to dishonor God and
His Saints.
Practical Considerations
Some godless noblemen
plotted against Saint Thomas of Canterbury, who, as in duty bound, defended the
rights of the Church. In our days there are thousands and hundreds of thousands
who join secret societies, which in their way labor to overthrow the Church and
her rights. The Holy Fathers call Satan the ape of God. Lucifer had only too
well perceived how greatly the assemblies of the Catholics in the catacombs had
contributed to the spread of the gospel in the first century, and he has seen
in all ages, what help the Church received from her many religious orders,
congregations, associations and brotherhoods. Hence his hatred against these
institutions. On his side, therefore, he endeavors by means of secret societies
and associations, to ruin the foundation of the Church and to overthrow the
work of God. That he may have easier play, he seeks to cover the end and aim of
these societies under honorable names, such as the rights of man, philanthropy,
humanity, enlightenment, advancement, culture, pretending that these
associations are only mutual-aid societies, founded through pure humanity, and
that every Catholic might join them without burdening his conscience. But, dear
reader, let not this syren song deceive you. Under the honey of sweet words is
hidden the deadly poison. Hear and consider well what I tell you of the
wickedness of these associations, which are called secret societies. If you
converse with people who endeavor to entice you into their net, they will say:
“Why will you not join us, though you are a Catholic? We know one religion
only: to believe in God, and be honest, that is sufficient.” Answer: “If you do
not regard the religion of a man, this in itself is a bad sign which induces me
not to join you. I esteem religion and cannot join men to whom it is
indifferent.” In fact, no Catholic ever joined a secret society, and became
thereby better, more zealous or more pious; on the contrary, such persons sink
only too soon into entire indifference in regard to matters of faith, and
become scoffers. Besides this, how can a Catholic join a secret society. He
would be excommunicated and cease to be a Catholic; which means, that the
Church would expel him from the community of the faithful and refuse him the
Sacraments and Christian burial. How blind are those who think they can belong
to secret societies and yet remain Catholics! They ought to be ashamed that
they know so little of the consequences of excommunication. But they will say:
why does the Church excommunicate secret societies, as they are only
associations for mutual aid.” Answer: They are apparently mutual aid
associations, but in reality, they injure and destroy the root of brotherly
love, which says, without making any distinction: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself,” hence, also, aid him as thyself. And though it is impossible for
us to practice this commandment literally in regard to all men on earth, yet we
must observe it in favor of those with whom we come in contact, on principles
very different from those on which secret societies are based.
MLA
Citation
Father Francis Xavier
Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury”. Lives of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
4 June 2018. Web. 3 January 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-thomas-archbishop-of-canterbury/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-thomas-archbishop-of-canterbury/
Saints
and Saintly Dominicans – 29 December
Saint Thomas
of Canterbury, Bishop and Martyr
Thomas, as a layman, had
honorably filled the office of Chancellor of England. At the age of forty he
became Archbishop of Canterbury by the king’s express desire, as he hoped to
have complete sway over the archbishop. But with the episcopal consecration
Saint Thomas received the grace of a truly apostolic firmness and independence.
The affection of Henry II was soon changed into implacable hatred, when, as a
true bishop, he upheld the rights of the Church against the encroachments of
the secular power. In vain did the king strive to intimidate him by threats, to
shake his constancy by the exile of his kindred and friends; the bishop’s
courage and love of justice triumphed over all. Was this rebellion or
blameworthy exaction? “No,” says Saint Thomas Aquinas, “for if the Church may
forego certain rights, out of compassion for the weak, she must resist all
maliciously planned usurpation, which is prejudicial to the interests of the
faithful, and even fatal to him who makes such an attempt, as we see in Blessed
Thomas of Canterbury, claiming the rights of the .Church in spite of the king’s
anger.” His clergy wishing to close the doors of the cathedral against the
enraged murderers, Saint Thomas nobly replied: “A church is not to be closed
like a fortified place besieged by the enemy; I must conquer by suffering, not
by fighting.” He was martyred in 1170, the year in which Saint Dominic was
born.
Prayer
My God, how little is
needed to shake my resolutions! I have already failed since Christmas!
Examen
How do you practice the
virtue of fortitude: First, in face of the contradictions of the world; second,
its seductions; third, in the interior anxieties and fears which tend to shake
your moral courage?
– taken from the
book Saints
and Saintly Dominicans, by Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie
Cormier, O.P.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-and-saintly-dominicans-29-december/
Mosaico
con San Tommaso Becket; Monreale, Duomo
San Tommaso Becket Vescovo
e martire
Festa: 29 dicembre - Memoria
Facoltativa
Londra, Inghilterra, c.
1118 - Canterbury, Inghilterra, 29 dicembre 1170
Nato a Londra verso il
1117 e ordinato arcidiacono e collaboratore dell'arcivescovo di Canterbury,
Teobaldo, Tommaso fu nominato cancelliere da Enrico II, con il quale fu sempre
in rapporto di amicizia. Teobaldo morì nel 1161 ed Enrico II, grazie al
privilegio accordatogli dal papa, poté scegliere Tommaso come successore alla
sede primaziale di Canterbury. Ma occupando questo posto Tommaso si trasformò
in uno strenuo difensore dei diritti della Chiesa, inimicandosi il sovrano. Fu
ordinato sacerdote e vescovo nel 1162. Dopo aver rifiutato di riconoscere le
«Costituzioni di Clarendon» del 1164, però, Tommaso fu costretto alla fuga in
Francia, dove visse sei anni di esilio. Ma al rientro come primo atto sconfessò
i vescovi che erano scesi a patti col re, il quale, si dice, arrivò a
esclamare: «Chi mi toglierà di mezzo questo prete intrigante?». Fu così che
quattro cavalieri armati partirono alla volta di Canterbury. L'arcivescovo
venne avvertito, ma restò al suo posto; accolse i sicari del re nella
cattedrale, vestito dei paramenti sacri e si lasciò pugnalare senza opporre
resistenza. Era il 23 dicembre del 1170.
Etimologia: Tommaso
= gemello, dall'ebraico
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale, Palma
Martirologio
Romano: San Tommaso Beckett, vescovo e martire, che per avere difeso la
giustizia e la Chiesa fu costretto all’esilio dalla sua sede di Canterbury e
dal regno stesso d’Inghilterra e, tornato in patria dopo sei anni, patì ancora
molto, finché passò a Cristo, trafitto con la spada dalle guardie del re Enrico
II nella cattedrale.
Come rovinarsi la reputazione e diventare santo: è questa, in estrema sintesi, l’esperienza di San Tommaso Becket. Che presso il re d’Inghilterra gode non solo di buona, ma di ottima reputazione, tanto da essere nominato Cancelliere e quindi suo consigliere e confidente.
Dalla natura ha avuto tutto: ricchezza, bellezza, audacia, intelligenza, capacità politiche e diplomatiche. Chi lo avvicina subisce il fascino di quest’uomo intelligente e ambizioso, che possiede anche uno spiccato gusto per la magnificenza.
E poiché tra ambiziosi ci si intende, va d’amore e d’accordo con quell’illustre ambizioso di Enrico II, re d’Inghilterra, che sta cercando di accentrare nella sua persona tutte le prerogative del potere, in barba a nobili, aristocratici, vescovi e abati. In Tommaso ha trovato un alleato prezioso, che lo aiuta a governare il suo immenso impero, e che gli è anche compagno nei momenti di svago e distensione.
Enrico II, però, aspira a controllare anche la Chiesa inglese e a limitare la libertà degli ecclesiastici e per fare tutto ciò pensa di contare ancora e sempre sull’amico Tommaso. Che, se fosse vescovo, lo potrebbe certamente aiutare meglio in questo disegno.
Così, appena si libera la cattedra episcopale di Canterbury, Tommaso viene ordinato sacerdote e consacrato vescovo. Enrico II non dà peso alle parole che questi gli ha sussurrato: «Se Dio permette che io diventi arcivescovo di Canterbury, perderò l’amicizia di Vostra Maestà», perché non riesce neppure ad immaginare che un personaggio così “chiacchierato” si possa trasformare subito in uno strenuo difensore dei diritti della Chiesa.
Ma anche i re si sbagliano, come dimostra subito il vescovo Tommaso, che da un
giorno all’altro passa al contrattacco, anteponendo gli interessi spirituali
dei fedeli a quelli politici del Sovrano. Si oppone così subito ai progetti di
Enrico II, non per personale gelosia, ma per difendere la libertà delle
coscienze.
Il re si sente come tradito dal suo migliore amico, si infuria e Tommaso deve
fuggire in Francia, dove rimane in esilio sei anni. C’è chi lavora per
riappacificarli ed alla fine Tommaso può tornare a Canterbury, accolto
trionfalmente dai suoi fedeli, ai quali dice: «Sono tornato per morire in mezzo
a voi».
Non è un ingenuo, infatti, e sa benissimo che dovrà continuare ad opporsi al
potere e, da parte sua, per prima cosa, sconfessa i vescovi che durante la sua
assenza sono scesi a patti con il Re. Che stavolta perde proprio la pazienza e
si lascia sfuggire: «Chi mi toglierà di mezzo questo prete intrigante?».
Dato che il male non ha bisogno di essere alimentato perché si propaga da sé,
ecco che quattro cavalieri si fanno premura di fare subito questo “piacere” al
re.
Tommaso viene avvertito, ma non prende precauzioni: non si nasconde e non vuole far sbarrare le porte della cattedrale. Qui lo colpiscono a morte, davanti all’altare, lasciandogli appena il tempo di esclamare prima di spirare: «Accetto la morte in nome di Gesù e della Chiesa». È il 23 dicembre 1170.
L’impressione che questo martirio suscita è immensa: tre anni dopo il Papa già lo proclama santo, mentre Enrico II è costretto a fare pubblica ammenda sulla tomba del martire e rinunciare per il momento ai suoi ambiziosi progetti.
San Tommaso Becket, attualissima figura che rappresenta l’eterno conflitto tra
l’autorità della coscienza e le imposizioni del potere, viene festeggiato il 29
dicembre.
Autore: Gianpiero Pettiti
Chiudiamo l’agenda con
San Tommaso Becket, inglese, cancelliere del re (cioè il numero due), vescovo
della Chiesa e martire. Non c’è una motivazione precisa per concludere l’anno
con un martire, ma è bene di tanto in tanto ricordare qualcuno dei nostri
fratelli e sorelle, non solo vissuti nella fede ma anche morti a causa di essa.
Nel secolo scorso sono stati milioni in tutte le parti del mondo i caduti,
martiri delle persecuzioni contro la fede cristiana. E questo martirologio già
di per sé tragicamente lungo viene arricchito continuamente. Sono nostri
fratelli e sorelle, vicini o lontani nel tempo, ma uniti a noi dalla medesima
fede, che ci spronano e ci richiamano con il loro esempio a tenere “fisso lo
sguardo su Gesù Cristo, autore e perfezionatore della nostra fede” e a superare
le prove piccole e grandi della nostra vita spirituale per essere fedeli
discepoli dell’unico Maestro e Salvatore.
E nel momento per noi
della “crisi” cioè delle scelte decisive per Dio o contro di Lui, teniamo
presente la stupenda e consolante immagine descritta nella Lettera agli Ebrei
(Eb 12) quando si parla di una immensa schiera di fratelli e sorelle che
assistono dalle tribune di un immaginario stadio spirituale (il paradiso):
“Eccoci dunque posti di fronte a questa grande folla di testimoni (martyres, in
greco). Corriamo decisamente la corsa che Dio ci propone” nell’immenso stadio
del mondo dove siamo chiamati a vivere la nostra vita. Un famoso cantautore
italiano in una canzone ripete continuamente il ritornello “Siamo soli, siamo
soli”. È un richiamo alla solitudine esistenziale, che tutti, anche se abitiamo
in città, un po’ sentiamo. Ma non siamo soli nel vivere la nostra fede: la
folla descritta dalla Lettera agli Ebrei assiste, ricorda i buoni esempi,
incoraggia, e applaude. Chi? Ciascuno di noi, ancora nella fase di “viatori”
che cammina o corre verso la Città Celeste, cioè verso Dio.
Anche Thomas Becket è uno
di questi testimoni, anch’egli ebbe il suo carico di sofferenze e difficoltà
(chi non le ha?) lungo la sua vita a causa della propria fede. Ma perseverò
fino alla fine, coronandola con il sigillo del proprio sangue. È un martire
della Chiesa, ed un testimone di coraggio e di coerenza di fronte alle
prepotenze del potere politico.
Thomas, uomo di stato
Thomas nacque a Londra
nel 1118 da Gilberto e Matilde, ambedue appartenenti alla borghesia di origine
normanna. Tuttavia alla morte dei propri genitori rimase quasi nullatenente, e
per anni dovette lavorare come impiegato. Ricevette un’educazione liberale
presso i canonici di Merton, nel Surrey. Più tardi intraprese gli studi di
diritto canonico prima ad Auxerre e quindi a Bologna, la prima delle
università, già allora famosa in tutta Europa.
Entrò poi a far parte del
gruppo di collaboratori dell’arcivescovo Teobaldo di Canterbury. Questi lo
mandò in diverse occasioni a Roma per svolgere missioni importanti e delicate.
Finalmente nel 1154
diventò arcidiacono della diocesi e nel 1155 il neo re Enrico II lo nominò
cancelliere del regno. Era arrivato al top della carriera: numero 2, dopo il
re. I due inoltre erano legati da sincera amicizia e collaborazione.
Nella sua nuova carica
Thomas si trovava a proprio agio e lavorava volentieri, anche perché ad essa
era legato un grande potere, che significava immancabilmente un lungo e
piacevole corollario di onori, lusso, magnificenza, divertimenti. Non
disdegnava di andare a caccia, era infatti un abile falconiere. Ed era
diventato anche, provetto nell’uso delle armi.
Thomas era generoso negli
intrattenimenti per sé (la carica lo esigeva), ma lo era anche con i poveri. Da
vero uomo di potere lavorò molto e con competenza per restaurare la sovranità
dell’Inghilterra nelle mani del re Enrico, sovranità che era stata compromessa
dal precedente regno di Stefano di Blois. Egli fu in questi anni il vero
braccio destro del sovrano e il vero restauratore della monarchia, non senza
attirarsi le immancabili critiche, anche da parte della Chiesa.
Morto nel 1161
l’arcivescovo Teobaldo, re Enrico, per porre fine alla resistenza della Chiesa
contro l’usurpazione reale dei propri diritti e privilegi avuti nei secoli
precedenti, pose la candidatura del suo cancelliere. Chi c’era più degno di
lui? Davanti a tanto sponsor poteva il suo numero due dirgli di no? Thomas
infatti gli disse: “Se Dio mi permettesse di essere arcivescovo di Canterbury,
perderei la benevolenza di vostra maestà, e l’affetto di cui mi onorate si
trasformerebbe in odio, giacché diverse vostre azioni volte a pregiudicare i
diritti della Chiesa mi fanno temere che un giorno potreste chiedermi qualcosa
che non potrei accettare, e gli invidiosi non mancherebbero di considerarlo un
segno di conflitto senza fine tra di noi”. Parole profetiche. Ma il re Enrico
non diede loro importanza e insistette. Thomas declinò lo stesso l’invito
regale, finché non intervenne il nunzio apostolico il card. Enrico di Pisa.
Questi, non il re, lo convinse ad accettare il prestigioso incarico a vescovo
di Canterbury.
Thomas, uomo di Chiesa
Come primo atto egli si
trasferì da Londra a Canterbury: iniziava così con un gesto concreto e ben
visibile la sua nuova missione e il proprio cambiamento. Che fu coraggioso e
totale. Era diventato un uomo di Chiesa, cioè di servizio, non più uomo di
potere, secondo la logica di questo mondo. Non ci fu un semplice “lifting” per
così dire, andò molto più in profondità: voleva rappresentare Gesù Cristo come
pastore del proprio gregge, e volle assomigliargli più possibile nella propria
vita quotidiana.
Sobrietà nel mangiare e
vestire, preghiera e meditazione della Scrittura ogni giorno, distribuzione ai
poveri delle elemosine che furono più abbondanti che quelle del predecessore,
visite agli ammalati e agli ospedali. Dalla sua elezione condusse quasi una
vita monastica.
Ma ben presto vennero a galla
i conflitti con il re. L’occasione furono le Costituzioni di Clarendon. Nella
storia inglese, queste sono un capitolo molto importante. Di che si trattava?
Era il tentativo di codificazione, per iscritto, di antiche usanze e
consuetudini del regno, che qualche volta erano in contrasto con la
legislazione canonica che ne limitavano la libertà e l’indipendenza di azione.
La polemica che ne scaturì era di ordine giuridico: l’arcivescovo difendeva le
posizioni acquisite dalla Chiesa, secondo il diritto canonico. Il re e i suoi
giuristi facevano riferimento a consuetudini feudali, che andavano a beneficio
del potere regale (nascita del diritto civile). Queste Costituzioni si possono
considerare anche la prima dichiarazione legale della Common Law (Legge Comune)
inglese. Thomas all’inizio fu conciliante, poi appresi i dettagli (il diavolo
si nasconde sempre nelle clausole) le respinse affermando: “Nel nome di Dio
onnipotente, non porrò il mio sigillo”. Era come una dichiarazione di ostilità
nei riguardi del re, e l’inizio del confronto tra i due. Finalmente arrivò
anche il sostegno da Roma: il papa Alessandro III respinse vari provvedimenti
dell’assise di Clarendon, e nello stesso tempo pregò Thomas, che aveva dato le
dimissioni, di continuare. Durante le trattative tra papa e re, fu ospite in un
monastero cistercense e poi anche del re di Francia. Il suo soggiorno
all’estero (era un vero esilio) durò sei anni.
Tornato a Canterbury fu
bene accolto dalla popolazione, ma non dalla corte e dal re, ormai diventato suo
nemico. Questi un giorno esclamò ad alta voce che qualcuno lo liberasse da quel
vescovo. Non si conoscono le parole esatte, ma sembra che non intendesse o
ancor meno che ordinasse, indirettamente, la sua eliminazione fisica. Invece
quattro cavalieri che lo sentirono pensarono di avere avuto mano libera.
E partirono alla volta di
Canterbury, per la soluzione finale del confronto. Entrarono in chiesa con la
forza gridando “Dov’è Thomas il traditore?”. Questi rispose: “Sono qui, ma non
sono un traditore, bensì un vescovo e sacerdote di Dio”. E fu brutalmente
ucciso a coltellate. L’assassinio si consumava nella cattedrale (episodio
questo che fu fonte di ispirazione e rievocazione letteraria per molti artisti,
tra i più famosi T. S. Eliot col suo Assassinio nella cattedrale). L’orrenda
notizia si sparse velocemente per tutta l’Europa. Il re Enrico II ne fu
profondamente addolorato e digiunò per molti giorni in segno di sincero dolore.
“Thomas non aveva vissuto come un santo, ma morì come tale, un uomo dai molti
aspetti che cercava la gloria, che trovò alla fine, con coraggio e abnegazione”
(A. Butler).
La sua fama di santo martire varcò ben presto i confini di Canterbury. Alessandro III la sancì canonizzandolo nel 1173. All’intercessione del nuovo martire si attribuirono molti miracoli, e la sua tomba diventò meta di numerosi pellegrinaggi.
Autore: Mario Scudu sdb
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/30550
Hamburg,
Kunsthalle, Meister Francke, Thomasaltar, das Martyrium des hl. Thomas von
Canterbury, 1426
Hamburg,
Kunsthalle, Master Francke, Thomas altar, the martyrdom of Saint Thomas of
Canierbury, 1426
Den hellige Thomas Becket
(av Canterbury) (1118-1170)
Minnedag:
29. desember
Den hellige Thomas Becket
ble født ca 1118 i Cheapside i London av velstående normanniske foreldre. Hans
far Gilbert var en rik kjøpmann og sheriff i London som kunne gi sønnen en god
og allsidig utdannelse hos regularkannikene i Merton Abbey i Surrey, og han
studerte jus i London før han dro til universitetet i Paris. Men da han var 21
mistet han sin mor, og farens uventede død like etter førte til at hans
finansielle stilling ble vanskeligere, så han arbeidet en stund som skriver før
han rundt år 1142 fikk tjeneste hos erkebiskop den hellige Theobald av
Canterbury. Hans kurie var kjent for personalets kvalitet og deres
fremtredende juridiske ekspertise. Theobald knyttet den kloke mannen til seg
som sekretær, ga ham de lavere vielser og sendte ham til Roma ved flere
anledninger, og deretter i 1144 til Bologna og Auxerre for å studere sivil- og
kirkerett. I 1154 ga erkebiskopen ham diakonvielsen og utnevnte ham til
erkediakon i Canterbury. I denne administrasjonsstillingen var han
bemerkelsesverdig suksessrik, og ble brukt som Theobald som en forhandler med
kronen. Han gjorde seg også populær hos Henrik d'Anjou ved å overtale
pave Eugenius
III om ikke å akseptere rivalen Eustacius', sønn av kong Stefan av
Blois, krav på tronen
Da Henrik d'Anjou kom på
Englands trone som 21-åring i 1154 og ble Henrik II, valgte han etter Theobalds
forslag i 1155 den 37-årige Thomas som lordkansler og personlig rådgiver. Det
var den første innfødte engelskmannen siden den normanniske erobringen i 1066
som innehadde et så høyt verv. Becket sto på en fortrolig fot med den unge
kongen og utviklet et nært vennskap med ham, og tjente ham trofast og godt i
sju år som statsmann, diplomat og soldat. Utad opptrådte Becket som den nest mektigste
mannen i landet som hoffgeistlig med ytterst verdslige interesser og strålende
evner. Hans reiser som legat, for eksempel da det gjaldt ekteskap for den unge
prinsen Henrik til den franske prinsessen Margrete, og de mange militære
ekspedisjoner, for eksempel da han egenhendig ledet sine tropper i slaget ved
Toulouse i 1159, lovet åpenbart en strålende fremtid i den politiske sfære.
Hans personlige dyktighet, overdådige traktement og støtte til kongens
interesser, selv de gangene de gikk mot Kirkens, gjorde ham til en enestående
kongelig tjenestemann.
Da kong Henrik etter
Theobalds død i 1161 fikk domkapitlet til den 23. mai 1162 å utnevne den
motstrebende Thomas til det ledige erkebispesetet i Canterbury, i håp om å få
mer innflytelse over kirkelige saker, regnet han med at dette forholdet skulle
fortsette. Men til kongens forbløffelse la Becket ned sitt kanslerembete, og
forandret seg, som han selv sier, «fra å være en beskytter av skuespillere og
en som følger etter jakthunder, til å være en sjelehyrde». Han ble presteviet
og konsekrert til biskop av biskop Henrik av Blois av Winchester dagen etter i
juni 1162. Like etter mottok han palliet fra pave Alexander III. Han kastet seg
over sine nye embetsplikter, var rundhåndet til å gi almisser, bar en enkel
benediktinerdrakt og førte et strengt asketisk liv. Men til tross for askese,
hårskjorte, disiplin, våkenetter og almisser gjorde ikke slutt på hans
tidligere storhet og besluttsomhet. I karakter var han følsom og kompromissløs,
rask til å tale ut og samvittighetsfull i gjerning.
Nå da Thomas var
erkebiskop, selv om han ikke hadde valgt det selv, var han bestemt på å
gjennomføre de pliktene som han mente hørte til embetet, uansett pris. Blant
disse var den faderlige omsorg for kongens sjel, noe han temmelig taktløst
presenterte for kongen, noe som førte til betydelig irritasjon, og biskop
Foliot i London nørte opp under kongens økende motvilje mot Thomas. Snart kom
erkebiskopen i åpen strid med kong Henrik. Han ekskommuniserte noen
innflytelsesrike medlemmer av Henriks hoff for deres klossete behandling av
Kirkens eiendommer. Blant de mange stridspunkter mellom dem var spørsmål om
skattlegging, men også retten til å appellere til paven i Roma. Men
hovedpunktet for erkebiskopen var om staten hadde jurisdiksjonsrett over
geistlige som hadde begått drap eller andre forbrytelser som kvalifiserte til
dødsstraff. Slike forbrytelser ble av geistlige domstoler straffet med tap av
den geistlige status. Kongen forlangte at synderne etter dette skulle overlates
til hans domstoler og få sin straff der, mens erkebiskopen hevdet at dette
ville være å straffe to ganger for samme forbrytelse. Men paven var i dette
tilfellet nokså halvhjertet i sin støtte til erkebiskopen, dels fordi han var i
tvil om selve saken, dels fordi han av politiske grunner nødig ville ha et
brudd med den engelske kongen. Dette sprang ut fra frykt for at kongen skulle
gå over til motpavens leir.
Henrik for sin del hevdet
at han handlet i samsvar med skikkene fra hans bestefar Henrik I, som han
systematiserte i Konstitusjonene i Clarendon, som ble kunngjort på et konsil i
Clarendon ved Salisbury i begynnelsen av 1164. Henriks mor Matilda mente at
denne samlingen var et feilgrep. Den forsømte også i å ta med i beregningen
utviklingen i forholdet mellom stat og kirke de siste førti år, forårsaket av
den gregorianske reform og investiturstriden. Men Thomas aksepterte først de 16
konstitusjonene, men da han så implikasjonene, avviste han dem. En lang og
bitter strid fulgte, og verken kongen eller erkebiskopen gir etter. Henrik
krevde penger som han hevdet tilhørte ham fra Beckets kanslerembete, og smålige
forfølgelse av erkebiskopens tilhengere fulgte. Situasjonen tilspisset seg og
biskopene var delt i sine synspunkter. Etter et stormfullt møte i kongens råd i
Northampton, hvor Thomas nesten alene sto mot de kongelige krav, appellerte han
til paven, og i begynnelsen av november 1164 flyktet han i hemmelighet til
Frankrike. Han ble venner med kong Ludvig VII av Frankrike og bodde først i
cistercienserklosteret Pontigny. Begge sider appellerte til pave Alexander III,
som var i Sens i Frankrike og prøvde å finne en akseptabel løsning. Thomas
møtte Alexander og ba ham om å få trekke seg fra sitt embete, men paven avslo.
Men striden økte i
bitterhet. Kongen truet cistercienserne i England med straff hvis ordenen
fortsatte å huse hans fiende, så fra 1166 oppholdt Thomas seg i Sens. Kongen
var oppsatt på Thomas' fall, mens erkebiskopen brukte kirkelige straffer mot
kongens tilhengere blant det høyere presteskap og prøvde til og med å oppnå et
interdikt. Hans eiendommer hadde blitt beslaglagt og hans tilhengere forfulgt.
Men i eksil kom han til å forstå at kirkerett alene ikke kunne løse dette
spørsmålet, og under innflytelse av sine mest kompromissløse tilhengere appellerte
han mer og mer til de dypeste prinsippspørsmålene, som han mente var i fare,
som var Kirkens mot statens krav, i siste instans Guds og Cæsars.
Det varte over seks år
før konge og erkebiskop ble offentlig forsonet etter at paven og Ludvig VII
grep inn, men freden var skjør og enigheten kunstig. Straks etter at Thomas var
kommet tilbake til England den 1. desember 1170 under jubel fra folket, som
betraktet ham som en forsvarer mot kongens og adelens utbytting,, brøt
konflikten ut på nytt. Denne gangen var det på grunn av de biskopene som hadde
krenket hans bispesetes forrettigheter ved å medvirke da erkebiskop Roger av
Pont-l'Evêque kronet prins Henrik på kongens tilskyndelse. Becket svarte med å
suspendere Roger og ekskommunisere de biskopene som var mest innblandet,
biskopen av Salisbury og Foliot av London. Kong Henrik, som var Bur ved Bayeux
i Normandie, ble rasende og lot noen lettsindige ord falle til sine
hoffmenn: «Who will rid me of this turbulent priest», hvem vil befri meg
for den brysomme presten.
Dette ble, sannsynligvis
uten at det var kongens hensikt, ordren om Thomas' død. Fire riddere som så sin
sjanse til å glede sin konge, skyndte seg over Kanalen. Deres navn var Reginald
Fitzurse, William de Tracy, Hugh de Morville og Richard le Breton. Om
ettermiddagen den 29. desember kom de til Thomas, og etter en krangel med
erkebiskopen drepte de ham tidlig på kvelden den 29. desember, da klokkene
ringte til vesper, i et sidekapell i hans domkirke ved altrene som var viet til
Jomfru Maria og St. Benedikt. En subdiakon ved navn Hugh av Horsea deltok også
i mordet. Selv om Becket ikke hadde levd som en helgen, døde han sannelig som
en, og overga sin sjel i Guds og hans helgeners hender. Hans siste ord, som ble
gjenfortalt av øyenvitner, var kjernen i hans idealer som erkebiskop: «Gjerne
dør jeg for Jesu navns skyld og i forsvar for Kirken».
Nyheten om hans død
forferdet kristenheten, og over hele Vest-Europa ble Thomas øyeblikkelig æret
som martyr. Det ble meldt om mange mirakler ved hans grav, etter ti år var de
kommet opp i 703. Hans feil var glemt og han ble hyllet som en martyr for
Kristus og Kirkens frihet. Allerede den 21. februar 1173 ble han formelt
kanonisert av pave Alexander III som «martyr for Kirkens rettigheter og Kirkens
frihet». Paven påla kong Henrik II personlig interdikt og de strengeste
sanksjoner, og han ble tvunget til å valfarte til St. Thomas' grav og der
offentlig bli pisket til blods av biskopen av London og femti munker den 12.
juli 1174; videre måtte han erkjenne sin skyld i bruddet mellom seg selv og
erkebiskop St. Thomas. Kongen måtte akseptere erkebiskopens standpunkt i
spørsmålet om geistlige forbrytere og tillate appeller til paven, men ellers
tapte han i praksis lite og beholdt det meste av sin reelle makt.
Den 7. juli 1220 ble St.
Thomas' relikvier høytidelig overført fra hans grav i krypten til et skrin i
Treenighetskapellet bak høyalteret av erkebiskopen, kardinal Stefan Langton, i
nærvær av kong Henrik III, den pavelige legaten kardinal Pandulf, erkebiskopen
av Reims og en enorm menneskemengde. I nesten 400 år var hans relikvieskrin i
Canterbury et av de tre eller fire viktigste pilegrimssteder i Europa. I
Canterbury erstattet Thomas' kult mer eller mindre den for de andre lokale
helgenene på grunn av den enorme valfarten til hans skrin. Det finnes fortsatt
spor av pilegrimsveien fra London eller Winchester til Canterbury, og
stemningen på valfartene er udødeliggjort av Chaucer i Canterbury Tales.
Erasmus av Rotterdam angrep senere flere elementer av Thomas' kult, og en av
Henrik IIs etterfølgere, den uberegnelige kong Henrik VIII, lot i 1538 det
kostbare skrinet med St. Thomas' ben ødelegge. Han forsøkte også å fjerne
minnet om den store kirkemannen ved å forby og skamfere avbildninger av ham og
ved å beordre at alle henvisninger til hans navn i liturgiske bøker skulle
fjernes. Men minnet om denne personligheten holdt seg levende gjennom alle
hundreår.
Hans minnedag er 29.
desember med en translasjonsfest den 7. juli. Det var også en lokal fest for å
feire hans retur fra eksilet den 1. desember. Hans navn står i Martyrologium
Romanum.
Det har vært uenighet om
Thomas Beckets karakter. Myndig og sta, ærgjerrig og voldsom var han. Men hele
tiden var det tegn til mer opphøyede egenskaper, og årene mens han var i eksil
i Pontigny og Sens var en forberedelsestid for den siste ildprøven. Hans
historie har vært et yndet motiv for dramatikere, fra Tennysons Becket, T.
S. Elliots drama Mordet i katedralen, Jean Anouhils skuespill Becket
eller Guds ære, som ble filmatisert i 1964, og til musikkdramaet Becket i
1970 av C. R. John og Lawrence Bévenot. Det finnes også tallrike avbildninger
av ham, de fleste skildrer hans død i katedralen. Han blir fremstilt med bok og
kort, bredt sverd (mordvåpenet) og martyrpalme.
Kilder: Attwater
(dk), Attwater/John, Farmer, Jones, Bentley, Lodi, Schnitzler, Melchers,
Schauber/Schindler, Engelhart, Butler, Attwater/Cumming - Kompilasjon og
oversettelse: p. Per
Einar Odden - Sist oppdatert: 1999-12-08 22:30
SOURCE : https://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/tbecket
Thomas Becket (ook van
Canterbury), bisschop & martelaar, Engeland; †
1170.
Feest 7 juli
(overbrenging relieken) & 1 december (terugkeer uit ballingschap)
& 29 december (RK.Kerk sinds 1970).
Hij werd op 21 december
1118 geboren als zoon van een rijke koopman te Cheapside, tegenwoordig een
deelgemeente van de stad Londen. Hij studeerde theologie in Parijs en werd rond
1142 medewerker van bisschop Theobald van Canterbury. Vervolgens trok hij
achtereenvolgens naar Bologna en Auxerre om zijn studie te voltooien.
Hij was bestemd voor een
glanzende kerkelijke carrière. Geheel volgens de verwachting benoemde koning
Hendrik II hem in 1155 tot kanselier en in 1162 bovendien tot aartsbisschop van
Canterbury. In zijn privé-leven was hij bevriend met de heilige ordestichter
Gilbert van Sempringham († ca 1190; feest 4 februari).
Al gauw kwam hij in
conflict met de koning, omdat hij zich verzette tegen diens bemoeienis met
kerkelijke aangelegenheden. Dat moest hij in 1164 bekopen met verbanning naar
Frankrijk. Hij nam zijn toevlucht tot het beroemde klooster van Pontigny;
onderweg, meteen aan de overkant van het Kanaal in Frankrijk, logeerde hij in
de abdij van St-Bertin; naar verluidt werd hij daar door abt Godschalk († 1176;
feest 14 mei) met grote eerbied en broederlijke liefde ontvangen.
Na zes jaar, 1170, keerde
hij terug. Maar nog in datzelfde jaar werd hij tijdens zijn gebed in de
kathedraal door vier edelen vermoord; zij handelden in opdracht van de koning
zelf.
Verering & Cultuur
Reeds drie jaar na zijn dood werd hij heilig verklaard; hij gold als toonbeeld
van onkreukbaarheid, die zelfs voor de koning niet opzij ging waar het een
hoger goed betrof. Een jaar later kwam de koning in eigen persoon om boete te
doen op het graf van de heilige. Deze plek zou uitgroeien tot een van de drukst
bezochte en rijkst begiftigde bedevaartplaatsen van Engeland. In 1538 werd
Hendrik VIII zo geobsedeerd door die rijkdom dat hij Thomas' relieken in de
Thames liet gooien en vervolgens eenvoudig afkondigde dat de kerkschatten aan
de staat waren vervallen. Naar het heet werd Thomas' gebeente in 1888
teruggevonden, maar historici betwijfelen de echtheid hiervan.
T.S. Elliott schreef over
deze gebeurtenissen zijn toneelstuk 'Murder in the Cathedral' en Jean Anouilh
zijn 'Becket ou l'Honneur de Dieu'.
Daarnaast is 'De moord in
de kathedraal' onderwerp geworden van talloze kunstwerken.
[000»bk:Pausen:62; 000»jrb; 101; 101a; 102; 103; 104; 105; 105; 106; 107; 108;
109p:816; 111p:718-720; 113; 119p:231; 122; 123p:221.224; 133p:17; 142jr1170;
150p:130; 161p:58; 178p:46.72.73; 179:30; 183»12.29; 192p:80(gedood).196(gedood);
193p:224; 200/2:12.29;204p:91; 224p:163; 230p:301; 233p:655; 242p:123; 268p:86;
291; 293p:249; 300p:382; 304p:112; 314; 500; Dries van den Akker
s.j./2007.12.09]
© A. van den Akker
s.j. / A.W. Gerritsen
SOURCE : https://heiligen-3s.nl/heiligen/12/29/12-29-1170-thomas.php
The
Holy Blissful Martyr, Saint Thomas of Canterbury, by Father Robert Hugh Benson :
https://catholicsaints.info/the-holy-blissful-martyr-saint-thomas-of-canterbury-by-father-robert-hugh-benson/
Becket e il suo re (film) :
https://it.cathopedia.org/wiki/Becket_e_il_suo_re_(film)
Jacqueline Alio, St. Thomas Becket and Sicily : http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art288.htm
