St. Thomas Becket
Posted on December 28, 2018 by admin No comments
Born: 21 December c. 1119 Cheapside, London, Kingdom of England
Died: 29 December 1170 (age 50 or 51) Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, Kingdom of England
Feast day: 29 December
Venerated: in Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion
Title as: Saint Bishop and Martyr
Beatified: 21 February 1173 by Pope Alexander III
Canonized: 21 February 1173 St Peter’s Church in Segni by Pope Alexander III
Patronage: Exeter College, Oxford; Portsmouth; Arbroath Abbey; secular clergy
Shrine: Canterbury Cathedral
Thomas Becket also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December c. 1119 (or 1120) – 29 December 1170), was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III.
Early life
Becket was born about 1119, or in 1120 according to later tradition. He was born in Cheapside, London, on 21 December, which was the feast day of St Thomas the Apostle. He was the son of Gilbert and Matilda Beket. Gilbert’s father was from Thierville in the lordship of Brionne in Normandy, and was either a small landowner or a petty knight. Matilda was also of Norman ancestry, and her family may have originated near Caen. Gilbert was perhaps related to Theobald of Bec, whose family also was from Thierville. Gilbert began his life as a merchant, perhaps as a textile merchant, but by the 1120s he was living in London and was a property owner, living on the rental income from his properties. He also served as the sheriff of the city at some point. They were buried in Old St Paul’s Cathedral.
One of Becket’s father’s wealthy friends, Richer de L’Aigle, often invited Thomas to his estates in Sussex where Becket was exposed to hunting and hawking. According to Grim, Becket learned much from Richer, who was later a signatory of the Constitutions of Clarendon against Thomas.
Beginning when he was 10, Becket was sent as a student to Merton Priory in England and later attended a grammar school in London, perhaps the one at St Paul’s Cathedral. He did not study any subjects beyond the trivium and quadrivium at these schools. Later, he spent about a year in Paris around age 20. He did not, however, study canon or civil law at this time and his Latin skill always remained somewhat rudimentary. Some time after Becket began his schooling, Gilbert Beket suffered financial reverses, and the younger Becket was forced to earn a living as a clerk. Gilbert first secured a place for his son in the business of a relative – Osbert Huitdeniers – and then later Becket acquired a position in the household of Theobald of Bec, by now the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Theobald entrusted him with several important missions to Rome and also sent him to Bologna and Auxerre to study canon law. Theobald in 1154 named Becket Archdeacon of Canterbury, and other ecclesiastical offices included a number of benefices, prebends at Lincoln Cathedral and St Paul’s Cathedral, and the office of Provost of Beverley. His efficiency in those posts led to Theobald recommending him to King Henry II for the vacant post of Lord Chancellor, to which Becket was appointed in January 1155.
As Chancellor, Becket enforced the king’s traditional sources of revenue that were exacted from all landowners, including churches and bishoprics. King Henry even sent his son Henry to live in Becket’s household, it being the custom then for noble children to be fostered out to other noble houses. The younger Henry was reported to have said Becket showed him more fatherly love in a day than his father did for his entire life.
Prayer to St. Thomas Becket
Great Saint Thomas, Bishop, Priest, Martyr, and sacrificial lamb for the Faith, pray for us.
You who were a fearless Shepherd of the people of God, pray for us to have courage in all the circumstances of our lives, to living according to the light that your example gives to our consciences. May we be faithful unto death, as you were. May we always seek God’s Holy will in our lives.
Saint Thomas, many were brought to you for healing both in your lifetime and especially after your martyrdom, please hear and accept my prayers for:
(Names)
We pray for the living and the dead:
(Names)
confident that you who now stand before Gods Holy Throne will intercede for us and draw us closer to Christ.
St Thomas pray for us that in Him, and With Him, we may live and move and have our being. Amen.
Prayer to St. Thomas Becket
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.
Prayer to St. Thomas Becket
Almighty God, you granted your martyr, Thomas of Canterbury, the grace to give his life willingly for the freedom of your Church. By his prayers make us willing to renounce our life in this world for Christ so that we may find it in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.