Message of Abbot Paul - Friday 29th December 2023

Today is the feast of St Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was martyred on this day in 1170, 853 years’ ago, at the hands of a group of knights belonging to King Henry II, who had appointed him to the Archbishopric eight years earlier. Before becoming bishop on May 24th 1162, he had served as Lord Chancellor of England for seven years. He was canonised by Pope Alexander III at St Peter’s Church, in the small town of Segni south of Rome, just two years and two months after his martyrdom. He soon became one of the most popular saints in Europe, as can be testified by the rapid spread of his cult. Do visit St Mary’s church, Credenhill, where you can see a beautiful medieval stained glass window depicting St Thomas Becket and St Thomas Cantilupe.

 

Our Gospel reading for the feast in the National Calendar of England can be taken from Luke, (Lk 22: 24-30), or from Matthew, (Mt 10: 28-33). Let’s take a look at Matthew, where Jesus is speaking with his apostles, bearing in mind that a bishop is a successor to the apostles. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” These words of Jesus speak precisely of the situation in which Archbishop Thomas found himself. His last words are reputed to be, “If all the swords of England were pointed against my head, your threats would not move me. I am ready to die for my Lord, that in my blood the Church may obtain liberty and peace.” Thomas could see what was coming to him for the stance he had taken against the King in favour of the Church he now served, but he was also aware of the words of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel following on from those we have just read. “Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.”

 

We pray today that God will raise up in his Church Christian men and women of outstanding moral and spiritual calibre like St Thomas Becket to stand up for Christ and the truth of his Gospel and who will bring others to Christ by the integrity of their lives. We can think of St Oscar Romero: what a fine example of a modern Christian saint and, like St Thomas, what an example to us all.