Thomas Becket and the Need for Holy, Heroic Bishops

12/30/2012

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tells us that an exasperated King shouted out in the company of some of his knights "will no-one rid me of this troublesome priest?"

Four knights took the exclamation to heart. They rode to the Cathedral of Canterbury to do just that; Reginald FitzUrse, William de Tracey, Hugh de Morville and Richard le Breton. On December 29th 1170 they murdered/martyred the Bishop right within Canterbury Cathedral. Reports are that after they committed the evil act one of them shouted "Let us away. He will rise no more."

One story recounts that while the Bishops body was still on the cathedral floor, the faithful had gathered to seek his intercession and collect portions of his clothing and drops of his blood. His heroic virtue in life and conformity to Jesus Christ in his martyrs' death, led to his quick canonization.

He stands in our day as an example for all Bishops - indeed all who must endure a hostile State - of the apostles clear words "This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked." In an excerpt from a letter the Bishop wrote to his Brother Bishops we read these words:

"If we who are called bishops desire to understand the meaning of our calling and to be worthy of it, we must strive to keep our eyes on Him whom God appointed High Priest forever, and to follow in His footsteps. For our sake He offered Himself to the father on the Altar of the Cross. He now looks down from heaven on our actions and secret thoughts, and one day He will give each of us the rewards his deeds deserve.

"As successors of the Apostles, we hold the highest rank in our churches; we have accepted the responsibility of acting as Christ's representatives on earth; we receive the honor belonging to that office, and enjoy the temporal benefits of our spiritual labors. It must therefore be our endeavor to destroy the reign of sin and death, and by nurturing faith and uprightness of life, to build up the Church of Christ into a holy temple in the Lord.

"There are a great many Bishops in the Church, but would to God we were the zealous teachers and pastors that we promised to be at our consecration, and still make profession of being."

Thomas of Becket - pray for us. With Bishop Thomas Becket, let us all pray for our Bishops!
- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Becket, Thomas, Bishops, Church/State, Religious Freedom, heroic virtue, martyrdom, Bishops, Archbishops, Deacon Keith Fournier

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1 - 5 of 5 Comments

Robert Burford
5 months ago
All good comments. I have been weighting the ideas in the article for a couple of weeks. I agree with Bill Sr that it is what we teach our children. We need to teach our children and grandchildren that there are some things right and wrong.(Exodus 20). All the the Bishops in the world cannot stand unless there is "backup" from the pews. Every generation has to learn this. We are in a dark age where premarital sex, abortion and gay marriage are the norm . We need bishops and the congregation in the pews to say enough is enough. The Bible is clear and the catechism is clear. We need to get back to basics. However, the Bishops need support. We need to be a light to the world and set the standard as the Holy Mother Church has done for centuries and not give way to what is modern thought.
Nicole L.
5 months ago
I wish all bishops could read this article. Many bishops or let say many who take a vow to obey the church teachings and to spread the gospel are not really doing so. Many want to follow the secular world and want to change Christ teaching to fit with our evil world. It was surprising to see how the majority of protestants voted according to the teaching while our catholic brothers ignored it. What's wrong with this picture? I know a letter was sent to all the churches to help guide the congregations. Did all the pastors pass on the message? No. In one church I got the message very clearly, in another I heard the priest gave an explanation on how even though some are pro life they don't help people etc... Those people don't have no idea how our church is been persecuted,and even ridiculed. We are supposed to be the church defenders, the one that stand to destroy evil, to right the wrong instead we are the group that support evil. Where are the bishops in this country who must stand and be counted. Where are they when we need strong teaching to do what's right. How strong are they in their Catholic faith? Can they follow the example of Thomas B?.
judy claar
5 months ago
Wonderful article. Wonderful posts. Prayerful Blessings...
Tom McGuire
5 months ago
Yes to Bishops who live as Bishop Thomas Becket. We have had some examples in our life time Bishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador.

Recently, I have met many people living close to extreme poverty. They are joyful loving people who not only obey the commandments but live evangelical poverty. Often they express sadness about the Church and her leaders who do not seem to live or proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, they do not dwell on or judge the imperfections of individuals or the Church, rather they have deep faith that Jesus is the Savior in whom all can trust.
Bill Sr.
5 months ago
We can agree that this life of ours is but for a season and how we live and share it with others is of eternal consequence for the body and soul which envelops it. This is why it is so important that as parents we honor our obligation to instill deeply within the hearts and minds of our children those very first two rules of the catechism "to know and to love God". Children without a true understanding of their heavenly father and why they were created and given life have little hope to perform the third rule of Christian life, "to serve Him". Hopefully we can see to it our little children develop the perspective that life here is like a playground where we sinners can train ourselves to become saints. The games or activities designed for us require only active loving participation and service at all times and a willingness to assist anyone needing help achieving the goals our heavenly Father has for us.
As grown ups we become so entrenched in our often drab day to day existence by the requirements of producing and providing that we forget that we too are children, God's children. We look at our little children playing and think of how worry free they are since we have taken on all their cares for them. We forget that "Our Father" through the Holy Spirit has lovingly provided our Lord Jesus who invites us to place our cares and worries upon him so that we too enjoy freedom to become children of God, His "saints". It has been said that a saint is someone who deep within his heart believes God loves him and offers him eternal life through Christ's sacrifice and resurrection and desires to use their life to witness, inform and assure others of the same truth about themselves. It's that simple.
So, who are the saints? They are people like you and me who believe and hope in their Creator and begin their heaven here on earth living Christ's prayerful request by helping build "thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven". We all have an "invitation" to sainthood and can respond according to our own abilities, gifts, and station in life willingly in the name of Jesus who relieves our burdens and has freed our spirits to be among the saints. Hopefully many of us will be among that "great number which no man could count" spoken of in Revelations which will eternally be the "communion of saints".
Father God, we pray that we can rejoice fully in the world as children of light and holiness so men can witness and know the truth of your merciful love and accept Jesus as their "personal" savior through and within the eternal "one body of Christ".
Yes, all are personally welcomed to the community of saints, here, now, and forever!

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