Our Gospel today is one of the Gospel reading that is an option for the feast of the Holy Family, which we celebrated last Sunday. Today, as we hear this Gospel of Jesus’ presentation of the Temple, we hear of Simeon, an devout and righteous man of faith. God had promised him that he was be able to see the Messiah before he died.
As we hear about Simeon and the way he recognized the child Jesus as the Messiah as he was being presented in the Temple by his parents, we commemorate a great martyr of the faith: Thomas Becket, who died 850 years ago today in Canterbury Cathedral in England. Becket had been named chancellor of England in 1155, a high post in the national government. As a skilled diplomat, he earned the admiration and friendship of King Henry II. The king nominated him as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162, hoping that he could use his friend to curb the growing power of the Catholic Church in English. However, Becket, as the new Archbishop, soon showed that he would be a strict defender of the Church’s jurisdiction in its own affairs. As a result, in 1164, Becket fled to France, fearing retaliation by the king. Becket reconciled with the king, which allowed him to return to England in 1170. However, soon afterwards, despite objections by the Pope, the king named his own son as co-king through the archbishop of York. Becket was murdered by the king’s knights in Canterbury Cathedral in response to threats by the king. The Christian world was shocked by Becket’s death. Just several years later, in 1173, Becket was canonized a Catholic saint. In 1174, Henry was forced to do penance at his tomb, and his efforts to end the separation between church and state ceased. Later, Becket’s remains were moved to Trinity Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral where they became a popular site of English religious pilgrimage. These days of the octave of Christmas, as we celebrate Christ’s birth, we also commemorate important martyrs of the faith: St Stephen, the Holy Innocents, and today Thomas Becket. We ask for their prayers and intercession.
No comments:
Post a Comment