“It is a question … of two opposing conceptions of life: one sacral and religious, sustained by the Church; the other secular, materialistic, revolutionary.”

Newsdesk (30/07/2023 13:44, Gaudium Press) His father, Gilbert, was a viscount living in London. As a young man on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he and his squire were arrested by a Mohammedan emir who reduced them to slavery.

Admiring their noble manners, the emir summoned him to always sit beside him at meals and narrate about the customs of the West.

Conversion of his mother, who was a Mohammedan

The emir’s only daughter listened to all this in amazement and one day, meeting Gilbert in a deserted place, she asked him to talk about the Catholic religion. When he had summarized, the girl asked:

– Would you suffer for Jesus Christ death itself?

– Yes. Sustained by grace, I will do anything for my Redeemer.

– I want to be a Catholic! Someday we will meet!

Gilbert managed to escape and returned to London. Shortly afterwards, she did the same and walked through the streets of the city asking passers-by about Viscount Gilbert, but got no information. One day she came across his squire who recognized her and took her to his master.

She was baptized, given the name Maud and married Gilbert. In 1118, Thomas was born and, after being educated in the parish schools of London, studied in Oxford and Paris.

He returned to England and held an important position at court, but began to decline spiritually. On one occasion, while hunting, he was swept away by a current and became entangled between the blades of a mill. He had recourse to Our Lady and managed to extricate himself and began to live a life of seriousness.

Great prestige in England and France

The Archbishop of Canterbury asked him to reside in his palace, and soon afterwards sent him to study in Bologna – north-east Italy – at the oldest university in the West. Thomas was tall, well-groomed, pleasant to deal with, and spoke with ease and elegance.

After completing his course brilliantly, he returned to Canterbury and the Archbishop ordained him deacon. He sent him several times to Rome to attend to important matters, and he always obtained good results.

In 1157, the King of England, Henry II, appointed him Chancellor. He had at his disposal 700 knights riding horses whose harnesses were adorned with gold and silver. The great lords sent their sons to him to train them and then be knighted.

In France, too, he enjoyed enormous prestige. When he entered a town, queues of horsemen would form to escort his carriage. And from two carts, beer was distributed to the people.

This court life favoured sensuality. The valiant Thomas always remained chaste and wished to leave the post of Chancellor so as not to become corrupted and to devote himself more to God.

When the Archbishop of Canterbury died, Henry II nominated him to replace him. Thomas was opposed, but at the urging of the papal legate he accepted; he was ordained priest and bishop. At the king’s request, he remained Chancellor. It was the year 1162.

From then on, he wore a sackcloth which he wore until his death. He rose at dawn, prayed the Divine Office and then celebrated Mass. In his sermons, he often “with great courage rebuked the vices of the great men of the place” [1].

Pope Alexander III, who was in exile in France, convened a Council in 1163 in the city of Tours. The saint attended and sat next to the pontiff during the sessions. Shortly afterwards he resigned as Chancellor.

“Though the world roar, I will not yield!”

Henry II began to seize the property of the vacant dioceses, and demanded that the bishops swear to respect the customs of the realm concerning ecclesiastical matters; customs that were not even defined.

Virtually all the prelates supported the wicked king. Under pressure from them, St. Thomas agreed and soon after asked the monarch what these customs were. A commission was then assembled to draw them up, and the saint realised that they were offensive to the freedom and jurisdiction of the Church.

Deeply regretting having made this concession, St. Thomas began to do more prayer, fasting and other penances. He stopped saying Mass and, through a messenger, sent a request for forgiveness to the Pope, who forgave him, explaining that his fault was not mortal, since it had been done in ignorance, and recommended that he return to celebrating the Holy Sacrifice.

St. Thomas having refused to put his seal on the document concerning customs, a retinue of bishops visited him and all asked him to obey the king. Full of Faith, he declared:

“Know this, that though the world roar, though the enemy rise up, though my body be burned, yet I, with God’s help, will not yield as regards the flock which I feed.” [2]

Seeds of the Revolution

Regarding the battle undertaken by St. Thomas Becket, Dr. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira explained:

“In the century in which he lived, in the height of the Middle Ages, there was a dispute between royalty and the papacy. The kings considered that the English ecclesiastical hierarchy should be under their dominion, while the popes, based on the institution created by Our Lord Jesus Christ, claimed full dominion in spiritual matters over all bishops, priests and faithful.

“Behind this disagreement lay a higher principle, an argument on a point which contained within itself the seeds of the Revolution: whoever affirms that the king has power over the Church at bottom maintains that the temporal power, representative of the things of this earth and of matter, has a primacy over the spiritual power.

“This is tantamount to saying that, in the order of values, earthly and civil affairs have more importance than religious affairs, the latter being mere instruments of the former. Hence it is implied, though not explicitly stated, that the aim of Religion is restricted to the life of man in this world and that Faith is a useful myth to discipline men, but does not represent a revealed, objective and absolute truth.

“On the contrary, the principle held by the Church is that the things of this earth exist for the sake of eternal life and that, although the State has its own temporal purpose, it must help the Church to fulfil her mission.

“For this reason, in addition to being vested with every right and power in ecclesiastical matters, with regard to the salvation of souls the Church has authority even over the State, which may not enact laws contrary to the Law of Christ.

“It is a question, therefore, of two opposing conceptions of life: one sacral and religious, sustained by the Church; the other secular, materialistic, revolutionary.”[3]

By Paulo Francisco Martos

Noções de História da Igreja

[1] ROHRBACHER, René-François. Vida dos Santos. São Paulo: Editora das Américas. 1959, v. 22, p. 139.

[2] Idem, ibidem, p. 147.

[3] CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Mártir da liberdade da Igreja. In Dr. Plinio. São Paulo. Ano XXIII, n. 273 (December 2020), p. 23-24.

Compiled by Roberta MacEwan