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St Thomas of Canterbury |
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Feast Day: July 07
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Also known as
- Thomas Beckett; Thomas of Canterbury
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- Memorial
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29 December
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- Profile
- Of Norman ancestry. Educated at Merton Priory,
Paris,
Bologna, and
Auxerre. Civil and
canon
lawyer.
Soldier and officer.
Archdeacon of Canterbury. Friend of
King Henry II. Chancellor of
England.
Archbishop of Canterbury. Opposed the
King's interference in ecclesiastical matters.
Exiled several times.
Martyr.
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- Born
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1118 at London,
England
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- Died
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murdered in
1170 in the Cathedral at Canterbury,
England
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- Canonized
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1173 by
Pope
Alexander III
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- Patronage
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clergy,
Exeter College Oxford,
Portsmouth England,
secular clergy
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Representation
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archbishop with a wounded head;
archbishop holding an inverted sword;
archbishop kneeling before his
murderers;
archbishop being
murdered in church; crosier with a battle-axe head at the top
Images
Gallery of images of Saint Thomas
- Readings
- For our sake Christ offered himself to the Father upon the altar for
the cross. He now looks down from heaven on our actions and secret
thoughts, and one day he will give each of us the reward his deeds
deserve.
It must therefore be our endeavor to destroy the right of sin and death,
and by nurturing faith and uprightness of life, to build up the Church
of Christ into a holy temple of the Lord.
The harvest is good and one reaper or even several would not suffice to
gather all of it into the granary of the Lord. Yet the Roman Church
remains the head of all the churches and the source of Catholic
teaching. Of this there can be no doubt. Everyone know that the keys of
the kingdom of heaven were given to Peter. Upon his faith and teaching
the whole fabric of the Church will continue to be built until we all
reach full maturity in Christ and attain to unity in faith and knowledge
of the Son of God.
Of course many are needed to plant and many to water now that the faith
has spread so far and the population become so great. Nevertheless, no
matter who plants or waters, God gives no harvest unless what he plants
is the faith of Peter, and unless he himself assents to Peter's
teaching. All important questions that arise among God's people are
referred to the judgment of Peter in the person for the Roman Pontiff.
Under him the ministers of Mother Church exercise the powers committed
to them, each in his own sphere of responsibility.
Remember then how our fathers worked out their salvation; remember the
sufferings through which the Church has grown, and the storms the ship
of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board. Remember how the
crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new radiance to their
faith. The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing truth
that without real effort no one wins the crown.
from a letter by Saint Thomas Beckett
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