Happy Feast Day of St. Thomas of Canterbury

In honor of St. Thomas of Canterbury (a.k.a., St. Thomas Becket), Bishop and Martyr, whose feast day is today, here is a clip from the 1964 movie, Becket, starring the late Sir Richard Burton as Becket and Peter O'Toole as King Henry II.  The entire movie, though lengthy, is well worth watching, especially for Burton's excellent portrayal of the martyred archbishop, whose struggle to defend the Church in the face of Henry's attempt to force it to submit to the state prefigures the later struggle of his namesake, St. Thomas More, against another tyrannical King Henry some 360 years later.  The last 5 1/2 minutes or so of this scene are particularly worth watching, when St. Thomas prays that the Lord will make him worthy of the holy office entrusted to him.

Novena to St. Thomas of Canterbury

In anticipation of the impending announcement on January 1 of the establishment of a personal ordinariate for the U.S., the St. Thomas of Canterbury Anglican Use Society of Washington, DC and Northern Virginia (STCS) is inviting it's members and friends to pray a novena to St. Thomas, beginning on Friday, Dec. 23 and winding up on Saturday, Dec. 31.  The Feast of St. Thomas (a.k.a., St. Thomas Becket) falls on Dec. 29, just three days before the announcement.

The text is posted on the STCS website.  For those of you unfamiliar with the practice of praying novenas, check out this link to an explanation on the "Fish Eaters" site, including historical background and instructions.  I would say that this particular novena falls into the second category listed, a novena of preparation or "anticipation."  I would be pleased to hear from you if you do decide to participate.

St. Thomas of Canterbury... pray for us!