By Scott McDermott
If I didn’t make you do a double-take with that title – well, I’m disappointed. Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832), the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, seems to have little in common with King Henry II’s 12th-century Chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury, St. Thomas Becket. Obviously, Becket was a priest, while Carroll, a married layman, earned vast wealth through his plantations and business ventures. Carroll died in his bed at age 95, while Becket was murdered at the altar in his prime.
God’s love is a jealous love. He is not satisfied if we come to meet him with conditions. He longs for us to give ourselves completely, without keeping dark corners in our heart where the joy and happiness of grace and the supernatural gifts cannot reach. Perhaps you are thinking, “If I say ‘yes’ to this exclusive Love, might I not lose my freedom?”
Whenever he would write on the Eucharist, the man of God would encourage a slow meditative reading of his words, so as to let their truth penetrate into the heart. He wrote:
I would like these notes to be read very slowly, so as to give time for the head to learn, for the heart to be moved, and for the grace of God to go to work. After they have been read in this way, then ponder them in prayer before the tabernacle.
