Saint Bede , a light of the Church, lit by the Holy Spirit

[Rob2]

St Bede

Celebrated on May 25th

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Monk. Born in Northumbria in 673, Bede studied at the newly-founded monastery of Wearmouth, and then Jarrow. Here he became a monk, and spent the rest of his life - probably travelling no further afield than York and Lindisfarne.

The Venerable Bede said: “'I have devoted my energies to the study of the Scriptures. Observing monastic discipline, singing the daily services in church, study, teaching and writing have always been my delight.”

Bede’s religious writings were very important in his day, but it is as a historian that he is most remembered now. He is one of the main contemporary authorities about the early saints in these islands. His most famous work is the Ecclesiastical History of the English People. He wrote other histories, the first martyrology, letters and poems - all in Latin. He wrote in the vernacular, although most of his English writing has been lost.

During his last illness he was translating the Gospel of St John and extracts from the writings of St Isidore of Seville. He died in 735, surrounded by his community, after dictating the last sentence.

A hundred years later he was already referred to as ‘the Venerable’. It was not until 1899 that he was formally recognised as a Doctor of the Church. St Boniface called him ’ a light of the Church, lit by the Holy Spirit’.

He wrote the Latin words of the hymns ‘The hymns for conquering martyrs raise’ and ’ Sing we triumphant hymns of praise’.
(from ICN)

 

[IanM]

The tomb of the Venerable Bede, the first historian who chronicled the history of the Christian Church in Britain.

Durham Cathedral, England - Travel Past 50

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[Irishmom2]

St. Bede, pray for us!

Our very own @St.Bede, very often prays for all of us on CAF!

 

[St.Bede]

Thank you so much, @Irishmom2! St. Bede, pray for us!

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[CRM_Brother]

Saint Bede was not the first, but one of many saints who called Lindisfarne home.

The priory was founded by St. Aidan (d. 651), the local bishop, but it did not become a true site of pilgrimage until St. Cuthbert (634-683).As a young shepherd boy, he wished to go to Lindisdfarne and enter the priory. Leaving his family behind, he presented himself at the priory. The monks turned him away for not bringing sufficient wealth with him to support himself and the priory during his stay. Instead of leaving, he built and lived in a small hut at the other end of the island.

One day a book of the gospels washed ashore at the door of his hut. While he did not know how to read, he realized what the book was. He brought the gospel book with him and sat against the walls of the priory every day to hear the gospels being read and tried to follow along in his gospels. He taught himself to read through this process. Once he was sure of his literacy, he would stand on the other end of Lindisfarne and proclaim the gospels. Slowly, flocks of wildlife came to listen to him.

The fishermen who lived along the coast followed the shoals of fish which came to hear the gospels proclaimed. They found Cuthbert the Hermit proclaiming the gospels and eventually, they began ferrying the villagers to Cuthbert to hear the gospels. As he was not a priest, he did not preach, just read the gospels to the people. While the monks of the priory saw people flocking to the island, they realized that the pilgrims were not visiting the monastery. They found Cuthbert and drove him from the island but allowed him to keep the book of the gospels.

St. Cuthbert received a vision of Christ which told him to leave the island and become a ‘Soldier of Christ’. He promised Cuthbert that he would return to Lindisfarne.

Cuthbert took this literally and became a soldier. Northumbria had only been Christian for less than 20 years, so he defended his country from invasion from nearby pagan tribes and nations. In 651, on the day of St. Aidan’s death, St. Aidan appeared to St. Cuthbert and ordered him to become a monk at the new monastery at Ripon. He became a monk and, because of his familiarity with the gospels at such a young age (17), was ordained a priest. He was eventually invited to the priory at Lindisfarne to become their Prior.

In 676, he retired as prior and returned to his small hut on the end of the island in a desire for the contemplative life. He found that his hut had washed away. Instead, he made his home in a small cave nearby. In 684, he was elected as the bishop of Hexham. While he agreed to become a bishop, he refused to leave Lindisfarne. Another bishop was moved to Hexham and Lindisfarne was made its own diocese, with Cuthbert as it’s bishop. Instead of taking up residence at the priory, he continued to live in his cave as bishop and walked across the island every day to say mass and execute his duties as bishop until his death in 687.

(post 1 of 2)

 

[CRM_Brother]

(post 2 of 2)

It was St. Bede’s devotion to St. Cuthbert which drove him to join the monastery at Lindisfarne. On March 19th, he journeyed to Lindisfarne so that he would be accepted into the monastery on the feast of St. Cuthbert, March 20. As he paddled his raft to the island, a great storm blew in. He couldn’t navigate and it quickly became dark. The storm smashed Bede’s raft against the rocks and he was deposited on a small rocky beach. He didn’t know where he was but he realized that he needed shelter. He followed a small trail through the rocks and found a small cave to shelter the night in.

The next morning, the weather had cleared and Bede was woken by singing outside of his cave. When he exited the cave, he found the entire priory outside, singing their morning prayer. He realized that his shelter was actually St. Cuthbert’s hermitage. The monks saw St. Bede’s story as a sign and immediately accepted him into the monastery.