A Monk of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow: How St Bede Ended his Life in Great Devotion and Peace Saturday, May 25 2013

He was troubled with weakness and chiefly with difficulty in breathing, yet almost without pain, for about a fortnight before the day of our Lord’s Resurrection.

And thus he afterwards passed his time, cheerful and rejoicing, giving thanks to Almighty God every day and night, nay, every hour, till the day of our Lord’s Ascension…, and daily gave lessons to us, his disciples.

And whatsoever remained of the day he spent in singing psalms, as far as he was able; he also strove to pass all the night joyfully in prayer and thanksgiving to God, save only when a short sleep prevented it.

And then he no sooner awoke than he straightway began again to repeat the well-known sacred songs, and ceased not to give thanks to God with uplifted hands.

I declare with truth that I have never seen with my eyes, or heard with my ears, any man so earnest in giving thanks to the living God. O truly blessed man!

[...] He also sang antiphons for our comfort and his own. One of these is, ‘O King of Glory, Lord of all power, Who, triumphing this day, didst ascend above all the heavens, leave us not comfortless, but send to us the promise of the Father, even the Spirit of Truth—Hallelujah.’

And when he came to the words, ‘leave us not comfortless,’ he burst into tears and wept much. And an hour after, he fell to repeating what he had begun. And this he did the whole day, and we, hearing it, mourned with him and wept.

[...] He said, ‘…the time of my release is at hand; for my soul longs to see Christ my King in His beauty.’ Having said this and much more for our profit and edification, he passed his last day in gladness till the evening.

[...] And thus on the pavement of his little cell, chanting ‘Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,’ and the rest, he breathed his last.

And without doubt we must believe that inasmuch as he had always been devout and earnest on earth in the praise of God, his soul was carried by angels to the joys of Heaven which he desired.

And all who heard him or beheld the death of our father Bede, said that they had never seen any other end his life in so great devotion and peace.

For, as thou hast heard, so long as the soul abode in the body, he chanted the Gloria Patri and other words to the glory of God, and with outstretched hands ceased not to give thanks to God.

Cuthbert (an 8^th century monk of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow): Letter to Cuthwin on the death of The Venerable Bede (672/4-735).

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Bede the Venerable: Passover, Pentecost and Jubilee Monday, May 20 2013

Behold how the Jewish feast of the Law is a foreshadowing of our feast today.

When the children of Israel had been freed from slavery in Egypt by the offering of the paschal lamb, they journeyed through the desert toward the Promised Land, and they reached Mount Sinai.

On the fiftieth day after the Passover, the Lord descended upon the mountain in fire, and with the sound of a trumpet and with thunder and lightning, He gave them the ten commandments of the Law.

[...] We already know that the Passover Lamb and the deliverance from Egypt foreshadow the death of Christ and our deliverance from sin, as it is written: “Christ our Passover Lamb is sacrificed for us” (1 Cor 5:7).

He is “the true Lamb Who has taken away the sins of the world” (John 1:29), Who has redeemed us from the slavery of sin at the price of His blood, and by the example of His resurrection has shown us the hope of life and everlasting liberty.

The Law was given on the fiftieth day after the slaying of the lamb, when the Lord descended upon the mountain in fire; likewise on the fiftieth day after the resurrection of our Redeemer, which is today, the grace of the Holy Spirit, descending in the outward appearance of fire, was given to the disciples as they were assembled in the upper room.

The height of the mountain, and the elevation of the upper room, both indicate the sublimity of the commands and of the gifts.

At the sealing of the first covenant, the people remained at the base of the mountain, a handful of elders went partway up, and only Moses ascended to the summit.

At the sealing of the second covenant, the whole community of God’s people was gathered at the summit, in the upper room.

[...] In the law, the fiftieth year was ordered to be called the Year of Jubilee. During that year, all debts were to be cancelled, all slaves to be set free, the very beasts of burden to be eased from their yokes, and the year given over to celebrating the Divine praises.

Therefore, by this number is rightly indicated the tranquillity of that greatest peace when, at the sound of the trumpet, the dead shall be raised imperishable, and we shall all be changed into glory.

Then, when we are freed from every yoke of sin…the entire company of the people of God will give themselves over to contemplating the Heavenly Vision, and the command of the Lord will be fulfilled: “Be still, and know that I am God.”

The Venerable Bede (672/4-735): Homily on the Feast of Pentecost @ Society of Archbishop Justus.

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Bede the Venerable: St Cuthbert and the Otters Wednesday, Mar 20 2013

March 20^th is the Feast of St Cuthbert (c 635-687)

When this holy man (St Cuthbert) was thus acquiring renown by his virtues and miracles, Ebbe, a pious woman and handmaid of Christ, was the head of a monastery at a place called the city of Coludi, remarkable both for piety and noble birth, for she was half-sister of King Oswy.

She sent messengers to the man of God, entreating him to come and visit her monastery. This loving message from the handmaid of his Lord he could not treat with neglect, but, coming to the place and stopping several days there, he confirmed, by his life and conversation, the way of truth which he taught.

Here also, as elsewhere, he would go forth, when others were asleep, and having spent the night in watchfulness return home at the hour of morning-prayer.

Now one night, a brother of the monastery, seeing him go out alone, followed him privately to see what he should do.

But he when he left the monastery, went down to the sea, which flows beneath, and going into it, until the water reached his neck and arms, spent the night in praising God.

When the dawn of day approached, he came out of the water, and, falling on his knees, began to pray again.

Whilst he was doing this, two quadrupeds, called otters, came up from the sea, and, lying down before him on the sand, breathed upon his feet, and wiped them with their hair after which, having received his blessing, they returned to their native element.

Cuthbert himself returned home in time to join in the accustomed hymns with the other brethren.

The brother, who waited for him on the heights, was so terrified that he could hardly reach home; and early in the morning he came and fell at his feet, asking his pardon, for he did not doubt that Cuthbert was fully acquainted with all that had taken place.

To whom Cuthbert replied, “What is the matter, my brother? What have you done? Did you follow me to see what I was about to do? I forgive you for it on one condition – that you tell it to nobody before my death.”

In this he followed the example of our Lord, who, when He showed his glory to his disciples on the mountain, said, “See that you tell no man, until the Son of man be risen from the dead.”

When the brother had assented to this condition, he gave him his blessing, and released him from all his trouble. The man concealed this miracle during St. Cuthbert’s life; but, after his death, took care to tell it to as many persons as he was able.

The Venerable Bede (672/4-735): Life of St Cuthbert, 10 @ Mediaeval Sourcebook.

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Bede the Venerable: Christ Dwells in the Hearts of His Chosen Ones through the Grace of His Love Friday, Mar 15 2013

(The Latin phrase “miserando atque eligendo” used by Bede to describe the way in which Jesus looked on Matthew is the episcopal motto of Pope Francis.)

Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him: Follow me. Jesus saw Matthew  more with the interior gaze of his love than with corporal eyes.

He saw the tax collector and, because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him (miserando atque eligendo), he said to him: Follow me.

This following meant imitating the pattern of his life – not just walking after him. St. John tells us: Whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

And he rose and followed him. There is no reason for surprise that the tax collector abandoned earthly wealth as soon as the Lord commanded him.

Nor should one be amazed that neglecting his wealth, he joined a band of men whose leader had, on Matthew’s assessment, no riches at all.

Our Lord summoned Matthew by speaking to him in words. By an invisible, interior impulse flooding his mind with the light of grace, he instructed him to walk in his footsteps.

In this way Matthew could understand that Christ, who was summoning him away from earthly possessions, had incorruptible treasures of heaven in his gift.

As he sat at table in the house, behold many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples.

This conversion of one tax collector gave many men, those from his own profession and other sinners, an example of repentance and pardon.

[...] To see a deeper understanding of the great celebration Matthew held at his house, we must realise that he not only gave a banquet for the Lord at his earthly residence, but far more pleasing was the banquet set in his own heart which he provided through faith and love.

Our Savior attests to this: Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

On hearing Christ’s voice, we open the door to receive him, as it were, when we freely assent to his promptings and when we give ourselves over to doing what must be done.

Christ, since he dwells in the hearts of his chosen ones through the grace of his love, enters so that he might eat with us and we with him.

He ever refreshes us by the light of his presence insofar as we progress in our devotion to and longing for the things of heaven. He himself is delighted by such a pleasing banquet.

The Venerable Bede (672/4-735): Homily on the Call of Saint Matthew, the Tax Collector, (Hom. 21: CCL 122, 149-151) from the Office of Readings for the Feast of St. Matthew, apostle and evangelist on September 21 @ Crossroads Initiative (slightly adapted).

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John Cassian: Running Towards Christ with Devotion of Heart Thursday, Mar 7 2013

“I,” said St Paul, “so run, not as uncertainly; I so fight, not as one that beateth the air: but I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest by any means when I have preached to others I myself should be a castaway” (1 Cor. 9:26-27).

You see how he made the chief part of the struggle depend upon himself, that is upon his flesh, as if on a most sure foundation, and placed the result of the battle simply in the chastisement of the flesh and the subjection of his body. “I then so run not as uncertainly.”

He does not run uncertainly, because, looking to the heavenly Jerusalem, he has a mark set, towards which his heart is swiftly directed without swerving.

He does not run uncertainly, because, “forgetting those things which are behind, he reaches forth to those that are before, pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14), whither he ever directs his mental gaze, and hastening towards it with all speed of heart, proclaims with confidence, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).

And because he knows he has run unweariedly “after the odour of the ointment” (Cant. 1:3) of Christ with ready devotion of heart, and has won the battle of the spiritual combat by the chastisement of the flesh, he boldly concludes and says, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me in that day.”

And that he might open up to us also a like hope of reward, if we desire to imitate him in the struggle of his course, he added: “But not to me only, but to all also who love His coming” (2 Tim. 4:8).

He declares that we shall be sharers of his crown in the day of judgment, if we love the coming of Christ—not that one only which will be manifest to men even against their will; but also this one which daily comes to pass in holy souls—and if we gain the victory in the fight by chastising the body.

And of this coming it is that the Lord speaks in the Gospel. “I,” says He, “and my Father will come to him, and will make our abode with him” (John 14:23).

And again: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the gate, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20).

John Cassian (c. 360-435): Institutes 5, 17.

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Bede the Venerable: Turbulent Thoughts During Prayer Thursday, Feb 28 2013

(On Matthew 15:21-28 – the story of the Canaanite woman).

There are some who, upon entering a church, stretch out their psalm-singing or their prayer with many words, but because their heart is directed elsewhere, they do not even reflect upon what they are saying.

They pray, to be sure, with their mouths, but they deprive their mind, which is wandering outside, of all the fruit of their prayer.

The ancient enemy…is aware of the benefit of praying, and he envies human beings the gift of having their requests granted, so he sends upon those who are praying many kinds of frivolous thoughts, and sometimes too phantasms of things that shameful and harmful.

By these he can interfere with prayer in such a way that occasionally, when we are prostrated in prayer, we may endure great surges of thoughts which run every which way.

[...] We must take care to triumph over the acknowledged malice of the devil, clearing our mind, as far as we can, of every sort of cloud which the enemy rejoices in sprinkling about, and begging for the continuing protection of the benevolent Defender, who is able to grant to those entreating him, no matter how unworthy they are, both the grace of praying in a pure way, and that of having their requests granted completely.

It will help the purity of our prayer a great deal if in every place and time we restrain ourselves from forbidden acts, if we always check our hearing along with our speaking with regard to idle conversation, if we habituate ourselves to walking in the law of the Lord and scrutinizing his testimonies with all our heart (Psalm 118:1-2).

Whatever things we are accustomed to do, speak, or hear most often, these same things will necessarily return to our mind most often as though to their accustomed and proper place.

And just as pigs are accustomed to frequent marshy wallowing places, and doves to frequent clear flowing streams, so too impure thoughts disturb an unclean mind, and spiritual thoughts sanctify a chaste one.

If, after the example of the Caananite woman, we continue resolutely in our praying, and remain of fixed purpose, certainly the grace of our Maker will be with us to correct everything in us which is wrong, to sanctify everything unclean, and to make serene everything which is turbulent.

He is faithful and just, so that he will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from every iniquity, if with the attentive voice of our mind we cry out to him who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for all ages and ages.

The Venerable Bede (672/4-735): Homilies on the Gospels, 1:22 (Lent), “Homilies on the Gospels, Book One, Advent to Lent”, trans. Lawrence T. Martin and David Hurst OSB (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1991) @ Lectionary Central.

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Bede the Venerable: God was Born as a Man to Restore Us to the Image and Likeness of His Divinity Friday, Dec 28 2012

(On Luke 2:15-20)

And they came hurrying and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in a manger….  Once they saw they acknowledged the word that had been said to them about this child.

And let us in the meantime…hurry to perceive with pious faith and to embrace with full love those things which have been said to us about our Savior, who is true God and true human being, so that we may be capable of comprehending these things in the future vision which is perfect recognition.

For indeed this is the only true life of the blessed, not only of human beings, but of angels as well, to continually behold the face of their Creator.

[...] And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen, just as it was said to them.

Let us also learn…how to be turned from contemplation of the Lord’s divinely-arranged plan, by which he deigned to come benevolently to our aid, to giving thanks always for his kindnesses.

For if they, who as yet knew only about his nativity, went back glorifying and praising God in everything which they had seen and heard, we who know about the whole progress of his incarnation in succession, and who are imbued with his sacraments, are all the more obliged to proclaim his glory and praise in everything, not only in words but also in deeds, and never to forget that the reason why God was born as a human being was so that he might restore us through our being born anew to the image and likeness of his divinity.

The reason he was baptized with water was so that he might make the flowing of all waters fruitful for the cleansing of our wicked deeds.

The reason he was tempted in the desert was so that by being victorious over the tempter he might bestow upon us too knowledge and power to make us victorious.

The reason he died was so that he might destroy the sovereignty of death.

The reason he rose and ascended into heaven was so that he might present to us a hope and an example of rising from the dead and reigning perpetually in heaven.

Having “gone back” to gaze upon the most benevolent divinely-arranged plan, let us for the sake of each of these actions glorify and praise God himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit for all ages.

The Venerable Bede (672/4-735):Homilies on the Gospels, 1:7 (Christmas), “Homilies on the Gospels, Book One, Advent to Lent”, trans. Lawrence T. Martin and David Hurst OSB (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1991).

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Fulgentius of Ruspe: The Love that Brought Christ from Heaven to Earth Raised Stephen from Earth to Heaven Wednesday, Dec 26 2012

Yesterday our king, clothed in his robe of flesh, left his place in the virgin’s womb and graciously visited the world.

Today his soldier leaves the tabernacle of his body and goes triumphantly to heaven.

Our king, despite his exalted majesty, came in humility for our sake; yet he did not come empty-handed.

He brought his soldiers a great gift that not only enriched them but also made them unconquerable in battle, for it was the gift of love, which was to bring men to share in his divinity.

[...] And so the love that brought Christ from heaven to earth raised Stephen from earth to heaven; shown first in the king, it later shone forth in his soldier.

Love was Stephen’s weapon by which he gained every battle, and so won the crown signified by his name.

His love of God kept him from yielding to the ferocious mob; his love for his neighbor made him pray for those who were stoning him.

Love inspired him to reprove those who erred, to make them amend; love led him to pray for those who stoned him, to save them from punishment.

Strengthened by the power of his love, he overcame the raging cruelty of Saul and won his persecutor on earth as his companion in heaven.

In his holy and tireless love he longed to gain by prayer those whom he could not convert by admonition.

Now at last, Paul rejoices with Stephen, with Stephen he delights in the glory of Christ, with Stephen he exalts, with Stephen he reigns.

Stephen went first, slain by the stones thrown by Paul, but Paul followed after, helped by the prayer of Stephen.

This, surely, is the true life, my brothers, a life in which Paul feels no shame because of Stephen’s death, and Stephen delights in Paul’s companionship, for love fills them both with joy.

It was Stephen’s love that prevailed over the cruelty of the mob, and it was Paul’s love that covered the multitude of his sins; it was love that won for both of them the kingdom of heaven.

Love, indeed, is the source of all good things; it is an impregnable defense,- and the way that leads to heaven.

He who walks in love can neither go astray nor be afraid: love guides him, protects him, and brings him to his journey’s end.

My brothers, Christ made love the stairway that would enable all Christians to climb to heaven.

Hold fast to it, therefore, in all sincerity, give one another practical proof of it, and by your progress in it, make your ascent together.

Fulgentius of Ruspe (462/467—527/533):Sermon 3, 1-3, 5-6 (CCL 91A, 905-909) from the Office of Readings for the Feast of St Stephen, December 26^th@ Crossroads Initiative.

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Rabanus Maurus: From the Desert of the World to the Kingdom where Christ Reigns Wednesday, Nov 7 2012

God calls the Israelites an upright people, a race without re­proach, descended from the seed of the patriarchs and ever a worshipper of the one true God, whether oppressed by the Egyptians and other nations, or freed from them by the leadership of Moses and Aaron.

They were raised aloft by the wonders of God, at the crossing of the Red Sea, a cloud covering them by day and a pillar of fire shining over them by night; and God worked other miracles abundantly for them in the desert besides.

The Lord mysteriously frees his chosen ones from the hands of their persecutors, terrifying their enemies by a blinding flash of miracles.

He gives his servants wisdom of a kind not to be resisted or gainsaid by any adversary.

Wherefore they stand fearless in the presence of the kings and potentates of this world, speaking the word of God with confi­dence.

And, through the sufferings of martyrs, they attain to the rewards of the kingdom of heaven, where they sing praises forever to their king and saviour.

His wisdom has opened the mouths of the dumb and made eloquent tongues of babes.

Clear it is that, apart from God’s gift of wisdom, the mind of man cannot think anything out aright, or speak to any great purpose.

Wherefore from him alone is sound understanding to be sought, or the faculty of talking good sense; for from him, through him, and in him are all things.

He entrusted their concerns to the hands of his holy Prophet Moses. They made their journey through the desert places where no man dwelt; and in the secret places did they find their lodging.

The ancient people set out from Egypt led by Moses and went through the desert, pitching their tents in uninhabitable places, as the Pentateuch relates.

So also nowadays the people follow – the Christians follow, that is to say – the lead of the prophecy, to make their way in the desert of this world, whereby they are to reach their homeland, in the heavenly kingdom, where Christ reigns.

This is what Saint Peter the Apostle revealed, when he said: We have a surer prophetic utterance which you would do well to heed, as it were a lantern lit in a dark place till the day shall dawn and the morning star rise in your hearts.

Rabanus Maurus (c.780-856): Commentary on Wisdom, 2, 7 (PL 109:718-719); from the Monastic Office of Vigils, Tuesday of Week 31 in Ordinary Time, Year 2

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Fulgentius of Ruspe: Mortify your Base Desires, Mend your Ways, and you shall Set Free your Mind and Heart Saturday, Oct 27 2012

Turn your thoughts to yourself, to your own state, mortal man.

Look for the accusation against you yourself: then for the defence; and then, what about the judgement itself?

For now, you alone are accuser, defender, and judge.

Enter the secret recesses of your mind and heart, where the eyes of the Lord alone can see you.

Accuse yourself there, that you may be defended of the charge.

Try your­self there, that you may carry off the victory.

Condemn yourself there, in your own mind, that you may merit absolution.

Do not treat yourself as a special case when criticising your own conduct.

Instead, take apart and analyse your misdeeds with rigour; be strict in condemning the sins you acknowledge as yours; and in con­demning them as your own, do them to death as well.

Do them to death: that means, not to yield in the slightest, ever after, to sinful urges.

Not being one who commits sin, you will then be one who has killed it off.

And if you are a sound judge of your own sin you will go free of God’s just judgement.

But that you may rejoice in a just judgement delivered on yourself, take note of St Paul’s counsel, teaching what actions of ours we need to mortify so as to arrive at the true life.

For he says this: Mortify your own bodies as they walk the earth; as for fornication and all impurity, evil desires and prurience, avarice and slavery to the idols of materialism, all these call down the wrath of God on the children of disbelief.

That tells us, then, what is objectionable in ourselves, what we should condemn there, what needs mortifying.

Make the judgement on yourself – and you will not be judged.

So condemn – and you will not be condemned.

Mortify yourself – and you will not be finally mortified, with the death of the soul.

Here and now be the strictest judge, a veritable butcher in cutting out defects in the flesh.

Take careful thought and be abject in mortification.

For if you have properly weighed your sins you have made the judgement; then by casting them off, you have killed them.

To defend yourself, then, self-accusation has to come first; to secure your pardon, judgement and self-criticism; so as to conduct your cause victoriously, exami­nation of conscience.

Acknowledge your iniquity, mortify your base desires, mend your ways – and so by judging aright you shall set free your mind and heart, your very soul.

Fulgentius of Ruspe (462/467—527/533): Sermon 10.2-3 (CCL 91A:938-939); from the Monastic Office of Vigils, Friday of the 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Year 2.

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