Homily: Feast of St. Bede the Vulnerable
Feast of St. Bede the Vulnerable “How Knowledge was Preserved”
St. Bede is the patron saint of scholars. He was born in England in 673. This was during what is often termed the “Dark Ages.” I once had a teacher criticize me for referring to this period in that way. He maintained that there were places of light even at this moment in history. It was a time of chaos in the world. Strong governments did not exist. Consequently, the world was a lawless place.
People sought safety. The most stable institutions were the great monasteries that had been established throughout Europe. Monasteries were a place of sanctuary amid all the chaos. Academic knowledge was preserved within the walls of the monasteries. Philosophical study went on in monasteries as we might expect, but also scientific discovery happened there.
Bede went to the monastery to live at a young age. He studied under Benedict Biscop the Abbot of Wearmouth and later he joined the Benedictine monastery at Jarrow where Biscop had assembled a great library. Bede was ordained a deacon at nineteen and was ordained a priest at thirty.
Bede dedicated his life to scholarship. He studied Scriptural texts and wrote Biblical commentaries based on the Latin Fathers of the church. He also was a great church historian and wrote life stories for many of the saints.
Bede rarely traveled but attended to his monastic duties. In the modern world we usually believe that if people do not travel, they cannot be very sophisticated. Bede and others like him have proved that idea wrong.
Modern people fail to appreciate the influence of Monasteries on the history of the world. If monks had not preserved knowledge from ancient civilizations intellectual advancement would probably have been set back for centuries. We would not enjoy the modern conveniences of today.
Reflection Questions:
- What do I think of when I think of the Dark Ages? What do I base that belief on?
- Can I learn as much from reading and studying as traveling? Why or why not?
Dear Parishioners,
Today is my birthday. Birthdays are kind of a melancholy experience when you get to be my age. More of my life is behind me than in front of me. But time marches on.
I will be going to attend a funeral of a childhood friend today. He just died last week. When I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago, he shared that he could not have any more cancer treatments. He was philosophical about his situation. He said several times without anger, “That is just the way it goes.”
I took that to be a statement of faith. He realized that life in this world is not all there is. He would have liked to continue living his earthly life, but that was unrealistic. He had to move on to eternity. We will celebrate together today. I will commemorate my physical birth. He will celebrate his transition into eternity. Pray for him. His name is Dave.
May Our Lady pray for our trouble world today.
Fr. Mark