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Pope Benedict XVI- General Audiences |
General
Audience
On the Life of St. Bede
He "Contributed Effectively to the Making of a Christian Europe"
H.H. Benedict XVI
February 18, 2009
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The saint on whom we reflect today is called Bede. He was born in
Northeast England, in fact in Northumbria, in the year 672/673. He
himself narrates that, when he was seven years old his parents entrusted
him to the abbot of the neighboring Benedictine monastery, to be
educated. "In this monastery," he recalls, "I lived from then on,
dedicating myself intensely to the study of Scripture, while observing
the discipline of the Rule and the daily effort to sing in church, I
always found it pleasant to learn, teach and write" (Ecclesiastical
History of the English People, V, 24). In fact, Bede was one of the most
illustrious figures of erudition of the High Middle Ages because he was
able to make use of many precious manuscripts that his abbots, who went
on frequent trips to the Continent and to Rome, were able to bring back
to him. His teaching and the fame of his writings enabled him to have
many friendships with the principal personalities of his time, who
encouraged him to continue in his work, from which so many benefited.
Falling ill, he did not cease to work, always having an interior joy
that was expressed in prayer and song. He concluded his most important
work, "The Ecclesiastical History of the English People," with this
invocation: "I pray, O good Jesus, who benevolently has allowed me to
draw from the sweet words of your wisdom, that I may reach you one day,
source of all wisdom, and to always be before your face." Death came to
him on May 26, 735: It was Ascension day.
Sacred Scriptures were the constant source of Bede's theological
reflection. Having made a careful critical study of the text (we have a
copy of the monumental Codex Amiatinus of the Vulgate, on which Bede
worked), he commented on the Bible, reading it in a Christological vein,
namely, re-uniting two things: On one hand, he listened to what the text
was saying exactly, he really wanted to listen and understand the text
itself; on the other hand, he was convinced that the key to
understanding sacred Scripture as the unique Word of God is Christ and
with Christ, in his light, one understands the Old and the New Testament
as "a" sacred Scripture.
The events of the Old and New Testament go together, they are together
the path toward Christ, though expressed in different signs and
institutions (it is what he calls "concordia sacramentorum"). For
example, the tent of the covenant that Moses raised in the desert and
the first and second temple of Jerusalem are images of the Church, new
temple built on Christ and the Apostles with living stones, cemented by
the charity of the Spirit. And, as was the case for the construction of
the ancient temple of Jerusalem, even pagan people contributed, making
available valuable materials and the technical experience of their
master builders, thus apostles and masters not only from ancient Hebrew,
Greek and Latin stock contributed to the building of the Church, but
also new peoples, among which Bede is pleased to enumerate the Iro-Celts
and the Anglo-Saxons. St. Bede witnessed the universality of the Church
grow, which is not restricted to a certain culture, but is made up of
all the cultures of the world which must open themselves to Christ and
find in him their point of arrival.
Another topic loved by Bede is the history of the Church. After having
taken interest in the period described in the Acts of the Apostles, he
reviewed the history of the Fathers of the Church and the councils,
convinced that the work of the Holy Spirit continues in history. In the
"Cronica Maiora," Bede traces a chronology that would become the basis
of the universal calendar "ab incarnatione Domini." Up to then, time was
calculated from the foundation of the city of Rome. Bede, seeing that
the true point of reference, the center of history is the birth of
Christ, gave us this calendar that reads history beginning with the
Lord's Incarnation. He registered the first six ecumenical councils and
their development, presenting faithfully the Christian, Mariological and
Soteriological doctrine, and denouncing the Monophysite and Monothelite,
iconoclastic and neo-Pelagian heresies. Finally, he wrote with
documentary rigor and literary expertise the already mentioned
"Ecclesiastical History of the English People," for which he is
recognized as "the father of English historiography." The characteristic
traits of the Church that Bede loved to evidence are: a) its
catholicity, as fidelity to tradition together with openness to
historical developments, and as the pursuit of unity in multiplicity, in
the diversity of history and cultures, according to the directives that
Pope Gregory the Great gave to the apostle of England, Augustine of
Canterbury; b) its apostolicity and Romanness: In this regard he
considers of primary importance to convince the whole Iro-Celtic
Churches and that of the Picts to celebrate Easter uniformly according
to the Roman calendar. The calculation elaborated scientifically by him
to establish the exact date of the Easter celebration, and thus of the
entire cycle of the liturgical year, became the text of reference for
the whole Catholic Church.
Bede was also an illustrious teacher of liturgical theology. In the
homilies on the Sunday Gospels and those of feast days, he develops a
true mystagogy, educating the faithful to celebrate joyfully the
mysteries of the faith and to reproduce them consistently in life, while
expecting their full manifestation of the return of Christ, when, with
our glorified bodies, we will be admitted in offertory procession to the
eternal liturgy of God in heaven. Following the "realism" of the
catecheses of Cyril, Ambrose and Augustine, Bede teaches that the
sacraments of Christian initiation make every faithful person "not only
a Christian but Christ." In fact, every time that a faithful soul
receives and guards the Word of God with love, in imitation of Mary, he
conceives and generates Christ again. And every time that a group of
neophytes receives the Easter sacraments, the Church is
"self-generated," or to use a still more daring expression, the Church
becomes "Mother of God," participating in the generation of her
children, by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Thanks to this way of making theology, interlacing the Bible, the
liturgy and history, Bede has a timely message for the different "states
of life":
a) For scholars (doctores ac doctrices) he recalls two essential tasks:
to scrutinize the wonders of the Word of God to present it in an
attractive way to the faithful; to show the dogmatic truths avoiding the
heretical complications and keeping to the "Catholic simplicity," with
attention to the small and humble to whom God is pleased to reveal the
mysteries of the Kingdom.
b) For pastors, that for their part, must give priority to preaching,
not only through the verbal or hagiographic language, but also valuing
icons, processions and pilgrimages. Bede recommends to them the use of
the vernacular, as he himself does, explaining in Northumbria the "Our
Father," and the "Creed" and carrying forward until the last day of his
life, the commentary to John's Gospel in the common language.
c) For consecrated people who are dedicated to the Divine Office, living
in the joy of fraternal communion and progressing in the spiritual life
through ascesis and contemplation, Bede recommends to take care of the
apostolate -- no one has the Gospel just for himself, but must regard it
as a gift also for others -- either by collaborating with the Bishops in
pastoral activities of various types in favor of the young Christian
communities, or being available to the evangelizing mission to the
pagans, outside their own country, as "peregrini pro amore Dei."
Placed in this perspective, in the commentary to the Canticle of
Canticles, Bede presents the synagogue and the Church as collaborators
in the propagation of the Word of God. Christ the Spouse desires an
industrious Church, "bronzed by the fatigues of evangelization" -- clear
is the reference to the word of the Canticle of Canticles (1:5), where
the Bride says: "Nigra sum sed formosa" (I am brown, but beautiful) --
attempts to till other fields or vines and to establish among the new
populations "not a provisional bell but a stable dwelling, namely, to
insert the Gospel in the social fabric and the cultural institutions. In
this perspective, the saintly Doctor exhorts the lay faithful to be
assiduous to the religious instruction, imitating those "insatiable
evangelical multitudes who did not even give the Apostles time to eat."
He teaches them how to pray constantly, "reproducing in life what they
celebrate in the liturgy," offering all actions as spiritual sacrifices
in union with Christ. To parents he explains that also in their small
domestic realm they can exercise "the priestly office of pastors and
guides," by giving Christian formation to the children and states that
he knows many faithful (men and women, spouses and celibates) "capable
of an irreproachable conduct that, if suitably pursued, could approach
daily Eucharistic communion ("Epist. ad Ecgbertum," ed. Plummer, p.
419).
The fame of holiness and wisdom that Bede enjoyed already in life,
served to merit him the title of "Venerable." He is thus called also by
Pope Sergius I, when he wrote his abbot in 701 requesting to make him
come temporarily to Rome for consultation on questions of universal
interest. The great missionary of Germany, Bishop St. Boniface (d. 754),
requested the archbishop of York several times and the abbot of
Wearmouth to have some of his works transcribed and to send him to them
so that they and their companions could also enjoy the spiritual light
he emanated. A century later Notkero Galbulo, abbot of St. Gall (d.
912), being aware of the extraordinary influence of Bede, equated him
with a new sun that God had made arise not in the East but in the West
to illumine the world. Apart from the rhetorical emphasis, it is a fact
that, with his works, Bede contributed effectively to the making of a
Christian Europe, in which the different populations and cultures
amalgamated among themselves, conferring on them a uniform physiognomy,
inspired by the Christian faith.
Let us pray that also today there be personalities of Bede's stature, to
keep the whole Continent united; let us pray so that all of us are
willing to rediscover our common roots, to be builders of a profoundly
human and genuinely Christian Europe.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[The Holy Father then greeted the people in several languages. In
English, he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our catechesis on the early Christian writers of East and West, we
now turn to Saint Bede the Venerable. A monk of the monastery of
Wearmouth in England, Bede became one of the most learned men of the
early Middle Ages and a prolific author, while also gaining a reputation
for great holiness and wisdom. His scriptural commentaries highlight the
unity of the Old and New Testaments, centred on the mystery of Christ
and the Church. Bede is best known, however, for his historical
writings, in which he traced the history of the Church from the Acts of
the Apostles, through the age of the Fathers and Councils, and down to
his own times. His Ecclesiastical History recounts the Church’s
missionary expansion and growth among the English people. Bede’s rich
ecclesial, liturgical and historical vision enable his writings to serve
as a guide for the Church’s teachers, pastors and religious in living
out their vocations in the service of the Church’s mission. His great
learning and the sanctity of his life, earned Bede the title of
"Venerable", while the rapid spread of his writings made him a highly
influential figure in the building of a Christian Europe.
I offer a warm welcome to the pilgrimage group from the Diocese of
Arlington led by Bishop Paul Loverde, and to the School Sisters of Notre
Dame taking part in a program of spiritual renewal. I also greet the
many student groups present. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims,
especially the visitors from England, Ireland, Sweden, Japan and the
United States, I cordially invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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