St. Bede the Venerable: A Patron for Joyful Souls

If you spend any time reading your way through history, it’s likely you’ve met The Venerable Bede (c. 672–735). He wrote on everything, it seems: Scripture commentaries, a history of England, lives of local saints, and long, beautiful reflections on the life of faith. When he died, Bede had over 60 scholarly works to his name. But writing was not his primary vocation, St. Bede was a monk and priest in the twin monasteries of Sts. Peter and Paul for almost all of his long life.

Whenever he’s mentioned – and British histories are forever mentioning him, he is always The Venerable Bede. Because of his title, I’d assumed Bede had never quite been canonized. But Bede is actually St. Bede the Venerable – a towering figure in English Catholicism.

Like so many of the long-ago, hidden saints of history, Bede isn’t commonly asked to intercede for us. We tend to let these holy men and women gather dust in the corners of Heaven. But Bede and his contemporaries are ideal patrons for us busy, distractable moderns. Consistent and devout, Bede and his contemporaries seem to glide through the trials of life – continually nourished by the constancy of their devotion to Christ.

Lord God almighty,
open wide the door of my heart
and illumine it with the grace of the Holy Spirit,
that I may seek what is pleasing to your will.
Guide my thoughts and my heart,
and lead my life in the way of your commandments,
that I may always seek to fulfill them,
and that I may grasp the eternal joys of the heavenly life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
— A Prayer by St. Bede

“The Happiest of All Monks”

St. Bede the Venerable was born in Jarrow, Northumberland, in England. As a young boy he was entrusted to the Abbot of Wearmouth, St. Benedict Biscop. This was a common practice for children who seemed especially gifted (or in need of special care). Children from prominent families, like Bede’s, often sent their children to be fostered among local monks and nuns.

Early medieval abbeys were some of the safest places to be. As small kingdoms warred for prominence, the monasteries were places of stability. They were also places of healing, with huge herb gardens and thoughtful monks learning from each other as well as the ancients. The abbeys were the primary places of learning – in a time when books were rare and precious scholarship was considered a lifelong task. In the monasteries, books were crafted lovingly, used carefully, and shared generously.

In the Abbeys of Sts. Peter and Paul, young Bede learned to write Latin, Greek, and his native English (which we now call Old English). He learned to work and pray with his fellow monks, he learned the history of England and of the Church, he learned Scripture, and he learned theology. But like so many medieval thinkers, Bede also learned to see the world in rich layers.

Described by his contemporaries as “the most observant and the happiest of all monks,” joyful Bede brought his gentle wisdom to his brother monks through plagues and upheavals. He was a priest, a monk, a writer, and a teacher. But instead of being overwhelmed by his busy life, by all accounts Bede carried within him a deep peace.

When he died, it’s said St. Bede had the young monk attending him turn Bede to face his tiny altar. Then he softly sang “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost” as, joyfully, he entered into eternity. His feast day is celebrated in the new calendar on May 25^th and in the old calendar on May 27^th.

O God, by the learning of blessed Bede,
Your confessor and doctor,
You glorified Your Church. Grant that Your servants
may ever be enlightened by his wisdom
and helped by his merits. Amen.
— Proper from the Feast of St. Bede

A Gentle Patronage

Officially, Bede is the patron of English writers and historians, scholars, and his local towns. But I’ve been reaching out to him for a wider variety of circumstances. The world is a wild place – full of distractions and divisions.

According to the surveys, America is as divided now as it’s ever been – even during the civil war. We are a culture of people who “peer beyond the seven seas and [are] unutterably sad” as E.B. White once said.

In such a world, the steady wisdom and joyful faith of the Venerable Bede are essential. I reach out to him as a patron of “over-dressed and over-educated” housewives. As I read through stacks of old books, wash my floors, bake cozy teatime cakes for my family, and then write by candlelight when everyone is in bed, I smile at St. Bede the Happy and ask for his guidance.

If you’re trying to wean off the ever-exhausting culture wars of social media, if you’re finding ways to stay home with your kids or pursuing a simpler life on the homestead of your dreams – St. Bede is your friend. If you’re praying for a quiet soul amidst the culture’s turmoil or finding ways to maintain friendships with people whose opinions confuse and wound you, St. Bede understands.

Assist our ransomed hearts, Christ, our High Charity, pour warm tears, we beg, upon our voices. Unto thee we pour forth our prayers in faith, most pious Jesus. Set us free, O Christ, we beg, from the deeds of evil that we have done. By the mark of the holy cross on thy hallowed body, guard us everywhere like sons all, we ask thee.
— A Prayer by St. Bede