May 25 2017 - St. Bede the Venerable - Putting Christ at the Center

40 days ago, we celebrated the Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus on Easter Sunday.  And 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus ascended to the right hand of his Father in heaven.  Traditionally, the Feast of the Ascension, a holy day of obligation, was celebrated today.  It still is in several dioceses throughout the world.

In the rest of the dioceses of the United States, the celebration of the Ascension has been transferred to the following Sunday.
 
The Church honors three of her Saints today: St. Bede the Venerable, St. Gregory VII, and St. Magdalene de Pazzi.  Two of them, the Venerable Bede, and Pope Saint Gregory were Benedictine Monks.

The Collect prayer spoke of how God brings light to the Church through the learning of the Priest Saint Bede”. St. Bede is a learned doctor of the Church born around 672. He was a historian who wrote biographies, martyrologies, works of science, numerous commentaries on the bible and sacred chant. As a historian, his Ecclesiastical History of the English People has remained one of the most authoritative source of that time period, so he is even venerated by secular historians. But that is not the extent of his impact. He is credited for beginning the custom of marking the dates of history from the Incarnation with the term anno domini.

So we mark the year as 2017 AD, anno domini, because of St. Bede. His love for Christ has changed history and the way we view history. Civilization, Christian or not, marks its years by the birth of Christ because this saint allowed his faith to permeate his life. He did so by frequent and ponderous meditation on the scriptures and the life of Jesus.

And he encouraged us to do the same; St. Bede said, “Because we cannot totally avoid idle thoughts, we should put them to flight, as far as we can, by stirring up good thoughts, and especially by frequent meditation on the scriptures, according to the example of the psalmist who said, “Oh, how I have loved your Law, O Lord; it is my meditation all the day.”

So to meditate on the scriptures throughout the day is a powerful way of sanctifying time and making Christ more and more the center of our life. The words of Scripture are living words and become a source of wisdom and inspiration as we ponder them.

As a Benedictine monk, St. Vede would have practiced lectio divina, divine reading of scripture, reading that lifts the mind and heart and soul to the Divine One.

May we, like St. Bede, make Christ the center of our history by making him the center of every day, meditating on his words, imitating his love for the Father for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Saints may inspire us and continue to help us put Christ at the center of our life.

That the Saints may inspire us to works of charity and caring for the needy.

That the Saints may inspire us to confess our sins, strengthen in virtue, and be devoted to the spread of the Gospel.

That the Saints may inspire us to bear our sufferings in union with Christ, and may help the suffering to know the comforting presence of God, especially the sick, the elderly, those in nursing homes, hospitals, hospice care, addicts and those imprisoned, those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today.

For our beloved dead…

O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.