Saint Bede the Venerable

Tomorrow (May 25th) should be the memoria of Saint Bede the Venerable, but this year he gets shunted out by the Solemnity of the Ascension. I would hate for the Venerable Bede - the first great English historian - to be forgotten, so here is a little diversion to early medieval Northumbria



A Few Facts
Timeline: born 672, died 735
Birthplace: Wearmouth, Northumbria
Patronage: Lectors
Declared a doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1899

Reading
The story of Bede from Great Englishmen by M.B.Synge, courtesy of the Baldwin Project
Article from British Heritage Magazine
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England online as an E-text
Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Bede

Listen
... to this BBC radio programme on the Venerable Bede (Note: I have not previewed this) and check out the links on the associated research page.

Take a virtual tour








Bede's World - the Museum of Early Medieval Northumbria on the site of Bede's own monastery at Jarrow.
Durham Cathedral to see Bede's tomb (don't forget to visit the shrine of Saint Cuthbert while you are there.

Picture Study

Venerable Bede Translating the Gospel of John, by J.D.Penrose

Prayers
And I pray thee, loving Jesus, that as Thou hast graciously given me to drink in with delight the words of Thy knowledge, so Thou wouldst mercifully grant me to attain one day to Thee, the fountain of all wisdom and to appear forever before Thy face.

Venerable Bede

Prayer to St.Bede:
Careful Historian and Doctor of the Church, lover of God and of truth, you are a natural model for all readers of God's inspired Word. Move lectors to prepare for public reading by prayerfully pondering the sacred texts and invoking the Holy Spirit. Help them to read in such a way that those who hear may attain learning and edification. Amen.