St. Benedict, Patron of Europe

St. Bede the Venerable: Homily 17 on the Birthday of S. Benedict Biscop

Appointed to be read at Matins on the Feast of St. Benedict in English Abbeys in honor of St. Benedict Biscop, the founder of the Priory of St. Bede and promoter of the Benedictine Life in the North of England. This is especially important since Bishop Biscop himself was trained in schools on the Continent and was a promoter of the Roman See.

THERE will be two orders of the elect in the coming judgment: one of these will be judging With the Lord, as those mentioned in this passage, who have forsaken all, and followed him. The others will be judged by the Lord; although they do not leave all in the same way, yet each day they take care to give alms to the poor from whatever they possess: therefore, they also will hear on the Day of Judgment,

Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hundred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; and so forth. Of these the Lord was mindful also earlier in this lesson, when a certain ruler asked him, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. Hence, he who keeps the commandments enters into eternal life: but he who follows the counsels of the Lord, not only shall receive the life himself, but shall also with the Lord judge concerning the life of good work, although they are partakers of the Christian Mysteries; they will receive the sentence, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hundred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink. The other order of the reprobate will be those who have either never received the Faith and Mysteries of Christ, or else have indeed received them, but have fallen away through apostasy; unto whom he says, He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God,

HOWEVER, now that we   have briefly considered these facts with due fear and trembling, let us turn our ears to hear those most joyful promises of our Lord and Savior. Let us behold the great grace of his goodness: not only does he promise his followers the reward of eternal life, but also wondrous gifts in this present world. And every one, he says„ that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

FOR he who has renounced earthly ties or possessions for the sake of becoming a faithful follower of Christ, the further he advances in his Master's love, the greater number of those will he find who rejoice in affectionately welcoming him in their midst and sharing all they have with him. Truly are they partakers in his profession and life Who delight to receive into their own homes and lands him who for Christ's sake has become poor, and to cherish him with a wholly greater devotion of natural love than wife, or parent, or brother, or child