Category: Canon 603

Hospitality:

Posted on by Hm Rachel

Bede’s Life of Cuthbert: Chapter VII

Cuthbert is in his prime by now.  He is a hard worker and taking on responsibilities in the monastery. The community is invited to lay down the foundations for a new Abbey in Ripon, and Cuthbert joins the working party.  He was known to be amiable and pleasant with people, and so he was made guest-master at the new monastery.

HOW HE ENTERTAINED AN ANGEL, AND WHILST MINISTERING TO HIM EARTHLY BREAD, WAS THOUGHT WORTHY TO BE REWARDED WITH BREAD FROM HEAVEN

SOME years after, it pleased King Alfred, for the redemption of his soul, to grant to Abbot Eata a certain tract of country called Inrhipum, in which to build a monastery. The abbot, in consequence of this grant, erected the intended building, and placed therein certain of his brother-monks, among whom was Cuthbert, and appointed for them the same rules and discipline which were observed at Melrose. It chanced that Cuthbert was appointed to the office of receiving strangers, and he is said to have entertained an angel of the Lord who came to make trial of his piety. For, as he went very early in the morning, from the interior of the monastery into the strangers’ cell, he found there seated a young person, whom he considered to be a man, and entertained as such. He gave him water to wash his hands; he washed his feet himself, wiped them, and humbly dried them in his bosom; after which he entreated him to remain till the third hour of the day and take some breakfast, lest, if he should go on his journey fasting, he might suffer from hunger and the cold of winter. For he took him to be a man, and thought that a long journey by night and a severe fall of snow had caused him to turn in thither in the morning to rest himself. The other replied, that he could not tarry, for the home to which he was hastening lay at some distance.

Cuthbert washes an angel’s feet.

After much entreaty, Cuthbert adjured him in God’s name to stop; and as the third hour was now come, prayer over, and it was time to breakfast, he placed before him a table with some food, and said, ” I beseech thee, brother, eat and refresh thyself, whilst I go and fetch some hot bread, which must now, I think, be just baked. ” When he returned, the young man, whom he had left eating, was gone, and he could see no traces of his footsteps, though there had been a fresh fall of snow, which would have exhibited marks of a person walking upon it, and shown which way he went. The man of God was astonished, and revolving the circumstances in his mind, put back the table in the dining-room. Whilst doing so, he perceived a most surprising odour and sweetness; and looking round to see from what it might proceed, he saw three white loaves placed there, of unusual whiteness and excellence. Trembling at the sight, he said within himself, ” I perceive that it was an angel of the Lord whom I entertained, and that he came to feed us, not to be fed himself. Behold, he hath brought such loaves as this earth never produced; they surpass the lily in whiteness, the rose in odour, and honey in taste. They are, therefore, not produced from this earth, but are sent from paradise. No wonder that he rejected my offer of earthly food, when he enjoys such bread as this in heaven.”

The man of God was stimulated by this powerful miracle to be more zealous still in performing works of piety; and with his deeds did increase upon him also the grace of God. From that time he often saw and conversed with angels, and when hungry was fed with unwonted food furnished direct from God.He was affable and pleasant in his character; and when he was relating to the fathers the acts of their predecessors, as an incentive to piety, he would introduce also, in the meekest way, the spiritual benefits which the love of God had conferred upon himself. And this he took care to do in a covert manner, as if it had happened to another person. His hearers, however, perceived that he was speaking of himself, after the pattern of that master who at one time unfolds his own merits without disguise, and at another time says, under the guise of another, ” I knew a man in Christ fourteen years ago, who was carried up into the third heaven.”

The miraculous loaves from paradise


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The spirituality of Cuthbert and his brethren was derived from three influences.  The Angles and Celts, the Romans, and the Desert Fathers and Mothers.  These latter were people who left the comfort and leisure of the cities to go out and meet God in the desert, both pre and post the life of Jesus.  With the adoption of Christianity by the Romans in the era of Constantine’s reign (306-337), the persecution of Christians was largely ended.  So, somewhat to substitute for the travails of martyrdom, there grew to be a greater desire and excitement for an encounter with God in the desert.  As the numbers mounted, small groups of hermitages or Lauras were formed and the hermits began to teach one another.  Many of their sayings were written down in various forms, and were eventually pulled together into a collection we now call the Apothegmata (or Sayings).  The version I am using is a compilation and translation by Benedicta Ward (BW in the references).  It is published by Penguin Classics, and is grouped according to topics, and NOT the alphabetic version with which she is also involved.  The page numbers should enable you to follow if you are interested.

For the Desert Fathers and Mothers (and indeed, any desert dwellers) hospitality was an unwritten law of the desert.  With the arid desert and the life/death balance of desert-living often on the edge, a request for life-saving water or shelter was never to be refused.   

“A brother came to a hermit and as he was taking his leave  he said, ‘Forgive me Abba for preventing you from keeping your rule@.   The hermit answered, ‘My rule is to welcome you with hospitality, and to send you on your way in peace’.  TDF 136

The situation for Cuthbert was not much different.  It is clear from the stories of his travels that he often stopped off and relied on strangers’ hospitality for food and a bed.  And when travellers arrived at the monastery, in his role as guest-master, he was expecting to invite them in and see to their wellbeing before sending them on their way again. 

It is worth noting that both of these forms of hospitality were directed towards meeting the needs of the travellers, and not necessarily their desires.  “Guests” were seldom invited to linger for long, neither in the desert, nor in the monastery.  Indeed there are many examples in the Apothegmata of the Desert dwellers avoiding or even turning away visitors who have arrived out of curiosity or a sort of fandom. 

Once a provincial judge heard of Moses and went to Scetis to see him.  They told Moses that he was on his way, and he got up and fled towards a marsh.  The judge and his entourage met him, and asked him, ‘Tell me, old man, where is the cell of Moses?’  He said, ‘What do you want to see him for?  He’s a fool and a heretic.’    The judge came to the church, and said to the clergy, ‘I have heard about Moses and I came to see him.  But I met an old man on the way to Egypt, and I asked him where the cell of Moses was and he said, ‘Why are you looking for him?  He is a fool and a heretic.”’  The clergy were distressed and said, ‘What sort of person was your old man who told you this about the holy man?’  He said, ‘He was an old man, tall and black, wearing the oldest possible clothes.’  The clergy said, ‘That was Moses.  He said that about himself because he didn’t want you to see him.’  The judge went away very impressed. AC Moses 8

The contemporary hermit faces the same conundrum:  how to offer a (life-supporting?) hand to those who need it, without compromising the solitude and silence of the hermitage. Perhaps the hunger and thirst which todays’ travellers arrive with are as much for rest, peace, a meaningful sense of God, as for the physical need for food, water and shelter.

Evenso, this ancient and longstanding principle of a hospitality of necessity rather than desire seems a good guideline.  As part of my C603 Rule of Life, I promise that I will “live simply, in solitude and silence, staying and returning there insofar as duties permit”.  So duties such as caring for elderly parents, celebrating a family wedding, earning a suitable living, Sunday Mass – and returning with haste to my “cell” (as the Apothegmata would name it) seems to give a good balance. 

And what of the strangers who ask for prayers, or counsel, or “a Word” (ref also Apothegmata).  I often fall back on the words of Raphael Vernay – a Benedictine Hermit ”The hermit is simply a pioneer in the way of the desert which the whole of humanity must follow of necessity one day, each one according to their own measure and desire. This eremitical vocation, at least embryonically, is to be found in every Christian vocation. It is necessary that the Church and society do something so that this may be realizable,  so that each may at least touch it, be it only with the tip of their little finger”. Benedictine Raphael  Vernay: On the Desert Place of the Inner Sanctuary. 1974

Opening the window of the hermitage through blogs like this, or the work other hermits eg. Sr Laurel O’Neil on C603, or Sr Wendy Becket on Art appreciation (RIP 2018), or Sr Catherine Wybourne on using technology as an evangelical tool (RIP 2022), or any other hermit on their particular speciality, seems a good and appropriate and measured way of enabling each person to touch hermitage, “be it only with the tip of their little finger”.   We hope and pray for you that these glimpses through a barely open window might offer succour and support in times of need.  God is with you.

Discernment:

Posted on by Hm Rachel

Discernment: Bede’s Life of St Cuthbert:  Chapter VI

This marks the beginning of a deep friendship between Boisil and Cuthbert.  The friendship of hermits is not often explored, and we shall dig a bit deeper in a later piece.

In Bede’s account, the initial reference to Cuthbert is again scriptural “Behold the servant of the Lord”.  In echoing the words of Jesus to Nathanael (“an Israelite in who there is no guile”  (John 1:47)), Boisil is assuming the persona of Jesus (as prior of the monastery), and foresees in spirit “how great the man whom he saw was going to be in his manner of life”.  Bede is guiding us again towards Cuthbert (and Boisil) as exemplars of Gospel virtue. 

HOW, AS HE WAS COMING TO A MONASTERY, BOISIL, A HOLY MAN, BORE TESTIMONY TO HIM BY PROPHESYING IN SPIRIT

MEANWHILE this reverend servant of God, abandoning worldly things, hastens to submit to monastic discipline, having been excited by his heavenly vision to covet the joys of everlasting happiness, and invited by the food with which God had supplied him to encounter hunger and thirst in his service. He knew that the Church of Lindisfarne contained many holy men, by whose teaching and example he might be instructed, but he was moved by the great reputation of Boisil, a monk and priest of surpassing merit, to choose for himself an abode in the abbey of Melrose. And it happened by chance, that when he was arrived there, and had leaped from his horse, that he might enter the church to pray, he gave his horse and travelling spear to a servant, for he had not yet resigned the dress and habits of a layman.

Boisil was standing before the doors of the monastery, and saw him first. Foreseeing in spirit what an illustrious man the stranger would become, he made this single remark to the bystanders: ” Behold a servant of the Lord ! ” herein imitating Him who said of Nathaniel, when he approached Him, ” Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile ! ” I was told this by that veteran priest and servant of God, the pious Sigfrid, for he was standing by when Boisil said these words, and was at that time a youth studying the first rudiments of the monastic life in that same monastery, but now he is a man, perfect in the Lord, living in our monastery of Yarrow, and amid the last sighs of his fainting body thirsting for a happy entrance into another life. Boisil, without saying more, kindly received Cuthbert as he approached; and when he had heard the cause of his coming, namely, that he preferred the monastery to the world, he kept him near himself, for he was the prior of that same monastery.

Cuthbert embraced by Boisil at Melrose Abbey.

After a few days, when Eata, who was at that time priest and abbot of the monastery, but afterwards bishop of Lindisfarne, was come, Boisil told him about Cuthbert, how that he was a young man of a promising disposition, and obtained permission that he should receive the tonsure, and be enrolled among the brethren. When he had thus entered the monastery, he conformed himself to the rules of the place with the same zeal as the others, and indeed, sought to surpass them by observing stricter discipline; and in reading, working, watching, and praying, he fairly outdid them all. Like the mighty Samson of old, he carefully abstained from every drink which could intoxicate; but was not able to abstain equally from food, lest his body might be thereby rendered less able to work: for he was of a robust frame arid of unimpaired strength, and fit for any labour which he might be disposed to take in hand.

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Perhaps what is most useful about this chapter is the process of discernment which it unfolds.  We have seen Cuthbert growing up, experiencing something of a conversion at quite a young age, and since that time as Bede records, “wholly given to the Lord”.  As he reached young adulthood, Cuthbert begins to seek out the possibility of monastic life.  The monastery of Lindesfarne was renowned for its learning and holiness, but Cuthbert chooses instead the much humbler abbey of Melrose, “learning beforehand of the fame of the sublime virtues of the monk and priest Boisil”. 

So Cuthbert first discerns his vocation, and then researches the most suitable place for himself to commit to it.  But it is not his decision to make.

When he arrives, Boisil greets him warmly – that must have felt both affirming and unnerving to a young man who, with both horse and spear,  “had not yet put off his secular habit”.  To reinforce the sense of a communal witness to Cuthbert’s arrival and welcome, Bede invokes the name of a witness: Sigfrith, who is still living in the Jarrow monastery with Bede.  A living eyewitness!

But even Boisil’s (and implicitly Sigfrith’s) approval is not sufficient. Eata (Abbot of Lindesfarne) next arrives, and examines Cuthbert  and considering him a suitable candidate, admits him to receive the tonsure, the habit, and to join the novitiate.  The discernment of Cuthbert’s vocation is an active, engaging thing.  Even when Cuthbert later wishes to live in greater solitude, he asks permission from the community, and his eventual removal further out to the Farne islands is clearly negotiated with his brothers and his superiors. In later life when he is called on by the discernment of the brothers to become their new Bishop of Lindesfarne, he responds willingly, if reluctantly.

Every vocation to the Consecrated Life is a process of ongoing discernment, both of the candidate/incumbent, and of their community.  It is never, ultimately, an individual project.  Canon 603 nominates the local diocese as the “community” with which the hermit is obligated to engage.  The hermit promises obedience to God, but into the hands of the local bishop.  The hermit must create and write the Rule of Life, but the bishop must approve it.

A couple of quotes for you: there is a commentary to Canon 603 which was made available in 2022 by the Congregation (now dicastery) for Institutes of Consecrated life and Societies of Apostolic Life. You can link to it here:  ponam_in_deserto_IFSB.pdf   (odd translation – I think it is Google translated!) The The document title “Ponam in Deserto” (henceforward PiD) is translated into “The hermit life form in the particular Church”, and explores deeper some of the tradition and spirituality which underlies Canon 603 and offers guidance as to how it might best be implemented in a diocese.

On discernment it states: “Ecclesial recognition implies acceptance into the particular Church, through confirmation, direction and accompaniment by the diocesan bishop. It is a delicate process of discernment which postulates for its full realisation the ecclesial exercise of synodality, in which faithful and pastors, together, choose the steps of communion to be accomplished in the building up of the Kingdom of God, so that each may know the hope of their own vocation. The link with the pastor of the local Church takes on particular canonical value in the case of the public profession of the evangelical counsels.” TLF 12

The hermit does not discern alone. It is a personal and a Church project, not an individual one!

The Church recognises the lives of hermits … by the public profession in the hands of the diocesan bishop [of] the three evangelical counsels … and a proper program of living under the bishop’s direction. Canon 603





Providence:

Posted on by Hm Rachel

Bede’s Life of Cuthbert: Chapter V

I love this chapter, with its reference to the Old Testament prophet and hermit – Elias. It celebrates the ancient tradition and heritage of hermitage and the grace of God’s providence throughout history- a way of living and serving and revealing God that has been a part of the story of Israel from the earliest stories and writings. I like to think of Cuthbert, staff in hand, musing on the same stories about Elijah as I find in my own bible. And perhaps resonating with them in the same way.

HOW, ON HIS WAY, HE WAS SUPPLIED WITH FOOD BY GOD

AND when he now began with care to meditate on his intended entrance to a more rigid course of life, God ‘s grace was revealed to him, whereby his mind was strengthened in its purpose, and it was shown to him by the clearest evidence, that to those who seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, the bounty of the Divine promise will grant all other things also, which are necessary for their bodily support. For on a certain day, as he was journeying alone, he turned aside at the fourth hour into a village which lay at some distance, and to which he found his way. Here he entered the house of a pious mother of a family, in order to rest himself a little, and to procure food for his horse rather than for himself, for it was the beginning of winter. The woman received him kindly, and begged him to allow her to get him some dinner, that he might refresh himself. The man of God refused, saying, ” I cannot yet eat, for it is a fast-day.” It was the sixth day of the week, on which many of the faithful, out of reverence to the Lord’s passion, are accustomed to extend their fasting even to the ninth hour.

A horse discovers food for the saint

The woman, from a motive of hospitality, persisted in her request. “Behold,” said she, “on the way you are going there is no village, nor house; you have a long journey before you, and cannot get through it before sunset. Let me entreat you, therefore, to take some food before you go, or else you will be obliged to fast all the day, and perhaps even till to-morrow.” But though the woman pressed him much, his love of religion prevailed, and he fasted the whole day until the evening. When the evening drew near, and he perceived that he could not finish his intended journey the same day, and that there was no house at hand in which he could pass the night, he presently fell upon some shepherds’ huts, which, having been slightly constructed in the summer, were now deserted and ruinous. Into one of these he entered, and having tied his horse to the wall, placed before him a handful of hay, which the wind had forced from the roof. He then turned his thoughts to prayer, but suddenly, as he was singing a psalm, he saw his horse lift up his head and pull out some straw from the roof, and among the straw there fell down a linen cloth folded up, with something in it. When he had ended his prayers, wishing to see what this was, he came and opened the cloth, and found in it half of a loaf of bread, still hot, and some meat, enough of both to serve him for a single meal. In gratitude for the Divine goodness, he exclaimed, “Thanks be to God, who of his bounty hath deigned to provide a meal for me when I was hungry, as well as a supper for my beast.” He therefore divided the piece of bread into two parts, of which he gave one to his horse and kept the other for himself; and from that day forward he was more ready than before to fast, because he now felt convinced that the food had been provided for him in the desert by the gift of Him who formerly fed the prophet Elias for so long a time by means of ravens, when there was no man to minister unto him, whose eyes are upon those that fear Him, and upon those who trust in his mercy, that He may save their souls from death, and may feed them when they are hungry. I learnt these particulars from a religious man of our monastery of Weremouth, a priest of the name of Ingwald, who now, by reason of his extreme old age, is turning his attention, in purity of heart, to spiritual things rather than to earthly and carnal affections, and who said that the authority on which his relation rested was no less than that of Cuthbert himself.

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Canon 603 does not seem to say much about the practicalities of living an eremitical life. Reliance on Providence as per Cuthbert’s experience might not impress a bishop looking for verifiable evidence of a commitment to a “stable form of living” (Canon 573 on Consecrated life). Waiting for a raven to deliver bread, or relying on a horse’s ingenuity to provide the next meal, might be considered a little too haphazard for the dicastery!

But much of the wisdom of c603 lies exactly in this sense of the providential care of God. The hermit, as part of their discernment process with the diocese, must form for themselves a “Rule of Life”. This will be individual, and will be the framework for their mode of living. Each rule is very different!

Each candidate must reflect on their own particular circumstances and present a plan – both practical and spiritual – which will inspire and guide their living from that place of actualisation. Even in these early days of discernment, there is an element of the providential – the candidate can only begin to explore and work things out from the circumstances in which they find themselves now. The “hidden lunch” of a solitary work-opportunity, or accommodation, or insightful spiritual guidance are all greetings of God’s providence which will make our journey easier. A hermit often needs to abandon ideas of romantic isolation, and to be prepared to recognise opportunities to realise their vocation upon a less exalted terrain. An ambition to spend their days weaving (and unweaving!) baskets, in silent and psalmic prayer might well limit their vision of other more realistic prospects. God’s providence is certainly effective, but the hermit (as was Cuthbert) must be prepared to receive it, surprising and unexpected though it might be when it appears.

And the journey doesn’t end at admittance to the hermitage. Throughout our incumbency we will be receiving grace upon grace, of gifts and opportunities to find new depths of understanding, new expressions of our life. Most recently I was (accidentally almost!) invited to join with a small group of c603 hermits to study together some of the most recent literature on the hermit life. Of course, conversation does not always come readily, but as we explore and uncover and are inspired by our reading and discussion, new vistas open up. We see another way forward. We have been fed on the journey. An unexpected grace!

This capacity in Canon 603 to respond to the particular circumstances of the aspiring hermit by requiring them to discern a personal Rule of Life, is unusual in the process of petitioning a commitment to the Consecrated Life. Of course the Rules of most monastic and apostolic orders allow for adaptation to the needs of the individual as they arise, but this invitation to, and requirement of the work which will give a framework for life – quite different to that discerned by any other hermit – is quite unique in its individuation. It embeds the providential journey which has led the candidate to this point of petitioning, into their way of being in the hermitage. That it was written into the New Code of Canon Law in 1983 was indeed a courageous move on the part of the Roman Church. And that courage imposes a strict responsibility on those discerning the vocation (both candidate and diocesan representative) to ensure that the integrity of the Canon in its wholeness, is safeguarded, whilst welcoming the personal freedom of particular ways of living it.

A hermit is recognised … as one who … observes a proper program of living under the direction of the bishop. from Canon 603

This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history. Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use. © Paul Halsall June 1997 halsall@murray.fordham.edu

Prayer:

Posted on by Hm Rachel

Bede’s Life of Cuthbert: Chapter III

We are starting our exploration of Cuthbert’s life with chapter 3 which is the first event depicted in the images of the Yates Thompson collection. Cuthbert’s earlier life is described in some detail by Bede, but has not been illustrated by the scribes. There are stories of an ebullient youthful Cuthbert “because he was agile by nature and quick-witted, he very often used to prevail over his rivals in play, so that sometimes, when the rest were tired, he, being still untired, would triumphantly look round to see whether any of them were willing to contend with him again”. But around the age of eight, he was surprised to be addressed as “bishop” by a very young child, and this prophetic challenge seems to have shifted his direction into a more prayerful and thoughtful lifestyle. The events of Chapter 3 take place during this transitional period of his life. As a teenager he is already regarded to be a person of prayer. Bede writes:

HOW CUTHBERT CHANGED THE WINDS BY PRAYER, AND BROUGHT THE SCATTERED SHIPS SAFE TO LAND

FROM this time the lad becoming devoted to the Lord, as he afterwards assured his friends, often prayed to God amid dangers that surrounded him, and was defended by angelic assistance; nay, even in behalf of others who were in any danger, his benevolent piety sent forth prayers to God, and he was heard by Him who listens to the cry of the poor, and the men were rescued out of all their tribulations. There is, moreover, a monastery lying towards the south, not far from the mouth of the river Tyne, at that time consisting of monks, but now changed, like all other human things, by time, and inhabited by a noble company of virgins, dedicated to Christ. Now, as these pious servants of God were gone to bring from a distance in ships, up the above-named river, some timber for the use of the monastery, and had already come opposite the place where they were to bring the ships to land, behold a violent wind, rising from the west, carried away their ships, and scattered them to a distance from the river’s mouth.

Two monks praying at the monastery of Tynemouth interceding with God on behalf of those whom they perceived to be even now in imminent risk of death..

The brethren, seeing this from the monastery, launched some boats into the river, and tried to succour those who were on board the vessels, but were unable, because the force of the tide and violence of the winds overcame them. In despair therefore of human aid, they had recourse to God, and issuing forth from the monastery, they gathered themselves together on a point of rock, near which the vessels were tossing in the sea: here they bent their knees, and supplicated the Lord for those whom they saw under such imminent danger of destruction. But the Divine will was in no haste to grant these vows, however earnest; and this was, without a doubt, in order that it might be seen what effect was in Cuthbert’s prayers. For there was a large multitude of people standing on the other bank of the river and Cuthbert also was among them. Whilst the monks were looking on in sorrow, seeing the vessels, five in number, hurried rapidly out to sea, so that they looked like five sea-birds on the waves, the multitude began to deride their manner of life, as if they had deserved to suffer this loss, by abandoning the usual modes of life, and framing for themselves new rules by which to guide their conduct.

Cuthbert restrained the insults of the blasphemers, saying, “What are you doing, my brethren, in thus reviling those whom you see hurried to destruction ? Would it not be better and more humane to entreat the Lord in their behalf, than thus to take delight in their misfortunes? ” But the rustics, turning on him with angry minds and angry mouths, exclaimed, ” Nobody shall pray for them: may God spare none of them ! for they have taken away from men the ancient rites and customs, and how the new ones are to be attended to, nobody knows. ” At this reply, Cuthbert fell on his knees to pray, and bent his head towards the earth; immediately the power of the winds was checked, the vessels, with their conductors rejoicing, were cast upon the land near the monastery, at the place intended. The rustics blushing for their infidelity, both on the spot extolled the faith of Cuthbert as it deserved, and never afterwards ceased to extol it: so that one of the most worthy brothers of our monastery, from whose mouth I received this narrative, said that he had often, in company with many others, heard it related by one of those who were present, a man of the most rustic simplicity, and altogether incapable of telling an untruth.

Cuthbert praying on the banks of the River Tyne:

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I am especially charmed by Bede’s passing comment on the “monastery lying towards the south, not far from the mouth of the river Tyne, at that time consisting of monks, but now changed, like all other human things, by time, and inhabited by a noble company of virgins, dedicated to Christ.”  The women have taken over the monastery!  – I can sense his rueful resignation.  😉

But what is the point of this story? prayer?
Canon 603 is adamant that the prayer of the hermit be “assiduous”: [hermits] withdraw further from the world and devote their lives to the praise of God and the salvation of the world through … assiduous prayer”. What does this mean in practice? 

Bede uses the references of his story about St Cuthbert to emphasise the particular power of Cuthbert’s prayer.  He presents it as a capacity to engage with the elements – the wind, the rain, the stormy sea – in the same way as Jesus did on the Lake of Galilee.  We are to understand Cuthbert as a conduit of the charisms of the Christ figure who can control all of creation and thus rescue men “out of all their tribulations” through his prayer.

The prayers of the other monks – well-intentioned and “earnest” as they are – “they bent their knees, and supplicated the Lord for those whom they saw under such imminent danger of destruction” appear to fail in their intercession. Then Cuthbert kneels down and prays, “bending his head to the ground , and immediately the violent wind turned about and bore the rafts safe and sound to land, amid the rejoicings of those who were guiding them.” How are we to discern this difference in apparent outcome? What was it that made Cuthbert’s prayer effective, and those of the monks not-so-much? Even Bede seems confused – he offers the solution that the “Divine will” waited for Cuthbert’s prayer in order to advertise Cuthbert’s holiness and his favour with God; to promote him as a guide and teacher.

But this is such a usual happening – the prayers of the masses – for peace, for health, for security, are seldom answered in the way that Cuthbert seems able to invoke. We don’t seem to have the capacity to invoke the wind and the rain and to change the weather forecast at our convenience! How are we to resolve this discrepancy? How are we challenged, or discouraged, or defeated by this repeated experience? How do we deal with the realistic expectation that we may not be miracle-workers?

At the beginning of my hermitage, when I was a bit overwhelmed by it all, I asked my spiritual director what was expected of me when the “please pray for …” requests started coming in.  From the experience of many years in religious life, his response was:  “God hears the prayer already, as it is asked for.  The work of the prayer is done – in the asking – by the person who is doing the asking. That is the prayer. They have turned to God, The words have been spoken. God has heard. 

Your job then is to hold the silence that follows”

So how to “hold the silence?
One of the things that I have begun to learn over 23 years of hermitting has been “prayerful-living”.  I think it might have echoes in the methods of mindfulness which are so popular nowadays as a respite from the media fuzz.  My tendency to need to get-things-done can lead to a stressful chaos of half-finished tasks, my mind always on the next one.  My version of prayerful-living uses a simple silent mantra: this is what we are doing to keep me centred in the moment; to keep me fully involved in whatever task – prayer, housework, gardening, DIY – I might be engaged in.  this is what we are doing. This is a silent event; it is a gasp of acknowledgement. No matter how busy or active I might be in my work, I try to embrace the stillness of each moment. This is what we are doing

Hermitage is fundamentally a life of prayer.  And I do indeed spend some time each day in focussed silence and stillness and listening.  Sitting intentionally in God’s presence. These are the essential, but generally least remarkable times of my day!  The directness of God’s gaze can be uncomfortable, challenging, or occasionally reassuring.  And staying in that place when there is stuff to face, or other pressing matters to be getting on with, can be difficult: this is what we are doing. We stay a little longer.

But most of my silence-with-God goes on with God as a companion at my side, opposite me at the work table, enjoying the sunshine with me; the cosiness of a warm autumnal evening, walking through the woodlands near my bungalow, the juxtaposition of a book and a mug on a table. This is what we are doing. That refuge of the moment might be a place of safety where I receive bad news, or it might be a place of sadness, or anxiety, or tiredness, or pain: “this” –  this distress and discomfort and sorrow – this unbearable thing:  this  is what we are doing. 

Who is “we”? 

This is what we are doing. The “we” refers to God-and-me (or you!): the silence-of-us. But within that silent space are all the prayers we are holding; each and every person and the prayers already offered, and their unspoken prayers known only to God. They are fully present in that “we”, in each silent moment of hermitage.

Perhaps we can trust that the prayers of the Tynemouth monks were heard by God. Perhaps we can trust that those prayers opened a space in the crowd for Cuthbert to step forward and bend down and put his face to the ground to hold silence with God. Perhaps the wind and the rain put their faces to the ground and were silent with him.

Perhaps the silent space created by our prayers gives others a place where miracles can happen?

[hermits] withdraw further from the world and devote their lives to the praise of God and the salvation of the world through … assiduous prayer”. Canon 603

This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history. Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use. © Paul Halsall June 1997 halsall@murray.fordham.edu

Canon 603 and St Cuthbert

Posted on by Hm Rachel

The life of St Cuthbert is surprisingly well documented for a saint of the seventh century. Four “Lives” were written in the years following his death, when the discovery of his incorrupt body led to an upsurge in fervour for the cult of the saint, who had previously only been known as a local man of virtue, and a “miracle-worker”. The first “Life” written by an anonymous source just 11 years after his death, is short, pithy and full of local (Northumbrian) flavour. The responsibility was then passed to St Bede at the Monastery of Jarrow, to give a more ecclesial version of his life – his roles as prior, hermit and bishop are more fully emphasised, and Bede seasons his writings with frequent references to Holy Scripture. His intention is clearly to present Cuthbert as a model of Christ, and worthy of our attention and imitation. Bede eventually wrote three versions of Cuthbert’s life – the first was poetic – arranged as metrical verses, and then a longer prose life which explored more aspects of Cuthbert’s personality (this is the one that is most usually referenced). Bede also included a brief account of Cuthbert’s influence, en-passant, through the reigns of Oswald and Oswy and the Council of Whitby. You will find it in book III of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

Monk kissing the feet of Cuthbert

The growing cult of St Cuthbert during the Medieval years, resulted in enthusiastic pilgrimage to the priory at Durham where his body was finally laid to rest. It is likely that the illuminated manuscripts which so charmingly illustrate his life, were produced in the scriptorium there.

Bede in the Scriptorium

The scribe of Durham chose to illustrate a number of the incidents from Bede’s “Life of Cuthbert”. There are 41 extant manuscripts. The book of manuscripts was initially presented (hung around his neck!) to William Fitzherbert, Archbishop of York, when he visited Durham Cathedral to celebrate his cousin, Hugh de Puiset, being installed as Bishop of Durham in 1153.

The manuscripts were eventually collected together again in the nineteenth century by a Master-collector, Henry Yates Thomson (1838-1928), who later donated them to the British Library, where they can still be viewed. The Life of Cuthbert is the first British Library manuscript from the Yates Thompson collection to be made available on Digitised Manuscripts. You can find out more here: A Menagerie of Miracles: The Illustrated Life of St Cuthbert – Medieval manuscripts blog (typepad.co.uk)

I am hoping, over the next few months, years even, to explore the spirituality of St Cuthbert, as represented in his life and by the images in the manuscripts, and to explore how we can be guided in our understanding and living of Canon 603 by his teaching and example.