The Venerable Bede

In two of the entries I wrote last year, while on the Camino de Santiago in Spain, I unilaterally conferred the distinction of 'greatest theologian the British Isles ever produced', first on Blessed John Henry Newman, and then jointly on Newman and Blessed John Duns Scotus. But I was wrong on both counts, and it is to my shame that it has taken so long to correct these errors. The greatest theologian the British Isles ever produced is in fact St Bede the Venerable, who lived from ca.672-735AD. He is most famous nowadays for his commanding 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People', but in 1899 Pope Leo XIII made him a Doctor of the Church for his outstanding contribution to theology, in which he drew upon the magnificent library at his monastery in Jarrow, interpreting and translating the Church Fathers and producing exegetical works on the Old and New Testaments. Blessed John Henry Newman of course was English; Blessed John Duns Scotus was Scottish. Well, St Bede the Venerable, the greatest of them all, was a Geordie! Today, 25th May, would be celebrated as his feast day, if it wasn't for the fact that it falls on a Sunday. Mind you in Spain, when St James's Day (25th July) falls on a Sunday, the importance of celebrating his feast is greatly increased, and I'm not at all sure St Bede doesn't deserve to be accorded the same sort of distinction in this country! Anyone interested to learn more about this wonderful statesman among Christian scholars could start by looking at his entry in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede. St Bede the Venerable - please pray for us (and please accept my apology that I overlooked you when writing those posts last year!).

Saving Grace

The following animation is a truly great way to spend four minutes of your time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8mgNM8U13M
Please share with your friends!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8mgNM8U13M

Zikomo Yesu*

Portrait of Dr David Livingstone at St Simon's RC Church, Partick



He was taught Latin by Daniel Gallagher, above, who later became parish priest of St Simon's

Thanks be to God - Thank You Jesus - on Christmas Eve i arrived in Blantyre, Malawi. Apologies that it is only now possible for me to write this short update, when i'm back in Berwick-on-the-Scottish-side-of-the-Tweed; from Mauritania onwards, i couldn't access the blog. It has been the most challenging, but hopefully not the least interesting journey i've ever made. In Blantyre (Malawi) i came across these words, in an otherwise very good temporary exhibition about Livingstone:

 "He was taught to read and write by his father, attended evening classes provided by the mill and taught himself Latin"

   This is not quite true in one important respect. He learnt Latin (without which he would not have been allowed to study medicine, therefore casting his entire subsequent career into doubt) from Northern Irishman Daniel Gallagher, who later became a Catholic priest.

   The pilgrimage, about which God-willing i now hope to write in detail, was dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Among so many other privileges, i was able to return home via Paris, and visit the Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart) Basilica. After a Mass there on the 3rd of January to mark the feast of St Genevieve, patron saint of Paris, i went up to the top of the dome, affording tremendous views of the city. An English fellow happened to point out the Stade de France to his partner:

"It's not far - you could walk that."  

   In reply, i was tempted to interject (though i didn't): 

"You'd be amazed how much you can walk."  

   To which i might have added:

"...and how much cheating you can get away with!"

*Thank You Jesus.