May 19th - St. Dunstan
Born at Baltonsborough near Glastonbury, England, c. 909; died
988.Dunstan,
born
of a noble Anglo-Saxon family with connections to the ruling house of
Wessex,
was one of the great figures in English history. He received his early
education
from the Irish monks at Glastonbury. While still young, he was sent as a
page to
the court of Athelstan.
He had already received the tonsure, and his uncle, Bishop Saint Alphege
the
Bald of Winchester, encouraged him to join the religious life. Dunstan
hesitated
for some time and nearly got married, but after recovering from a skin
condition
he believed to be leprosy, he received the habit (in 934) and holy orders
from
his uncle the same day as Saint Ethelwold circa 939.
He returned to Glastonbury and is thought to have built a small cell next
to
the
old church, where he engaged in prayer, study, and manual labor that
included
making bells and sacred vessels for the church and copying or illuminating
books. He is said to have excelled as a painter, embroiderer, harpist,
bell-founder, and metal worker. As Dunstan would play the harp and sing to
the
nuns of the abbey as they embroidered his designs. Once, it is said, when
he
hung up his harp on the wall and left the room for a while, the harp
continued
to play of its own accord, caused, no doubt, by a current of air vibrating
the
strings. But the residents of the abbey took it to be an omen of Dunstan's
future greatness. Dunstan also loved the music of the human voice: when he
sang
at the altar, wrote a contemporary, "he seemed to be talking with the Lord
face
to face." As one skilled in the arts, Dunstan stimulated the revival of
church
art.
Athelstan's successor, Edmund, called him to court to act as a royal
counselor
and treasurer. In 943, King Edmund I narrowly escaped death while hunting,
he
appointed Dunstan abbot of Glastonbury with the commission to restore
monastic
life there and richly endowed the monastery. According to the old Saxon
chronicle, Dunstan was only 18 when he became abbot of Glastonbury.
Dunstan restored the monastery buildings and the Church of Saint Peter. By
introducing monks among the priests already in residence, he enforced
regular
discipline without making waves. He made the abbey into a great center of
learning. Dunstan also revitalized other monasteries in Glastonbury.
The murder of King Edmund was followed by the accession of his brother
Edred,
who made Dunstan one of his top advisors. Dunstan became deeply embroiled
in
secular politics and incurred the wrath of the West Saxon nobles for
denouncing
their immorality and for urging peace with the Danes.
In 955, Edred died and was succeeded by his 16-year-old nephew Edwy. On
the
day
of his coronation, Edwy left the royal banquet to see a girl named Elgiva
and
her mother. For this he was sternly rebuked by Dunstan, and the prince
deeply
resented the chastisement. With the support of the opposing party, Dunstan
was
disgraced, his property confiscated, and he was exiled.
He spent a year then in Ghent, Flanders, and there he came into contact
with
reformed continental monasticism. This experience fueled his vision of
Benedictine perfection that would inspire his work from then on.
A rebellion broke out in England; the north and east deposed Edwy and put
his
brother Edgar the Peaceful on the throne. Edgar recalled Dunstan and
appointed
him chief adviser, in 957 bishop of Worcester, and bishop of London in
958.
On
Edwy's death in 959, the kingdom was reunited under Edgar, who appointed
Dunstan
archbishop of Canterbury in 961. Together the two initiated a policy of
reform
to solidify both the Church and the country. At Canterbury, Dunstan
founded
an
abbey east of the city and three churches: Saint Mary, SS. Peter and Paul,
and
Saint Pancras.
In 961, Dunstan went to Rome to receive the pallium and was appointed by
Pope
John XII a legate of the Holy See. With this authority, he set about
re-establishing ecclesiastical discipline, under the protection of King
Edgar
and assisted by Saint Ethelwold, the bishop of Winchester, and Saint
Oswald,
the
bishop of Worcester and the archbishop of York. In those days, English
monastic
life had almost vanished as a result of the Danish invasions. They
restored
most
of the great monasteries, such as Abingdon, that had been destroyed during
the
Danish incursions and founded new ones.
Dunstan founded monasteries at Bath, Exeter, Westminster, Malmesbury, and
other
places. He drew up rules for each to instill good order. Recalcitrant
secular
priests were ejected and replaced by monks in Winchester, Chertsey,
Surrey,
and
Dorset. About 970 a conference of bishops, abbots, and abbesses drew up a
national code of monastic observance, the Regularis Concordia. It was in
line
with continental custom and the Rule of Saint Benedict but had its own
features:
the monasteries were to be integrated into the life of the people, and
their
influence was not to be confined within the monastery walls.
Clergy who had been living scandalous lives or boldly disregarding
canonical
laws of celibacy were reformed. Dunstan remained firm in his moral
standards,
even to deferring Edgar's coronation for 14 years-likely due to a
disapproval of
Edgar's scandalous behavior. He modified the coronation rite, and some of
his
modifications devised for Edgar's coronation in Bath in 973 survive to
this
day.
Through 16 years of Edgar's reign, Dunstan acted as his chief adviser,
criticizing him freely. One on occasion when the king had been guilty of
immorality, Dunstan withstood him to his face, refusing to take his
outstretched
hand and turned abruptly from him with the words: "I am no friend of the
enemy
of Christ." Later he imposed a penance that for seven years the king was
not
to
wear his crown.
Dunstan continued to direct the state during the short reign of the
succeeding
king, Edward the Martyr, Dunstan's protege. The death of the young king,
connected with the antimonastic reaction following Edgar's death, grieved
Dunstan terribly. His political career now over, he returned to Canterbury
to
teach at the cathedral school, where visions, prophecies, and miracles
were
attributed to him. He was especially devoted to the Canterbury saints,
whose
tombs he visited at night.
On the feast of the Ascension in 988 the archbishop was ill but celebrated
Mass
and preached three times to his people, to whom he declared that he would
soon
die. Two days later he died peacefully in his Cathedral of Christ Church,
where
he is buried. He is considered the reviver of monasticism in England. It
has
been said that the 10th century gave shape to English history, and that
Dunstan
gave shape to the 10th century. He composed several hymns, notably Kyrie
Rex
spendens (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Duckett, Fisher, Gill,
White).
In art, he is shown as a bishop holding the devil (or his nose) with a
pair
of
pincers; or with a crucifix speaking to him (White). He might also be
shown
(1)
holding the tongs; (2) working as a goldsmith; (3) playing a harp; (4)
with
a
host of angels near him; (5) with a dove; or (6) as a monk prostrate at
the
feet
of Christ (in a drawing said to be his own) (Roeder).
He is the patron saint of armorers, goldsmiths, locksmiths, jewelers
(Delaney,
White), blacksmiths, musicians, and the blind (Roeder).
Also See:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05199a.htm
Saint Quote:
One great means of preserving a constant peace and tranquility of heart is
to
receive all things as coming from the hands of God, whatever they may be,
and in
whatever way they may come.
-St. Dorotheus
Bible Quote
26 But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my
name,
he
will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I
shall
have said to you. (John 14:26)
<><><><>
THE CROSS
A young man was at the end of his rope, seeing no way out, he dropped to
his
knees in prayer "Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross
to
bear." The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place
your
cross inside this room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross
you
wish." The man was filled with relief and said, "Thank you Lord," and he
did
as
he was told. Upon entering the other room, he saw many crosses; some so
large
the tops were not visible. Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a
far
wall. "I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered. The Lord replied, "My son,
that
is the cross you just brought in." When life's problems seem overwhelming,
it
helps to look around and see what other people are coping with. You may
consider
yourself far more fortunate than you imagined.
Whatever your cross whatever your pain
There will always be sunshine after the rain
Perhaps you may stumble perhaps even fall
But God's always there to help you through it all
Funny how you can send a thousand "jokes" through e-mail and they spread
like
wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people
think
twice about passing it on. Funny, isn't it, when you go to forward this
message,
how many on your buddy list will not receive it because you're not sure
they
believe in anything? Funny? No! Sad, and thought-provoking... May God give
you
the strength and courage to pass this along to everyone on your email
buddy
list.... I JUST DID!
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