O ALMIGHTY God, who in thy providence didst choose thy servant Aidan to be an apostle to the people of England, to bring those who where wandering in darkness and error to the true light and knowledge of thee: Grant us so to walk in that light, that we may come at last to the light of everlasting life; through the merits of Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.
(Readings: 1 Corinthians ix. 16; St. Matthew xix. 27)
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| Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne; pray for us. |
Aidan was a Christian monk who restored peace in the war-ravaged kingdom of Northumbria early in the seventh century.
In the year 631 pagan invaders wrecked all the churches in this kingdom, which covered much of northeastern England. Its king asked the Irish monks at Iona for help in restoring Christianity among his people. First they sent a bishop who regarded his Anglo-Saxon flock as obstinate and uncivilized; he soon became disgruntled and returned to Iona. Then the monks chose Aidan, had him consecrated bishop, and sent him to Northumbria.
Aidan established a monastery on an island called Lindisfarne. This allowed him to come and go among the people as he wished. As the Venerable Bede later said of him: “Aidan used to travel everywhere on foot ... in order that, as he walked along, whenever he saw people, whether rich or poor, he might at once approach them and, if they were unbelievers, invite them to accept the mystery of the faith; or, if they were believers, that he might strengthen them in the faith, urging them by word and deed to practise almsgiving and good works.” As he journeyed, Aidan founded monasteries and saw to the building of churches; he taught the people how to use fasting and meditation on the Scriptures to strengthen their faith; and he obtained freedom for children who were held as slaves. Finally, because of his obvious holiness and care for the poor, he was able to bear effective witness against the rich and powerful when they exploited or oppressed their neighbours.
Aidan spent just over a decade in mission-work, then retired from Lindisfarne to a much smaller island nearby in order to give himself entirely to prayer and contemplation. There he died in the year 651, beloved by God and by the people of Northumbria.
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