- Psalm 64:1-2 -
Waldtraud
Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint;
protect my life from the threat of the enemy.
Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
from that noisy crowd of evildoers.
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We may believe that God wants to hear only certain requests from us. While
it is
true we should offer praise, confession and respectful petitions, it is true
also that God is willing to listen to anything we want to tell him. David
expressed himself honestly, knowing that God would hear his voice. God will
always listen to us, and he will fully understand what we say.
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November 7th - St. Willibrord of Echternach, OSB B (RM)
Born in Northumbria, Britain, 658; died in Echternach, Luxembourg, 739. His
name
indicates that he is of Saxon lineage ('Willi' is a great god of Norse
mythology; 'brord' indicates 'under the protection of'). Although their
family
name was clearly pagan, his parents were Christians. Willibrord's father was
such a devout Christian that, at his own expense, he founded a little
monastery
near the sea and went to live there.
At that time monks liberally interpreted their vow of attaching themselves
to a
single community, and many of them went to complete their education in
Ireland,
which was famous for its scholarship. For 12 years Willibrord studied at
Rathmelsigi under Saints Egbert and Wigbert, and was ordained a priest there
in
688.
At Rathmelsigi Willibrord's real story begins for Egbert had a pet scheme
that
he shared with many of his monks. He planned to send missionaries to the
continent, and especially to the pagan Germans of Frisia. It was an
excellent
opportunity to win a whole people for God, and also to win the crown of
martyrdom. Willibrord, age 32, was chosen by Egbert to lead 11 other English
monks across the North Sea to Frisia.
Willibrord is described as shorter than average and cheerful. He possessed a
quick tongue, a good education, an appetite for adventure, and a sense of
humor-not to forget: faith, hope, and charity.
In 690 he landed with other 11 English monks in Friesland, under protection
of
Pepin II of Herstal, who had just wrested Lower Friesland from the pagan
leader
Duke Radbod, considered a savage bear who ruled as a tyrant over acres of
sandy
mud and who poisoned his enemies.
As soon as he had seen Pepin and received his support for the conversion of
the
Frisians, he went to Rome to seek advice from Pope Saint Sergius I and
receive
his orders for the mission. This proves that the pope was seen as the
Christian
leader and that Willibrord wanted to be dependent upon him and only him.
Willibrord's determination to place himself under the orders of Rome was
reinforced by the earlier failure of Suidbert, who had wangled a
consecration on
the sly in York. Not even the help and generosity of Pepin and other could
make
Willibrord think that he should rely on them for all his apostolic work.
Before
his departure he was consecrated for the job by the pope.
On his second Roman visit in 695, Willibrord convinced Pope Sergius II that
the
young mission needed a prelate who was independent both of York and of Pepin
II;
and Sergius, for his part, realized that the only person capable of filling
this
office, which needed tact as well as energy, was Willibrord. And so he was
consecrated as archbishop November 22-Saint Cecelia's feast in Saint
Cecelia's
Church. Perhaps because his Sicilian tongue couldn't pronounce 'Willibrord,'
Sergius insisted on changing the saint's name to 'Clement,' a choice that
may
have been influenced by the Englishman's phlegmatic mildness. Sergius then
sent
him back to his flock with some relics and the title archbishop of the
Frisians.
On his return to the northern mists, Clement-Willibrord, who rarely used his
Latin name, he created his see at Utrecht. Thus, he inaugurated the English
colony in continental Europe that was to be so potent a religious influence
for
100 years.
Unlike modern bishoprics full of administrators and equipment, Willibrord's
archbishopric was a living heart. He was constantly on the road, like his
missionary monks, preaching from village to village. Gradually he
established
each little hamlet as a parish with its own priest and liturgies illuminated
by
the Benedictine spirit. Willibrord and Saint Boniface of Crediton together
were
responsible for instituting chorepiscopi, 'country bishops,' in western
Europe
to help them in their work.
Willibrord was well-equipped to deal with powerful people who possessed the
land, money, and power needed to support his work. He made use of the great,
made them servants of the Gospel, but was never subservient or over-ready to
give his blessing to their follies. From them he obtained the vast tracks of
land that he turned into villages and parishes, like Alphen in north
Brabant.
With their money he established monasteries that served as centers of
intellectual and religious enlightenment.
About 700 he established a second important missionary center at Echternach,
on
the banks of the Sure in today's junction between Luxembourg and Germany. He
continued to evangelize especially in the northern area of the present-day
Benelux countries, though it does appear that he explored Denmark and
perhaps
Thuringia (Upper Friesland), too. Once he barely escaped a mission with his
life- he was attacked by a pagan priest at Walcheren for destroying an idol.
In 714 Willibrord baptized Charles Martel's son Pepin the Short. During the
period 715-19, Willibrord's experienced a set-back during Frisian uprising
against Franks. On the death of Pepin II in December 714, Duke Radbod, who
had
submitted to him but had never converted, invaded the territories he had
lost to
Pepin of Herstal. He massacred, pillaged, burned, and stole everything that
he
could find that bore the Christian mark.
But as soon as the quarrel about succession within Merovingian Pepin's
family
had been settled by the skill of Charles Martel, Radbod and his Neustrian
allies
were defeated by Martel and his Austrasians in the forest of Compiegne on
September 26, 715. There were other uprisings until Radbod's death in 719,
but
Willibrord and his missionaries were able to repair the damage and renew
their
work. About 719, Boniface joined them and worked with them in Friesland for
three years before proceeding to Germany.
Willibrord's missionary achievement was not spectacular-the rapidity and
number
of conversions was exaggerated by later writers-but it was a solid laying of
foundations; 'his charity was manifest in his daily unremitting labor for
Christ's sake' (Alcuin). He is known as the Apostle of the Frisians. He died
while on a retreat at Echternach on November 7, 739. His frail body was
placed
in a stone sarcophagus, which may still be seen there.
Every year on Whit Tuesday there is an hour's long processional dance of
pilgrims through the streets of Echternach and round the saint's tomb in the
church, each group accompanied by its own brass band. This has been done
since
before 1553, an unspoiled survivor of ancient sanctified merrymaking. (And
if
you've ever been to Echternach, you'd know this is a real feat-it's not much
bigger than a hamlet.)
Early in the eighth century a monk of Echternach wrote out a calendar of
saints,
many of whom were connected with the scenes of Willibrord's life. The
Calendar
of Saint Willibrord is now in the National Library in Paris (Latin
manuscript
#10.837), and it is of great interest to students of hagiography; under the
date
21 November 728 (Folio 39) are several autobiographical lines written by
Willibrord himself giving the dates of going to France and being ordained a
bishop (Attwater, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Grieve, Verbist). In art, Saint
Willibrord's emblem is a barrel on which he rests his cross. The Abbey of
Echternach is behind him and he is vested in episcopal attire.
Saint Quote:
God's precepts are light to the loving, heavy to the fearful.
--St. Thomas Aquinas
Bible Quote
For it is written in the law of Moses: Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of
the ox
that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? 10 Or doth he say
this
indeed for our sakes? For these things are written for our sakes: that he
that
plougheth, should plough in hope; and he that thrasheth, in hope to receive
fruit. (1 Cor. 9:9-10)
Reflection: True zeal has its roots in the love of God. It can never be
idle; it
must labor, toil, be doing great things. It glows as fire; it is, like fire,
insatiable. Reflect whether this spirit exists in you!
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RESIGNATION TO THE DIVINE WILL
O Lord my God, I now, at this moment, readily and willingly
accept at Your hands whatever kind of death it may please You
to send me, will all its pains, penalties and sorrows. Amen.