St Wilfrid on the train

I travel to work by train and this gives me the chance to read, think about the day ahead, pray and at the end of term snooze.

After a holiday in the North East, I am reading a Penguin book, The Age of Bede, which includes the life of St Wilfrid. We visited Hexham Abbey ( now a CofE Church, you know the back story,) where he is buried and I wish I read all this before I went there.

Amazingly for the 7th century, he visited Rome on a number of occasions, at least once to petition the Pope to get his diocese back after various baddies had forced him into exile. (They were up to John VI even then!) He enjoyed great success and peaceful times as well as being imprisoned. Whatever his circumstances, he just carried on. Wherever he was he sought to convert people and often healed them too.

I haven't got to the end yet, but it certainly puts my worries into perspective.

Also in this book is Bede's life of St Cuthbert. I was a student at Durham and they are both buried in the Cathedral there. Whose feast day is it today according to my calendar? St Cuthbert of whom I have become very fond.

It's a very engaging translation by a Catholic priest, so all the phrases used are very familiar. The chapters are very short too, making it ideal for reading and snoozing on the way to work and everything I have read so far suggests people who were full of energy and zeal.

Looking forward to the Voyage of St Brendan.