Friday 4 September 2015

Cuthbertus - The story of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. September 4, 2015

COMMMENT:
Gospel of the Mass Luke 5:33-39.
Into; Fr. Brendan talking of the skins.. . 'He wants our minds and hearts to be like the new wine skins - open and ready to receive the new wine of the Holy Spirit.'
 Poem, His thoughts from things divine; from Easter to Easter
He removed not his boots of skin from off his feet,
Save for the sacred Maundy's rite of washing them,
In honour of the Lord's great act to Peter. (Cuthbertus)

                Cuthbertus - The story of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne




2,054
Published on 10 Jul 2012
An original poem from 1980 by Colin Symes, telling the story of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, with images of Holy Island and other places connected with his life.


           

 Original poem from 1980 by Colin Symes.
  Holy Island


A solitary stretch this is; a place too sacred
To be conjoined to the main, but by a path 
Washed daily by the ebb and flow of cleansing tides
To rinse away the traces and the prints of things profane.
Here is a place aloof, a natural hermitage,
A cocoon of greatness, a wild, awesome shrine -
Holy Island , whence, when men were plagued with fear
Of darkness so profound, it passed their simple knowing,
A bolt flew, brilliant as the dawn of time itself,
To raise up Christ and down the demon ignorance,
To bring the fire of God searing through the kingdoms
Of this world, to reach from Forth to Thames , and further.

Here trod bold Aidan first; called by the Northumbrian king 
To scatter seed that burgeons into life and faith;
He did not live to see thence spring but tender shoots,
Yet, in his heavenward ascent, one shepherd lad
Did, as famed Elisha saw his lord arise, see him
Borne upward, supported on the arms of angels 
And thus did deem it as a vision for his life
To be a monk at Mailros, and to serve Lord Christ,
To serve with labour, study, witness and inspire
His confreres to abide in love, all to forsake
For sake of gaining heaven and the riches there,
And precious lives to liberate from pagan lore.
Top   
Site of Old Mailros, from Scott's View 
Cuthbert his name; raised by his mother-nurse, Kenswith ,
He learned the glory of the King of Heaven's love,
As, at her side, his eyes afire with wonder,
He heard the sacred history proclaimed to him.
A fine young man he was, sturdy and flaxen-haired,
Of breeding, not a common serf, but nobly born.
Like his heavenly Master he grew in favour high
And, by his vision, came he up to Prior Boisil ,
The well-loved prior at Mailros, who, on seeing him,
Raised in holy awe his hands toward sky and heaven
And declared for all to hear, prophetically,
As John to Christ, 'Behold, the servant of the Lord !'
 Site of Old Mailros, from Scott's View
There Cuthbert learned the skills in which monastics throve,
To read, to copy, memorise and preach Christ's word,
From Boisil, father to the novice youth, in all
A man of holy purity and prophetic grace.
And all along, in Cuthbert grew the peregrine ,
To forge through forest dark, to ford the rivers swift,
To reach the lone, desolate hamlets in their darkness, 
To stand beside their village wells and bring them truth 
From living springs, which quenched their thirst and brought them life.
Brave man ! Fed by eagles , beloved of seals and otters
Who came to warm his icy feet as he sang psalms
At dead of night, for penance standing in the sea.

Beloved indeed, not only of the lower orders,
But by all those whose lives he graced with his own life;
Scarce could he celebrate the mass without tears shed
And wept for pity at the sins confessed to him.
Through testing days of Whitby Synod calm he stayed,
When Colman, angry and unmoving, split the church
For sake of Easter Day , withdrawing to Iona,
Dividing even Aidan's bones 'twixt him and them.
Submissive Cuthbert, bending to the Roman way,
Desired the peace and furtherance of the holy life,
And rival factions reconciled to join again.
And then he came to Lindisfarne, as prior sent.

St Cuthbert's Island, Lindisfarne
Marked by a cross, an island even holier yet
Stands o'er against the sacred abbey's ruined walls;
Here built the holy man his oratory, cut off
From interference in his communion by tides.
Yet, even wading through the rising waters came
The pilgrims for the Thaumaturgus' blessed words,
That they might find some holy cure, some gracious sign,
Some vestige of the power found in Cuthbert's hands.
To hermitage had turned his thoughts of late,
To escape the constant press of men and women's need;
Thus was he granted leave to sail away to Farne 
To share his oraisons with cries only of gulls.

Full nine long years upon that island was his home,
In chapel, where no view of sea nor land could draw
His thoughts from things divine; from Easter to Easter
He removed not his boots of skin from off his feet,
Save for the sacred Maundy's rite of washing them,
In honour of the Lord's great act to Peter.
Yet would he still not turn away the faithful ones
Who braved the vicious sea in boats to hear him speak,
Nor did their hope deceive them , for no man returned
Deprived of the great consolation Cuthbert gave,
Nor yet went back accompanied by sorrowed mind
Which caused his fearful voyage to bring him thither.

But now was Cuthbert troubled by heralds urgent,
Men, sent from Theodore , the Primate bade him come
And receive a bishop's mitre, to be at Hexham,
Thence to shepherd and to guide the northern churches.
He would not - too dear to him was his hermitage
To leave it now, to leave behind devotions' call,
The oratory, the animals, the lowly ducks
He tended on their nests without their scorning him -
To leave his lovely Farne would crush his ageing heart,
To go back to the mire and frenzy of the world -
He could not ! Then came the King himself to beseech
That he should lead them, leave his loneliness and come.
Top 
St Cuthberts Island Lindisfarne
  Then Cuthbert heard a voice; a distant voice it was
That rang to him from through the years long since gone by;
Boisil , his beloved prior, whose prophecy 
He now, with pain, perceived to be at fulfilment,
'Behold the Servant of the Lord !' He knew the way -
His door he opened, and went out into the day.
'The Lord be praised !', the brothers' voices rose to sing,
And, 'Hail! thou, Hexham's bishop, servant of the Lord!'
Cuthbert smiled wanly, raised his hands in blessing,
Like one surrendering to superior forces,
And spoke; 'The comfort and advising of the weak
Is equal to the sacrifice of prayer. I come.'
St. Cuthbert's pectoral cross

As though he had not laid it down, his zeal renewed,
His work of care and wonders he took up once more.
Exchanging sees with Eata of Lindisfarne ,
Still close he stayed to well-kent places and his home;
Great miracles of healing issued from his prayers -
The plague was stayed, fierce storms were calmed, and many won.
He read men's inmost thoughts and saw their deep desires
Without their telling; of all Lindisfarne's bishops
The most beloved and revered this monk became;
And yet, in all, his garb remained humility.
How many blessed the day God spoke to Boisil first,
Which saying unlocked Cuthbert's heart to bishop them.

Yet, failed his strength and yearned his heart for lonely Farne;
A boat he took, knowing well his days were far spent;
'I shall return when you bring back my body here',
He said. And even in those last few days of life 
When storms left Cuthbert desolate, in need of food ,
Those who would challenge winter seas to reach his isle
Were healed and comforted through Cuthbert's drooping hands
And wondered at the strength which dwelt in Cuthbert's heart. 
At last, on a spring day, the unction he received
And, lifting up his heavy eyes to heaven,
Stretched forth his hands to magnify his Creator,
And in the very act of praising Him, expired.
Top   
St. Cuthberts pectoral cross
They say his body incorruptible was kept,
And cherished by the brothers there at Lindisfarne
Until great waves of violent men crashed on the shores
To pillage and to massacre and to destroy .
The saint's revered remains they did not desecrate, 
For faithful men bore off the casket, and in Durham 
Layed him finally to rest, this holy being,
Underneath a slab of grey inscribed ,'CUTHBERTUS'.
 Cuthbert's tomb, Durham 

O Lord, who by this faithful Cuthbert spoke,
Igniting fires of righteousness throughout the land,
Grant that this man may our hearts inspire to serve You,
As we his zeal and patience seek to emulate.


Cuthberts tomb, Durham

Cuthbertus - The story of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne   
by Colin Symes




  Holy Island

A solitary stretch this is; a place too sacred
To be conjoined to the main, but by a path 
Washed daily by the ebb and flow of cleansing tides
To rinse away the traces and the prints of things profane.
Here is a place aloof, a natural hermitage,
A cocoon of greatness, a wild, awesome shrine -
Holy Island , whence, when men were plagued with fear
Of darkness so profound, it passed their simple knowing,
A bolt flew, brilliant as the dawn of time itself,
To raise up Christ and down the demon ignorance,
To bring the fire of God searing through the kingdoms
Of this world, to reach from Forth to Thames , and further.

Here trod bold Aidan first; called by the Northumbrian king 
To scatter seed that burgeons into life and faith;
He did not live to see thence spring but tender shoots,
Yet, in his heavenward ascent, one shepherd lad
Did, as famed Elisha saw his lord arise, see him
Borne upward, supported on the arms of angels 
And thus did deem it as a vision for his life
To be a monk at Mailros, and to serve Lord Christ,
To serve with labour, study, witness and inspire
His confreres to abide in love, all to forsake
For sake of gaining heaven and the riches there,
And precious lives to liberate from pagan lore.
Top

Cuthbert his name; raised by his mother-nurse, Kenswith ,
He learned the glory of the King of Heaven's love,
As, at her side, his eyes afire with wonder,
He heard the sacred history proclaimed to him.
A fine young man he was, sturdy and flaxen-haired,
Of breeding, not a common serf, but nobly born.
Like his heavenly Master he grew in favour high
And, by his vision, came he up to Prior Boisil ,
The well-loved prior at Mailros, who, on seeing him,
Raised in holy awe his hands toward sky and heaven
And declared for all to hear, prophetically,
As John to Christ, 'Behold, the servant of the Lord !'
 Site of Old Mailros, from Scott's View
There Cuthbert learned the skills in which monastics throve,
To read, to copy, memorise and preach Christ's word,
From Boisil, father to the novice youth, in all
A man of holy purity and prophetic grace.
And all along, in Cuthbert grew the peregrine ,
To forge through forest dark, to ford the rivers swift,
To reach the lone, desolate hamlets in their darkness, 
To stand beside their village wells and bring them truth 
From living springs, which quenched their thirst and brought them life.
Brave man ! Fed by eagles , beloved of seals and otters
Who came to warm his icy feet as he sang psalms
At dead of night, for penance standing in the sea.

Beloved indeed, not only of the lower orders,
But by all those whose lives he graced with his own life;
Scarce could he celebrate the mass without tears shed
And wept for pity at the sins confessed to him.
Through testing days of Whitby Synod calm he stayed,
When Colman, angry and unmoving, split the church
For sake of Easter Day , withdrawing to Iona,
Dividing even Aidan's bones 'twixt him and them.
Submissive Cuthbert, bending to the Roman way,
Desired the peace and furtherance of the holy life,
And rival factions reconciled to join again.
And then he came to Lindisfarne, as prior sent.

St Cuthbert's Island, Lindisfarne
Marked by a cross, an island even holier yet
Stands o'er against the sacred abbey's ruined walls;
Here built the holy man his oratory, cut off
From interference in his communion by tides.
Yet, even wading through the rising waters came
The pilgrims for the Thaumaturgus' blessed words,
That they might find some holy cure, some gracious sign,
Some vestige of the power found in Cuthbert's hands.
To hermitage had turned his thoughts of late,
To escape the constant press of men and women's need;
Thus was he granted leave to sail away to Farne 
To share his oraisons with cries only of gulls.

Full nine long years upon that island was his home,
In chapel, where no view of sea nor land could draw
His thoughts from things divine; from Easter to Easter
He removed not his boots of skin from off his feet,
Save for the sacred Maundy's rite of washing them,
In honour of the Lord's great act to Peter.
Yet would he still not turn away the faithful ones
Who braved the vicious sea in boats to hear him speak,
Nor did their hope deceive them , for no man returned
Deprived of the great consolation Cuthbert gave,
Nor yet went back accompanied by sorrowed mind
Which caused his fearful voyage to bring him thither.

But now was Cuthbert troubled by heralds urgent,
Men, sent from Theodore , the Primate bade him come
And receive a bishop's mitre, to be at Hexham,
Thence to shepherd and to guide the northern churches.
He would not - too dear to him was his hermitage
To leave it now, to leave behind devotions' call,
The oratory, the animals, the lowly ducks
He tended on their nests without their scorning him -
To leave his lovely Farne would crush his ageing heart,
To go back to the mire and frenzy of the world -
He could not ! Then came the King himself to beseech
That he should lead them, leave his loneliness and come.
Top

Then Cuthbert heard a voice; a distant voice it was
That rang to him from through the years long since gone by;
Boisil , his beloved prior, whose prophecy 
He now, with pain, perceived to be at fulfilment,
'Behold the Servant of the Lord !' He knew the way -
His door he opened, and went out into the day.
'The Lord be praised !', the brothers' voices rose to sing,
And, 'Hail! thou, Hexham's bishop, servant of the Lord!'
Cuthbert smiled wanly, raised his hands in blessing,
Like one surrendering to superior forces,
And spoke; 'The comfort and advising of the weak
Is equal to the sacrifice of prayer. I come.'
St. Cuthbert's pectoral cross

As though he had not laid it down, his zeal renewed,
His work of care and wonders he took up once more.
Exchanging sees with Eata of Lindisfarne ,
Still close he stayed to well-kent places and his home;
Great miracles of healing issued from his prayers -
The plague was stayed, fierce storms were calmed, and many won.
He read men's inmost thoughts and saw their deep desires
Without their telling; of all Lindisfarne's bishops
The most beloved and revered this monk became;
And yet, in all, his garb remained humility.
How many blessed the day God spoke to Boisil first,
Which saying unlocked Cuthbert's heart to bishop them.

Yet, failed his strength and yearned his heart for lonely Farne;
A boat he took, knowing well his days were far spent;
'I shall return when you bring back my body here',
He said. And even in those last few days of life 
When storms left Cuthbert desolate, in need of food ,
Those who would challenge winter seas to reach his isle
Were healed and comforted through Cuthbert's drooping hands
And wondered at the strength which dwelt in Cuthbert's heart. 
At last, on a spring day, the unction he received
And, lifting up his heavy eyes to heaven,
Stretched forth his hands to magnify his Creator,
And in the very act of praising Him, expired.
Top

They say his body incorruptible was kept,
And cherished by the brothers there at Lindisfarne
Until great waves of violent men crashed on the shores
To pillage and to massacre and to destroy .
The saint's revered remains they did not desecrate, 
For faithful men bore off the casket, and in Durham 
Layed him finally to rest, this holy being,
Underneath a slab of grey inscribed ,'CUTHBERTUS'.
 Cuthbert's tomb, Durham 

O Lord, who by this faithful Cuthbert spoke,
Igniting fires of righteousness throughout the land,
Grant that this man may our hearts inspire to serve You,
As we his zeal and patience seek to emulate.






  Holy Island

A solitary stretch this is; a place too sacred
To be conjoined to the main, but by a path
Washed daily by the ebb and flow of cleansing tides
To rinse away the traces and the prints of things profane.
Here is a place aloof, a natural hermitage,
A cocoon of greatness, a wild, awesome shrine -
Holy Island , whence, when men were plagued with fear
Of darkness so profound, it passed their simple knowing,
A bolt flew, brilliant as the dawn of time itself,
To raise up Christ and down the demon ignorance,
To bring the fire of God searing through the kingdoms
Of this world, to reach from Forth to Thames , and further.

Here trod bold Aidan first; called by the Northumbrian king
To scatter seed that burgeons into life and faith;
He did not live to see thence spring but tender shoots,
Yet, in his heavenward ascent, one shepherd lad
Did, as famed Elisha saw his lord arise, see him
Borne upward, supported on the arms of angels
And thus did deem it as a vision for his life
To be a monk at Mailros, and to serve Lord Christ,
To serve with labour, study, witness and inspire
His confreres to abide in love, all to forsake
For sake of gaining heaven and the riches there,
And precious lives to liberate from pagan lore.
Top

Cuthbert his name; raised by his mother-nurse, Kenswith ,
He learned the glory of the King of Heaven's love,
As, at her side, his eyes afire with wonder,
He heard the sacred history proclaimed to him.
A fine young man he was, sturdy and flaxen-haired,
Of breeding, not a common serf, but nobly born.
Like his heavenly Master he grew in favour high
And, by his vision, came he up to Prior Boisil ,
The well-loved prior at Mailros, who, on seeing him,
Raised in holy awe his hands toward sky and heaven
And declared for all to hear, prophetically,
As John to Christ, 'Behold, the servant of the Lord !'
 Site of Old Mailros, from Scott's View
There Cuthbert learned the skills in which monastics throve,
To read, to copy, memorise and preach Christ's word,
From Boisil, father to the novice youth, in all
A man of holy purity and prophetic grace.
And all along, in Cuthbert grew the peregrine ,
To forge through forest dark, to ford the rivers swift,
To reach the lone, desolate hamlets in their darkness,
To stand beside their village wells and bring them truth
From living springs, which quenched their thirst and brought them life.
Brave man ! Fed by eagles , beloved of seals and otters
Who came to warm his icy feet as he sang psalms
At dead of night, for penance standing in the sea.

Beloved indeed, not only of the lower orders,
But by all those whose lives he graced with his own life;
Scarce could he celebrate the mass without tears shed
And wept for pity at the sins confessed to him.
Through testing days of Whitby Synod calm he stayed,
When Colman, angry and unmoving, split the church
For sake of Easter Day , withdrawing to Iona,
Dividing even Aidan's bones 'twixt him and them.
Submissive Cuthbert, bending to the Roman way,
Desired the peace and furtherance of the holy life,
And rival factions reconciled to join again.
And then he came to Lindisfarne, as prior sent.

St Cuthbert's Island, Lindisfarne
Marked by a cross, an island even holier yet
Stands o'er against the sacred abbey's ruined walls;
Here built the holy man his oratory, cut off
From interference in his communion by tides.
Yet, even wading through the rising waters came
The pilgrims for the Thaumaturgus' blessed words,
That they might find some holy cure, some gracious sign,
Some vestige of the power found in Cuthbert's hands.
To hermitage had turned his thoughts of late,
To escape the constant press of men and women's need;
Thus was he granted leave to sail away to Farne
To share his oraisons with cries only of gulls.

Full nine long years upon that island was his home,
In chapel, where no view of sea nor land could draw
His thoughts from things divine; from Easter to Easter
He removed not his boots of skin from off his feet,
Save for the sacred Maundy's rite of washing them,
In honour of the Lord's great act to Peter.
Yet would he still not turn away the faithful ones
Who braved the vicious sea in boats to hear him speak,
Nor did their hope deceive them , for no man returned
Deprived of the great consolation Cuthbert gave,
Nor yet went back accompanied by sorrowed mind
Which caused his fearful voyage to bring him thither.

But now was Cuthbert troubled by heralds urgent,
Men, sent from Theodore , the Primate bade him come
And receive a bishop's mitre, to be at Hexham,
Thence to shepherd and to guide the northern churches.
He would not - too dear to him was his hermitage
To leave it now, to leave behind devotions' call,
The oratory, the animals, the lowly ducks
He tended on their nests without their scorning him -
To leave his lovely Farne would crush his ageing heart,
To go back to the mire and frenzy of the world -
He could not ! Then came the King himself to beseech
That he should lead them, leave his loneliness and come.

Top

Then Cuthbert heard a voice; a distant voice it was
That rang to him from through the years long since gone by;
Boisil , his beloved prior, whose prophecy
He now, with pain, perceived to be at fulfilment,
'Behold the Servant of the Lord !' He knew the way -
His door he opened, and went out into the day.
'The Lord be praised !', the brothers' voices rose to sing,
And, 'Hail! thou, Hexham's bishop, servant of the Lord!'
Cuthbert smiled wanly, raised his hands in blessing,
Like one surrendering to superior forces,
And spoke; 'The comfort and advising of the weak
Is equal to the sacrifice of prayer. I come.'
St. Cuthbert's pectoral cross

As though he had not laid it down, his zeal renewed,
His work of care and wonders he took up once more.
Exchanging sees with Eata of Lindisfarne ,
Still close he stayed to well-kent places and his home;
Great miracles of healing issued from his prayers -
The plague was stayed, fierce storms were calmed, and many won.
He read men's inmost thoughts and saw their deep desires
Without their telling; of all Lindisfarne's bishops
The most beloved and revered this monk became;
And yet, in all, his garb remained humility.
How many blessed the day God spoke to Boisil first,
Which saying unlocked Cuthbert's heart to bishop them.

Yet, failed his strength and yearned his heart for lonely Farne;
A boat he took, knowing well his days were far spent;
'I shall return when you bring back my body here',
He said. And even in those last few days of life
When storms left Cuthbert desolate, in need of food ,
Those who would challenge winter seas to reach his isle
Were healed and comforted through Cuthbert's drooping hands
And wondered at the strength which dwelt in Cuthbert's heart.
At last, on a spring day, the unction he received
And, lifting up his heavy eyes to heaven,
Stretched forth his hands to magnify his Creator,
And in the very act of praising Him, expired.
Top

They say his body incorruptible was kept,
And cherished by the brothers there at Lindisfarne
Until great waves of violent men crashed on the shores
To pillage and to massacre and to destroy .
The saint's revered remains they did not desecrate,
For faithful men bore off the casket, and in Durham
Layed him finally to rest, this holy being,
Underneath a slab of grey inscribed ,'CUTHBERTUS'.
 Cuthbert's tomb, Durham 

O Lord, who by this faithful Cuthbert spoke,
Igniting fires of righteousness throughout the land,
Grant that this man may our hearts inspire to serve You,
As we his zeal and patience seek to emulate.


Edinburgh, 9th February 1980

   
CUTHBERTUS

A poem on the life of St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne c.634-687ad,
by Colin Symes
W

  Holy Island

A solitary stretch this is; a place too sacred
To be conjoined to the main, but by a path
Washed daily by the ebb and flow of cleansing tides
To rinse away the traces and the prints of things profane.
Here is a place aloof, a natural hermitage,
A cocoon of greatness, a wild, awesome shrine -
Holy Island , whence, when men were plagued with fear
Of darkness so profound, it passed their simple knowing,
A bolt flew, brilliant as the dawn of time itself,
To raise up Christ and down the demon ignorance,
To bring the fire of God searing through the kingdoms
Of this world, to reach from Forth to Thames , and further.

Here trod bold Aidan first; called by the Northumbrian king
To scatter seed that burgeons into life and faith;
He did not live to see thence spring but tender shoots,
Yet, in his heavenward ascent, one shepherd lad
Did, as famed Elisha saw his lord arise, see him
Borne upward, supported on the arms of angels
And thus did deem it as a vision for his life
To be a monk at Mailros, and to serve Lord Christ,
To serve with labour, study, witness and inspire
His confreres to abide in love, all to forsake
For sake of gaining heaven and the riches there,
And precious lives to liberate from pagan lore.
Top

Cuthbert his name; raised by his mother-nurse, Kenswith ,
He learned the glory of the King of Heaven's love,
As, at her side, his eyes afire with wonder,
He heard the sacred history proclaimed to him.
A fine young man he was, sturdy and flaxen-haired,
Of breeding, not a common serf, but nobly born.
Like his heavenly Master he grew in favour high
And, by his vision, came he up to Prior Boisil ,
The well-loved prior at Mailros, who, on seeing him,
Raised in holy awe his hands toward sky and heaven
And declared for all to hear, prophetically,
As John to Christ, 'Behold, the servant of the Lord !'
 Site of Old Mailros, from Scott's View
There Cuthbert learned the skills in which monastics throve,
To read, to copy, memorise and preach Christ's word,
From Boisil, father to the novice youth, in all
A man of holy purity and prophetic grace.
And all along, in Cuthbert grew the peregrine ,
To forge through forest dark, to ford the rivers swift,
To reach the lone, desolate hamlets in their darkness,
To stand beside their village wells and bring them truth
From living springs, which quenched their thirst and brought them life.
Brave man ! Fed by eagles , beloved of seals and otters
Who came to warm his icy feet as he sang psalms
At dead of night, for penance standing in the sea.

Beloved indeed, not only of the lower orders,
But by all those whose lives he graced with his own life;
Scarce could he celebrate the mass without tears shed
And wept for pity at the sins confessed to him.
Through testing days of Whitby Synod calm he stayed,
When Colman, angry and unmoving, split the church
For sake of Easter Day , withdrawing to Iona,
Dividing even Aidan's bones 'twixt him and them.
Submissive Cuthbert, bending to the Roman way,
Desired the peace and furtherance of the holy life,
And rival factions reconciled to join again.
And then he came to Lindisfarne, as prior sent.

St Cuthbert's Island, Lindisfarne
Marked by a cross, an island even holier yet
Stands o'er against the sacred abbey's ruined walls;
Here built the holy man his oratory, cut off
From interference in his communion by tides.
Yet, even wading through the rising waters came
The pilgrims for the Thaumaturgus' blessed words,
That they might find some holy cure, some gracious sign,
Some vestige of the power found in Cuthbert's hands.
To hermitage had turned his thoughts of late,
To escape the constant press of men and women's need;
Thus was he granted leave to sail away to Farne
To share his oraisons with cries only of gulls.

Full nine long years upon that island was his home,
In chapel, where no view of sea nor land could draw
His thoughts from things divine; from Easter to Easter
He removed not his boots of skin from off his feet,
Save for the sacred Maundy's rite of washing them,
In honour of the Lord's great act to Peter.
Yet would he still not turn away the faithful ones
Who braved the vicious sea in boats to hear him speak,
Nor did their hope deceive them , for no man returned
Deprived of the great consolation Cuthbert gave,
Nor yet went back accompanied by sorrowed mind
Which caused his fearful voyage to bring him thither.

But now was Cuthbert troubled by heralds urgent,
Men, sent from Theodore , the Primate bade him come
And receive a bishop's mitre, to be at Hexham,
Thence to shepherd and to guide the northern churches.
He would not - too dear to him was his hermitage
To leave it now, to leave behind devotions' call,
The oratory, the animals, the lowly ducks
He tended on their nests without their scorning him -
To leave his lovely Farne would crush his ageing heart,
To go back to the mire and frenzy of the world -
He could not ! Then came the King himself to beseech
That he should lead them, leave his loneliness and come.

Top

Then Cuthbert heard a voice; a distant voice it was
That rang to him from through the years long since gone by;
Boisil , his beloved prior, whose prophecy
He now, with pain, perceived to be at fulfilment,
'Behold the Servant of the Lord !' He knew the way -
His door he opened, and went out into the day.
'The Lord be praised !', the brothers' voices rose to sing,
And, 'Hail! thou, Hexham's bishop, servant of the Lord!'
Cuthbert smiled wanly, raised his hands in blessing,
Like one surrendering to superior forces,
And spoke; 'The comfort and advising of the weak
Is equal to the sacrifice of prayer. I come.'
St. Cuthbert's pectoral cross

As though he had not laid it down, his zeal renewed,
His work of care and wonders he took up once more.
Exchanging sees with Eata of Lindisfarne ,
Still close he stayed to well-kent places and his home;
Great miracles of healing issued from his prayers -
The plague was stayed, fierce storms were calmed, and many won.
He read men's inmost thoughts and saw their deep desires
Without their telling; of all Lindisfarne's bishops
The most beloved and revered this monk became;
And yet, in all, his garb remained humility.
How many blessed the day God spoke to Boisil first,
Which saying unlocked Cuthbert's heart to bishop them.

Yet, failed his strength and yearned his heart for lonely Farne;
A boat he took, knowing well his days were far spent;
'I shall return when you bring back my body here',
He said. And even in those last few days of life
When storms left Cuthbert desolate, in need of food ,
Those who would challenge winter seas to reach his isle
Were healed and comforted through Cuthbert's drooping hands
And wondered at the strength which dwelt in Cuthbert's heart.
At last, on a spring day, the unction he received
And, lifting up his heavy eyes to heaven,
Stretched forth his hands to magnify his Creator,
And in the very act of praising Him, expired.
Top

They say his body incorruptible was kept,
And cherished by the brothers there at Lindisfarne
Until great waves of violent men crashed on the shores
To pillage and to massacre and to destroy .
The saint's revered remains they did not desecrate,
For faithful men bore off the casket, and in Durham
Layed him finally to rest, this holy being,
Underneath a slab of grey inscribed ,'CUTHBERTUS'.
 Cuthbert's tomb, Durham 

O Lord, who by this faithful Cuthbert spoke,
Igniting fires of righteousness throughout the land,
Grant that this man may our hearts inspire to serve You,
As we his zeal and patience seek to emulate.


Edinburgh, 9th February 1980  
   Holy Island

A solitary stretch this is; a place too sacred
To be conjoined to the main, but by a path
Washed daily by the ebb and flow of cleansing tides
To rinse away the traces and the prints of things profane.
Here is a place aloof, a natural hermitage,
A cocoon of greatness, a wild, awesome shrine -
Holy Island , whence, when men were plagued with fear
Of darkness so profound, it passed their simple knowing,
A bolt flew, brilliant as the dawn of time itself,
To raise up Christ and down the demon ignorance,
To bring the fire of God searing through the kingdoms
Of this world, to reach from Forth to Thames , and further.

Here trod bold Aidan first; called by the Northumbrian king
To scatter seed that burgeons into life and faith;
He did not live to see thence spring but tender shoots,
Yet, in his heavenward ascent, one shepherd lad
Did, as famed Elisha saw his lord arise, see him
Borne upward, supported on the arms of angels
And thus did deem it as a vision for his life
To be a monk at Mailros, and to serve Lord Christ,
To serve with labour, study, witness and inspire
His confreres to abide in love, all to forsake
For sake of gaining heaven and the riches there,
And precious lives to liberate from pagan lore.
Top

Cuthbert his name; raised by his mother-nurse, Kenswith ,
He learned the glory of the King of Heaven's love,
As, at her side, his eyes afire with wonder,
He heard the sacred history proclaimed to him.
A fine young man he was, sturdy and flaxen-haired,
Of breeding, not a common serf, but nobly born.
Like his heavenly Master he grew in favour high
And, by his vision, came he up to Prior Boisil ,
The well-loved prior at Mailros, who, on seeing him,
Raised in holy awe his hands toward sky and heaven
And declared for all to hear, prophetically,
As John to Christ, 'Behold, the servant of the Lord !'
 Site of Old Mailros, from Scott's View
There Cuthbert learned the skills in which monastics throve,
To read, to copy, memorise and preach Christ's word,
From Boisil, father to the novice youth, in all
A man of holy purity and prophetic grace.
And all along, in Cuthbert grew the peregrine ,
To forge through forest dark, to ford the rivers swift,
To reach the lone, desolate hamlets in their darkness,
To stand beside their village wells and bring them truth
From living springs, which quenched their thirst and brought them life.
Brave man ! Fed by eagles , beloved of seals and otters
Who came to warm his icy feet as he sang psalms
At dead of night, for penance standing in the sea.

Beloved indeed, not only of the lower orders,
But by all those whose lives he graced with his own life;
Scarce could he celebrate the mass without tears shed
And wept for pity at the sins confessed to him.
Through testing days of Whitby Synod calm he stayed,
When Colman, angry and unmoving, split the church
For sake of Easter Day , withdrawing to Iona,
Dividing even Aidan's bones 'twixt him and them.
Submissive Cuthbert, bending to the Roman way,
Desired the peace and furtherance of the holy life,
And rival factions reconciled to join again.
And then he came to Lindisfarne, as prior sent.

St Cuthbert's Island, Lindisfarne
Marked by a cross, an island even holier yet
Stands o'er against the sacred abbey's ruined walls;
Here built the holy man his oratory, cut off
From interference in his communion by tides.
Yet, even wading through the rising waters came
The pilgrims for the Thaumaturgus' blessed words,
That they might find some holy cure, some gracious sign,
Some vestige of the power found in Cuthbert's hands.
To hermitage had turned his thoughts of late,
To escape the constant press of men and women's need;
Thus was he granted leave to sail away to Farne
To share his oraisons with cries only of gulls.

Full nine long years upon that island was his home,
In chapel, where no view of sea nor land could draw
His thoughts from things divine; from Easter to Easter
He removed not his boots of skin from off his feet,
Save for the sacred Maundy's rite of washing them,
In honour of the Lord's great act to Peter.
Yet would he still not turn away the faithful ones
Who braved the vicious sea in boats to hear him speak,
Nor did their hope deceive them , for no man returned
Deprived of the great consolation Cuthbert gave,
Nor yet went back accompanied by sorrowed mind
Which caused his fearful voyage to bring him thither.

But now was Cuthbert troubled by heralds urgent,
Men, sent from Theodore , the Primate bade him come
And receive a bishop's mitre, to be at Hexham,
Thence to shepherd and to guide the northern churches.
He would not - too dear to him was his hermitage
To leave it now, to leave behind devotions' call,
The oratory, the animals, the lowly ducks
He tended on their nests without their scorning him -
To leave his lovely Farne would crush his ageing heart,
To go back to the mire and frenzy of the world -
He could not ! Then came the King himself to beseech
That he should lead them, leave his loneliness and come.

Top

Then Cuthbert heard a voice; a distant voice it was
That rang to him from through the years long since gone by;
Boisil , his beloved prior, whose prophecy
He now, with pain, perceived to be at fulfilment,
'Behold the Servant of the Lord !' He knew the way -
His door he opened, and went out into the day.
'The Lord be praised !', the brothers' voices rose to sing,
And, 'Hail! thou, Hexham's bishop, servant of the Lord!'
Cuthbert smiled wanly, raised his hands in blessing,
Like one surrendering to superior forces,
And spoke; 'The comfort and advising of the weak
Is equal to the sacrifice of prayer. I come.'
St. Cuthbert's pectoral cross

As though he had not laid it down, his zeal renewed,
His work of care and wonders he took up once more.
Exchanging sees with Eata of Lindisfarne ,
Still close he stayed to well-kent places and his home;
Great miracles of healing issued from his prayers -
The plague was stayed, fierce storms were calmed, and many won.
He read men's inmost thoughts and saw their deep desires
Without their telling; of all Lindisfarne's bishops
The most beloved and revered this monk became;
And yet, in all, his garb remained humility.
How many blessed the day God spoke to Boisil first,
Which saying unlocked Cuthbert's heart to bishop them.

Yet, failed his strength and yearned his heart for lonely Farne;
A boat he took, knowing well his days were far spent;
'I shall return when you bring back my body here',
He said. And even in those last few days of life
When storms left Cuthbert desolate, in need of food ,
Those who would challenge winter seas to reach his isle
Were healed and comforted through Cuthbert's drooping hands
And wondered at the strength which dwelt in Cuthbert's heart.
At last, on a spring day, the unction he received
And, lifting up his heavy eyes to heaven,
Stretched forth his hands to magnify his Creator,
And in the very act of praising Him, expired.
Top

They say his body incorruptible was kept,
And cherished by the brothers there at Lindisfarne
Until great waves of violent men crashed on the shores
To pillage and to massacre and to destroy .
The saint's revered remains they did not desecrate,
For faithful men bore off the casket, and in Durham
Layed him finally to rest, this holy being,
Underneath a slab of grey inscribed ,'CUTHBERTUS'.
 Cuthbert's tomb, Durham 

O Lord, who by this faithful Cuthbert spoke,
Igniting fires of righteousness throughout the land,
Grant that this man may our hearts inspire to serve You,
As we his zeal and patience seek to emulate.
Edinburgh, 9th February 1980

CUTHBERTUS



A poem on the life of St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne c.634-687ad,
by Colin Symes
W

http://www.colinsymes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/HOLYISLAND.JPG  Holy
Island


A solitary stretch this is; a place too sacred

To be conjoined to the main, but by a path 

Washed daily by the ebb and flow of cleansing tides

To rinse away the traces and the prints of things profane.

Here is a place aloof, a natural hermitage,

A cocoon of greatness, a wild, awesome shrine -

Holy Island , whence, when men were plagued with fear

Of darkness so profound, it passed their simple knowing,

A bolt flew, brilliant as the dawn of time itself,

To raise up Christ and down the demon ignorance,

To bring the fire of God searing through the kingdoms

Of this world, to reach from Forth to Thames , and further.



Here trod bold Aidan first; called by the Northumbrian king 

To scatter seed that burgeons into life and faith;

He did not live to see thence spring but tender shoots,

Yet, in his heavenward ascent, one shepherd lad

Did, as famed Elisha saw his lord arise, see him

Borne upward, supported on the arms of angels 

And thus did deem it as a vision for his life

To be a monk at Mailros, and to serve Lord Christ,

To serve with labour, study, witness and inspire

His confreres to abide in love, all to forsake

For sake of gaining heaven and the riches there,

And precious lives to liberate from pagan lore.
Top



Cuthbert his name; raised by his mother-nurse, Kenswith ,

He learned the glory of the King of Heaven's love,

As, at her side, his eyes afire with wonder,

He heard the sacred history proclaimed to him.

A fine young man he was, sturdy and flaxen-haired,

Of breeding, not a common serf, but nobly born.

Like his heavenly Master he grew in favour high

And, by his vision, came he up to Prior Boisil ,

The well-loved prior at Mailros, who, on seeing him,

Raised in holy awe his hands toward sky and heaven

And declared for all to hear, prophetically,

As John to Christ, 'Behold, the servant of the Lord !'
http://www.colinsymes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/OldMailros.jpg Site of Old Mailros, from
Scott's View


There Cuthbert learned the skills in which monastics throve,

To read, to copy, memorise and preach Christ's word,

From Boisil, father to the novice youth, in all

A man of holy purity and prophetic grace.

And all along, in Cuthbert grew the peregrine ,

To forge through forest dark, to ford the rivers swift,

To reach the lone, desolate hamlets in their darkness, 

To stand beside their village wells and bring them truth 

From living springs, which quenched their thirst and brought them life.

Brave man ! Fed by eagles , beloved of seals and otters

Who came to warm his icy feet as he sang psalms

At dead of night, for penance standing in the sea.



Beloved indeed, not only of the lower orders,

But by all those whose lives he graced with his own life;

Scarce could he celebrate the mass without tears shed

And wept for pity at the sins confessed to him.

Through testing days of Whitby Synod calm he stayed,

When Colman, angry and unmoving, split the church

For sake of Easter Day , withdrawing to Iona,

Dividing even Aidan's bones 'twixt him and them.

Submissive Cuthbert, bending to the Roman way,

Desired the peace and furtherance of the holy life,

And rival factions reconciled to join again.

And then he came to Lindisfarne, as prior sent.


http://www.colinsymes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Image128.jpgSt
Cuthbert's Island, Lindisfarne
Marked
by a cross, an island even holier yet

Stands o'er against the sacred abbey's ruined walls;

Here built the holy man his oratory, cut off

From interference in his communion by tides.

Yet, even wading through the rising waters came

The pilgrims for the Thaumaturgus' blessed words,

That they might find some holy cure, some gracious sign,

Some vestige of the power found in Cuthbert's hands.

To hermitage had turned his thoughts of late,

To escape the constant press of men and women's need;

Thus was he granted leave to sail away to Farne 

To share his oraisons with cries only of gulls.



Full nine long years upon that island was his home,

In chapel, where no view of sea nor land could draw

His thoughts from things divine; from Easter to Easter

He removed not his boots of skin from off his feet,

Save for the sacred Maundy's rite of washing them,

In honour of the Lord's great act to Peter.

Yet would he still not turn away the faithful ones

Who braved the vicious sea in boats to hear him speak,

Nor did their hope deceive them , for no man returned

Deprived of the great consolation Cuthbert gave,

Nor yet went back accompanied by sorrowed mind

Which caused his fearful voyage to bring him thither.



But now was Cuthbert troubled by heralds urgent,

Men, sent from Theodore , the Primate bade him come

And receive a bishop's mitre, to be at Hexham,

Thence to shepherd and to guide the northern churches.

He would not - too dear to him was his hermitage

To leave it now, to leave behind devotions' call,

The oratory, the animals, the lowly ducks

He tended on their nests without their scorning him -

To leave his lovely Farne would crush his ageing heart,

To go back to the mire and frenzy of the world -

He could not ! Then came the King himself to beseech

That he should lead them, leave his loneliness and come.
Top



Then Cuthbert heard a voice; a distant voice it was

That rang to him from through the years long since gone by;

Boisil , his beloved prior, whose prophecy 

He now, with pain, perceived to be at fulfilment,

'Behold the Servant of the Lord !' He knew the way -

His door he opened, and went out into the day.

'The Lord be praised !', the brothers' voices rose to sing,

And, 'Hail! thou, Hexham's bishop, servant of the Lord!'

Cuthbert smiled wanly, raised his hands in blessing,

Like one surrendering to superior forces,

And spoke; 'The comfort and advising of the weak

Is equal to the sacrifice of prayer. I come.'
http://www.colinsymes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/PECTORALCROSS.GIFSt. Cuthbert's pectoral cross



As though he had not laid it down, his zeal renewed,

His work of care and wonders he took up once more.

Exchanging sees with Eata of Lindisfarne ,

Still close he stayed to well-kent places and his home;

Great miracles of healing issued from his prayers -

The plague was stayed, fierce storms were calmed, and many won.

He read men's inmost thoughts and saw their deep desires

Without their telling; of all Lindisfarne's bishops

The most beloved and revered this monk became;

And yet, in all, his garb remained humility.

How many blessed the day God spoke to Boisil first,

Which saying unlocked Cuthbert's heart to bishop them.



Yet, failed his strength and yearned his heart for lonely Farne;

A boat he took, knowing well his days were far spent;

'I shall return when you bring back my body here',

He said. And even in those last few days of life 

When storms left Cuthbert desolate, in need of food ,

Those who would challenge winter seas to reach his isle

Were healed and comforted through Cuthbert's drooping hands

And wondered at the strength which dwelt in Cuthbert's heart. 

At last, on a spring day, the unction he received

And, lifting up his heavy eyes to heaven,

Stretched forth his hands to magnify his Creator,

And in the very act of praising Him, expired.
Top



They say his body incorruptible was kept,

And cherished by the brothers there at Lindisfarne

Until great waves of violent men crashed on the shores

To pillage and to massacre and to destroy .

The saint's revered remains they did not desecrate, 

For faithful men bore off the casket, and in Durham 

Layed him finally to rest, this holy being,

Underneath a slab of grey inscribed ,'CUTHBERTUS'.
http://www.colinsymes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Cuthberttomb.jpg Cuthbert's tomb, Durham 



O Lord, who by this faithful Cuthbert spoke,

Igniting fires of righteousness throughout the land,

Grant that this man may our hearts inspire to serve You,

As we his zeal and patience seek to emulate.





Edinburgh, 9th February 1980

CUTHBERTUS

A poem on the life of St.
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne c.634-687ad,
by Colin Symes
W

http://www.colinsymes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/HOLYISLAND.JPG  Holy
Island

A
solitary stretch this is; a place too sacred
To
be conjoined to the main, but by a path 
Washed
daily by the ebb and flow of cleansing tides
To
rinse away the traces and the prints of things profane.
Here
is a place aloof, a natural hermitage,
A
cocoon of greatness, a wild, awesome shrine -
Holy
Island , whence, when men were plagued with fear
Of
darkness so profound, it passed their simple knowing,
A
bolt flew, brilliant as the dawn of time itself,
To
raise up Christ and down the demon ignorance,
To
bring the fire of God searing through the kingdoms
Of
this world, to reach from Forth to Thames , and further.

Here
trod bold Aidan first; called by the Northumbrian king 
To
scatter seed that burgeons into life and faith;
He
did not live to see thence spring but tender shoots,
Yet,
in his heavenward ascent, one shepherd lad
Did,
as famed Elisha saw his lord arise, see him
Borne
upward, supported on the arms of angels 
And
thus did deem it as a vision for his life
To
be a monk at Mailros, and to serve Lord Christ,
To
serve with labour, study, witness and inspire
His
confreres to abide in love, all to forsake
For
sake of gaining heaven and the riches there,
And
precious lives to liberate from pagan lore.
Top

Cuthbert
his name; raised by his mother-nurse, Kenswith ,
He
learned the glory of the King of Heaven's love,
As,
at her side, his eyes afire with wonder,
He
heard the sacred history proclaimed to him.
A
fine young man he was, sturdy and flaxen-haired,
Of
breeding, not a common serf, but nobly born.
Like
his heavenly Master he grew in favour high
And,
by his vision, came he up to Prior Boisil ,
The
well-loved prior at Mailros, who, on seeing him,
Raised
in holy awe his hands toward sky and heaven
And
declared for all to hear, prophetically,
As
John to Christ, 'Behold, the servant of the Lord !'
http://www.colinsymes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/OldMailros.jpg Site of Old Mailros, from
Scott's View
There
Cuthbert learned the skills in which monastics throve,
To
read, to copy, memorise and preach Christ's word,
From
Boisil, father to the novice youth, in all
A
man of holy purity and prophetic grace.
And
all along, in Cuthbert grew the peregrine ,
To
forge through forest dark, to ford the rivers swift,
To
reach the lone, desolate hamlets in their darkness, 
To
stand beside their village wells and bring them truth 
From
living springs, which quenched their thirst and brought them life.
Brave
man ! Fed by eagles , beloved of seals and otters
Who
came to warm his icy feet as he sang psalms
At
dead of night, for penance standing in the sea.

Beloved
indeed, not only of the lower orders,
But
by all those whose lives he graced with his own life;
Scarce
could he celebrate the mass without tears shed
And
wept for pity at the sins confessed to him.
Through
testing days of Whitby Synod calm he stayed,
When
Colman, angry and unmoving, split the church
For
sake of Easter Day , withdrawing to Iona,
Dividing
even Aidan's bones 'twixt him and them.
Submissive
Cuthbert, bending to the Roman way,
Desired
the peace and furtherance of the holy life,
And
rival factions reconciled to join again.
And
then he came to Lindisfarne, as prior sent.

http://www.colinsymes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Image128.jpgSt Cuthbert's Island, Lindisfarne
Marked
by a cross, an island even holier yet
Stands
o'er against the sacred abbey's ruined walls;
Here
built the holy man his oratory, cut off
From
interference in his communion by tides.
Yet,
even wading through the rising waters came
The
pilgrims for the Thaumaturgus' blessed words,
That
they might find some holy cure, some gracious sign,
Some
vestige of the power found in Cuthbert's hands.
To
hermitage had turned his thoughts of late,
To
escape the constant press of men and women's need;
Thus
was he granted leave to sail away to Farne 
To
share his oraisons with cries only of gulls.

Full
nine long years upon that island was his home,
In
chapel, where no view of sea nor land could draw
His
thoughts from things divine; from Easter to Easter
He
removed not his boots of skin from off his feet,
Save
for the sacred Maundy's rite of washing them,
In
honour of the Lord's great act to Peter.
Yet
would he still not turn away the faithful ones
Who
braved the vicious sea in boats to hear him speak,
Nor
did their hope deceive them , for no man returned
Deprived
of the great consolation Cuthbert gave,
Nor
yet went back accompanied by sorrowed mind
Which
caused his fearful voyage to bring him thither.

But
now was Cuthbert troubled by heralds urgent,
Men,
sent from Theodore , the Primate bade him come
And
receive a bishop's mitre, to be at Hexham,
Thence
to shepherd and to guide the northern churches.
He
would not - too dear to him was his hermitage
To
leave it now, to leave behind devotions' call,
The
oratory, the animals, the lowly ducks
He
tended on their nests without their scorning him -
To
leave his lovely Farne would crush his ageing heart,
To
go back to the mire and frenzy of the world -
He
could not ! Then came the King himself to beseech
That
he should lead them, leave his loneliness and come.
Top

Then
Cuthbert heard a voice; a distant voice it was
That
rang to him from through the years long since gone by;
Boisil
, his beloved prior, whose prophecy 
He
now, with pain, perceived to be at fulfilment,
'Behold
the Servant of the Lord !' He knew the way -
His
door he opened, and went out into the day.
'The
Lord be praised !', the brothers' voices rose to sing,
And,
'Hail! thou, Hexham's bishop, servant of the Lord!'
Cuthbert
smiled wanly, raised his hands in blessing,
Like
one surrendering to superior forces,
And
spoke; 'The comfort and advising of the weak
Is
equal to the sacrifice of prayer. I come.'
http://www.colinsymes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/PECTORALCROSS.GIFSt. Cuthbert's pectoral cross

As
though he had not laid it down, his zeal renewed,
His
work of care and wonders he took up once more.
Exchanging
sees with Eata of Lindisfarne ,
Still
close he stayed to well-kent places and his home;
Great
miracles of healing issued from his prayers -
The
plague was stayed, fierce storms were calmed, and many won.
He
read men's inmost thoughts and saw their deep desires
Without
their telling; of all Lindisfarne's bishops
The
most beloved and revered this monk became;
And
yet, in all, his garb remained humility.
How
many blessed the day God spoke to Boisil first,
Which
saying unlocked Cuthbert's heart to bishop them.

Yet,
failed his strength and yearned his heart for lonely Farne;
A
boat he took, knowing well his days were far spent;
'I
shall return when you bring back my body here',
He
said. And even in those last few days of life 
When
storms left Cuthbert desolate, in need of food ,
Those
who would challenge winter seas to reach his isle
Were
healed and comforted through Cuthbert's drooping hands
And
wondered at the strength which dwelt in Cuthbert's heart. 
At
last, on a spring day, the unction he received
And,
lifting up his heavy eyes to heaven,
Stretched
forth his hands to magnify his Creator,
And
in the very act of praising Him, expired.
Top

They
say his body incorruptible was kept,
And
cherished by the brothers there at Lindisfarne
Until
great waves of violent men crashed on the shores
To
pillage and to massacre and to destroy .
The
saint's revered remains they did not desecrate, 
For
faithful men bore off the casket, and in Durham 
Layed
him finally to rest, this holy being,
Underneath
a slab of grey inscribed ,'CUTHBERTUS'.
http://www.colinsymes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Cuthberttomb.jpg Cuthbert's tomb, Durham 

O
Lord, who by this faithful Cuthbert spoke,
Igniting
fires of righteousness throughout the land,
Grant
that this man may our hearts inspire to serve You,
As
we his zeal and patience seek to emulate.

   

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