10/18/13- Prayers from the Middle Medieval Period

A Month in Prayer

Praying the Prayers of the Church throughout the Ages

               October 18

Blessed Alcuin of York (c. 730-804)

Eternal Light, shine into our hearts;
Eternal Goodness, delivers us from evil;
Eternal Power, be our support;
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness
of our ignorance;
Eternal Pity, have mercy on us—
So that with all our heart and mind
and soul and strength
into your holy presence
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Alcuin of York (c. 730-804) was an English scholar, ecclesiastic, poet and teacher, and abbot who served both English and French monarchs. He was never ordained as a priest and there is no real evidence that he became an actual monk, but he lived his life as one. Alcuin wrote many theological and dogmatic treatises, as well as grammatical works and a number of poems. He was called by historians of his era "the most learned man anywhere to be found. Alcuin was a disciple of Bede and worked to reform the English clergy especially through education. He was then invited to serve Charlemagne, the greatest Medieval king. Alcuin taught Charlemagne and his sons as well as many nobles. In his role as adviser to the powerful king, he challenged Charlemagne about his policy of forcing pagans to be baptized on pain of death. Alcuin argued, "Faith is a free act of the will, not a forced act. We must appeal to the conscience, not compel it by violence. You can force people to be baptized, but you cannot force them to believe." Charlemagne abolished the death penalty for paganism.  In addition, Alcuin is credited with inventing the first known question mark, though it did not resemble our modern symbol.


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King Alfred the Great (849-901)

We pray to you, O Lord,
who are the supreme Truth,
and all truth is from you.
We beseech you, O Lord,
who are the highest Wisdom,
and all the wise depend on you for their wisdom.
You are the supreme Joy,
and all who are happy owe it to you.
You are the Light of minds,
and all receive their understanding from you.
We love, we love you above all.
We seek you, we follow you,
and we are ready to serve you.
We desire to dwell under your power
for you are the King of all. Amen.

King Alfred the Great (849-901) is the only English monarch to be titled “the Great.” He successfully defended his kingdom against the Vikings and engaged in legal reform, urban planning including a restoration of London, church reform, and attempted to encourage learning.  When Alfred won a decisive victory against the Danes, he insisted that one of the terms of surrender be that the Viking leaders convert to Christianity. From that point on Alfred considered his former enemy to be his spiritual son.  Alfred's reputation has been that of a learned and merciful man who encouraged education and improved his kingdom's legal system and military structure. He was troubled by health problems throughout his life and it is thought that he may have suffered from Crohn's disease.

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Anselm (c.1033-1109)
Dear Lord,
Let me seek you by desiring you,
and let me desire you by seeking you;
let me find you by loving you,
and love you in finding you.
I confess, Lord, with thanksgiving,
that you have made me in your image,
so that I can remember you,
think of you, and love you.
But that image is so worn and blotted out by faults,
and darkened by the smoke of sin,
that it cannot do that for which it was made,
unless you renew and refashion it.
Lord, I am not trying to make my way to your height,
for my understanding is in no way equal to that,
but I do desire to understand a little of your truth
which my heart already believes and loves.
I do not seek to understand so that I can believe,
but I believe so that I may understand;
and what is more,
I believe that unless I do believe,
I shall not understand.

Anselm (c.1033-1109) was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and Archbishop of Canterbury. He was born in what is now France into a wealthy family and wished to join a monastery at the age of 15. His father forbid this, so Anselm traveled and studied until the age of 27. He debated between becoming a monk or a hermit.   Anselm is known as the Founder of scholasticism and is a major influence in Western theology.