Cuthbert was present at Bede’s deathbed, and this is how he describes his death.

For nearly a fortnight before the Feast of our Lord’s Resurrection he was troubled by weakness and breathed with great difficulty, although he suffered little pain. Thenceforward until Ascension Day he remained cheerful and happy, giving thanks to God each hour day and night. He gave daily lessons to us his students, and spent the rest of the day in singing the psalms so far as his strength allowed. He passed the whole night in joyful prayer and thanksgiving to God, except when slumber overcame him; but directly he awoke, he continued to meditate on spiritual themes, and never failed to thank God with hands outstretched. I can truthfully affirm that I have never seen or heard of anyone who gave thanks so unceasingly to the living God as he.

O truly blessed man! He used to repeat the saying of the holy Apostle Paul, ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God’, and many other sayings from holy scripture, and in this manner he used to arouse our souls by the consideration of our last hour. Being well-versed in our native songs, he described to us the dread departure of the soul from the body by a verse in our own tongue, which translated means: ‘Before setting forth on that inevitable journey, none is wiser than the man who considers – before his soul departs hence – what good or evil he has done, and what judgement his soul will receive after its passing’.

Read it all.

Today the Church of England celebrates the Venerable Bede, Monk at Jarrow, Scholar, Historian, 735

Detail of Benedictine window (Moira Forsyth, 1963) in the Bauchon Chapel of @Nrw_Cathedral, a former Benedictine priory (1096-1538). Photo: Lawrence OP, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0/flickr pic.twitter.com/0fB9hsfxRF

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) May 25, 2024

Heavenly Father, who didst call thy servant Bede, while still a child, to devote his life to thy service in the disciplines of religion and scholarship: Grant that as he labored in the Spirit to bring the riches of thy truth to his generation, so we, in our various vocations, may strive to make thee known in all the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

May 25: Feast of Bede (673-735), priest of Gyruum (Jarrow), biblical scholar. Wrote Ecclesiastical History of the English People. When news of his death reached missionaries, Boniface wrote ‘the candle of the Church, lit by the Holy Spirit, was extinguished’. Originally May 26. pic.twitter.com/yAtOl96XCu

— North Ages (@NorthAges) May 25, 2024

O God, who hast made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth, and didst send thy blessed Son Jesus Christ to preach peace to them that are afar off, and to them that are nigh: Grant that all the peoples of the world may feel after thee and find thee; and hasten, O Lord, the fulfillment of thy promise to pour out thy Spirit upon all flesh; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

–George Edward Lynch Cotton (1813-1866) [Bishop of Calcutta 1858–1866]

Salisbury cathedral, and some sheep #SteepleSaturday pic.twitter.com/mVHbqCxy2n

— Dr Naomi (@BooksTeaFilms) May 25, 2024

Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all, and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
    my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
    and he shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
He will not wrangle or cry aloud,
    nor will any one hear his voice in the streets;
he will not break a bruised reed
    or quench a smoldering wick,
till he brings justice to victory;
    and in his name will the Gentiles hope.”

–Matthew 12:15-21

Unusual steeple with Sanctus bell, from Ickleton #steeplesaturday pic.twitter.com/8p6zrMxJGh

— Sandy De Born (@SandyDeBorn) May 25, 2024