ST. AELRED OF RIEVAULX, PATRON OF INTEGRITY
This icon by Robert Lentz can be ordered from Trinity Stores variety of sizes and formats.
Revised from work by Daniel Sternbergh
A Biography of St. Aelred
A Biography of St. Aelred
Aelred seems, at first, an odd choice for patron. He was a celibate, a monk in the Cistercian order living in Rievaulx, England. He entered the order in 1134 at the age of 24; in 1147 he became abbot of Rievaulx until his death 20 years later. In his Rule of Life for a Recluse, written for an unnamed hermitess, he warns in strident tones about safeguarding her virginity from defilement either with men or with women. He never felt his own sexuality was entirely in his control, either. As novice-master, responsible for the training of impressionable young men, he found it necessary to build a concealed tank in which he could immerse himself in icy waters to bridle his physical passions. Even in his final days, sick and aged, he felt his celibacy was in need of vigilant protection.
But Aelred had, more than any other saint I know, a deep appreciation for friendship, and by that is meant the particular love between two individuals. Our tradition teaches us much about universal charity, the love of all humankind. We hear far less about the worthy love between two people, as exemplified by the love between Naomi and Ruth, or between Jesus and John, the "beloved disciple."
Of all the gifts Aelred has given the Church, the one most uniquely his is the joyous affirmation that we move toward God in and through our relationships with other people, not apart from or in spite of them. It is important, too, to remember who those particular individuals were, whose love taught Aelred of the love of God. Aelred himself speaks of losing his heart to one boy and then another during his school days. He was a man of strong passions, who spoke openly of the men for whom he had deeply romantic attachments. After the death of one monk whom he clearly loved, he wrote:
The only one who would not be astonished to see Aelred living without Simon would be someone who did not know how pleasant it was for us to spend our life on earth together; how great a joy it would have been for us to journey to heaven in each other's company . . . .Weep, then, not because Simon has been taken up to heaven, but because Aelred has been left on earth, alone.
The friendship Aelred so eloquently described he sums up in this passage:
It is no small consolation in this life to have someone you can unite with you in an intimate affection and the embrace of a holy love, someone in whom your spirit can rest, to whom you can pour out your soul, to whose pleasant exchanges, as to soothing songs, you can fly in sorrow... with whose spiritual kisses, as with remedial salves, you may draw out all the weariness of your restless anxieties. A man who can shed tears with you in your worries, be happy with you when things go well, search out with you the answers to your problems, whom with the ties of charity you can lead into the depths of your heart; . . . where the sweetness of the Spirit flows between you, where you so join yourself and cleave to him that soul mingles with soul and two become one.
With grateful acknowledgement to Aelred of Rievaulx, by A. Squire, and a sermon on "Friendship" by Mr. Raymond Maher, delivered to Integrity/New York on Jan. 14, 1988.© 1992 Integrity/El Camino Real
A Timeline of St. Aelred's Life1110: Born, Hexham, Northumbria (West Yorkshire), England.
1130: Steward, Court of King David (son of St. Margaret) of Scotland.
1134: Entered Cistercian Order at Rievaulx.
1142: Novice Master at Rievaulx.
1143: Abbot of Revesby, daughter house of Rievaulx.
1147: Abbot of Rievaulx.
1167: January 12, died at Rievaulx.
1476: Feast promulgated by Cistercian Order.
1985: Feast accepted for observance as a Black Letter Day by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, U.S.A.
1987: Adopted as Patron Saint of Integrity, Inc.
Propers for the Feast of Aelred
Commemorated: January 12
Collect
Pour into our hearts, 0 God, the Holy Spirit's gift of love, that we, clasping each the other's hand, may share the joy of friendship, human and divine, and with your servant Aelred draw many into your community of love; through Jesus Christ the Righteous, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings
Old Testament: II Samuel 1:17a, 19 (20- 22), 23-27 or Ruth 1:8, 14b-17
Psalm: 36:5-10 or 145:8-13
Epistle: Philippians 2:1-4
Alleluia Verse: Psalm 25:9,13
Gospel: John 15:9-17 or Mark 12:28-34a
Hymn Stanza Honoring St. Aelred
For use as 2nd stanza with By All Your Saints in Warfare, or Replacing stanza 3 in We Bless the God and Father.
All praise for Abbot Aelred,
our Patron Saint and gay,
who found through joyful friendship,
the path to Jesus lay.
Like Aelred, may we mirror
love, human and divine;
and, clasping hands together,
God's blest communion find.
by L. Paul Woodrum, 1987
A Prayer of Aelred of Rievaulx
Sweet Lord, release wisdom from the seat of your greatness that it may be with us, toil with us, work with us, speak in us; may it, according to your good pleasure, direct our thoughts, words, and all our works and counsels, to the honor of your Name, the profit of the community, and our salvation; through our friend Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
Adapted from St. Aelred's Pastoral Prayer by L. Paul Woodrum
