Consolabitur
ergo Dominus Sion, et consolabitur omnes ruinas ejus; et ponat
desertum ejus quasi delicias, et solitudinem ejus quasi hortum
Domini.
"For the Lord
will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and
will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden
of the Lord." -- Isaiah 51:3 (RSV)
Preface
The history of St. Bartholomew
the Great captures the story of human kindness. The church is
dedicated to Voragine’s light-hearted apostle, identified
by many scholars as Nathaniel, famed in the Middle Ages for his
prowess as a healer of bodies and souls: The angels go
with him, which never suffer him to be weary ne to be an hungered,
he is always of like semblant, glad and joyous. St. Bart’s
founder, Rahere, built the priory and associated hospital in fulfillment
of a vow to the apostle, in thanks for his miraculous recovery
from malaria. Bartholomew promised Rahere – in a vision
or a fever dream – that prayers for healing made in his
church would always be heard and answered: For everyone who being converted and penitent shall pray in this place
shall be heard in heaven, or, seeking with a perfect heart help from
any tribulation, without doubt shall obtain it; to those who knock with
pious longing at the door of the Spouse attendant angels shall open the
gates of heaven, receiving and offering to God the prayers and vows of
a faithful people (Book of the Foundation, ch. 4) . St. Bart’s has given solace
to the poor and dispossessed of London since its establishment
in 1123 C.E. Throughout the turbulent medieval period and through the cataclysms
of the Reformation, St. Bartholomew’s maintained its dedication
to the well being of its neighbors. Unlike the more common monasteries
founded with great enthusiasm by the Normans after the Conquest,
the Augustinian canons of St. Bart’s lived in the world,
bringing medicine and spiritual leadership to a London suburb
better known for its slaughterhouses and gallows. Despite several
budget crises in latter years, the hospital founded by Rahere
is still available for the sick and impoverished, the traumatized,
the homeless. St. Bartholomew's Hospital and the London Hospital - known locally as Barts and the London - house the pre-eminent
trauma and emergency care units in the UK. Rahere must be smiling.
In 2008, 885 years after its founding by Rahere, the Priory
Church of St. Bartholomew the Great still lavishes spiritual
guidance on its parishioners, as well as its visitors from around
the world. The living story of St. Bartholomew’s continually
reminds us that of all the variety of human gifts, kindness
alone is never a mistake, and is always welcome. |
