Evenings With Bede is a homily podcast. The episodes are taken from the Sunday solemn Plainsong Evensong services of Saint Paul’s, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., where I am Rector.

SEASON TWO is devoted to understanding the Song of Songs with the Venerable S. Bede as teacher, and yours truly as interpreter. We will go verse by verse through the entirety of the Song of Songs.

The format is a short passage from the Song of Songs, then comes commentary from the Bede, and finally an interpretive homily by yours truly expounding upon both. The audio for all three is found above. The text of the two passages is found below.

A Lesson from the Song of Songs, 1.8

If you do not know yourself, O fairest among women, go forth and follow the tracks of the flocks, and pasture your kids by the shepherds’ tents. I have compared you, my friend, to my company of horsemen among Pharaoh's chariots. Your cheeks are beautiful as a turtledove’s; your neck as jewels; we will make you necklaces of gold, inlaid with silver.

A Lesson from a Treatise by the Venerable S. Bede

Because the verse “I have compared you, my friend, to my company of horsemen among Pharaoh's chariots” teaches how the Lord protects the Church in the midst of misfortunes, it remains to be shown how much the Church herself preserves the love of the same Lord and Protector when misfortunes occur. There is added: “Your cheeks are beautiful as a turtledove’s.” It is said that it is the nature of the turtledove that if it is deprived of the companionship of its mate it will never be joined to another. This is appropriately applied to the chastity of the Church, for even though death has deprived her of the Lord Who is her Bridegroom, nevertheless she can by no means accept the company of strangers, since she holds so dear the remembrance of the One Whom she knows to have been resurrected from the dead and to reign now in heaven, and she is content with only the love of Him to Whom she longs to come one day. For this reason she is accustomed to declare in words she learned from an eminent teacher: “For neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor power, nor height, for depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39). This is what holy Church says when she is fearful that perhaps she might turn aside from the way of truth by wandering after the examples of the foolish: “Let I begin to wander after the flocks of Your companions.” Therefore, since the seat of decorum is in the cheeks, Truth Himself rightly says to her in reply: “Your cheeks are beautiful as a turtledove’s,” which is to say, “I have adorned you with such virtue of wholesome modesty that neither the desire for transitory things nor the noisy dogmas of the foolish ever seduce you into drawing back from the chastity you have promised to me in good faith.”

If you find this edifying, please consider (if you haven’t already) becoming a paid subscriber. Your support goes directly to supporting the ministry of Akenside Institute for English Spirituality, a project I started 12 years ago.

Get full access to Anglican Ascetic Podcast at frmcdallman.substack.com/subscribe