Letter 18

BonifaceRespecta, Abbess|c. 735 AD|boniface
monasticismwomen

To his dear sister, Abbess Eadburga, long united to him by spiritual ties, Boniface, a servant of the servants of God, greetings in Christ without end.

May the Eternal Rewarder of good works give joy on high among the choirs of angels to my dearest sister, who has brought light and consolation to an exile in Germany by sending him gifts of spiritual books. For no man can shed light on these gloomy lurking-places of the German people and take heed of the snares that beset his path unless he have the Word of God as a lamp to guide his feet and a light to shine on his way.

Of your charity I earnestly beg you to pray for me, because as a penalty for my sins I am tossed about by the storms of this dangerous sea, begging God, who is high above us but stoops to regard the lowly, to give me words to speak my mind boldly that the Word of the Lord may run its triumphant course and the Gospel of Christ may be glorified among the heathen.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.

Related Letters