Bishop and Doctor of the Church · Remembered on April 21
St. Anselm
St. Anselm is remembered on April 21 in Bless’s calendar of saints. Below: a short life and 3 sourced quotations in their own words.
| Remembered on | April 21 |
|---|---|
| Title | Bishop and Doctor of the Church |
| Died | c. 1109 |
| In their own words | 3 sourced quotations |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | None left in the published calendar (through December 31, 2028) |
Life
A Burgundian who crossed to the abbey of Bec and became the finest mind of his age, then archbishop of Canterbury, twice exiled for defending the Church’s liberty against kings.
He described his work as faith seeking understanding: his Proslogion argued from the very idea of God to God’s existence, and Cur Deus Homo asked why God became man. He is the father of scholastic theology.
In their own words
Each quotation names the work it comes from. Bless quotes these in the comments beside the verses listed under In Scripture.
I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand.
Come now, little man, turn aside for a while from your daily employment, escape for a moment from the tumult of your thoughts. Put aside your weighty cares. Make room for God.
Let me seek You in desiring You; let me desire You in seeking You. Let me find You in loving You; let me love You in finding You.
In Scripture
In Bless, St. Anselm’s words appear in the comments beside these verses. This page’s labels say how each is linked: “on this verse” means the saint wrote about that very verse; “on this theme” means the quotation shares its theme. Scripture is quoted from the Catholic Public Domain Version.
On this theme
My heart has spoken to you; my face has sought you. I yearn for your face, O Lord.
Psalm 26:8 · CPDV Beside their words: “Let me seek You in desiring You; let me desire You in seeking You. Let me find You in…”
On this theme
carrying away wars even to the end of the earth. He will crush the bow and break the weapons, and he will burn the shield with fire.
Psalm 45:10 · CPDV Beside their words: “Come now, little man, turn aside for a while from your daily employment, escape for a…”
On this theme
For the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you will not continue.
Isaiah 7:9 · CPDV Beside their words: “I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand.”
On this theme
You shall seek me. And you will find me, when you have sought me with your whole heart.
Jeremiah 29:13 · CPDV Beside their words: “Let me seek You in desiring You; let me desire You in seeking You. Let me find You in…”
On this theme
But you, when you pray, enter into your room, and having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
Matthew 6:6 · CPDV Beside their words: “Come now, little man, turn aside for a while from your daily employment, escape for a…”
On this theme
By faith, we understand the world to be fashioned by the Word of God, so that the visible might be made by the invisible.
Hebrews 11:3 · CPDV Beside their words: “I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand.”
In the calendar
The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Anselm. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.
Readings
No dates are left in Bless’s published calendar, which runs through December 31, 2028. St. Anselm keeps April 21 in Bless’s calendar of saints: see the saints of April.
All the saints of April Born on April 21? A saint for every day
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