Today we continue our regular series called “Learning from the Saints.” Our guide is expert Bert Ghezzi, a dear friend of mine and the author of numerous books including Voices of the Saints, Saints at Heart, and Discover Christ: Developing a Personal Relationship with Jesus.
His more recent books are The Heart of Catholicism and Prayers to the Holy Spirit. You can learn more about Bert and his work at BertGhezzi.com.
Today, Bert profiles St. Leoba, an eighth-century missionary to Germany.
The last thing we might expect to find in the “Dark Ages” is an educated and holy woman who was a world-renowned leader in the Church. But such was Leoba, an Anglo-Saxon missionary, scholar, abbess, counselor to monks and bishops, confidant of kings and queens—and a saint.
Aebba, Leoba’s mother, dreamt that her womb bore a church bell which, when delivered, chimed merrily. So when her daughter Thrutgeba was born, she dedicated the baby to serve Christ. She nicknamed the girl “Leoba,” which means “beloved.” At age 7, Leoba was sent to the monastery at Wimbourne, where two other outstanding women, Tetta and Eadburga taught her the liberal arts and Scripture.
Rudolf, Leoba’s biographer, reported that once she had a dream that revealed her vocation:
“She had a dream in which one night she saw a purple thread issuing from her mouth. It seemed to her that when she took hold of it with her hand and tried to draw it out there was no end to it. And as if it were coming from her very bowels, it extended little by little until it was of enormous length. When her hand was full of thread and it still issued from her mouth, she rolled it round and round and made a ball of it.”
An elderly nun at Wimbourne with a prophetic gift explained that the dream announced Leoba’s great work:
“By her teaching and good example she will confer benefits on many people. The thread coming from her mouth signifies the wise counsels that she will speak from the heart. The fact that it filled her hand means that she will carry out in her actions whatever she expresses in her words. Furthermore, the ball which she made by rolling it round and round signifies the mystery of the divine teaching. It is set in motion by the words and deeds of those who give instruction. And it turns earthwards through active works and heavenwards through contemplation, at one time swinging downwards through compassion for one’s neighbor, again swinging upwards through the love of God. By these signs God shows that she will profit many by her words and example, and the effect of them will be felt in other lands afar off wherever she will go.”
The dream came to be when St. Boniface, a cousin of Leoba, invited her to assist his church-planting work in Germany. He wanted Leoba to care for women in his communities. So around 733, Leoba left Wimbourne and Boniface made her the abbess at Bishofscheim, where she led hundreds of nuns.
At the monastery, Leoba trained many young women in both secular and Christian studies. She herself became an accomplished scholar of Scripture, the Fathers and canon law. St. Boniface arranged for her to be an adviser to the elders at Fulda, the main center of his work. And Charlemagne and Hiltigard, king and queen of the Franks, sought her advice.
Thus, for nearly four decades Leoba served the infant Catholic Church in Germany. She died at Bishofscheim in 779.
Dreams with divine messages startled both Leoba and her mother. God seems to have worked in their imaginations to orient them for his service. I doubt that these women were focused on their dreams, recording them dutifully and hoping to find their life’s direction in them. More likely, they kept their lives, minds and spiritual ears open to God, and he spoke to them. Their example is a good one for anyone, who hankers after guidance from God.
(Image Credit: Roldez)
Read more from Bert at his website www.BertGhezzi.com, or check out his many books on Amazon.
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