Nothing proclaims the existence of God quite like taking a peep into the gobsmackingly structured order and workings of a bee hive; the experience possesses an eloquence in and of itself. True, the produce of bee hives has made the bee an important creature to the Catholic Church as day in, day out, one of the many fruits of their labour adorn the sacred altars of God during the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the form of candles, but so much can be learned by the actions of bees and their instinct of selfless dedication to the good of the colony. Enjoy the Address on Bees by Pope Pius XII taken from Bees Hive. “Ah, if men could and would listen to the lesson of the bees: if each one knew how to do his daily duty with order and love at the post assigned to him by Providence…”
One Peter 5 presents the homey piece, A Year on the Farm: Lessons from a Return to the Land by Chris McClure. Living off the land has its attractions, but everything comes at a price. “I have come to realize that adaptation to this lifestyle, like any other large life-change, should be done slowly, and taken on in small increments. We have accomplished much, and have done wonderful things over the last year, but the cost has been high – and I don’t just mean money.” Don’t miss out on the beekeeping section; sounds like someone got honey in his blood!
They are all over Rome, perhaps most famously on Bernini’s columns. Pope Urban VIII’s Barberini coat of arms bearing three of them may account for this, or is there more to it than meets the eye? The Bee, A Symbol of the Church by Catherine Croisette found at Tradition in Action points out some of the many Catholic symbols in connection to these incredible insects. By the by, it is interesting to note Melbourne’s Eureka Skydeck, that houses the highest public vantage point in the Southern Hemisphere, boasts the feature of several gold-plated ones including a queen. The bee lives on in modern architecture.
