Dessi Jackson - The Saint and His Bees

Once upon a time, in a faraway land called Wales, there was a beautiful monastery. In the monastery there was a beautiful garden and in a small quiet corner of the garden lived a hive of bees. They were happy bees who worked when the brothers worked and prayed when the brothers prayed. It was a good life but they felt a bit lonely. The brothers were afraid of them.

No, the bees were not mean, but everyone was happiest as long as the bees and the monks kept their distance from each other.

One spring day, the monastery door opened and two new novices entered. They were there to learn about God so that one day they might go and spread His message of love. One of the new monks was Modomnoc.

His name meant Little Dominick.

He came from Ireland to Wales to pray and study.

Now everyone in a monastery prays but they also work, for in work we learn to serve and glorify God.

The wise abbot, Saint David, took one look at Modomnoc and decided to give him the care of the bees.

The next morning, Modomnoc was so happy to start his work, he hardly made it through breakfast. He ran out so fast, that in his haste, he bumped into a monk who was carrying in the eggs. Modomnoc helped him collect the eggs that were not broken and ran to his hives. He had never seen such creatures. How they wiggled in the air! How they hovered on the flowers! It made him feel alive and full of awe for Gods creation and for the Creator Himself.

Without realizing it, Modomnoc started to hum a sweet chant to the bees. Without realizing it, the bees began to buzz back. Modomnoc clapped his hands and he danced their bee dance, and soon everyone was watching.

When the abbot came out, he was delighted to see this amazing bond between creatures and Creator.

The days passed and Modomnoc planted more flowers for his bees in the little corner of his garden. While he planted, the bees buzzed around him. When he sat down for lunch, they all sat silently beside him to listen to his stories about God and his Saints.

When Modomnoc went to the prayers and on Sunday to the liturgy, the bees followed him. It did make some of the brothers a bit weary to share their space with a hive of bees, but they said nothing.

Yet, time flew faster than the bees and after a few seasons it was time for Modomnoc to go back to Ireland.

Modomnoc waved good bye to his friends the monks and climbed aboard the curragh. All of a sudden, he heard a loud buzzing noise. There were his bees flying as fast as they could to catch up with their beloved saint! The bees landed and sat on the floor of the boat.

Modomnoc was happy to see them but saddened by the thought that the monastery might be left without honey, so he asked them to go back. The bees listened but they were very tired and could not fly across the sea again. Modomnoc asked the captain to turn the boat around so he could take the bees home. The captain and his crew were more than happy to oblige.

The monks and the abbot were surprised to see Modomnoc back again. The next morning, Modomnoc left early and in secret so that he did not wake the bees. The abbot hugged Modomnoc and gave him his blessing, but no sooner than the two friends had let go of their embrace, the noise of the bees was heard. The hive was buzzing with excitement.

The abbot let out a deep and kind laugh and lifting his hand in the air, he blessed the bees and bade them safe travels to the land of Saint Patrick.

Modomnoc and the bees climbed on the curragh and in fear and quietness, the captain and his crew sailed away to Ireland with this strange man and his bees.

When Modomnoc landed on Irish soil, he set up a church in a place called Bremore in the county of Dublin.

He built nice hives and planted a fragrant garden full of flowers for his bees just like the ones they had back home in Wales.

To this day, the place is known as the Church of the Beekeeper and the bees buzz the tale of the saint who led them home.

About Saint Modomnoc

Saint Modomnoc was an Irish bishop and a disciple of St. David of Wales. Sometimes called Domnoc or Dominic, he was a member of the royal Irish family of ONeil and ended his years as a hermit at Tibraghny in Kilkenny.

When Modomnoc returned to Ireland after studying with St. David, swarms of bees left Wales to follow him, thus supposedly being introduced to Ireland.

He died in the year 550 and his feast day is celebrated on February 13th.

About the Author

Its no coincidence that Dessi rhymes with messy. Her life is full of beautiful messes. Dessi Jackson has 6 beautiful children and every day is filled with books, toys, food, pets, chickens, gardening, and of course, family. To anyone else, it might look like a mess, but to her it is a beautiful mess. Dessi is a 31-year-old immigrant from Bulgaria, and now lives in the countryside of Maryland.

About the Illustrator

Claire Brandenburg has always been a painter. She has written and illustrated a number of picture books for children, including The Monk who Grew Prayer , The Song of the Talanton , and Daniel and the Lion . She lives in Taos, New Mexico with her husband. Learn more about Claire and her work at

http://www.ClaireBrandenburg.com.

Text Copyright Dessi Jackson 2013
Illustration Copyright Claire Brandenburg

All Rights Reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced without express permission from the publisher.

Print ISBN:9781623954871

eISBN: 9781623954888
Published in the United States by Xist Publishing