Honeybees play a crucial role in our environment and food production. For thousands of years, humans have kept and tended bees, making use of their honey for food and beeswax for candles. Their pollinating abilities even account for approximately 30 percent of our food (xerces.org)! According to the Agricultural Marketing Research Center, 40 percent of beekeepers are hobbyists or part timers, meaning that the majority in this industry are working less than 300 hives. Beekeeping takes place in both urban and rural areas, although traditionally those in rural communities benefited from the abundant land and easier access to flowering plants and forage (beepods.com). Truly, bees provide a foundational role for the most basic of our needs.
The Church even in its earliest centuries recognized the honeybee’s importance and its connection to the life of Faith. The diligence and unity of the worker bees in a hive was seen as an analogy for the Church: individuals with different roles and gifts, living and united as one as the Body of Christ, for the life of the world.
When it came to holy men and women, the presence of bees in their lives was often a sign of wisdom and eloquent preaching. For example, a swarm of bees gathered on St. Ambrose of Milan as an infant, and left a drop of honey on his mouth without harming him. His family took this to mean that he would be a powerful orator, and it was found to be true–as bishop, he became known for his preaching. St. Bernard of Clairvaux was also known as “the honey-sweet doctor” for his beautiful writings, and thus was made the patron saint of beekeepers.
These insects also provide something crucial in the context of our liturgies: beeswax for candles. In fact, we even honor them for their hard work in the most important liturgy of the Church year, the Easter Vigil. During the Exultet, which is chanted at the beginning of the Mass, the cantor proclaims:
“On this your night of grace, O holy Father,
Accept this candle, your solemn offering,
The work of bees and of your servant’s hands…”
and,
“But now we know the praises of this pillar…
never dimmed by the sharing of its light,
For it is fed by melting wax,
Drawn out by mother bees
To build a torch so precious…”
As one can see, the honeybee plays not only an irreplaceable role in the natural world, but in the spiritual life as well. Let us remember the next time we see the bees in our gardens or care for them, to thank God for the gifts He gives us through their hard work.
