SAINT OF THE DAY – AUGUST 20, 2022 REFLECTION
Born into the nobility of Burgundy at the end of the tenth century and living into the middle of the eleventh, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux is considered the last Father of the Church.
He is acknowledged as the second founder of the Cistercian order, which, together with the Carthusian order formed the vanguard of monastic reform at the beginning of the High Middle Ages.
At 23 years old, Saint Bernard joined the newly founded Abbey of Citeaux, having persuaded his five brothers and 25 other companions to join him. Three years later, Saint Stephen Harding, the abbot, commissioned him to establish a new monastic foundation at Clairvaux.
Saint Bernard was holy and a great intellect, highly educated for his time, and a very influential public personality besides who communicated with kings and princes, bishops and popes. He promoted the Second Crusade, which tragically ended in Christian defeat.
The year he passed away at 63 years old, the total number of Cistercian monasteries had expanded to 343.
He was canonized 24 years later.
Saint Bernard is celebrated in the Church for his outstanding eloquence and theological depth, especially demonstrated in his over 300 homilies. On May 24, 1953, Pope Pius XII bestowed on him the title Doctor Mellifluus (“flowing with honey”).
Cistercians since their foundation have shown deep and abiding devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which they amplified over the centuries. Saint Bernard in this spirit spoke and wrote devoutly of the Mother of God.
“Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary…in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her name never be far from your lips, or far from your heart...if you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err. If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination.”
He commends her in this exhortation as a tender, infallible guide, Our Lady, Star of the Sea.
May we also seek to venerate Mary, for it is Jesus himself who wishes us to honor his holy mother—and most happily do we submit to God’s sweet command.
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Gonzalinho
MARY, QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
ReplyDeleteBecause our predecessors and fathers originally came from the church of Molesme, dedicated in honour of blessed Mary, to the place Citeaux, whence we ourselves originated, we therefore decree that all our churches and those of our successors be founded and dedicated in memory of the same Queen of heaven and earth, Mary. [Narrative and Legislative Texts from Early Citeaux, ed. C. Waddell (Citeaux, 1999), page 463]
All Cistercian houses were dedicated to the Virgin, under the title of the Assumption, “Queen of Heaven and Earth”, and throughout its history the Order was closely identified with its devotion to her cult. This special relationship with Mary was visually represented in sculptures, paintings and stained glass, and from 1335 the General Chapter prescribed that the official seal of every monastery should bear her image. [J. M. Canivez, Statuta Capitulorum Generalium Ordinis ab anno 1116 ab anno 1786 8 vols (Louvain, 1933-41), III: 1335:2]
https://www.dhi.ac.uk/.../spirituality/virgin_mary/index.php
—“Devotion to the Virgin Mary,” The Cistercians in Yorkshire
Gonzalinho
“It may be rash to say so, but I confess that the Word of God has come to me several times. He has often entered my soul and sometimes I have been aware of his coming. But I sensed he was there and I remember his presence. At other times I was able to anticipate his coming, but I could not discern the moment he arrived or left. …Did he enter my soul? Did he come from without, or was he not already within me? I realize there is nothing good in me. I was raised far above myself. …No sight or sound revealed the Bridegroom, but a single movement of my heart told me he was there.”—Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs 64, 1-6
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