Saint Bernard of Clairvaux: Biography, Saint and More

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, is a French saint, from a noble family, who decided to dedicate himself to religious preaching. We invite you to know here in this article, everything about this great representative of the Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches.

SAINT BERNARDO OF CLARAVAL

Biography of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux 

San Bernardo de Claraval, whose birth dates back to the year 90 of the XNUMXth century, in France. According to what is said about him, he lived with his parents and his six brothers in a castle, since his mother was part of the duchy of the Burgundy region.

Raised and educated in a religious environment, he attended the Châtillon-sur-Seine school from the age of nine, where he also learned Latin and literature. Then, when Bernardo was very young due to unfortunate circumstances when his mother died and with the help of his benefactor, the Duke of Burgundy was able to enter the monastery as part of the Cistercian Order.

In that place, he led a cloistered life of great severity and strict compliance with the rules established since its foundation by the abbot of Molesmes. It is said that in this group of religious, there were also four of his brothers, several friends and an uncle, and that at the time, his father and another of his brothers joined him.

Years later, in the twelfth century, one of his great missions, such as the creation of another ministry in Clairvaux, was entrusted to him by the then abbot named Stephen Harding, due to the increase and overcrowding of the followers of the highly relevant religious ideal that was gaining more and more followers, there, Saint Bernard will exercise the highest leadership until the end of his life.

It is said that, in his eagerness to comply with his strict religious obligations, his health was affected, to the point that a delegate of the congregation named William de Champeaux advised him to retire for a while to another place to improve his problems, before the great physical deterioration that he had due to the restriction of food and the harsh mortifications that he imposed on himself, which by the way were very typical acts at that time.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux is credited with founding sixty-eight monasteries in Europe, especially in countries like Germany, Spain and England. Also, he is known as a great mystic, by virtue of his frequent spiritual experiences and his high divine connection, for which he is considered one of the founders of medieval mysticism, especially his extraordinary influence in the spread of devotion to the Virgin.

Another of his relevant virtues was his active participation in the formation of the structure of the military orders, to protect the devout faithful on their way to the Holy Land, and the fight against Islam. Therefore, his contributions stand out in the writings of the statutes of creation and expansion of the Order of the Temple and the influence he had for the Catholic Church to officially accept said congregation of knights, which occurred at the Council of Troyes in the year 1128.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, in one facet of his existence, entered the political scene for seven years, since from 1130, by decision of the so-called antipope Anacletus, he had to interrupt his religious passion in the monastery, because he did not agree of the arduous public support that he gave to Pope Innocent II, but what he achieved was that this Saint became one of the most influential political representatives at that time. He was a great defender of what was called the sacred sciences as opposed to the profane sciences.

In addition, he stood out for being one of the promoters of the preaching of the church in medieval times, for which, in his many tours of the regions of his native country, France, he highlighted the grace of assuming ecclesiastical vows and integrating the cistercian congregation, achieving with his melodious voice and great capacity for conviction, that the monks increased more and more.

SAINT BERNARDO OF CLARAVAL

On his travels to spread the word, a monk who accompanied him left all his experiences in writing, registering a very particular one that has to do with the fact that he was well received in several places in the south of France, but that he was also rejected by a religious group called the Cathars or the Algerians, against whom many years later there was a crusade of repression after they were declared heretics.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux had great happiness and rejoicing because his extraordinary follower of his teachings, the Italian Bernardo de Pisa, in the year 1145 and who was in charge of the thirty-four monasteries of the Order, became the highest hierarch of religion, Eugene III.

The efforts of a lifetime dedicated to faith, had a setback with the results of what was the Second Crusade, and the failure that this represented for its great motivating influence that alluded to having great religious and political power at that time.

The end of his life came at the age of sixty-three, on August 20, 1153, as a result of a stomach illness that had plagued him for a long time, his remains are in the Cathedral of Troyes. Twenty-one years later, he was canonized on January 18, 1174 by Pope Alexander III, and then Pius VIII in 1830 declared him a Doctor of the Church.

The commemorative festivities of San Bernardo de Claraval are celebrated on August 20, he is the patron saint of Gibraltar, Algeciras, agricultural workers and a Cambridge university college. The iconographic representation of him are the pen, the book, the dog, the dragon, the beehive and the Virgin Mary.

SAINT BERNARDO OF CLARAVAL

Main Public Interventions

This Saint is recognized as the great inspirer of the drafting of the guidelines that governed the Order of the Templars. Also for his important participation in resolving the papal schism that occurred at that time.

At the same time, his firm position that questioned the management of reason in religious matters stands out, as well as his magnificent preaching in the second crusade. Below are the details of each of his interventions:

Organization of the Order of the Temple

In 1099, the Crusades recaptured Jerusalem and the holy sites of Palestine. Pilgrims were ambushed on their preaching paths, for this reason the congregation of the Knights of Christ decided to prolong their vows and dedicate their lives to defending them. In 1127, the founder of the Templars, Hugo de Payens, asked Pope Honorius II to recognize his organization.

This group of Templars was supported by Bernardo de Claraval, who was related to one of the creators, André de Montbard, was the one who promoted the council in Troyes to regulate their organization and obtain recognition by the church.

The organization of the defenders of the poor preachers, has been governed by two regulations, the first, the rule of temple with great similarity to the strict Cistercian rules, since they were adopted in its drafting by Abbot Bernardo.

SAINT BERNARDO OF CLARAVAL

They contained the elements typical of the societies of the time, such as hierarchical structures and totalitarian powers, which regulated the election of those who ordered and controlled the estate. Later, the Order of the Templars had a second regulation inspired by a Patriarch of Jerusalem, called the Latin Rule.

Bernardo wrote in 1130, one of his great works, the Praise of the New Templar Militia, which linked the places of the life of the Messiah with expressions quoted from the holy scriptures, comparing his actions and purposes with a divine militia:

This militia strives to eradicate the children of infidelity… fighting at the same time on a double front: against men of flesh and blood and against evil spiritual forces.

Intervention in the papal schism

When Pope Honorius II died, there was a controversial event such as the election of two pontiffs, which caused the schism of the church, since a part of the conclave chose Pietro Pierleoni, who adopted the name of Anacleto II; while a minority of cardinals chose Gregorio Papareschi (Innocent II), with which Bernard was openly in favor of Innocent II, as he made it known to the high clergy throughout Europe.

His intervention was crucial in the Estampes assembly of ecclesiastical authorities, summoned by the French King Louis VI. Likewise, the influence of Bernardo favored the confirmation of Innocent II, obtaining the support of the monarchies of England, Germany, France, Spain and two Italian cities, Genoa and Pisa. At this council Anacletus was rejected as pope and excommunicated.

SAINT BERNARDO OF CLARAVAL

Controversy with Abelardo

Peter Abelard, one of the early scholastics, had begun dialectics and maintained that "the foundations of faith must be sought with similarities based on human reason." So he mentioned:

I decided to explain the foundations of our faith through similarities based on human reason. My students questioned me for human and philosophical reasons and demanded of me what they could understand and not what they could not discern.

They said that it was useless to say many words if it was not done intelligently; that nothing can be believed that has not been previously understood; and that it is ridiculous for someone to preach something that neither he nor his students can understand with the intellect.

These new ideas of Abelard were not accepted by the superior of the abbey and all those who thought traditionally. So in the year one thousand one hundred and thirty-nine, William de Saint-Thierry found nineteen supposedly heretical proposals and it was Bernard of Clairvaux who sent them to Rome to be condemned. At the synod or assembly of Sens, Abelard was forced to recant, and as he did not, he was condemned as a heretic in eternal silence as a teacher.

Bernardo, in a letter to Innocent II (Against the errors of Abelard), contradicted Abelard's supposed errors, since he believed that faith should only be accepted by itself, expressing the following:

SAINT BERNARDO OF CLARAVAL

Since he was willing to use reason to explain everything, even things that are above reason, his assumption was against reason and against faith. Because there is something more hostile to reason than trying to overcome reason for reason's sake? And what is more hostile to faith than refusing to believe what cannot be achieved by reason?

For Bernardo, the truth behind the belief in God is a fact directly infused by the divinity and, therefore, undeniable. Against the rationalists' claim that theology should be supported by evidence, he said in a well-known argument:

We know (the truth). But how do we think we understand that? The detailed explanation does not understand it, but holiness, if it is possible to understand the incomprehensible.

But if that was perhaps not understood, the apostle would not have said... "and founded on charity, it can be understood together with all the saints." The saints, therefore, understand. Do you want to know how? If you are a saint, you will understand it and you will know it. If not, be holy and you will know from experience.

Bernard's opinion about Abelard's misuse of reason won the support of mystics and irrationalists, who agreed with him.

Preaching of the Second Crusade

During the Second Crusade, he assumed an important political role throughout his religious career and became the shepherd of the new Holy War. Until this failed and meant the decline of his political power.

Half a century earlier, during the First Crusade, French nobles installed feudalism in Palestine. In 1144, movements of Islam occupied the Christian city of Edessa and in the year 1145, Louis VII of France asked Bernard to preach it.

He replied that only the pontiff could instruct him to do so, so Eugene III, at the king's request, asked Bernardo, who in the past had been his mentor, and from whom he received great teachings, to take charge. of preaching the crusade and the indulgences that flowed from it.

Bernardo, who preached the crusade, showed a different personality than he had had until then. He understood the inner life as the union of the human soul with God and identified the inner life with existence throughout the church, his conception of the crusade being basically mystical.

He believed that the Catholic Church could call Christian nations to arms to protect God's order. It seemed that there was no need to understand Islam.

According to him, if God considered it necessary for armies to defend his power on earth, if the very superior of the religion entrusted him to preach the crusade, then he assumed that it was a divine mission. Therefore, he told the faithful Christian believers that it was a holy war, because that is how he conceived it.

In a later writing to the Pope, he reflected on the crusade: and told him that his authority in sending him to the crusade was carried out with great obedience, and his words were heard and caused the crusaders to multiply so that the cities and castles would be empty , and that it was difficult to find almost no men for every seven women.

The preaching carried out in Germany was not considered by the pontiff, however, he incorporated the nobility for the cause. Bernardo was considered more valuable as a preacher than as a statesman and politician in the church, as he increasingly encouraged Christians to join the crusade.

The Crusaders suffered a great defeat by Islam and caused great pessimism throughout Christianity. Bernardo, who had been the main preacher and the one who had attracted the people, was called a trickster and a false prophet.

The adverse outcome of this second crusade impacted the levels of trust in the church, and the strength of the Christian religion was harshly questioned. This failure also affected the good reference that Bernardo had.

However, his deep-rooted conviction in the reasons that prompted him to fulfill his role in that military campaign, led him to affirm that the criticism of the Christian people was for him and not for God, as he left written in the book addressed to the Pope Eugene III.

His Cistercian Order

Next, we present the performances of the main character of this article, during his stay in this religious order.

Abbot of the Cister

When Saint Bernard was twenty-three years old, he joined the Cistercian Order, and at twenty-five, he was given the opportunity to be one of the promoters of the expansion of the followers of this religious group and founded the Claraval Monastery, where he was named abbot, that because it was a lifetime position, he was there until he left this world.

It was the then abbot of the Esteban Harding Order, who presented Bernardo with his own board and the charter of charity, which set the community standards of total poverty, obedience to the bishops and devotion to divine worship, as well as abandonment of the secular sciences.

Bernardo was one of the great forgers of the Cistercian spirit, his worthy example and his deep-rooted ideals allowed him to be the architect of the great diffusion of this religious order, which went from being the only monastery when he joined, to having three hundred and forty-three when he died . He had the privilege, thanks to his hard work, of being the founder of sixty-eight new ministries of the one hundred and sixty-eight that derive from the Claraval connection.

Cîteaux was a completely different take on medieval monastic life from Cluny. The Cistercian rule was in practice a criticism of it, pointing to Bernard as the spokesman for this opposition to the Cluniacs, which he expressed when writing the apology to William in the year 11124:

The church shines everywhere, but the poor are hungry. The walls of the church are covered in gold, but the children of the church are still naked. For God's sake, why don't you be ashamed of such stupidity, at least he's sorry for spending so much.

Since the apology to Guillermo, the Cistercian regime acted as a reaction to the overflow of that other order, by saying that if the priests had taken an important role in the church in the year 1100, occupying important positions and where they exerted their influence in power civil, and by the twelfth century corresponds to the Cistercians.

Inspirer of Cistercian architecture

In his speech to Guillermo, he also set the theoretical guidelines for the standardized construction of all Cistercian monasteries. In this apology, Bernardo judged the showiness and opulence of the general art of the time, especially the majesty of the churches, their sculptures, paintings and other elements of greatness promoted by the other order.

Based on the Cistercian spirit of total poverty and strict asceticism, that is, living with austerity and detachment from everything material, he concluded that his monks, who had renounced the goodness of the world, did not need any of this to reflect on the law of God.

Criticism distributed it in two axes. First, voluntary poverty: the sculptures and decorations were a useless expense: they were wasting the bread of the poor. Second, she also rejected images because they distracted the monks' attention and prevented them from finding God through the holy scriptures.

When they had about ninety monasteries in the year 1135 and increased their pace with ten new ones per year, Bernardo had to think that the order had become consolidated and overgrown, and that a monastic model that would ensure the uniformity of the order was urgent. . He also had to reflect that the order could not continue with the fragile facilities of wood and adobe, which required stone monasteries to serve future generations of monks.

Bernardo participated in the construction process of the first two monasteries, Claraval II and Fontenay, in which more resistant materials were used. In these projects he made the decisions regarding design and proper functioning, since the first was his abbot and the second was derived from him, thus becoming the source of inspiration that defined the architecture of this religious order.

For him, Cistercian architecture must reflect the components of the behavior of each day of austerity and total poverty, and that constitute the Cistercian spirit, which must be in correspondence with silence and contemplation, which are other ideals of this religious institute. .

These first constructions were made in the Burgundian Romanesque style, which had included the pointed arch vault and the groin. They then adopted some of the concepts of the new Gothic style and included it in their designs, achieving buildings where Romanesque and Gothic dependencies coexisted at the same time, until the former was discarded over time.

Influence on the Cistercian Pope Eugene III

Eugenio III was considered as a spiritual son for Bernardo. We have already mentioned that he spent ten years in Clairvaux before being elected Pope, as a monk under the spiritual authority of his Abbot Bernardo. Then, for another five years, he was abbot in a branch of his mentor's monastery.

Therefore, between the two they maintained a communication framed by that relationship of spiritual dependence. On one occasion the pontiff asked him to write a dissertation on the duties of someone who exercises this high position in the church, and he wrote the treatise "De Consideratione" in 5 books.

It is his best-known dissertation and, although he wrote it for Pope Eugene III, he also did so in practice for all subsequent ones.

Bernardo continued to feel like his spiritual father, as he repeatedly pointed out in the preface to this text, expressing that: “the love that I confess to you does not consider you as Lord, it recognizes him as his son among the insignia and splendor of your exalted dignity. He loved you when you were poor, and still as the father of the poor and the rich. Because I know him well, not because you have become the father of the poor, you are no longer poor in spirit».

In this writing, he insists on the need for internal strengthening and prayer for those with the greatest responsibility in the Church. He wrote about the danger of prioritizing state affairs and neglecting communication and rapprochement with the Most High.

Bernardo wrote to him highlighting the duties of the Vicar of Christ, defending the supremacy of spiritual power and the right of the Church to use secular armies, based on the words that the apostles said to Jesus when they arrested him, gathered in the Gospel of Saint Luke , which he interpreted to support "the doctrine of the two swords", present in Christian thought since the beginning of the Middle Ages:

If the material sword did not belong to the church, the Lord would not have answered "It is enough" to the apostles when they said "Here are two swords", but "It is too much". Therefore, both swords are for the church, but the spiritual one must be dealt with for the church, and the material one for the church.

He also wrote that the power of the Pope is not unlimited:

You are mistaken if, as I believe, you think that your apostolic power is the only one established by God (says the apostle) «There is no power that does not come from God… Everyone must submit to the higher authorities.

It does not say "the highest authority", as if referring to one, but "the highest authority", as if referring to several. Therefore, the power of him is not the only one that comes from God, but also comes from “Him”, the power of the middle and small.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux held the conviction that all positions in the Church came directly from God and wrote this to the Pope:

Reflect that the Holy Roman Church is not the lady, but the mother of all churches. You are not the Lord of bishops, but one of them.

his doctrine

The saint was a person who based a lot of his ideals on different positions, then we will explain his doctrine:

Mysticism

He was the first to formulate the basic principles of mysticism and helped shape it as the spiritual body of the Catholic Church.

His devotion to the humanity of the Savior was a Christ-based innovation of the fathers and Saint Paul, his way of relating to Christ led to new forms of spirituality based on imitation of him.

His mystical theology had as its main objective to show the way to spiritual union with God; His doctrine of this quest was inspired by the study of the scriptures and the church fathers, as well as his own religious experience. The scheme of Bernardian mysticism proposes to go from the depths of original sin to the height of love, the mystical connection with the Supreme.

To reach that mystical level there are four degrees of love and in his dissertation he points out the following:

The human being loves himself, because he is flesh and he cannot love anything that is not the same as him, when he sees that he cannot survive alone, he begins to seek the Supreme out of devotion and love him, as is necessary for him. So he loves Most High in the second degree, but not for himself.

Since he began, out of his own need, to venerate and care for him, meditating, praying and obeying him, slowly due to this type of familiarity, the Supreme shows his affection.

And so, it goes to the third degree, which is to love the Lord for himself, at this level the human being stays for a long time, and since then, by achieving that greater spiritual and divine bond with him, he is freed from all diseases. of the body.

Marian devotion

In the Christian West and from the end of the XNUMXth century, the popular culture of the Virgin developed massively. Bernardo had a prominent role in the spread of the Marian cult. His theology of the Blessed Mother was adopted by the faithful and his words spread throughout all branches of religion.

The sources of his doctrine

The sources used by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux are based mainly on biblical scriptures and Christian tradition, from both of which he based his extraordinary arguments.

Bernardo believed in the "verbal revelation" of the biblical scriptures. Therefore, in all the words of the stories of him, he sought to interpret them and their connotations.

When he did not understand some sentences or a meaning of the text, he humbled himself and asked the Most High to clarify it, because he understood that, if he had put that word or phrase and not another, he did it for a specific reason. This faith in verbal revelation gave rise to important mystical periods that are recorded in his writings.

His search for the interpretation of such an important religious text, without limiting himself to the meaning of the sacred author, to obtain the justification of his individual experiences, deepens in reflection and contemplation, in the same way that the early church and the mystical tradition of the ancient Greeks of the Alexandrian catechetical school.

It highlights the importance of what the two main architects of the Protestant reformation thought of him, Martin Luther saying that Bernard surpassed the doctors of all other churches, and John Calvin praised him, noting that Abbot Bernard speaks the same language of the truth.

The books of the Bible that he cited the most to support his arguments were: the Psalms 1519 times; Paul's letter 1388 times; the Gospel of Matthew 614 times; John's 469 times; that of Saint Luke 465 times; the book of Isaiah 358 times and the Song of Songs 241 times.

Another foundation for him was tradition. At that time there were two opposing theological schools: the ancient or traditional school, of which he was the leading scholar, and the modern school, patronized by Abelard, based on speculation and philosophical criticism.

Bernardo considered that philosophy did not contribute anything for people to achieve their final goal. He came to despise Plato and Aristotle saying that their teachers were the apostles; that they had not taught him to read the first or to practice the discussions of the second.

However, he had a neo-Platonic conception of the soul of man, which he considered created in the image and likeness of the Most High and destined for a supreme connection with him.

The fathers of the Church that he followed the most were those who considered themselves the most authoritative teachers of the same, declaring himself a faithful disciple of Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine, on the other hand, wrote that it would be difficult for him to deviate from his opinion.

As for the moral, his reference was Gregory the Great. In turn, it was based on Cassiodorus when he wrote his wonderful opinion on the psalms.

Among the Greek fathers he also cited Origen and Athanasius. He had a great devotion for Benedict of Nursia and for his rule of the monks. This work taught his heart and intellect, and he was convinced that, like the Bible, it was a book directly inspired by the Most High.

Writings of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

The documents of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux are included in volumes 182 and 183 of the compilation of the writings of the Fathers of the Church and other writers of the clergy, which were published between 1844 and 1865, given their great importance for the followers of religion.

His many commitments did not allow him to do extensive written work. However, he wrote documents that describe him as an extraordinary being endowed with great verbal fluency, dedicated to religion and politics, being also the Cistercian revivalist, a reformer of religious society and a defender of the papacy. They also reflect the confidence of the most influential religious personality of the twelfth century, such as Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas.

Thanks to the excellent education and convictions he received, he captured elegant Latin in his texts and was one of the most notable writers of his time, among which stand out: five hundred letters and several doctrinal treatises of immense spiritual value for the Church, developed in a precise and consistent manner.

In addition, of the three hundred and fifty sermons, among them, the sermon of the monasteries of the Middle Ages, which favored the religious and intellectual formation of the monk.

Iconography of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

It is said that there are no real portraits of him, but there are a variety of representations, which generally correspond to images of piety and devotion. Especially, the paintings where the Virgin offers him milk from her breast as a reward for having spread her devotion, painted by Alonso Cano and Murillo, stand out. In addition, there is the painting of the Christ who embraced him by the artist Ribalta.

In other illustrations, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux appears carrying a staff and a book, as emblems of his eloquent pastoral performance.

The Divine Comedy and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

In the Divine Comedy, which is a great literary work, Bernardo de Claraval appears in Paradise from Canto XXXI. Due to his contemplative spirit and his Marian devotion, it is he who leads Dante at the end of his journey to observe the Almighty and maintain the vision of the divine, showing the poet the flower of the place of all the blessed, Canto XXXII, and invites him to see the Blessed Mother as the face most similar to Christ.

Veneration of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, for having been born and living in a time when important changes took place in the Catholic Church, and his extraordinary participation in these events, was recognized by some of those tendencies as one of their saintly representatives, showing him veneration and appreciation, for his extensive contribution in the conduct of religion in the Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches.

Novena to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Like all saints of the Catholic Church, he has a powerful and beautiful novena, which is a series of prayers that must be recited over a period of nine consecutive days. Next, we will teach his beautiful words.

By the sign of the Holy Cross ...

Act of Contrition

My Omnipresent Lord, my loving father figure, presented my praises and blessings to you; and I regret having offended you. I promise to change my behavior and beg your forgiveness of all my faults for your beautiful kindness. Lord, I offer you my body, my senses and my soul forever, with its potentialities, memory, understanding and will.

I suggest you use me, with all my strength, in your service and glory. I thank you infinitely for your benefits. To you, Lord, infinite kindness, I love you for yourself, with all the affection of my soul; and I wish to learn how to love you, as all the angels and saints in heaven have loved you.

I offer to the Omnipresent, with his merits, with those of the queen of angels and with those of the sweetest Bernardo, all my works, words and understandings, bathing them with the blood of Christ, my savior, in whose faith and love I wish to live and To die. Amen.

Preparatory Prayer for each day

Oh Most Holy, most glorious and most blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons in a single essence, whom I recognize as my Sovereign, I love you, I praise you and I bless you.

I love you, Almighty, you who created the firmament and the earth, and everything that is visible and invisible. I love you, the only child, the wisdom of the treasure, the paternal words, the most perfect and pious image in the world.

I love you, Holy Spirit, a compendium of all goodness that comes from the supreme paten figure and the son, and you are a bond of true love, the sweetest consolation and wonderful sanctifier of souls. I love you, Most High and merciful, infinite and lasting, who beatify all saints and heavenly beings.

I invoke the three divine persons, with the fruit of my soul, so that you carry out these exercises that I do in honor of your beloved servant and lawyer Saint Bernard, and the Holy Angels, who do not cease to give you praise and glory, forever. . Amen.

Final Prayer

Dear Bernardo, my father and my lawyer, this brief gift that in these nine days will give you my affectionate devotion and compensate for the defects of my fragility, interposing you with compassion from my God, so that you do not attend to my defects, nor to who I am, grant me , through your intercession, the happy sending of my plea in my need.

Don't lose the confidence I have in such a beautiful pattern. In you, sweet father, I trust; I expect intercession from you; and for you the grace of my God, so that I can serve him in this life and love him forever. Amen.

Joys

Sweet honey of doctors, Of tender love Maria,
Bernardo, bright sun, Protect sinners.

In this world you came, deprived of Jesus
For with constant affection, you bear your pain:
Bernardo, bright sun, Protect sinners.

From illustrious nobility you took your being
And you are well enlightened in whose blatant frankness
Bernardo, bright sun, Protect sinners.

With holy and divine zeal. You instruct mortals,
And start evils, be of model virtue
Bernardo, bright sun, Protect sinners.

Sacred Cistercian Religion
Your founder loves you and since you are light
Of the sky, of its sparkles; Bernardo, bright sun,
Protect sinners.

First day

Applying the humility of the first choirs of the holy angels, we looked to the Most High our Lord, and applied to them, since these sovereign spirits, from the heavenly court, would send their occupation to the embassies of little things.

This virtue was exercised by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux with such singularity that, after putting everything and immersed in the abyss of his nothingness, nothing could disappear and lift him up: they offered six bishops and other great dignities, and none wanted to accept them, considering themselves unworthy. from them. He considered it valuable that God our Lord used him to save souls.

In the biggest complaints, he did not think he was offended and therefore said that he did not want to be humble but difficult; and from this he was born to make a prayer for the many adversaries and persecutors of him and tried with humility and submission to soften them, and to give good for evil, benefit for injuries, and honor and reverence for contempt and insults.

O my Lord, example and prize of great humility, which you have so profoundly dignified to grant to your beloved servant Saint Bernard, we sincerely implore you, through your intercession, to grant us the grace to despise the world and its vanities and conquer our inclinations, honor and esteem, so that, on the path of contempt, we follow his cross and can enjoy him in Glory. Amen.

Pray 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary and 1 Glory to the first Choir of the Holy Angels.

Second day

The virtue of obedience shines in the Sacred Spirits that we call Archangels, not because of their singularity, since all beings of light are very obedient, but because of quality: because the Archangels have as messengers the most serious matters of the celestial congregation.

Our Glorious Father Saint Bernard was the most faithful executor of this virtue, not only within religion, where, by encouraging the punctual protection of the three main vows, he always had in his heart and, generally, on his lips, these words, worthy of being continually repeated by all religious for our obligations: Bernardo, Bernardo, why did you come to religion?

But also in business he did it for the good of the Church outside of religion: because Saint Bernard was not one of those who, under the pretext of devoting himself to contemplation, fled from work or for his special taste, it generally turned out well, before joining action with contemplation, he put public affairs and obedience before his own, and even before his own life.

As it was, the doctors marveled at how thin and exhausted he was from the rigors of penance: he could attend to any occupation, by obedience, he walked to the city of Étampes for the Council, who put everything into his determination, as He did so by declaring Innocent II Supreme and true Pope and Pastor of the Church against Antipope Anacletus II.

Out of obedience he went twice to Rome, to Milan, to Gascony; and many other sacred performances that he performed out of obedience to the Church.

Oh my Lord! Oh my Lord! Oh, my Lord!, that you became obedient from the beginning of your glorious life until the scandalous death of the cross: make us intercede for your glorious servant Saint Bernard obedient to all your ordinances, so that with punctual fulfillment we culminate our pilgrimage, in your sacred service, and after that we deserve to enjoy the happiness you give to your chosen ones. Amen.

Pray 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary and 1 Glory to the Holy Archangels.

Third day

The office of virtue is to oppose the laws of nature and continually perform miracles and since the faith of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, as a confirmation of what he preached, did so many, this day applies to the greatness of his faith.

It is not easy to tell, not even in common, a monk from Clairvaux, companion of Saint Bernard, pointed out that one day with the imposition of his hands he healed several blind, deaf and people who had difficulty walking.

Some pious people wanted to write down the miracles that the saint performed and, beginning to do so, they left him defeated by his crowd. One day he blessed a few loaves and, when he distributed them, he told those who took them, the proof of the truth that I preach to you will be that all the sick people who eat this bread will be well.

A bishop was present who, modifying the Saint's proposal, said: You must understand that they will heal if they eat this bread with faith, to which the Saint replied: I do not say that, Lord, but as my words say, it seems that all the sick Those who like this bread will receive health, because it is understood that we are legitimate and true ambassadors of the Most High.

And as he said, it happened, because all those who ate that blessed bread, without exception, were healed, because Saint Bernard had a lot of faith.

Almighty and kind Lord, I praise you and I am very grateful because you brought me out of nothing, because you redeemed me with the powerful blood of your son, because you made me a Christian and gave all the information of your holy faith and doctrine of your church.

For all this, I responded ungratefully, for which I repent and ask for forgiveness: I pray for the intercession of your wonderful servant and paternal Saint Bernard, for an abundance of fruits, as well as good works to revive faith, so that we all entrust his protection. and we will enjoy consolations in this life and eternal rest in the next. Amen.

Pray 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary and 1 Glory to the Angelic Virtues.

Fourth day

The Powers are those sacred intelligences, who enjoy by office ordering the good angels who preside over the kingdoms and powers, and resisting adversity; both works were seen in the admirable life of Saint Bernard, jealous of the honor of Our Lord, and for this reason, we dedicate this day to that zeal.

The resistance that he made to the adverse powers, was said by the heretic Abelard, already warned by the Saint, benignly and secretly, to revoke the new, false and pernicious opinions that he had spread; already concluded and convinced by the Saint, in the Council celebrated in that place in France; Let us say that Porretano, who disputed with the Saint in the Council of Reims, came to portray the errors that he had taught.

The ordination of the good angels is published in his writings, such as the famous book he called the Consideration, with which his disciple Pope Eugene III indoctrinated. Furthermore, the fact is stated that he helped a clergyman from Trier, who had gone to Clairvaux, and throwing himself at the feet of the holy abbot, begged him to correct serious disagreements suffered by his sheep.

Saint Bernard accompanied him, even though he was on his bed preparing to die, making the cost of this trip the Omnipotence of our Lord, who suddenly gave him strength for that day, because he took it for his honor and service.

O immense mirror of goodness, wisdom of the Lord, for the fervent zeal of your honor that you gave to your dear servant Saint Bernard, we beg you to communicate to us a true feeling that we respond without gratitude to your benefits.

And that the whole world does not love you with the love corresponding to the innumerable benefits that you continually receive from your most liberal mercy. Use, Lord, her with us now, and in the time we expect, of our departure. Amen.

Pray 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary and 1 Glory to the Powers.

Fifth day

The principalities are those glorious spirits that determine what believers must do, over whom they preside and, since they are found in the glorious paternal Saint Bernard, divine documents for his subjects, we dedicate this fifth day to them.

It was at the beginning of his government that he was so rigid and fervent that when he received a novice, the first thing he told him was to leave his body with all its bad habits outside the convent and enter only with his spirit.

When he confessed to his monks, any fault, no matter how small, seemed serious to him, and he asked all of them for a great perfection, which many of them took away the hope of achieving it the desire to seek it. But after seeing a child, who seemed clothed in heavenly light, he received a new grace and a unique gift of softness and sweetness.

O merciful! Oh Most Holy Redeemer, my Lord, protection, my providence in all my problems, my light and direction in all my doubts! For the merits of your beloved son Saint Bernard, deserve to have true discretion and providence in the main affairs of my soul, which is his salvation. To that end, I call on you, Lord, to live and reign with the Most High and the Holy Spirit, forever. Amen.

Pray 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary and 1 Glory to the Principalities.

Sixth day

Domination has two aspects in his trades, because it is used in the fact that we are not tyrannized, and in commanding other spirits, and as one and the other are in the effects of the prayer of our paternal Saint Bernard, he is apply the office of those sovereign spirits.

It not only freed the Saint Bernard prayer from tyranny, but effectively commanded the evil spirits to leave the bodies of those they possessed and instantly departed; and even once serving as a wheel with a fantastic body for a chariot in which the saint would compose a certain dissent, to prevent his malice from the good that followed from calming that discord.

Oh, joy of understanding, my Lord, put the eyes of your divine mercy in the contemplation that you were served to bestow your talented servant and my paternal Saint Bernard, and through your intercession, be served to you, to grant me the one who knows how to assist prayer and be instructed in sacred exercises, by which rise to achieve the crown of the chosen. Amen.

Pray 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary and 1 Glory to the Dominations.

Seventh day

The thrones are the spirits that are full of grace, so that the divine majesty can be felt in them, so we apply ourselves to the admirable chastity of our paternal Saint Bernard of Clairvaux today.

What the saint appreciated for this virtue, can already be seen in that modesty and rare composure with which he had closed all the senses, because the vision was not enough to explain a lake where the saint had walked all day, that of taste he could not distinguish a large glass of oil that the saint drank for water.

This is how he kept the windows closed, where they could steal the treasure of his greatest appreciation, a phrase that the Saint used when an insolent woman wanted to stain the ermine of her purity, because she began to shout, thieves, thieves, and people came and got rid of that danger.

Almighty, lover of holy purity, for which you gave your beloved servant Saint Bernard, we beg you, that dedicated to your holy service, with purity of conscience and purification of the heart, keep our minds in order to preserve with your help the virtue of chastity, so that, triumphing over the flesh, the cruel enemy of our souls, we deserve to achieve eternal happiness. Amen.

Pray 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary and 1 Glory to the Thrones.

Eighth day

Cherubim interpret the fullness of science, and looking at that of our glorious paternal Saint Bernard, this day is suitable for him. Of the science of the saints, something was said in the other days, of the science of the Scripture and of the highest mysteries of theology, said the Saint, having been the solitude of his schools, his teachers the trees and his study of prayer and meditation.

Its use can be seen in his works, where the words and advice of the Holy Books are known to be handled with eminence, since he writes them, not as the one who quotes it, but as the one who has chosen, directed and converted.

Oh Lord, true consolation of my soul, immense wisdom, through which you communicated with your beloved servant Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, turning him into a mellifluous doctor of the Church and giving him special sweetness in what he said and wrote about his your most beautiful mother. Queen of Angels, Our Lady. Amen.

Pray 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary and 1 Glory to the Cherubs.

ninth day

It is the seraphim who burn with charity; and Saint Bernard was a Seraphim in the flesh. Faithful witnesses are those compassionate affections with which, contemplating the pains and affronts of our crucified Lord, melted by anxiety, he made those sorrows so much his own for the affection that the one who embraced him deserved, and in close ties, would unite with his beloved. .

A faithful witness is the sweet ecstasy in which he deserved to be endowed with the blood from the side of Christ and with the purest milk from the most holy maternal womb.

The elements are faithful witnesses, it is not without mysteries that it is the first of all Saint Bernard's letters, the one he wrote to his nephew Roberto, because while the saint was dictating the precious liquid from heaven began to fall heavily and the secretary wanted to recover the paper and he said, this is the work of the Lord, write and do not be afraid.

And then he wrote and finished his epistle in the middle of the water without getting wet, because the charity, which led the holy Father Saint Bernard to dictate the letter, is the one that cannot be extinguished by the waters.

Oh my Lord, make me appreciate your infinite kindness with all the affection of my soul for yourself, and give me through the intercession of my most holy maternal beauty, of the nine loves of the beings of light, for your beloved Saint Bernard, the benefit I ask of you if it leads to my salvation.

Give, Lord, peace and harmony to Christian princes; right in their governments to all ecclesiastical princes; reduce the infidels to our divine law, the separators of our Holy Church, and those who are in sin to true penance.

Have mercy Lord, of the souls that are purging their faults, take the good to protect me, defend me and free me from the tricks, ties and evil of my visible and invisible enemies, now and forever. Amen.

Pray 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary and 1 Glory to the Seraphim.

If you loved this article on Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, we also recommend the following topics:


Be the first to comment

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*

  1. Responsible for the data: Actualidad Blog
  2. Purpose of the data: Control SPAM, comment management.
  3. Legitimation: Your consent
  4. Communication of the data: The data will not be communicated to third parties except by legal obligation.
  5. Data storage: Database hosted by Occentus Networks (EU)
  6. Rights: At any time you can limit, recover and delete your information.