Everything about St Bernard Of Clairvaux totally explained
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux,
O.Cist (
1090 -
August 21,
1153) was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming
Cistercian monastic order. After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the
Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new house that Bernard named Claire Vallée, of Clairvaux, on the
25 June 1115 and the names of Bernard and Clairvaux would soon become inseparable. Bernard would preach an immediate faith, in which the intercessor was the
Virgin Mary. In the year 1128, Bernard assisted at the
Council of Troyes, at which Bernard traced the outlines of the Rule of the
Knights Templar who soon became the ideal of Christian nobility.
On the death of
Pope Honorius II, which occurred on
14 February 1130, a schism broke out in the Church. King Louis VI convened a national council of the French bishops at
Etampes, and Bernard was chosen to judge between the rival popes. Bernard devoted himself with renewed vigour to the composition of the works which would win for him the title of "
Doctor of the Church". In 1139, Bernard assisted at the
Second Council of the Lateran.
Bernard denounced the teachings of
Peter Abelard to the Pope who called a council at Sens in 1141 to settle the matter. Bernard soon saw one of his disciples, Bernard of Pisa, and known thereafter as
Eugenius III elected Pope. Having previously helped end the schism within the Church, Bernard was now called upon to combat heresy. In June 1145, Bernard traveled in Southern France and his preaching there helped strengthen support against heresy.
Following the Christian defeat at the
Siege of Edessa, the Pope commissioned Bernard to preach the
Second Crusade. The last years of Bernard's life were saddened by the failure of the crusaders, the entire responsibility for which was thrown upon him. Bernard died at age 63, after 40 years spent in the cloister. He was the first Cistercian monk placed on the
calendar of saints and was
canonized by
Pope Alexander III 18 January 1174.
Pope Pius VIII bestowed on him the title of Doctor of the Church.
Early life (1090-1113)
Bernard's parents were Tescelin, lord of
Fontaines, and Aleth of Montbard, both belonging to the highest nobility of
Burgundy. Bernard was the third of a family of seven children, six of whom were sons. At the age of nine years, Bernard was sent to school at
Chatillon-sur-Seine, run by the
secular canons of Saint-Vorles. Bernard had a great taste for literature and devoted himself for some time to poetry. His success in his studies won the admiration of his teachers. Bernard wanted to excel in literature in order to take up the study of the
Bible. He had a special devotion to the
Virgin Mary, and he'd later write several works about the
Queen of Heaven.}}
Bernard was only nineteen years of age when his mother died. During his youth, he didn't escape trying temptations and around this time he thought of retiring from the world and living a life of solitude and prayer.
In 1098,
St Robert of Molesme had founded the
monastery of
Cîteaux, near
Dijon, with the purpose of restoring the
Rule of St Benedict in all its rigour. Returning to Molesmes, he left the government of the new abbey to
St Alberic, who died in the year 1109. In 1113,
St Stephen Harding had just succeeded him as third
Abbot of Cîteaux when Bernard and thirty other young noblemen of Burgundy sought admission into the
Cistercian order.
Abbot of Clairvaux (1113-28)
The little community of reformed
Benedictines at Cîteaux, which would have so profound an influence on Western
monasticism grew rapidly. Three years later, Bernard was sent with a band of 12 monks to found a new house at Vallée d'Absinthe, in the
Diocese of Langres. This Bernard named Claire Vallée, of Clairvaux, on the
25 June 1115 and the names of Bernard and Clairvaux would soon become inseparable. During the absence of the
Bishop of Langres, Bernard was blessed as
abbot by
William of Champeaux,
Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne. From that moment a strong friendship sprang up between the abbot and the bishop, who was professor of theology at
Notre Dame of Paris, and the founder of the
cloister of St Victor.
The beginnings of
Clairvaux Abbey were trying and painful. The regime was so austere that Bernard became ill, and only the influence of his friend William of Champeaux, and the authority of the General Chapter could make him mitigate the austerities. The monastery, however, made rapid progress. Disciples flocked to it in great numbers and put themselves under the direction of Bernard. His father and all his brothers entered Clairvaux as religious, leaving only Humbeline, his sister, in the world and she, with the consent of her husband, soon took the veil in the
Benedictine convent of
Jully.
Gerard of Clairvaux, Bernard's older brother became the
cellarer of Citeaux. The abbey became too small for the religious who crowded there and it was necessary to send out bands to found new houses. In 1118, the Monastery of the Three Fountains was founded in the
Diocese of Châlons. In 1119, that of Fontenay in the
Diocese of Autun and in 1121, that of Foigny, near Vervins, in the
Diocese of Laon were founded. In addition to these victories, Bernard also has his trials. During an absence from Clairvaux, the Grand Prior of Cluny went to Clairvaux and enticed away the Bernard's cousin,
Robert of Châtillon. This was the occasion of the longest, and most emotional of Bernard's letters.
Schism
Bernard's influence was soon felt in provincial affairs. He defended the rights of the Church against the encroachments of kings and princes, and recalled to their duty
Henri Sanglier, Archbishop of Sens and
Stephen of Senlis, Bishop of Paris. On the death of
Pope Honorius II, which occurred on
14 February 1130, a schism broke out in the Church by the election of two popes,
Pope Innocent II and
Pope Anacletus II. Innocent II having been banished from Rome by Anacletus took refuge in France. King Louis VI convened a national council of the French bishops at
Etampes, and Bernard, summoned there by consent of the bishops, was chosen to judge between the rival popes. He decided in favour of Innocent II. This caused the Pope to be recognized by all the great powers. He then went with him into Italy and reconciled
Pisa with
Genoa, and
Milan with the Pope. The same year Bernard was again at the
Council of Reims at the side of Innocent II. He then went to
Aquitaine where he succeeded for the time in detaching
William X of Aquitaine,
Count of Poitiers, from the cause of Anacletus.
In 1132, Bernard accompanied Innocent II into Italy, and at Cluny the Pope abolished the dues which Clairvaux used to pay to that abbey. This action gave rise to a quarrel between the
White Monks and the Black Monks which lasted 20 years. In May of that year, the Pope supported by the army of Emperor
Lothaire III, entered Rome, but Lothaire, feeling himself too weak to resist the partisans of Anacletus, retired beyond the Alps, and Innocent sought refuge in Pisa in September 1133. Bernard had returned to France in June, and was continuing the work of peacemaking which he'd commenced in 1130. Towards the end of 1134, he made a second journey into Aquitaine, where William X had relapsed into schism. Bernard invited William to the Mass which he celebrated in the Church of La Couldre. At the
Eucharist, he "admonished the Duke not to despise God as he did His servants".
Cistercian Order and heresy
Bernard had occupied himself in sending bands of monks from his too-crowded monastery into
Germany,
Sweden,
England,
Ireland,
Portugal,
Switzerland, and Italy. Some of these, at the command of Innocent II, took possession of Three Fountains Abbey, from which
Pope Eugenius III would be chosen in 1145. Innocent II died in 1143. His two successors,
Pope Celestine II and
Pope Lucius II, reigned only a short time, and then Bernard saw one of his disciples, Bernard of Pisa, and known thereafter as Eugenius III, raised to the
Chair of Saint Peter. Bernard sent him, at the Pope's own request, various instructions which compose the
Book of Consideration, the predominating idea of which is that the reformation of the Church ought to commence with the sanctity of the Pope. Temporal matters are merely accessories, the principals according to Bernard's work were piety, and meditation which was to precede action.
Having previously helped end the schism within the Church, Bernard was now called upon to combat heresy.
Henry of Lausanne, a former
Cluniac monk, had adopted the teachings of the Petrobrusians, followers of
Peter of Bruys and spread them in a modified form after Peter's death. Henry of Lausanne's followers became known as Henricians. In June 1145, at the invitation of Cardinal
Alberic of Ostia, Bernard traveled in Southern France. His preaching, aided by his ascetic looks and simple attire, helped doom the new sects. Both the Henrician and the Petrobrusian faiths began to die out by the end of that year.Soon afterwards, Henry of Lausanne was arrested, brought before the
Bishop of Toulouse, and probably imprisoned for life. In a letter to the people of Toulouse, undoubtedly written at the end of 1146, Bernard calls upon them to extirpate the last remnants of the heresy. He also preached against the
Cathars.
Second Crusade (1146-49)
News came at this time from the
Holy Land that alarmed
Christendom. Christians had been defeated at the
Siege of Edessa and most of the county had fallen into the hands of the
Turks. The
Kingdom of Jerusalem and the other
Crusader states were threatened with similar disaster. Deputations of the bishops of
Armenia solicited aid from the Pope, and the King of France also sent ambassadors. The Pope commissioned Bernard to preach a
Second Crusade and granted the same indulgences for it which
Pope Urban II had accorded to the
First Crusade.
There was at first virtually no popular enthusiasm for the crusade as there had been in 1095. Bernard found it expedient to dwell upon the taking of the cross as a potent means of gaining absolution for sin and attaining grace. On 31 March, with King Louis present, he preached to an enormous crowd in a field at
Vézelay. When Bernard was finished the croud enlisted en masse; they supposedly ran out of cloth to make crosses. Bernard is said to have given his own outer garments to be cut up to make more. Pope Eugenius came in person to France to encourage the enterprise. As in the First Crusade, the preaching inadvertently led to attacks on
Jews; a fanatical French monk named Rudolphe was apparently inspiring massacres of Jews in the Rhineland,
Cologne,
Mainz,
Worms, and
Speyer, with Rudolphe claiming Jews were not contributing financially to the rescue of the Holy Land. The
Archbishop of Cologne and the
Archbishop of Mainz were vehemently opposed to these attacks and asked Bernard to denounce them. This he did, but when the campaign continued, Bernard traveled from Flanders to Germany to deal with the problems in person. He then found Rudolphe in Mainz and was able to silence him, returning him to his monastery.
The last years of Bernard's life were saddened by the failure of the Second Crusade he'd preached, the entire responsibility for which was thrown upon him. He had accredited the enterprise by his reported miracles, but he hadn't guaranteed its success against the misconduct of those who participated in it. Lack of discipline and the over-confidence of the German troops, the intrigues of the
Prince of Antioch and his niece Queen Eleanor, and finally the blunders of the Christian nobles, who failed at the
siege of Damascus, appear to have been the cause of disaster. Bernard considered it his duty to send an apology to the Pope and it's inserted in the second part of his
Book of Consideration. There he explains how the sins of the crusaders were the cause of their misfortune and failures. When his attempt to call a new crusade failed, he tried to disassociate himself from the fiasco of the Second Crusade altogether.
Final years (1149-53)
The death of his contemporaries served as a warning to Bernard of his own approaching end. The first to die was Suger in 1152, of whom Bernard wrote to Eugenius III, "If there's any precious vase adorning the palace of the King of Kings it's the soul of the venerable Suger". Conrad III and his son Henry died the same year. From the beginning of the year 1153, Bernard felt his death approaching. The passing of Pope Eugenius had struck the fatal blow by taking from him one whom he considered his greatest friend and consoler. Bernard died at age 63 on
20 August 1153, after 40 years spent in the cloister.
Theology
At the 800th anniversary of his death,
Pope Pius XII issued an encyclical on Bernard,
Doctor Mellifluus in which he labeled him
The Last of the Fathers. Bernhard's teachings were drawn, almost exclusively, from Sacred Scripture and from the Fathers, which he'd at hand day and night in his meditations: dialecticians and philosophers, he clearly held in low esteem. Berhard, so Pope Pius, didn't reject genuine philosophy or theology. He repudiated philosophy "which, by recourse to empty wordiness and clever quibbling, is overweening enough to climb to divine heights and to delve into all the secrets of God, with the result that, as often happened in those days, it did harm to the integrity of faith and, sad to say, fell into heresy".
Berhard differentiates different kind of knowledge, the highest being theological. Some who want knowledge for the sole purpose of knowing, and this to him is unseemly
curiosity. Some seek knowledge in order to be known themselves; this is unseemly vanity. And there are also those who seek knowledge in order to sell their knowledge, for example, for money or for honors; this is unseemly quest for gain.
- But there are also those who seek knowledge in order to edify, and this is charity. And there are those who seek knowledge in order to be edified, and this is prudence.
Mariology
Doctor Mellifluus quotes three central elements of Berhard’s mariology: How he explained the
virginity of Mary,
the “Star of the Sea", how the faithful should pray on the Virgin Mary, and, how Bernhard relied on the Virgin Mary as
Mediatrix.
Mary . . . is interpreted to mean 'Star of the Sea.' This admirably befits the Virgin Mother. There is indeed a wonderful appropriateness in this comparison of her with a star, because as a star sends out its rays without harm to itself, so did the Virgin bring forth her Child without injury to her integrity. And as the ray doesn't diminish the rightness of the star, so neither did the Child born of her tarnish the beauty of Mary's virginity.
When the storms to temptation burst upon you, when you see yourself driven upon the rocks of tribulation, look at the star, call upon Mary. When swallowed by pride or ambition, or hatred, or jealousy, look at the star, call upon Mary. Should anger, or avarice, or fleshly desire violently assail the frail vessel of your soul, look at the star, call upon Mary. If troubled on account of the heinousness of your sins, distressed at the filthy state of your conscience, and terrified at the thought of the awful judgment to come, you're beginning to sink into the bottomless gulf of sadness and to be swallowed in the abyss of despair, then think of Mary. In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let not her name leave thy lips, never suffer it to leave your heart.
Theologically, Berhard, a Doctor of the Church, is a fervent supporter of the Mediatrix interpretation of Mary. God and World meet in her. Divine life flows through her to the whole creation. She is one with Jesus, who wants to save all and who passes all graces through her. She is the mediatrix to God, the ladder on which sinners may climb up to him, the royal road to him, because she's full of grace
Legacy
Bernhard's theology and mariology continue to be of major importance, particularly within the Cistercian and Trappist orders. Bernard led to the foundation of 163 monasteries in different parts of Europe. At his death, they numbered 343. His influence led Pope Alexander III to launch reforms that would lead to the establishment of canon law. He was the first Cistercian monk placed on the calendar of saints and was canonized by Pope Alexander III 18 January 1174. Pope Pius VIII bestowed on him the title of Doctor of the Church. He became remembered as the Mellifluous Doctor, the Honey-Sweet Doctor, for his eloquence. The Cistercians honour him as only the founders of orders are honoured, because of the widespread activity which he gave to the order. The works of Bernard are as follows:
De Gradibus Superbiae, his first treatise.
Homilies on the Gospel "Missus est" written in 1120.
Apology to William of St. Thierry against the claims of the monks of Cluny.
On the Conversion of Clerics, a book addressed to the young ecclesiastics of Paris written in 1122.
De Laudibus Novae Militiae, addressed to Hugues de Payens, first Grand Master and Prior of Jerusalem (1129). This is a eulogy of the military order instituted in 1118, and an exhortation to the knights to conduct themselves with courage in their several stations.
De amore Dei wherein Bernard argues that the manner of loving God is to love without measure and gives the different degree of this love.
Book of Precepts and Dispensations (1131), which contains answers to questions upon certain points of the Rule of St Benedict from which the abbot can, or cannot, dispense.
"De Gratiâ et Libero Arbitrio in which the Roman Catholic dogma of grace and free will was defended according to the principles of St Augustine.
Book of Considerations, addressed to Pope Eugenius III.
De Officiis Episcoporum, addressed to Henry, Archbishop of Sens.
His sermons are also numerous:
On Psalm 90, "Qui habitat", written about 1125.
On the Song of Songs.
There are also 86 Sermons for the Whole Year.
530 letters survive.
Many letters, treatises, and other works, falsely attributed to him survive, such as the l'Echelle du Cloître, les Méditations, and l'Edification de la Maison intérieure.
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