While the older brothers were heading for the cavalry, this saint preferred to study with the secular canons of Saint Vorles in Châtillon-sur-Seine, where his family had a beautiful house. The main question of this article remains “Who was Saint Bernard?”. And the answer can be found in the following lines.
Saint Bernard was born in 1090, in the castle of Fontaine, near Dijon, in the Burgundy region, into the family of Tesselin and Aletta de Montbard, an ideal and deeply Christian couple, in whose bosom there were seven sons, six boys and one girl, and in whom they lived as in a small paradise. Bernard, the mother’s third child, was a special carer, feeling that he was a very special child; an affection to which his son responded in turn.
In 1107, Aletta died and Bernard, although he missed her, continued to draw inspiration from her advice and, when they offered him a career in the Church in Germany.Thinking of his mother, who had instilled in his heart a thirst for holiness, he refused. He wanted to give himself to God, but not for a career.
Biography of Saint Bernard
| Full name: | Bernard of Clairvaux |
|---|---|
| Date of birth/ Feast Day: | 1090 AD |
| Year of death: | 1153 AD |
| Place of birth: | Fontaine-lès-Dijon, France |
| Father's name: | Tescelin le Roux |
| Mother's name: | Aleth of Montbard |
| Nationality: | French |
| Life accomplishments: | He was the initiator of the Second Crusade. |
| Death cause: | Natural causes |
What was Saint Bernard known for?
In 1110, Bernard retired to the house of Châtillon, and here, like Augustine, he meditated at length before deciding on his future. His example and fiery word would attract thirty other young men, relatives, and friends, some even married. Why spend your life in the service of this or that duke or even the emperor himself,” Bernard told them, “when there is the possibility of placing yourself directly in the service of God as a monk?
Bernard is almost as well known among modern scholars as his teachings. There is now a somewhat chaotic Bernardine Research Park from which students can extract interpretations of his papal theories such as Gregorian, anti-Gregorian, hierarchy, egalitarian, primitive Protestant, or many other shades.
We can easily imagine the considerations he made for these friends from what he later wrote to a scholar, Walter de Chaumont, who was late in entering the monastery. Bernard rebuked him sharply: ‘I suffer at the thought that your keen intelligence and the results of your erudition are consumed in vain and facile studies. I think of you, who, with the great gifts you have received, do not serve Christ, the author of them, but transient things. What if an unexpected death should strike you and take you?”
Who was Bernard in the Bible?
According to the Bible, St. Bernard is known as a “religious experience.” Until the time of St. Bernard in Clairvaux, ecclesiastical learning was based on the teachings of the Bible and the Fathers and from the “Book of Creation.” Bernard added the importance of learning from his own experience. Gives examples of vivid descriptions of his own experiences.
In 1119, the Abbey of Fontana was founded, and after that, at least two were based every year in different parts of Europe. It seemed that everyone said contemporaries became Cistercian.
What is the history of Saint Bernard?
Who was Saint Bernard in the Catholic Church?
Bernard seems to both describe and condemn the vivid and colorful works of art. Towering stone churches that became common in France and elsewhere in the century before he wrote this, Apologia ad Guillelmum abbate, 1124-1125.2 About 7,300 long stories over the years, the apology began with a lengthy defense of Bernard’s decision to deal with Cluniac’s mistakes.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in the Catholic Church is known as the one who called for the salvation of the Holy Land, and the Second Crusade began to gather momentum. As the Crusades developed, their goals went beyond expeditions to the Latin East. They evolved into a broader movement of Christian expansionism that included further attacks on the pagan Winds of the Baltic and the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.
It concludes by discussing the Cistercian acceptance of monks who fled other orders against Benedictine restrictions.
What was St. Bernard’s view of the Templars?
“Bernard, in a famous sermon, said: ‘All my high philosophy today consists in knowing that Jesus exists and that he was crucified.’ And when Bernard set out with his first companions on the road God showed him, he chose God alone on the road of his cross.” His life with his companions B says Guillaume de Saint-Thierry… was love”. And “those who saw how they loved each other recognized that God was with them.” Great crowds went on pilgrimage to see… who? God, who, in a way, “manifested himself through the mutual love of the monks.”
According to historical sources, St Bernard thought that if he imposed orders on the Templars, he would succeed and constrain them. Bernard also entered the crusading adventure at the behest of Eugenius III, but it was a failure. More fortunate was the success of the rule for the Templar Order, prepared by him from the commission of the papal legate during the Council of Troyes. According to this rule, the knight monk defends the holy places and fights evil in all its forms.
Therefore, even if he has to carry the traditional weapons of the lay knight to deter aggression, he will use the typical weapons of the Gospel: poverty, chastity, and obedience.
When did St. Bernard become a saint?
Bernard died at Clairvaux on 20 August 1153.
According to historical sources, Bernard was proclaimed a saint in 1174 and a teacher of the Church in 1830. Dante, in the twenty-first canto of Paradise, while being introduced by him into the presence of Mary with the help of a prayer.
His charism, which attracted genuine crowds of monks and nuns, could not remain just a heritage of monasteries. And her writings continue today to keep her influence alive in the world.
Primary Takeaways
- All of Bernard’s brothers entered the convent and his sister Umbelina was also in a female convent. Only the father and the youngest brother, heir to all the property, remained in the castle of Fontaine.
- “The greatest contribution the lay brother could make to the life of the convent was the work of his hands. This did not mean, however, that his role in the monastic family was only economic… Manual labour was an indispensable part of a life modelled on that of Jesus. And as such it was an obligation for the monks of the choir. At harvest time, they worked in the fields side by side.”
- Bernard was a mystic and wanted to live away from the world. Immersed in the ‘Valley of Light’, but at some point sad news arrived from Rome. In 1130, when the pope died, some of the hastily assembled cardinals elected Innocent II. But the exponents of another faction soon afterwards elected another, Anacletus II. At the call of the “Bride of Christ”, so badly reduced by the thirst for power of some of her more influential sons. Bernard left the silence of his cenobium and travelled through France. England, Germany and Italy, until he succeeded in making it known to all that the legitimate successor of Peter was Innocent II.
Conclusion
We can say that Bernard was a man who sought moral reform in life and personal piety. He emphasized personal experiences dealt with Christ and encouraged self-denial and submission. At times in his life, he proved to be stubborn and stubborn.
In conclusion, Bernard was a fighter for the cause of truth. He succeeded in conveying to all people his great goal: to dedicate his whole life to God.
Read also: St Anselm Philosophy. What was Anselm of Canterbury’s motto?
Bibliography
- Bredero, A. H. (2001). Bernard of Clairvaux: between cult and history. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
- Merton, T. (1981). The Last of the Fathers: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and the Encyclical Letter Doctor Mellifluus. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
- Phillips, J. (1997). St Bernard of Clairvaux, the low countries and the Lisbon letter of the Second Crusade. The journal of ecclesiastical history, 48(3), 485-497.
- Reilly, D. J. (2011). So Bernard of Clairvaux and Christian Art. In A Companion to Bernard of Clairvaux (pp. 279-304). Brill.
- Williams, W. W. (1952). Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (No. 69). Manchester University Press.
