Friday, August 20, 2021

 Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot

(Ruth 1:1.3-6.14b-16, 22; Matthew 22:34-40)

An anecdote from the life of St. Bernard helps one appreciate today’s first reading.  Bernard came from French nobility.  He had five brothers, four of whom went with him to become monks.  The fifth, the youngest, want to join the others in their monastic vocations.  When told that he had to take of the family’s estate, he complained that his brothers wanted to cultivate a heavenly estate while he was left with just an earthly one!

In the first reading Ruth seems eager to cultivate a heavenly estate as well.  She has married into an Israelite.  When her husband dies, she is told to go back to her own people.  But she says that her people are now Israel, and her god is Israel’s God.  She remains with her mother-in-law until she marries another Israelite to solidify her status in the People of God.

We too have chosen Israel’s God as our own.  He has invited us to face the world and the interior of our own lives with His guidance.  He will help us to be more compassionate and faithful friends to those who love justice.  He will assist us to be more challenging and instructive adversaries to those who spurn righteousness.  Finally, He will guide us past our inner compulsions and moral weaknesses to a peace that lasts forever.

Monday, August 20, 2018

Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church

(Ezekiel 24:15-23; Matthew 19:16-22)

In today’s gospel Jesus calls the rich young man to a rich spiritual life.  He invites him to go beyond the basics of keeping the commandments.  He wants him to be “’perfect as (his) heavenly father is perfect.’”  The young man must dispossess himself of his riches and walk with the poor man Jesus.  It may seem like a hard row to hoe, but the man has asked for the formula for eternal life! 

St. Bernard not only lived this “body and soul” spirituality but, like Jesus, called others to it.  As abbot he regularly warned monks about satiating the palate with delicacies and pampering the flesh with fur.  But he also recognized that holiness is more a matter of sacrifice of spiritual excess than of material excess.  Pride can be a greater temptation than gold.  Sloth may prove a larger pitfall than “surf and turf.”

Jesus does not call all of us to religious observance but he does invite everyone to sanctity.  We must deny ourselves in order to love God and neighbor.  We cannot live for power, pleasure, or prestige.  Rather we must sacrifice these ego-gratifying glories to serve others.  Doing so, we will be beneficiaries of God’s eternal glory.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church

(Judges 6:11-24a; Matthew 19:23-30)

St. Bernard, the monastic reformer and hero of the Middle Ages, wrote a famous letter of admonition to his cousin Robert.  The young man had lived with Bernard in the reformed monastery of Clairvau but in the latter’s absence was lured to the comfortable monastery at Cluny.  Bernard felt that he was putting his eternal life in jeopardy.  “If furs smooth and warm, if cloth fine and costly,… make a saint,” he penned, “why do I delay to follow thee?  Such things are comfort for the feeble, not weapons for the valiant.”  One can hear in these words an echo of Jesus in today’s gospel.

Jesus assures his disciples that those who sacrifice comforts and family “for the sake of my name” will gain eternal life.  He knows that such service can be costly if not in physical depravation than perhaps in emotional loss as living Christian values may mean alienation from those counted on for support.  Yet, Jesus says, it is worth much more than any effort given.

We sometimes think of the good life as receiving adulation from others.  But real satisfaction comes from taking joy in doing God’s will.  He does not want to see us unhappy.  Rather He calls us to communion with Him in the delightful company of saints like Bernard and others closer to us in time and space.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church

(Ezekiel 24:15-23; Matthew 19:16-22)

St. Bernard of Clairvaux might have gained fame as a layperson. He was very intelligent and came from a well-connected family. But unlike the young man in today’s gospel, Bernard chose to follow a path of radical discipleship. Wise and eloquent, he became the conscience of Europe advising kings, bishops, and at least one pope. His reward has not just been a significant standing in history but every true Christian’s goal of eternal life.

This gospel will trouble many. It calls everyone out of complacency. Jesus seems to challenge the young man with a call to radical discipleship because he so easily fulfilled the commandments. He indicates that if we are to enter into God’s realm, we must transcend our own expectations. Perhaps the anticipation of making the effort is more difficult than actually doing it. Once we give ourselves over to Jesus, he will support us through any trouble we encounter.