ST. BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX
Cistercian Abbot and Doctor of the Church – August 20
Learning to Love God for His Own Sake
Introduction
We often turn to God when we need something. We pray while waiting for news about a loved one, facing an uncertain decision, or trying to repair a relationship. When the immediate concern passes, it can be harder to make time for prayer. Yet those first prayers of need can open the way to a friendship with God that continues through the ordinary days of our lives.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux understood that love of God grows over time. In his preaching and writing, he helped people recognize how generously God loves them and how that discovery changes what they desire. His memorial invites us to ask what might happen if we spent time with God simply because we love him.
Who Was St. Bernard of Clairvaux?
Bernard was born near Dijon, France, around 1090. As a young man, he entered the Cistercian monastery of Cîteaux with a group of relatives and companions. In 1115, he was sent to establish a new monastery at Clairvaux, where he served as abbot until his death in 1153.
The Cistercian way of life gave a central place to common prayer, silence, simplicity, and work. Bernard helped the movement grow as new communities were founded. His influence also extended beyond the monastery. Church leaders sought his counsel, and he wrote letters, sermons, and spiritual works that continued to be read long after his death. The Church honors him as a Doctor of the Church.
Learning to Love God
In his work On Loving God, Bernard describes how love can mature. We may begin by seeking God because we need his help. As we become aware of his goodness, we learn to love him for who he is. As that love deepens, we come to see even ourselves in light of our relationship with him.
A prayer for help is a genuine beginning. A parent who has prayed through a child’s illness may later find that thanksgiving becomes a habit. Someone who has asked for the strength to forgive may come to appreciate the patience God has shown them over many years. We grow in love as we begin to notice what God has been giving us all along.
Reading Scripture as a Place of Encounter
Bernard preached a series of sermons on the Song of Songs, a biblical book that gives voice to the longing of lovers. In keeping with Christian tradition, he heard in that poetry the love between Christ and the Church and the longing of the soul for God.
His way of reading gives us permission to linger over Scripture. We may hear a familiar Gospel passage and notice for the first time how Jesus looks at someone, waits for an answer, or asks a question. A few quiet minutes with that detail can lead us to speak with him about something we have been carrying. Scripture then becomes part of a conversation that can continue through the day.
Humility in Community Life
A monastery gives its members many opportunities to learn humility. They pray together, work alongside people with different temperaments, and depend on one another for the ordinary tasks of daily life. Bernard knew the need to discipline his own forceful temperament and recognize his limitations.
We learn something similar at home and in the parish. A person may have good reasons for a decision and still need to hear how it affects someone else. A leader may be accustomed to giving advice and need to receive correction. Humility makes it possible to say, “I had overlooked that,” and then act on what we have heard.
Mary and the Trust of a Disciple
Bernard preached about the Blessed Virgin Mary with particular affection. He invited Christians to remember her in times of uncertainty and seek her intercession. Mary’s own response at the Annunciation helps us understand the trust he encouraged. She listens, asks how the angel’s words will come about, and freely gives herself to what God asks of her.
When we face a decision we cannot see our way through, we can ask Mary to pray for us. Her example encourages us to bring our questions honestly before God and remain open to his call while we wait for clarity.
A Life Connection
A man begins stopping at church on his way home while his wife is undergoing treatment. At first, he prays almost entirely about her appointments and test results. As the months pass, he continues to ask for her healing and begins to thank God for the neighbor who brings supper, the friend who drives her to an appointment, and the evenings they still have together.
Later, he keeps stopping at church even on days when there is no news to wait for. He has come to value those few minutes with the Lord. His concern for his wife brought him there, and over time he discovered how much he wanted to be there.
Eucharistic Connection
In the Holy Qurbana, we hear the Word of God and receive Christ’s Body and Blood in Holy Communion. The Lord who gives himself to us at the altar is the one whose love Bernard spent his life contemplating. We can bring him our needs and also give thanks for the gift of his presence.
After Communion, we can remain quietly with Christ for a moment. We may remember a kindness we have taken for granted or a person toward whom we have become impatient. As we receive the Lord’s love, we can ask for the grace to let it shape the way we respond to that person.
Messages and Call to Conversion
St. Bernard invites us to give God a little time each day beyond the moments when we need an answer. We can read a few lines of the Gospel slowly, thank him for a gift we have scarcely noticed, or spend a few minutes in silence before the Blessed Sacrament.
His example also asks us to examine how we receive correction. If someone has tried to tell us something we were too quick to dismiss, we can return to the conversation and give that person time to speak. Such a step can give practical form to what we have learned in prayer.
Conclusion
St. Bernard of Clairvaux helped others discover the love of Christ through Scripture, prayer, and life in community. Through his intercession, may we come to love God more freely and let that love deepen our patience with the people who share our daily lives.
