The Founders of the Monastery of Citeaux
Our monastery celebrates the Founders of our Order, Robert, Alberic and Stephen Harding. Grateful
remembrance of the past leads us, as we listen attentively to what the
Holy Spirit is saying to the Church today, to implement ever more
faithfully the core elements of our consecrated life. It
seems fitting that we use this passage from Sirach as we commemorate
our holy Founders. "These also were godly men whose virtues have not
been forgotten; their wealth remains with their descendants” (Sir. 44:
10-11). We apply this reading to them since they won mercy for
themselves, were full of mercy, and it was in his mercy that God gave
them to us. As members of the Cistercian Family, we honor the spirit of
our Founders and claim as our patrimony their desire to seek God in
austere solitude and loving compassion.
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| Image from the Abbey of Citeaux |
These
holy men of faith set out on a pilgrimage of faith comforted by the
fact that they were servants of the one true King, Jesus Christ. Their
only intention was live in accordance to the Rule of Saint Benedict in
austerity and solitude. They had heard the voice of the Bridegroom and
desired to follow Him wherever He might lead them. In the wilderness of
Citeaux they sought to build a Paradise where they might more
tenaciously love both the place and the observance of the Rule. Knowing
themselves to be a monastic Church and members of the Body of Christ
they supported one another in prayer as they bore the burden of the
day. For
our founders the Rule was meant to be an expression of the Gospel and a
means of living the Gospel to the full. For them, the ideal was Christ;
they sought to be interiorly united to him and thus to be able to say
with Saint Paul: “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21).
Their monastic consecration was seen as a concrete expression of this
passionate love for Christ. Through it they sought to share in the
self-emptying of Him Who died for them so as to be made rich by His
poverty.
Having
left the comfort of Molesme, they set out for the desert-place called
Citeaux. The foundation documents refer to it as a place rarely
approached by men because of the thickness of bramble and thorn bush but
inhabited by wild beasts. They knew that their citizenship was in
heaven and not on earth. To their mind, the more despicable and
unapproachable the place was to seculars, the more suited it was for the
monastic observance they desired to follow. There, in austere solitude
they hoped to offer a service to the divine majesty that was at once
humble and noble. Saint Bernard described this ideal in these words:
“Our order is humility, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Our order is
silence, fasting, prayer and labor; and above all, to follow the more
excellent way, which is charity.”
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| Exterior of the Abbey of Citeaux |
The letter to the Hebrews notes that "Faith is the
conviction of things not seen." This aptly describes the radical nature of our
founders’ decision to establish the New Monastery. From the start their
venture was rooted in that kind of faith that springs from the
assurance of God's loving providence. By faith they were able to see a
garden of delight where nothing but bramble bushes grew. By faith they
were able to hear the angelic choirs singing the praises of God where
only wild beasts howled. By faith they were able to build up the City of
God even though no one knocked at the gate. By faith they were able to
be poor with the poor Christ. Seeking
to embody the Gospel in their own lives, they strove to be images of
Christ the Lord, fostered through perpetual recollection and humility. Dedication to work, prayer and Lectio enabled them to transcend the limits of their humanity by elevating it to the life of God.
Jesus reminded us of how difficult it is for us to
serve the one true King while being distracted by the abundance of the world
or by focusing on the troubles, difficulties and wrongs around us.
Unless we are willing to divest ourselves of all that we hold dear and
treasure and focus on the one thing that really matters, we will never
seek Christ and His will for us. If we embrace our poverty, we will come
to know what we truly need to be -- Children of God. Only if we walk by
the light of faith will we be able to enter our heavenly homeland where we
not only love God but also come to know that we are loved by God. Following
the example of our Founders, let us strive to be poor with the poor
Christ. Like them, let us distance ourselves from the busyness of the
world’s affairs and keep our lives simple. Holding fast to Christ, let
us walk in the light of faith, conscious that the Holy Spirit spurs us
on. Let us clothe ourselves in Christ and set out anew with our hearts
expanded by love on the path of His commandments.
--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO
