St. Bernard was born into a noble family in 1090 at Fontaines, France. In 1112, Bernard persuaded 31 of his relatives and friends to come with him and enter the Cistercian monastery at Citeaux. Three years later (1115) the abbot of Citeaux, Father St. Stephen Harding, appointed Bernard and 12 monks to establish a new monastery at Clairvaux.
Pope Benedict XVI said, “Here the young Abbot (he was only 25 years old) was able to define his conception of monastic life and set about putting it into practice. In looking at the discipline of other monasteries, Bernard firmly recalled the need for a sober and measured life, at table as in clothing and monastic buildings, and recommended the support and care of the poor. In the meantime the community of Clairvaux became ever more numerous and its foundations multiplied.”
Bernard’s saintliness and personality helped attract so many novices that he personally founded 68 monasteries and still had 700 monks left in his own monastery.
Father Augustine Kalberer wrote, “For years on end he had to be active in public affairs, and his lament at being torn away from the peace of the cloister was the genuine cry of a contemplative soul. He won a good part of Europe to Innocent II and preached the Second Crusade.”
The sermons of Bernard were mostly commentaries on Scripture or the liturgy. One of his most famous works is Sermons on the Song of Songs. In theology, the saint wrote On Loving God and On Grace and Free Will. Bernard died on Aug. 20, 1153. His writings have earned him the titles of “the last of the Fathers” and a Doctor of the Church.
In 1145, Father Bernard’s pupil Bernardo Pignatelli was elected Pope with the name of Eugene III. On this occasion, Bernard dedicated to Eugene III the Five Books on Consideration, which contains teachings on how to be a good Pope.
Bernard wrote to Eugene III, “I do not tell you to withdraw completely from secular operations. I only exhort you not to throw yourself entirely into them. If you are a man belonging to everybody, belong also to yourself. Otherwise what good would it do you to save everybody else, if you were to be lost yourself? Keep something, then, for yourself, and if everyone comes to drink at your fountain, do not deprive yourself of drinking there too… remember that in the business of winning salvation, no one is closer to you than your mother’s only son.”
Pope Benedict XVI said, “For Bernard, in fact, true knowledge of God consisted in a personal, profound experience of Jesus Christ and of his love. And, dear brothers and sisters, this is true for every Christian: faith is first and foremost a personal, intimate encounter with Jesus, it is having an experience of his closeness, his friendship and his love… Some claim to have solved the fundamental questions on God, on man and on the world with the power of reason alone. St Bernard, on the other hand, solidly founded on the Bible and on the Fathers of the Church, reminds us that without a profound faith in God, nourished by prayer and contemplation, by an intimate relationship with the Lord, our reflections on the divine mysteries risk becoming an empty intellectual exercise and losing their credibility.”
Bernard had a tender love for Our Lady. In one of his homilies, he said, “In danger, in distress, in uncertainty, think of Mary, call upon Mary. She never leaves your lips, she never departs from your heart; and so that you may obtain the help of her prayers, never forget the example of her life. If you follow her, you cannot falter; if you pray to her, you cannot despair; if you think of her, you cannot err. If she sustains you, you will not stumble; if she protects you, you have nothing to fear; if she guides you, you will never flag; if she is favourable to you, you will attain your goal.”
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伯爾納德在教會內散發關愛
聖伯爾納德於1090年出生於法國豐坦斯的一個貴族家庭。1112年，伯爾納德說服他的三十一位親戚和朋友和他一起進入西多會隱修道院。三年後（1115年）院長聖斯德望·哈丁任命伯爾納德和十二名隱修士在克雷爾沃建立一座新修道院。教宗本篤十六世說：『在這裡，年輕的院長（他只有25歲）能夠定義他對修道院生活的概念，並著手將其付諸實踐。在審視其他修院的紀律時，伯納德堅定地回顧了清醒和有節制的生活的必要性，在餐桌上，就像在衣服和修道院建築中一樣，並建議支持和照顧窮人。與此同時，克雷爾沃社區的數量越來越多，其基礎成倍增加。』
伯爾納德的聖潔和個性吸引了如此多的新手，以至他親自建立了68座修道院，而自己的修道院中還剩下700名修士。奧斯定·卡爾貝勒神父寫道『多年來，他不得不積極參與公共事務，他對被從修院隱居寧靜中被撕裂的哀歎是一個默觀靈魂的真實吶喊。他為依諾增爵二世贏得了歐洲的大部分地區，並宣揚了第二次十字軍東征。』伯爾納德的佈道大多是對聖經或禮儀的注釋。他最著名的作品之一是雅歌的講道。在神學中，聖人寫了有關愛天主並有關恩寵和自由意志。伯爾納德在1153年8月20日去世。他的著作為他贏得了「最後的教父」和教會聖師的稱號。
1145年，伯爾納德的學生貝爾納多·皮尼亞泰利被選為教宗，名為安日納三世。在這個場合，伯納德寫書獻給安日納三世，其中包含如何成為一名好教宗的教導。
伯爾納德給安日納三世寫道：『我不告訴你完全退出世俗行動。我只是勸你不要完全投入其中。如果你是屬於所有人的人，你也屬於自己。否則，如果你自己迷失了，拯救其他人有什麼好處呢？那麼，為自己保留一些東西，如果每個人都來你的噴泉喝水，也不要剝奪自己在那裡喝……記住，在贏得救恩的事業中，沒有人比你母親的獨生子更接近你。』
教宗本篤十六世說：『事實上，對伯爾納德來說，對天主的真正認識在於對耶穌基督和祂的愛的個人、深刻的體驗。親愛的弟兄姊妹們，這對每個基督徒來說都是如此：信仰首先是與耶穌的個人親密相遇，是體驗他的親近、友誼和他的愛…。有些人聲稱已經用理性的力量解決了關於天主、關於人和世界的基本問題。另一方面，聖伯爾納德堅實地建立在聖經和教會教父們的立場之上，提醒我們，沒有對天主的深刻信仰，沒有祈禱和默想的滋養，沒有與主的親密關係，我們對神聖奧秘的反思就有可能成為空洞的智力練習，失去其可信度。』
伯納德對聖母有著溫柔的愛。在他的一次講道中，他說：『在危險中，在危難中，在不確定中，想想瑪利亞，呼求瑪利亞。她從不離開你的嘴唇，她從不離開你的心;為了讓你得到她祈禱的幫助，永遠不要忘記她生命的榜樣。如果你跟隨她，你就不能動搖；如果你向她祈禱，你就不能絕望; 如果你想及她，你就不會出錯。如果她支援你，你就不會絆倒; 如果她保護你，你就沒有什麼可害怕的; 如果她引導你，你永遠不會退縮; 如果她對你恩祐，你就會達到你的目標。』
