Lessons from St Bernard About Work
St Bernard of Clairvaux's feast day was August 20th. From time to time, I write about The Rule of St Benedict. St Bernard, a doctor of the Church, was a Bendictine who helped reform the order in the 11th century, and who used his talent for preaching to both enlighten people and fight against heresies of his time.
Pope Pius XII wrote a whole encyclical about St Bernard, and in reading through it I found some things that struck me as helpful to us Catholic men at work. The main idea here is that our work really is nothing unless we do it with love for Love - that is for the greater glory of God, Who is, of course, Love, as we all know.
Okay, so we have to work to eat. That's pretty basic. You can just go about your daily business with that as your sole motivation. Kind of a miserable way to wake up and work, isn't it? Or you can elevate your efforts and strive for material success. Maybe that gets you fired up and you'll be more inspired, more "positively" motivated. But of course you just know that pride will get the best of you as you accomplish your goals, make more money, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
But if you labor for Love with love, you're in the same boat as the great St Bernard. Just as we've seen in our discussions of St Benedict's teachings, all his great work began and ended with his spiritual life, with prayer: ora (prayer) et labora (work). And so it should be even with us who aren't monks, who haven't dedicated ourselves to the religious life. Just read a bit about St Bernard and you'll see that this monk led about as active a life in the world as any of us, even as he lived not only as a monk but as an Abbot with all the responsibilities of leading a group of men gathered in a monastery..
All Bernard's great work - his preaching, writing, teaching, leading his monks, etc. - began with the arduous work of learning. About "learning" he said:
See how love comes first? See how the saint knows the dangers of pride, when you don't put Love first in your work?
We can all do this, put love first, even during our busy work day. And, who knows, we may even find ourselves advancing in our spiritual lives - i.e., growing closer to God day by day - until we begin to receive a taste of Heaven even as we labor here on earth. Just read these words of Pope Pius about St Bernard:
The charity which moves him, knows no barriers and, so to speak, gives wings to the mind. For him, learning is not the final goal, but rather a path leading to God; it is not something cold upon which the mind dwells aimlessly, as though amusing itself under the spell of shifting, brilliant light. Rather, it is moved, impelled, and governed by love. Wherefore, carried upwards by this wisdom and in meditation, contemplation, and love, Bernard climbs the peak of the mystical life and is joined to God Himself, so that at times he enjoyed almost infinite happiness even in this mortal life.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all be so motivated in our daily work? How wonderful that would be!
I know, it sounds a bit lofty. But read these words of St Bernard regarding the simple contemplation of the Holy Name of Jesus as he goes about his daily work:
He makes is sound easy, doesn't he? And in a way it is. It's something any of us can do, even in the midst of the busiest days. Simply to think of His name: "Jesus." Just to think or say the Holy Name. It takes a moment. We touch Love itself when we do. Our work is sanctified. All our efforts become a prayer.
As if this weren't enough to inspire us, I'll finish with the great saint's tender, yet powerful devotion to Our Blessed Mother. Just read these incredible words now and the next time you face any difficulty or challenge of any sort in your work (or, of course any other time in your life):
Thank you Saint Bernard for these wonderful words to inspire us to work for the greater glory of God.
Pope Pius XII wrote a whole encyclical about St Bernard, and in reading through it I found some things that struck me as helpful to us Catholic men at work. The main idea here is that our work really is nothing unless we do it with love for Love - that is for the greater glory of God, Who is, of course, Love, as we all know.
Okay, so we have to work to eat. That's pretty basic. You can just go about your daily business with that as your sole motivation. Kind of a miserable way to wake up and work, isn't it? Or you can elevate your efforts and strive for material success. Maybe that gets you fired up and you'll be more inspired, more "positively" motivated. But of course you just know that pride will get the best of you as you accomplish your goals, make more money, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
But if you labor for Love with love, you're in the same boat as the great St Bernard. Just as we've seen in our discussions of St Benedict's teachings, all his great work began and ended with his spiritual life, with prayer: ora (prayer) et labora (work). And so it should be even with us who aren't monks, who haven't dedicated ourselves to the religious life. Just read a bit about St Bernard and you'll see that this monk led about as active a life in the world as any of us, even as he lived not only as a monk but as an Abbot with all the responsibilities of leading a group of men gathered in a monastery..
All Bernard's great work - his preaching, writing, teaching, leading his monks, etc. - began with the arduous work of learning. About "learning" he said:
What would be the good of learning without love? It would puff up. And love without learning? It would go astray.
See how love comes first? See how the saint knows the dangers of pride, when you don't put Love first in your work?
We can all do this, put love first, even during our busy work day. And, who knows, we may even find ourselves advancing in our spiritual lives - i.e., growing closer to God day by day - until we begin to receive a taste of Heaven even as we labor here on earth. Just read these words of Pope Pius about St Bernard:
The charity which moves him, knows no barriers and, so to speak, gives wings to the mind. For him, learning is not the final goal, but rather a path leading to God; it is not something cold upon which the mind dwells aimlessly, as though amusing itself under the spell of shifting, brilliant light. Rather, it is moved, impelled, and governed by love. Wherefore, carried upwards by this wisdom and in meditation, contemplation, and love, Bernard climbs the peak of the mystical life and is joined to God Himself, so that at times he enjoyed almost infinite happiness even in this mortal life.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all be so motivated in our daily work? How wonderful that would be!
I know, it sounds a bit lofty. But read these words of St Bernard regarding the simple contemplation of the Holy Name of Jesus as he goes about his daily work:
If thou writest, thy composition has no charms for me, unless I read there the name of Jesus. If thou dost debate or converse, I find no pleasure in thy words, unless I hear there the name of Jesus. Jesus is honey on the lips, melody in the ear, joy in the heart.
As if this weren't enough to inspire us, I'll finish with the great saint's tender, yet powerful devotion to Our Blessed Mother. Just read these incredible words now and the next time you face any difficulty or challenge of any sort in your work (or, of course any other time in your life):
When the storms to temptation burst upon thee, when thou seest thyself driven upon the rocks of tribulation, look at the star, call upon Mary. When buffeted by the billows of pride, or ambition, or hatred, or jealousy, look at the star, call upon Mary. Should anger, or avarice, or fleshly desire violently assail the frail vessel of thy soul, look at the star, call upon Mary. If troubled on account of the heinousness of thy sins, distressed at the filthy state of thy conscience, and terrified at the thought of the awful judgment to come, thou art beginning to sink into the bottomless gulf of sadness and to be swallowed in the abyss of despair, then think of Mary. In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let not her name leave thy lips, never suffer it to leave thy heart. And that thou mayest more surely obtain the assistance of her prayer, see that thou dost walk in her footsteps. With her for guide, thou shalt never go astray; whilst invoking her, thou shalt never lose heart; so long as she is in thy mind, thou shalt not be deceived; whilst she holds thy hand, thou canst not fall; under her protection, thou hast nothing to fear; if she walks before thee, thou shalt not grow weary; if she shows thee favor, thou shalt reach the goal.
Thank you Saint Bernard for these wonderful words to inspire us to work for the greater glory of God.
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