CNS STORY: Saint from Middle Ages found answers to life with prayer, pope says

POPE-AUDIENCE Oct-21-2009 (360 words) With photos. xxxi

Saint from Middle Ages found answers to life with prayer, pope says

By Sarah Delaney
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The life and writings of a 12th-century abbot remind Christians that questions about the meaning of life and God cannot be answered without prayer and contemplation, Pope Benedict XVI said.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who led the important Cistercian monastery in Clairvaux, France, from 1115 until his death in 1153, put the love of God and Jesus Christ at the center of his numerous writings, the pope said at his weekly general audience Oct. 21.

His example is important today because "sometimes we try to resolve fundamental questions about God and man with rationality alone," the pope said to the faithful gathered in a sunny, windy St. Peter's Square.

"St. Bernard reminds us that, without deep faith in God that is strengthened by prayer, contemplation and an intimate relationship with the Lord, our reflections on the divine mysteries risk becoming merely intellectual exercises and lose their credibility," Pope Benedict said.

St. Bernard is venerated as a doctor of the church, a group of saints whose writings have been of particular importance in Catholic theology or spirituality. He is often considered "the last of the fathers," the pope explained in his ongoing weekly catechetical reflection on theologians of the Middle Ages.

The saint was an able administrator of the abbey but was known for his deep spirituality and love for Jesus and Mary, the pope said. This was evident through his many sermons, treatises and other documents, including the letters he exchanged with important contemporary Christian intellectuals, he said.

Because his praises of Jesus "flowed like honey," the pope said, he earned the moniker "Dr. Mellifluous."

St. Bernard navigated through a period of intense philosophic debate by establishing himself as a theologian dedicated to the contemplative and mystical aspects of the Christian faith, Pope Benedict said.

Along with St. Bernard, the pope said, "we must recognize that it's easier for man to seek and find God with prayer than with discussions."

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Editor's Note: The text of the pope's audience remarks in English will be posted online at: www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20091021_en.html.

The text of the pope's audience remarks in Spanish will be posted online at: www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20091021_sp.html.

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