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Christ is the only rock that can save us
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Weedy
Apr 29, 2023, 3:49:53 AM4/29/23
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Christ is the only rock that can save us
What can keep us from falsehood and spiritual disaster? If we make the
Lord Jesus and his word the rock and foundation of our lives, then
nothing can shake us nor keep us from God's presence and protection.
Is the Lord Jesus and his word the one sure foundation of your life?
"Lord Jesus, you are the only foundation that can hold us up when
trials and disasters threaten us. Give me the wisdom, foresight, and
strength of character I need to do what is right and good and to
reject whatever is false and contrary to your will. May I be a doer of
your word and not a hearer only."
<<>><<>><<>>
April 29th – St. Robert of Molesme, OSB Cist. Abbot
Born near Troyes, Champagne, France, in 1018; died on March 21, 1110;
canonized in 1222. Born of noble parents, Robert was one of the
founders of the Cistercian movement, which, like the monks of Cluny in
the 10th century, was of Benedictine stock. The Rule of Saint Benedict
had lost none of its value since its foundation in Italy in the 6th
century. Absolute fidelity to this rule, and its greatest possible
extension in the religious life were the two aims Robert pursued
throughout his life.
Saint Alberic joined Robert in this pursuit, followed by Saint Stephen
Harding. But would they have taken the initiative without Robert? Or
would they have postponed it. Or might they not have become
discouraged while en route? For Robert was endowed with an uncommon
will to overcome all obstacles.
There was no lack of obstacles. Like Stephen Harding, Robert had
received Benedictine training at Moutier-La-Celle beginning when he
was 15. He was appointed prior soon after his novitiate, then abbot of
Saint Michael of Tonnerre at a very early age. He was unsuccessful in
his attempts to reform the abbey. The scandals at the abbey were the
motivation behind Robert's activity.
How did it happen that the Benedictines had forgotten Saint Benedict
and his rule to this extent? It was not that the rule was antiquated
but men who were wicked, and his first desire was to convince them of
their error. But since they did not listen to him, his second desire
was to leave. "But whatever town you enter, and they do not receive
you--go out into the streets and say, 'Even the dust from your town,
that we shake off against you'" (Luke 10:10-11).
Robert returned to Moutier-La-Celle, after having learned about a
little group of seven hermits in the forest of Collan, near Tonnerre,
whom he greatly desired to join and who in turn wanted him to live
with them. But Robert first of all owed obedience to the abbot of
Moutier-La-Celle who sent him to Saint-Ayoul. Nothing less than a
decree issued by Pope Alexander II was required before Robert and the
hermits could come together again; the decree appointed him their
superior. But they did not last long in Collan, since Robert decided
to leave that unhealthy site for a more salubrious setting in the
forest of Molesmes (c. 1075).
It was there at Molesmes that Robert met Stephen Harding. For Stephen
Harding, as for posterity, Robert was always to be known as Robert of
Molesmes. What Robert accomplished there, what Stephen saw there was
the model, in miniature but perfect, of what the Cistercians were to
become later: cells, which were mere huts grouped around a chapel that
was really an oratory, and men who formed a little republic according
to the Spirit, governed by an elected abbot, and who had given
themselves as a constitution the famous Benedictine Rule.
These men, who spent their days divided into alternate periods of
silence and common prayer, of contemplation and manual labor, had
greater dependence on God than on the world. They practiced the
evangelical counsels--poverty, chastity, and obedience--and found that
they were both viable and profitable, enabling them to live in an
atmosphere of peace and joy.
The austerity and holiness of the members of the rejuvenated community
led to a great influx of ill-qualified candidates, and when Robert was
unsuccessful in raising the standards to their previous level and
stymied by the bishop of Troyes, who caused its constitution to be
violated. Robert once more shook the dust from his feet, leaving
Alberic and Stephen Harding behind, to retire to a hermitage at Or.
Recalled again to Molesmes, and again disgusted with the laxity of the
monks, Robert again shook the dust from his feet, this time took
Alberic and Stephen Harding with him. They escaped the jurisdiction of
the bishop of Troyes to fall under the jurisdiction of the bishop of
Langres, and finally received approval from the archbishop of Lyons,
the papal legate (in 1098), to found their new republic at Cîteaux,
near Dijon, in the diocese of Chalon- sure-Saone, which gave its name
to the order. The new community was dedicated to strict observance of
the rule of Saint Benedict.
Robert was elected abbot in which post, however, he remained for just
a year because the monks of Molesmes appealed to Rome and Urban II
responded by ordering Robert to return to Molesmes in 1099. It was in
Molesmes, regenerated on the model of Cîteaux, that Robert died, after
having governed this abbey for nine years. But in Robert's mind
Cîteaux and Molesmes were only guideposts.
The Lord could have said to this man: "Your plans are grandiose but
you will not realize them all. Like Moses you will die before reaching
the Promised Land. You will be the inventor, the architect. Another
will be the contractor, he will exploit your invention. Another will
steal from you the title of founder, this man will be Bernard of
Clairvaux....
Reflection:
The safest correction of vice is the Christian's blameless life. Yet
there are times when silence would make us answerable for the sins of
others. At such times let us, in the name of God, rebuke the offender
without fear.
Saint Quote:
Christ one day said to St. John of the Cross, "John, what recompense
dost thou ask for thy labors?" He answered: "Lord, I ask no other
recompense than to suffer and be contemned for Thee."
--St. John of the Cross
Bible Quote:
Be subject therefore to God, but resist the devil, and he will fly from you.
[James 4:7]DRV
<><><><>
May We Confess Your Name to the End
By St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258)
Bishop and Martyr
Apostolic Father of the Church
Good God,
may we confess Your Name to the end.
May we emerge unmarked
and glorious from the traps
and darkness of this world.
As You have bound us together,
by charity and peace
and as together,
we have persevered under persecution,
so may we also rejoice together
in Your Heavenly Kingdom.
Amen
What can keep us from falsehood and spiritual disaster? If we make the
Lord Jesus and his word the rock and foundation of our lives, then
nothing can shake us nor keep us from God's presence and protection.
Is the Lord Jesus and his word the one sure foundation of your life?
"Lord Jesus, you are the only foundation that can hold us up when
trials and disasters threaten us. Give me the wisdom, foresight, and
strength of character I need to do what is right and good and to
reject whatever is false and contrary to your will. May I be a doer of
your word and not a hearer only."
<<>><<>><<>>
April 29th – St. Robert of Molesme, OSB Cist. Abbot
Born near Troyes, Champagne, France, in 1018; died on March 21, 1110;
canonized in 1222. Born of noble parents, Robert was one of the
founders of the Cistercian movement, which, like the monks of Cluny in
the 10th century, was of Benedictine stock. The Rule of Saint Benedict
had lost none of its value since its foundation in Italy in the 6th
century. Absolute fidelity to this rule, and its greatest possible
extension in the religious life were the two aims Robert pursued
throughout his life.
Saint Alberic joined Robert in this pursuit, followed by Saint Stephen
Harding. But would they have taken the initiative without Robert? Or
would they have postponed it. Or might they not have become
discouraged while en route? For Robert was endowed with an uncommon
will to overcome all obstacles.
There was no lack of obstacles. Like Stephen Harding, Robert had
received Benedictine training at Moutier-La-Celle beginning when he
was 15. He was appointed prior soon after his novitiate, then abbot of
Saint Michael of Tonnerre at a very early age. He was unsuccessful in
his attempts to reform the abbey. The scandals at the abbey were the
motivation behind Robert's activity.
How did it happen that the Benedictines had forgotten Saint Benedict
and his rule to this extent? It was not that the rule was antiquated
but men who were wicked, and his first desire was to convince them of
their error. But since they did not listen to him, his second desire
was to leave. "But whatever town you enter, and they do not receive
you--go out into the streets and say, 'Even the dust from your town,
that we shake off against you'" (Luke 10:10-11).
Robert returned to Moutier-La-Celle, after having learned about a
little group of seven hermits in the forest of Collan, near Tonnerre,
whom he greatly desired to join and who in turn wanted him to live
with them. But Robert first of all owed obedience to the abbot of
Moutier-La-Celle who sent him to Saint-Ayoul. Nothing less than a
decree issued by Pope Alexander II was required before Robert and the
hermits could come together again; the decree appointed him their
superior. But they did not last long in Collan, since Robert decided
to leave that unhealthy site for a more salubrious setting in the
forest of Molesmes (c. 1075).
It was there at Molesmes that Robert met Stephen Harding. For Stephen
Harding, as for posterity, Robert was always to be known as Robert of
Molesmes. What Robert accomplished there, what Stephen saw there was
the model, in miniature but perfect, of what the Cistercians were to
become later: cells, which were mere huts grouped around a chapel that
was really an oratory, and men who formed a little republic according
to the Spirit, governed by an elected abbot, and who had given
themselves as a constitution the famous Benedictine Rule.
These men, who spent their days divided into alternate periods of
silence and common prayer, of contemplation and manual labor, had
greater dependence on God than on the world. They practiced the
evangelical counsels--poverty, chastity, and obedience--and found that
they were both viable and profitable, enabling them to live in an
atmosphere of peace and joy.
The austerity and holiness of the members of the rejuvenated community
led to a great influx of ill-qualified candidates, and when Robert was
unsuccessful in raising the standards to their previous level and
stymied by the bishop of Troyes, who caused its constitution to be
violated. Robert once more shook the dust from his feet, leaving
Alberic and Stephen Harding behind, to retire to a hermitage at Or.
Recalled again to Molesmes, and again disgusted with the laxity of the
monks, Robert again shook the dust from his feet, this time took
Alberic and Stephen Harding with him. They escaped the jurisdiction of
the bishop of Troyes to fall under the jurisdiction of the bishop of
Langres, and finally received approval from the archbishop of Lyons,
the papal legate (in 1098), to found their new republic at Cîteaux,
near Dijon, in the diocese of Chalon- sure-Saone, which gave its name
to the order. The new community was dedicated to strict observance of
the rule of Saint Benedict.
Robert was elected abbot in which post, however, he remained for just
a year because the monks of Molesmes appealed to Rome and Urban II
responded by ordering Robert to return to Molesmes in 1099. It was in
Molesmes, regenerated on the model of Cîteaux, that Robert died, after
having governed this abbey for nine years. But in Robert's mind
Cîteaux and Molesmes were only guideposts.
The Lord could have said to this man: "Your plans are grandiose but
you will not realize them all. Like Moses you will die before reaching
the Promised Land. You will be the inventor, the architect. Another
will be the contractor, he will exploit your invention. Another will
steal from you the title of founder, this man will be Bernard of
Clairvaux....
Reflection:
The safest correction of vice is the Christian's blameless life. Yet
there are times when silence would make us answerable for the sins of
others. At such times let us, in the name of God, rebuke the offender
without fear.
Saint Quote:
Christ one day said to St. John of the Cross, "John, what recompense
dost thou ask for thy labors?" He answered: "Lord, I ask no other
recompense than to suffer and be contemned for Thee."
--St. John of the Cross
Bible Quote:
Be subject therefore to God, but resist the devil, and he will fly from you.
[James 4:7]DRV
<><><><>
May We Confess Your Name to the End
By St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258)
Bishop and Martyr
Apostolic Father of the Church
Good God,
may we confess Your Name to the end.
May we emerge unmarked
and glorious from the traps
and darkness of this world.
As You have bound us together,
by charity and peace
and as together,
we have persevered under persecution,
so may we also rejoice together
in Your Heavenly Kingdom.
Amen
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