Bernard of Clairvaux: Heart Love for Jesus

It's saying something when Protestant trailblazer Martin Luther, scourge of all things 'monkish', can write of one: He was the best monk that ever lived, whom I admire beyond all the rest put together. The object of his praise was Bernard of Clairvaux.

Bernard was born in 1090 in central France, son of a knight. In those days you expressed a radical commitment to Jesus by becoming a monk. Bernard had loved God from childhood, and at 22 he joined the monastery with the strictest lifestyle in the area, a foundation of the Cistercians. Such was his personal charisma that his uncle, several brothers, cousins and friends all went with him! In community his leadership skills were recognised. After only three years he was sent out to plant a new community, at Clairvaux, where he spent the remaining 28 years of his life.

Yet he couldn’t always be at home. His powerful intellect, big heart, and ability to sort out problems, were often called on by the Pope. He was sent to reconcile feuding towns. He thundered against bishops living in splendour and injustice. He put a stop to anti-Jewish riots in Germany (he is listed in Jewish chronicles as ‘a righteous Gentile’). He upheld Christian truth against false teachings. And this he did, not by human strength alone, but by the godliness and attractiveness of his spirit. He gained the nickname ‘Dr. Mellifluous’: the teacher whose teachings are as sweet as honey. When he died, he had founded 68 communities, and all of Europe mourned ‘the greatest saint of the age’.

The only blot on his reputation, viewed through today's eyes, is that he played his part in stirring up the Second Crusade against the Moslems. The charge is not wholly fair: he initially refused to do it, but was forced to by the Pope.

Bernard's life was energetic and involved in many areas, but his chief passion was not for public life but for the secret place of prayer and adoration. Not only teaching books flowed from his pen, but also hymns, poems and a deep meditation on the Song of Solomon (likening it to Christ and the human soul). His famous dictum is perhaps more vital today than in any previous centruy: God is known best by loving Him.

Here is a taster, taken from his most famous hymn:

Jesus, the very thought of Thee with sweetness fills the breast; But sweeter far Thy face to see, and in Thy presence rest... O Jesus, light of all below, Thou fount of living fire, Surpassing all the joys we know and all we can desire!