Don’t neglect your spiritual reading. Reading has made many saints.”
St. Josemaría Escrivá
William was born in Liège (in modern Belgium) around 1080. Together with his brother, Simon, he became a Benedictine monk, and he was elected Abbot of the monastery of St Thierry, overlooking Rheims (now in France) in 1119. By then he has already met the great contemplative and reformer St Bernard of Clairvaux, and he longed to become a Cistercian like him and devote himself to the contemplative life; but Bernard told him to keep to his responsibility as an abbot and take care of his community. He was instrumental in organizing the General Chapters of 1131-32, at which the Benedictines of his diocese adopted many of the Cistercian reforms. (The tension between ‘too comfortable’ and ‘too tough’ is a thread that runs all the way through the history of monasticism). Finally, in 1135, William got his wish and, resigning his abbacy, became a monk of the newly-founded Cistercian house at Signy, also in the diocese of Rheims. There he prayed, studied, and wrote. He died on 8 September 1148. William wrote on the contemplation of God and on the nature of love. He made a special study of the Song of Songs. Credit: Universalis
He loved us first
From a discourse “On the Contemplation of God” by William of Saint-Thierry
Truly you alone are the Lord. Your dominion is our salvation, for to serve you is nothing else but to be saved by you!
O Lord, salvation is your gift and your blessing is upon your people; what else is your salvation but receiving from you the gift of loving you or being loved by you?
That, Lord, is why you willed that the Son at your right hand, the man whom you made strong for yourself, should be called Jesus, that is to say, Saviour, for he will save his people from their sins, and there is no other in whom there is salvation. He taught us to love him by first loving us, even to death on the cross. By loving us and holding us so dear, he stirred us to love him who had first loved us to the end.
And this is clearly the reason: you first loved us so that we might love you – not because you needed our love, but because we could not be what you created us to be, except by loving you.
In many ways and on various occasions you spoke to our fathers through the prophets. Now in these last days you have spoken to us in the Son, your Word; by him the heavens were established and all their powers came to be by the breath of his mouth.
For you to speak thus in your Son was to bring out in the light of day how much and in what way you loved us, for you did not spare your own Son but delivered him up for us all. He also loved us and gave himself up for us.
This, Lord, is your Word to us, this is your all-powerful message: while all things were in midnight silence (that is, were in the depths of error), he came from his royal throne, the stern conqueror of error and the gentle apostle of love.
Everything he did and everything he said on earth, even enduring the insults, the spitting, the buffeting – the cross and the grave – all of this was actually you speaking to us in your Son, appealing to us by your love and stirring up our love for you.
You know that this disposition could not be forced on men’s hearts, my God, since you created them; it must rather be elicited. And this, for the further reason that there is no freedom where there is compulsion, and where freedom is lacking, so too is righteousness.
You wanted us to love you, then, we who could not with justice have been saved had we not loved you, nor could we have loved you except by your gift. So, Lord, as the apostle of your love tells us, and as we have already said, you first loved us: you are first to love all those who love you.
Thus we hold you dear by the affection you have implanted in us. You are the one supremely good and ultimate goodness. Your love is your goodness, the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son! From the beginning of creation it was he who hovered over the waters – that is, over the wavering minds of men – offering himself to all, drawing all things to himself. By his inspiration and holy breath, by keeping us from harm and providing for our needs, he unites God to us and us to God.
Credit: Divine Office: Office of Readings; Monday of the 3rd Week of Advent; https://divineoffice.org/welcome/. Information herein posted under the "rules of fair use" to foster education and discussion in accordance with Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976.
A man who has lost his sense of wonder is a man dead.”
William of Saint-Thierry
You first loved us so that we might love You – not because you needed our love but because we could not be what you created us to be, except by loving you.”
William of Saint-Thierry
“From ancient times the Church has had the custom of celebrating each day the liturgy of the hours. In this way the Church fulfills the Lord’s precept to pray without ceasing, at once offering its praise to God the Father and interceding for the salvation of the world.” — Office of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship. The Liturgy of the Hours is the prayer of the whole People of God. In it, Christ himself “continues his priestly work through his Church.” His members participate according to their own place in the Church and the circumstances of their lives. The laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office either with the priests, among themselves, or individually. The celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours demands not only harmonizing the voice with the praying heart, but also a deeper “understanding of the liturgy and of the Bible, especially of the Psalms.” The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the prayer of the psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism of the time of day, the liturgical season, or the feast being celebrated. Credit: https://divineoffice.org/liturgy-of-the-hours/
Half an hour’s meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed.”
Saint Francis de Sales
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Holy Spirit, Light and Life of my Soul, enliven my prayer life.
Be not afraid! And may the peace of Christ be with you and your loved ones today and always. Holy Family, pray for us. Amen.
