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00:00Bernard was born in 1090 in Fontaine-les-Dijons, in Burgundy, into a noble family.
00:19Very early on, he showed a lively mind and great spiritual sensitivity.
00:23His mother, breastfeeding and deeply pious, passed on to him an ardent faith.
00:31As a teenager, Bernard felt called to religious life, but he still hesitated, torn between the world and the call of God.
00:41It will be prayer and meditation that will seal his choice.
00:45In 1112, Bernard decided to enter the abbey of Citeau, the center of the Cistercian reform.
00:54But he does not come alone, he brings with him around thirty companions, including several of his brothers and friends.
01:02This spectacular gesture will give a decisive boost to the Cistercian order, which had been fragile until then.
01:10His ardor and charisma impressed Father Stephen Harding, who saw in him a future spiritual leader.
01:18In 1115, Bernard founded the abbey of Clairvaux, in a remote and wild valley.
01:26The place quickly became a radiant center of spirituality, attracting vocations by the hundreds.
01:33Bernard imposed an austere life, silence, manual work, prayer, fasting.
01:40But his holiness also attracts the outside world.
01:44He became an advisor to the popes, an arbiter between kings, and did not hesitate to oppose the abuses of the clergy.
01:52His influence extends far beyond the walls of his monastery.
01:56In 1146, Pope Eugene III, a former monk of Clairvaux, entrusted him with a mission: to preach the Second Crusade.
02:08Bernard travels throughout France and Germany, inspiring crowds with his vibrant lyrics.
02:15Thousands of crusaders take to the road.
02:17But the expedition failed, and Bernard felt a deep pain, which he experienced as a test of faith.
02:27He understands that spiritual victories are not always measured in visible success.
02:34Bernard is not only a man of action, he is also a contemplative.
02:40His relationship with the Virgin Mary is central to his life.
02:44He composed the memorare, one of the most famous Marian prayers.
02:50He meditates at length on the Song of Songs, seeing in it God's love for the soul.
02:56His writings, full of poetry and depth, still inspire today.
03:03He will say “De Maria numquam satis”
03:07We can never say enough about Mary.
03:10Exhausted by travel, advising the powerful, and running his abbey, Bernard fell ill.
03:18He died on August 20, 1153, surrounded by his fellow monks.
03:24Canonized in 1174 by Pope Alexander III, he was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1830.
03:34Its influence is still felt in monastic spirituality, theology and devotion to the Virgin.
03:44Saint Bernard of Clairvaux reminds us that holiness is not lived halfway.
03:49It demands everything, the heart, the mind, the will.
03:54On this August 20, let us ask him for ardent zeal and pure love for God and for Mary.
04:01Short prayer to Saint Bernard.
04:04O Saint Bernard, you who served God with passion and wisdom,
04:10Grant that we may walk with the same fervor on the path of holiness.
04:16Amen.
04:24Subtitling Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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