Marvelous Medieval Wisdom

my motto motive motivation
for the new year:


"DO AS NO ONE DOES,
AND
THE WORLD
MARVELS"

From St. Bernard Of Clairvaux
(Twelve century founder of the Cistercian Order of monks)

The Cistercian order has a literary heritage of Christian contemplative and instructional writings which should be re-discovered by today's 3rd Millenium Men. The treatise by Aelred on Friendship, "De Spirituali Amicitia", for instance, is a wonderful work on the nature of neoplatonism, not as St. Augustine proposes - that friendship among men is separate from the friendship of God (John 15:15) - but as the relationship between men with Christ as the third and centre of that friendship, around which persons relate and their relations revolve (John 15:13).
In addition, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, whose friendship and affection for others have inspired many writings and reflections, taught explicitly on the wisdom of proper conduct for the Christian disciple. Much is based on the work of St. Benedict from his Rule, but infused are the meditations that illuminate it with great insights.
It seems that the saint's motto was simple: do as no one does, and the world marvels.
I contemplated this phrase for a few weeks, to reflect on the depth of its meaning, its invitation, and the challenge it represents, for all mottoes are meant to be higher than ourselves, if we are to strive for "perfection".
The medevial philosophy was heavily influenced by the Hellenists, with a clear Christo-centricity, and the ideal of perfection and perfecting, was likened to a smithing brandishing the molten metal to shape and hammer it to strength. This was the epitome of perfecting and perfection, at the hand of the Divine, whose art is Love, and craft is all Creation.
The idea of "doing" or work, labore, alone was to strive to make manifest the Divine. Every work, is the result of our faith. Here, there is no need to define the nature of work, for in the creative good, all effort is towards value of the commonwealth. Then there is the idea of "as none does", where the limitation is almost endless. The gospel speaks of love for friends being so great as to the point where one lays down his life for another, and that Jesus regards the relationship between Yahweh and his people as personal friendship. Therefore, in context, it is an invitation to love to the ultimate, where we empty ourselves out willingly and will-fully, for the sake of the good of friendship. It is, to the point where our basic, natural instincts for self-preservation and personal security is overcome by desire and surrender, and we escape the bond of earthly instincts to delve into the Divine Mind. We are asked to live a life which simply surmounts the ordinary and primitive, and elevate our consciousness towards the Infinite.
All these go against our natural, primitive, original instincts. This is where the creative, redemptive work of Christ gains meaning. Our original state is not sufficient for a full life with the Divine; our will must bend towards it. In the absence of such intelligence and natural will, if we are so naturally weak or lack the sufficiency as such (for example, young babies, the intellectually challenged, etc.), the Divine expects much less. For it is written, of those much is given, more is expected.
And the world marvels. This is to say, that in all true Christian aspiration and work, it should strive to perfection in God by being focussed or consecrated, or dedicated to Him, and let that alone be manifest as testimony to His great Glory.
No wonder that medieval philosophy and thought was to create such great works of illuminated manuscripts, bold architecture leading to the renaissance, and found many new religious orders. Hardly the Dark Ages, as contemporary historians with specific bias might want to tell you.
At such a great idea, our human hearts tremble to even conceive effort to "do as no one does". But as Francis of Assisi was to show, as all the great saints have, it is with the greatest humility and surrender that the force of the power of God works best in all of us.