The barefoot duchess in St Hedwig
-St Bruno, October 6 feast
The poverty of politics. Born in Germany and educated in Paris, St Bruno was ordained a priest circa 1055. Until 1075, he served at the Rheims seminary as a Theology professor. Pope Blessed Urban II was one of his students. As he became chancellor of the archdiocese, he grew charisma and connections until Fr Bruno's leader and patron died. Disappointed with his replacement, Fr Bruno opposed his new archbishop's laxity and criticized the clergy's worldliness. History claims that the office had been purchased by an ambitious, greedy and violent aristocrat, with little regard for virtue. This ugly trajectory created an unsustainable situation, and the inner Fr Bruno withdrew. In a vision, he was shown a secluded hermitage in the French mountains which later, was built near Chartreuse, France.
Living the Dream. In 1084, with St Hugh of Grenoble, he founded a group, later named the Carthusians, who supported themselves as manuscript scribners. Later, these monks would distill the famous Chartreuse liqueur. Today, Grand Chartreuse exists as a hermit community of work/study/prayer, but in the poverty and silence as Bruno envisioned.
Life, Interrupted. In 1090, Fr Bruno was named assistant to Pope Urban II in 1090 and left for papal reform efforts. He always intended to return but God had other plans. Fr Bruno lived in a cell amidst the crumbled arches of the Roman baths. Every intention to return home was frustrated. Even as the pope was on the run from antipopes, Fr Bruno was resigned to accept exile. All through his life, he dodged and refused political bishoprics. Meanwhile, he longed for silence and the solitude of his vision's cell. In 1094, the pope granted him freedom, but only within the boundaries of Italy, just in case he was needed.
St Bruno embraces his Muse. In southern Italy, Fr Bruno and some followers franchised his mini-Chartreuse in Calabria, Italy. Although it was later absorbed into the Cistercian order. Gladly, Fr Bruno shed his politics and died in silence as a mere monk. He was never formally canonized and left behind no rule. Fr Bruno had longed for the Holy Eucharist and craved the love of Mother Mary. Silence was his muse. Fr Bruno knew God spoke in the silence and without it, they would miss Supreme conversations. Therefore, silence was their most powerful form of speech. They were right. Connections are most poignant when unspoken. Words must be thought, organized and filtered prior to communication, which requires our full bandwidth. Then, when words are many and tones misinterpreted; transgressions abound. All of which, impedes God. Proof of the power of God's word is creation. Not just in the beginning, but every day, flesh and blood is loved into being--through Him, with Him and in Him. It is in this silence, where God ignites the deepest of unions. Lovers unite in a glance, a smile or a touch, in ways utterly unarticulateable. Folklore holds that even if a statue of St. Bruno could open his marble mouth; it would forever keep his vow of silence.
St. Bruno,
Your life of generous & active service was curtailed.
Leaving politics, you chose the better portion.
You sought God in silence, poverty, scripture & prayer.
Please intercede for us to emulate your quiet dedication, focus, & endurance.
Amen.
Source
Science cannot explain suffering. As Lay Passionist and nurse, Molly challenges modern health care assumptions: contraception, abortion, euthanasia, herd immunity and more. Behind every health dilemma, God asks us to abide in Him. Author of 6 health books & over 20 peer-reviewed nursing journal articles; Molly writes as "The Catholic Nurse" on Substack, see "Archives." She is a veteran of the Army Nurse Corps. Her primary charism is mercy through which she explores: redemptive suffering, spiritual healing and the joy of bringing of souls to God.
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