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Pope Benedict XVI- General Audiences |
General
Audience
On What Europe Owes to Cluny
"The Value of the Human Person and the Primary Good of Peace"
H.H. Benedict XVI
November 11, 2009
www.zenit.org
Dear brothers and sisters,
This morning I wish to speak of a monastic movement that had great
importance in the Medieval centuries, and to which I have already
referred in previous catecheses. It is about the Order of Cluny, which,
at the beginning of the 12th century, the time of its greatest
expansion, had almost 1,200 monasteries: a really impressive figure!
In fact at Cluny, 1,100 years ago, in 910, a monastery was founded and
placed under the guidance of Abbot Bernone, after the donation of
William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine. At that time Western monasticism,
which flowered some centuries before with St. Benedict, was very
impoverished for several reasons: the unstable political and social
conditions due to the constant invasions and devastation of people not
integrated in the European fabric, widespread poverty and above all the
dependence of abbeys on local lords, who controlled everything that
belonged to the territory of their competence. In such a context, Cluny
represented the soul of a profound renewal of monastic life, to lead it
back to its original inspiration.
Represented at Cluny was the observance of the Rule of St. Benedict with
some adaptations already introduced by other reformers. Above all the
intention was to guarantee the central role that the liturgy must have
in Christian life. The monks of Cluny dedicated themselves with love and
great care to the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, the singing
of psalms, to processions both devotional and solemn and, above all, to
the celebration of Holy Mass. They promoted sacred music; they wanted
architecture and art to contribute to the beauty and solemnity of the
rites; they enriched the liturgical calendar with special celebrations
such as, for example, the commemoration of the faithful deceased at the
beginning of November, which we also celebrated a short time ago; the
they enhanced devotion to the Virgin Mary.
So much importance was given to the liturgy because the monks of Cluny
were convinced that it was participation in the liturgy of Heaven. And
the monks felt responsible to intercede at the altar of God for the
living and the dead, given that very many faithful repeatedly requested
them to be remembered in prayer. On the other hand, it was precisely for
this purpose that William the Pious had desired the birth of the Abbey
of Cluny. In the ancient document, which attests to the foundation, we
read: "With this gift I establish that a monastery of regulars be built
at Cluny in honor of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and that monks
gather here who live according to the Rule of St. Benedict (...) and
that it be a venerable asylum of prayer which is frequented with vows
and supplications, seeking and yearning with every desire and profound
ardor the celestial life, and assiduous prayers, invocations and
supplications addressed to the Lord."
To guard and nourish this climate of prayer, the rule of Cluny
emphasized the importance of silence, a discipline to which the monks
willingly submitted themselves, convinced that the purity of the
virtues, to which they aspired, required profound and constant
recollection. It is no wonder that very soon, fame for holiness was
attributed to the monastery of Cluny, and that many other monastic
communities decided to follow its practices. Many princes and popes
requested the abbots of Cluny to spread their reform, to the point that
in a short time a multitudinous network of monasteries were linked to
Cluny, wither with true and proper juridical links or a sort of
charismatic affiliation. Thus a Europe of the spirit was being
delineated in the different regions of France, Italy, Spain, Germany and
Hungary.
The success of Cluny was assured first of all by the lofty spirituality
cultivated there, but also by some other conditions that favored its
development. As opposed to what had happened up to then, the monastery
of Cluny and the communities depending on it were exempted from the
jurisdiction of the local bishops and placed directly under that of the
Roman Pontiff. This entailed a special bond with the See of Peter and,
thanks precisely to the protection and encouragement of pontiffs, the
ideals of purity and fidelity, which the Cluniac reform intended to
follow, were able to spread rapidly. Moreover, the abbots were elected
without any intervention by the civil authorities, very different to
what was the case in other places. Truly worthy persons succeeded one
another in the guidance of Cluny and of the numerous dependent monastic
communities: Abbot Odilon of Cluny, of whom I spoke in a catechesis two
months ago, and other great personalities, such as Emard, Maiolo, Odilon
and above all Hugh the Great, who carried out their service for long
periods, ensured stability to the reform undertaken and to its
diffusion. Venerated as saints, in addition to Oddon, are Maiolo, Odilon
and Hugh.
The Cluniac reform had positive effects not only on the purification and
reawakening of monastic life, but also on the life of the universal
Church. In fact, the aspiration to evangelical perfection represented a
stimulus to combat two grave evils that afflicted the Church in that
period: simony, that is the acquisition of compensated pastoral offices,
and the immorality of the secular clergy. The abbots of Cluny with their
spiritual authoritativeness, the Cluniac monks who became bishops, some
of them even popes, were protagonists of such an imposing action of
spiritual renewal. And the fruits were not lacking: The celibacy of
priests became esteemed and lived, and more transparent procedures were
introduced in the assumption of ecclesiastical offices.
Significant also were the benefits contributed to society by monasteries
inspired by the Cluniac reform. At a time in which only ecclesiastical
institutions provided for the indigent, charity was practiced with
determination. In all houses, the almoner had to receive passers-by and
needy pilgrims, traveling priests and religious, and above all the poor
who came to ask for food and roof for a day. Not less important were two
other institutions, typical of Medieval civilization, which were
promoted by Cluny: the so-called truce of God and the peace of God. At a
time strongly marked by violence and the spirit of revenge, assured with
the "truce of God" were long periods of non-belligerence, on the
occasion of important religious feasts and of some days of the week.
Requested with "the peace of God," under the pain of a canonical
censure, was respect for defenseless people and sacred places.
Thus enhanced in the conscience of the people of Europe was that process
of long gestation, which led to the recognition, in an ever clearer way,
of two essential elements for the construction of society, that is, the
value of the human person and the primary good of peace. Moreover, as
happened with other monastic foundations, the Cluniac monasteries had
ample properties that, put diligently to good use, contributed to the
development of the economy. Next to manual labor, there was no lack of
some typical cultural activities of Medieval monasticism, such as
schools for children, the setting up of libraries and the scriptoria for
the transcription of books.
In this way, a thousand years ago, when the process of the formation of
European identity was at its height, the Cluniac experience spread over
vast regions of the European Continent, and made its important and
precious contribution. It recalled the primacy of the goods of the
spirit; from this it drew the tension toward the things of God; it
inspired and favored initiatives and institutions for the promotion of
human values; it educated in a spirit of peace.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us pray so that all those who have at
heart a genuine humanism and the future of Europe will be able to
rediscover, appreciate and defend the rich cultural and religious
patrimony of these centuries.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[The Holy Father then greeted the people in several languages. In
English, he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our catechesis on the Christian culture of the Middle Ages, we now
turn to the monastic reform linked to the great monastery of Cluny.
Founded eleven hundred years ago, Cluny restored the strict observance
of the Rule of Saint Benedict and made the Church’s liturgy the centre
of its life. It stressed the solemn celebration of the Liturgy of the
Hours and Holy Mass, and enriched the worship of God with splendid art,
architecture and music. The monastic liturgy, seen as a foretaste of the
heavenly liturgy, was accompanied by a daily regime marked by silence
and intercessory prayer. Cluny’s reputation for sanctity and learning
caused its influence to spread to monasteries throughout Europe. Exempt
from interference by feudal authorities, the monastery freely elected
its abbots and flourished under a series of outstanding spiritual
leaders like Saints Odo and Hugh. Cluny also contributed to the reform
of the universal Church by its concern for holiness, the restoration of
clerical celibacy and the elimination of simony. At a formative time of
Europe’s history, Cluny helped to forge the Continent’s Christian
identity by its emphasis on the primacy of the spirit, respect for human
dignity, commitment to peace and an authentic and integral humanism.
I cordially welcome the English-speaking visitors in attendance at
today’s Audience. I particularly greet pilgrims from the Diocese of Fort
Worth, students and staff from the Franciscan University of
Steubenville, Diocesan Directors of Communications from England and
Wales, as well as priests from Japan. Upon all of you I invoke God’s
blessings of joy and peace!
©Copyright 2009 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[The Holy Father afterward said in Italian:]
I would now like to greet the young people, the sick and the newlyweds.
Dear young people, especially you beloved students of the St. Therese of
the Child Jesus School of Santa Marinella, consider the example of St.
Martin whose feast we celebrate today, as a model of generous
evangelical witness. You, beloved sick people, trust in the Lord, that
he will not abandon you in in this time of difficulty. And you, beloved
newlyweds, animated by the faith that distinguished St. Martin, always
respect and serve life, which is a gift from God.
[Translation by ZENIT]
Look
at the One they Pierced!
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