The influence of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux on our spirituality
At Mother of the Redeemer Monastery, the rhythm of monastic life is shaped by prayer, work, silence, and the wisdom of the Benedictine tradition. As an Olivetan Benedictine community in Plaisance, Louisiana, the monks seek to receive the riches of the Church’s spiritual heritage while living them faithfully in the present day.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux belongs to that heritage in a distinctive way. He was a twelfth-century Cistercian abbot, theologian, preacher, and guide to contemplative souls. Although his community followed a reform within the Benedictine family rather than the Olivetan observance itself, his teaching continues to illuminate the inner meaning of monastic conversion.
His influence can be seen in the value placed on humility, recollection, love of Christ, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and a heart attentive to God. These themes help explain why the writings of Saint Bernard remain relevant to a monastery devoted to prayer and hospitality.
A voice within the Benedictine heritage
Saint Bernard did not create a separate spirituality detached from the Rule of Saint Benedict. Instead, he sought a more fervent observance of its central call: to seek God, to listen with the ear of the heart, and to allow the whole of life to be ordered toward divine love. His preaching gave vivid expression to the spiritual principles already present in Benedictine monasticism.
For Bernard, monastic discipline was never an end in itself. Silence, obedience, fasting, community life, and stability were means by which a person could become more available to grace. This perspective is especially meaningful for an Olivetan monastery, where daily practices are intended to lead the monk beyond external routine into interior freedom.
His approach also reminds the community that tradition is living. The monks do not imitate every historical detail of Clairvaux, but they receive a spiritual inheritance that can deepen their fidelity to the Gospel and to the Benedictine vocation.
The search for God through humility
Humility stands near the center of Saint Bernard’s teaching. He understood it as truthful self-knowledge before God: recognizing human weakness without despair and acknowledging every gift as received. Such humility creates room for conversion because it releases the soul from the need to appear self-sufficient.
This vision harmonizes closely with Saint Benedict’s teaching on the degrees of humility. In a monastery, humility is practiced through ordinary acts: accepting correction, listening to another monk, carrying out an uncelebrated task, or remaining faithful when prayer feels dry. Bernard’s influence encourages monks to see these moments as places where Christ forms the heart.
Humility also shapes the way a monastery welcomes others. A community that knows it lives by mercy can offer hospitality without pretension. Visitors, retreatants, oblates, and benefactors are received as fellow pilgrims, not as interruptions to monastic life. The monastery’s prayer becomes more credible when it is joined to a gentle and teachable spirit.
Love as the goal of contemplative prayer
Saint Bernard’s writings often return to the movement from fear toward love. He taught that the spiritual life matures as a person learns to seek God not merely because of duty or reward, but because God is worthy of love. This does not lessen discipline; it gives discipline its deepest purpose.
For Bernard, contemplation is a loving attentiveness to Christ. It is not an escape from responsibility or a private search for spiritual impressions. It is a gradual transformation of desire, in which the heart becomes more patient, peaceful, and capable of self-giving. The liturgy, lectio divina, Eucharistic adoration, and personal prayer all participate in this transformation.
A prayer-centered community gives this teaching a visible form. The hours of the Divine Office gather the monks around Scripture and praise, while silence protects the interior response that follows. Through repeated prayer, the words of the Psalms move from the page into the heart, where they can shape the monk’s relationship with God and neighbor.
Mary, the Word, and the monastic heart
Saint Bernard is especially remembered for his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His Marian sermons present Mary as the humble servant who receives the Word of God with faith and offers her entire life to His purpose. This devotion is deeply compatible with a monastery placed under the patronage of the Mother of the Redeemer.
Bernard’s Marian spirituality is Christ-centered. He does not treat Mary as a substitute for Christ, but as the clearest human example of receptivity to Him. Her humility, obedience, and spiritual motherhood show the soul how to welcome grace and remain faithful through uncertainty.
The title Mother of the Redeemer points toward this mystery. Mary’s vocation is inseparable from the saving mission of her Son, and a community devoted to her protection seeks to imitate her attentive surrender. Her presence encourages the monks to become listeners before they become teachers, servants before they seek recognition, and witnesses whose lives direct others toward Christ.
| Spiritual theme | Teaching associated with Saint Bernard | Expression in monastic life |
|---|---|---|
| Humility | Truthful self-knowledge before God | Obedience, correction, and hidden service |
| Contemplative love | Seeking God with an undivided heart | Liturgy, silence, and lectio divina |
| Marian devotion | Receiving Christ with faith and openness | Entrusting the community to Mary |
| Conversion | Allowing grace to reshape desire | Stability and daily renewal |
| Hospitality | Meeting others with mercy | Welcoming visitors, retreatants, and oblates |
Conversion through stability and perseverance
Saint Bernard wrote during a period of reform, and his life demonstrates that renewal begins with a return to essential things. For a monk, conversion is not limited to a dramatic beginning. It is renewed each day through stability, repentance, and perseverance in a particular community.
This steady fidelity matters because spiritual growth is usually gradual. A monk may pray the same Psalms for years, perform familiar work, and encounter the same weaknesses repeatedly. Bernard’s teaching helps interpret this repetition as an opportunity for love. The ordinary day becomes the setting in which self-will is surrendered and the heart is trained to remain with God.
The monastery’s witness also depends on this perseverance. Visitors may experience only a brief period of silence or prayer, but that welcome rests upon a community committed to the long work of conversion. Those discerning a vocation can explore this way of life through the monastery’s vocations information, where the call to prayer, community, and service is presented with care.
A spirituality open to the world
Saint Bernard was a contemplative monk, yet he was also deeply engaged with the needs of the Church. He preached, advised popes and rulers, addressed theological controversies, and urged Christians toward faithful action. His example prevents monastic withdrawal from being confused with indifference.
The monastery’s hidden life has an apostolic dimension because prayer is offered for the Church, for families, for the suffering, and for the conversion of the world. A community does not need constant public activity to bear fruit. Its primary service is to remain rooted in God and to make space for others to encounter stillness, truth, and mercy.
This outward-looking spirituality also gives meaning to the work of benefactors. Material support helps sustain the daily life of the community and contributes to projects such as chapel expansion. A gift made in remembrance of someone can become an act of prayerful charity; those considering this form of support can learn about memorial donations.
Living Bernard’s wisdom today
Saint Bernard’s influence is not limited to quotations from medieval sermons. His spiritual legacy becomes fruitful when it shapes concrete choices and attitudes. Whether a person is a monk, oblate, retreatant, visitor, or friend of the monastery, the same principles can guide a deeper Christian life.
- Make regular time for silent prayer, allowing attention to return patiently to God.
- Practice humility by receiving correction, acknowledging dependence, and serving without recognition.
- Read Scripture slowly, especially the Psalms and Gospel passages, with a willingness to respond.
- Entrust daily concerns to the Blessed Virgin Mary while keeping Christ at the center of prayer.
- Support communities of prayer through presence, vocation discernment, practical service, or generous giving.
These practices are simple, but they require perseverance. Bernard would likely insist that spiritual maturity grows through faithful repetition rather than constant novelty. A person learns to love God by returning to Him, again and again, with honesty and trust.
A quiet invitation to seek God
The influence of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux continues wherever Christians are learning that prayer is a school of love. His teaching strengthens the Benedictine search for God by emphasizing humility, interior silence, Marian receptivity, and perseverance in community. These virtues belong to no single century; they remain pathways for anyone who desires a more faithful life.
Mother of the Redeemer Monastery offers a place where this search can be encountered through the liturgy, monastic prayer, hospitality, and quiet reflection. Those who feel drawn to a religious vocation, those seeking a retreat, and those wishing to strengthen the monastery’s witness can take a meaningful step by visiting the appropriate resources and joining the community in its work of prayer.