I have given them the glory which you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, that they may be brought to perfection as one. The Church honors today the memory of St. Bernard, a Cistercian abbot of Clairvaux who was a reformer, legendary speaker, and spiritual author. St. Bernard fought for the peace and unity of the Church, a cause for which he zealously preached against the Albigensians. He wrote many treatises on the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus, as well as many works of theology and Asceticism. His life manifested a profound recognition of the importance of obedience in one’s spiritual life. He is known as the Musical Doctor and is the patron saint of Gibraltar.
The Gospel reading for today is part of the prayer of Jesus (cf. John 17) wherein Jesus prays for, among other things, the unity of his disciples. Jesus was aware of the biggest test to which the disciples were yet to be subjected: staying the course. The cause for which he had gathered the disciples around himself was fraught with many challenges both from within and from without. In a world full of voices, some of which were against their project, only by listening to the voice of their master and sticking together would the disciples be assured of succeeding. Moreover, in the absence of their master who would be removed from their midst in a violent manner, only by reading from the same script would the disciples deflect the arrows of their enemies. In the times of St. Bernard, these arrows came in the form of heretical voices that threatened the unity of the Church. It must have been by calling to mind the unity prayer of Jesus that St. Bernard was inspired to stand strong and preach against such voices whose aim is to plant division amongst people. As a leader (abbot) of his community and a leader in the Church, St. Bernard must have wanted only one thing for the people: leading them closer to Jesus so that they can have eternal life. This is the very goal to which the prayer of Jesus was directed.