Robert of Molesme, Holy Card dated 1757
Saint Robert de Molesmes
Abbé, fondateur de
Cîteaux (+ 1110)
Ce jeune bourguignon
entra très jeune chez les bénédictins de Moutier-la-Celle dans l'Aube. A peine
son noviciat terminé, il fut nommé prieur. Les bénédictins de Tonnerre ayant
voulu l'avoir comme Père Abbé, il accepta, mais les ayant trouvés très relâchés
et surtout peu réformables, il prit congé d'eux et revint à Moutier. Quelques
ermites l'invitèrent à se mettre à leur tête et il partit avec eux dans la
forêt de Molesmes en Côte d'Or dans des petites huttes de branchages autour
d'une petite chapelle. Les recrues et les dons affluèrent, les huttes
disparurent, un monastère se construisit et les ermites devinrent plus soucieux
de leur confort que de l'ascèse. Saint Robert les quitta, mais les dons
cessèrent en même temps. Ils le supplièrent de revenir et il revint. La
ferveur, elle ne revint pas. Alors avec une vingtaine de moines plus décidés,
dont saint
Albéric et saint
Étienne Harding, il se fixa à Cîteaux pour y établir la vie monastique
qu'il rêvait. Ainsi naquit l'Ordre cistercien en 1098, mais le pape lui intima
l'ordre de reprendre la tête de son monastère. Il obéit, et eut la consolation
de voir ses moines revenus à de meilleures dispositions. Il mourut ainsi en
paix.
Voir aussi: Saint
Robert de Molesmes - diocèse de Sens-Auxerre
Saint Robert est
commémoré le 21 mars au martyrologe romain (date de sa naissance au ciel en
1110).
L'ordre de Cîteaux nous
communique: les 3 Fondateurs ne sont objet d'une solennité commune que depuis
peu, le 26 janvier:
Saint Robert, saint
Albéric et saint Étienne, abbés de Cîteaux, solennité dans l'OCSO (l'Ordre
Cistercien de la Stricte Observance) source: rituel
cistercien
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1065/Saint-Robert-de-Molesmes.html
La sainte obéissance de
Robert de Molesmes, fondateur de Cîteaux
Anne Bernet - publié
le 20/03/23
Il ne savait guère
commander, mais il était un modèle d’obéissance. Et c’est à force d’obéissance
que Robert de Molesmes, appelé sans cesse par les autorités à gouverner ses
fondations successives, devînt le fondateur de l’ordre cistercien. L’Église le
fête le 21 mars, date de la fondation de Cîteaux en 1098.
Le diable, c’est bien
connu, à force de se croire malin, se prend parfois à ses propres ruses. Cela
lui est arrivé, au XIe siècle, quand, en voulant pousser au crime deux
chevaliers, il a donné involontairement naissance à l’Ordre cistercien. Nous sommes
en Bourgogne, dans la forêt de Colan entre Tonnerre et Chablis, vers 1040.
Deux seigneurs normands,
frères, se rendent à la cour du duc Eudes participer à un tournoi. Et voilà
qu’en cheminant à travers bois, à la même seconde, la même pensée leur traverse
l’esprit : “Tu n’as qu’à tuer ton frère… Personne ne te verra en cette forêt
profonde où tu te débarrasseras sans peine du cadavre que nul, jamais, ne
retrouvera… Qui songera à te soupçonner ? Tu n’auras plus à partager avec lui
l’héritage de votre père, qui n’est pas gros…” La tentation est si violente qu’elle
ne peut être que satanique et les deux chevaliers, bons chrétiens, s’empressent
de la conjurer à grand renfort de patenôtres, de sorte qu’ils émergent du bois
vivants tous deux, pétrifiés de honte d’avoir songé au fratricide et se
gardent, évidemment, de s’avouer la pensée qui leur est passée par l’esprit.
Chez l’ermite de Colan
Au retour, nos Normands
reprennent la même route et, au même endroit qu’à l’aller, l’épouvantable
suggestion revient, plus forte, irrésistible presque et il leur faut un incroyable
effort de volonté pour ne pas s’entretuer. Ils s’aperçoivent alors que, dans
les fourrés, un ermite a bâti sa hutte ; cet ermite est prêtre, apte à
confesser.
Les chevaliers se
précipitent à ses pieds, lui révèlent d’une seule voix le crime qu’ils ont
failli commettre. Ils se regardent, stupéfaits, comprennent qu’ils ont échappé
à une diablerie des plus infernales, et, d’un commun accord, renoncent à cet
héritage qui a failli les pousser au pire ; désormais, ils partageront la vie
de l’ermite.
D’autres hommes se
joignent à eux et une petite communauté se crée. Quelques années après, ils
sont sept, désireux de suivre la règle de saint Benoît et en quête d’un abbé
pour les diriger. Un monastère bénédictin, il en existe un dans le voisinage,
Saint-Michel de Tonnerre. Les ermites vont y frapper, et trouvent bon accueil
auprès de l’abbé.
Celui-ci, né en 1017 à
Troyes dans une puissante famille de la noblesse champenoise, se prénomme
Robert. Voué à Dieu dès le sein de sa mère, qui a rêvé que Notre-Dame réclamait
pour Elle l’enfant à naître, il est entré à quinze ans au noviciat du monastère
bénédictin de Montier-la-Celle dont, avant d’avoir vingt ans, il a été élu
prieur. Puis, il a été envoyé à Tonnerre, dans l’espoir que, par son exemple,
sa ferveur, sa piété, ses jeûnes et ses mortifications, le nouvel abbé
parviendra à réformer une communauté attiédie…
Il n’en a rien été.
Robert est doux, accommodant, incapable de hausser le ton et de commander et
ses moines, tout en reconnaissant sa très grande vertu, n’ont aucune envie de
l’imiter et de revenir à la stricte observance bénédictine… C’est donc en vain
qu’il a, par obéissance, renoncé à sa vie d’étude, de prière et de
contemplation.
Dans ces conditions, la
perspective d’échanger sa piètre communauté contre la jeune et dévote fondation
lui convient ; hélas, elle ne sied pas à ses moines ! Si Robert s’en va, on
leur enverra un abbé moins facile. Pas question de le lâcher ! Et Robert qui
n’aime pas les querelles, reste à Tonnerre, avant d’être réexpédié à son premier
monastère, puis nommé abbé du monastère de Provins. Que cela lui convienne ou
pas, il obéit, laissant à Dieu le soin de le conduire où bon lui semble.
Accablé par la richesse
Pendant ce temps, la
communauté de Colan a écrit au pape Alexandre II et réclamé Robert comme
supérieur. Le pape le leur donne. Robert obéit. Cette fois, il est heureux. Ses
frères de Colan aspirent à la perfection et sont de bons moines. La communauté
s’agrandissant, il faut trouver un emplacement mieux approprié.
Ce sera Molesmes, sur le
versant d’une colline dans les bois que les moines défricheront. En 1075, le
monastère est reconnu par l’Église et l’existence que l’on y mène, toute de
prière et de pénitence, est admirable. L’évêque de Troyes, venu le visiter, se
retire édifié, mais inconscient de son extrême pauvreté.
Quelques mois plus tard,
les récoltes ayant été mauvaises, le pain manque au réfectoire. Robert,
abandonné à la Providence, envoie le cellérier en ville se procurer de la
nourriture mais sans lui donner de quoi la payer : il n’a pas de quoi. Au
pauvre économe affolé d’une pareille mission, il rétorque en citant les saintes
Écritures : “Que celui qui n’a pas d’argent s’empresse d’acheter !”
L’arrivée de ces
religieux misérables jette l’émoi, on prévient l’évêque, qui reconnaît les
saints hommes de Molesmes et s’empresse de leur fournir plusieurs chariots de
vivres. Or, cette aubaine va se retourner contre le monastère. Devenu un
endroit à la mode où il faut se rendre et qu’il faut aider, Molesmes, accablé
par les généreux donateurs, devient riche, et une partie de la communauté,
grisée, oublie ses vertus premières pour céder aux charmes d’une vie facile.
La fondation de Cîteaux
Désolé, conscient que sa
faiblesse de caractère et sa douceur sont causes de tout, Robert dépose
l’abbatiat et, en compagnie de quelques frères, dont les futurs saints Étienne
Harding et Albéric, s’en va vivre ailleurs, dans l’observance d’autrefois. Lui
parti, les donateurs découvrent que la communauté qu’ils portaient aux nues
s’écroule, et cessent de donner.
Ce retour de bâton incite
les moines à rappeler Robert, qui, charitable, revient, et les autres avec lui.
Molesmes retrouve un peu de son lustre mais la fracture qui a conduit à la
scission existe toujours et s’aggrave. Étienne et Albéric décident de repartir
fonder ailleurs une autre communauté ; ils en demandent la permission à Robert
qui décide de les suivre. Au printemps 1097, l’abbé octogénaire, avec la
bénédiction de l’évêque de Lyon, quitte, définitivement, pense-t-il, sa
fondation décevante.
Lire aussi :Ce couple ressuscite patiemment une abbaye cistercienne
Les moines décidés à
respecter la stricte obédience se retirent près de Châlons-sur-Saône, dans une
région boisée et marécageuse où rien ne pousse, sitôt des roseaux, appelés,
dans la région, des “cîteaux”. Le jour des Rameaux 1098, la nouvelle abbatiale
peut être consacrée. Robert est abbé, Étienne sous-prieur, Albéric prieur. Tout
est pour le mieux ! Sauf qu’à Molesmes, rien ne va sans Robert… Les moines en
appellent au pape pour qu’il leur renvoie leur abbé ; le pape ordonne à Robert
de regagner son ancienne abbaye et, comme d’habitude, il obéit, s’arrachant à
sa chère maison de Cîteaux…
La gloire de l’ordre
cistercien
Pourtant, quelque chose a
changé. À Molesmes, les frères font des efforts et le très vieux Robert a enfin
appris l’autorité. Un jour, deux mendiants frappent à la porte du monastère,
réclament un peu de pain. À en croire le cellérier, du pain, hélas, il n’y en a
pas. “Que comptiez-vous nous servir à midi ?”, s’enquiert l’abbé. “Je ne sais
pas encore”, rétorque l’autre. Sauf qu’à l’heure du déjeuner, le pain est là,
en abondance, sur la table.
Indigné, Robert ramasse
les miches et va les jeter dans la rivière, contraignant sa communauté peu
aumônière à un jeûne fort rude car toutes les réserves de la maison y sont
passées ! Une fois de plus, la Providence y pourvoira et un riche seigneur des
environs viendra remplir les greniers vides.
Robert de Molesmes rend
l’âme le 21 mars 1110, à 93 ans. À l’instant de sa mort, un phénomène
impossible se produit : bien qu’il fasse nuit, deux arcs-en-ciel apparaissent,
à l’Orient et à l’Occident ; entre eux, une immense croix lumineuse entourée
d’innombrables cercles aux couleurs chatoyantes, symbole de la sainteté de
Robert et de la gloire qui attend l’Ordre cistercien, si riche en saints que
ses supérieurs, à trois cents ans de là, décideront de ne plus ouvrir aucune
cause de canonisation, de crainte de démonétiser la sainteté… Joli résultat
d’une tentation diabolique !
Lire aussi :Robert d’Arbrissel, le bienheureux qui consacra l’autorité des
femmes
Lire aussi :Pamphile, premier gardien de la mémoire du christianisme
SOURCE : https://fr.aleteia.org/2023/03/20/la-sainte-obeissance-de-robert-de-molesmes-fondateur-de-citeaux/
Kirche
Mariä Himmelfahrt der Zisterzienserinnen-Abtei Oberschönenfeld in Gessertshausen im
Landkreis Augsburg (Bayern), Skulptur des hl. Robert von Molesme mit Bauplan am
vorderen linken Seitenaltar, dem Bildhauer Ignaz Wilhelm Verhelst zugewiesen,
um 1770
Saint Robert de Molesmes
Robert de Molesme naquit
à proximité de Troyes, en Champagne vers l'an 1028. Il se fit bénédictin à
l'abbaye de Moutier-la-Celle à l'âge de quinze ans. Cette abbaye avait été
fondée par Luxeuil vers l'an 660. Nommé prieur quelque dix ans plus tard, il
fut élu ensuite abbé de Saint-Michel à Tonnerre vers 1070. Les moines avaient
le désir de se réformer, mais ils y renoncèrent, et Robert retourna à Moutier
la Celle.
Il eut des contacts avec
un groupe d’ermites vivant dans la forêt de Colan, et ceux-ci souhaitaient voir
Robert à leur tête. Alors que Robert venait d’être nommé supérieur de Saint
Ayoul de Provins, les ermites en appelèrent au Pape Grégoire VII, qui enjoignit
en 1074 à Robert d’aller à Colan. En 1075, il déplaça sa petite communauté à
Molesme. La fondation de Robert eut un tel succès, après quelques années
difficiles, que Molesme devint bientôt un « petit Cluny ».
En 1098 il y avait 35
prieurés dépendants de Molesme, ainsi que d’autres annexes et quelques prieurés
de moniales. C’est à cause de cette réputation que vers 1082 Bruno de Cologne
vint demander conseil à Robert et qu’il reçut de lui l’habit monastique, avant
d’aller fonder la Grande Chartreuse. Cette réussite obligea Robert à jouer un
rôle dans le monde de la féodalité. Les bienfaiteurs donnaient leurs enfants à
éduquer, venaient faire des réunions de nobles au monastère, et la quantité de
terres reçues demandait un grand nombre d’employés. La complexité de cette vie
conduisit Robert à prendre un temps sabbatique. C’est ainsi que nous le
retrouvons à Aulps, au diocèse de Genève…
Pendant ce temps
sabbatique, les moines se lamentaient de l’absence de leur supérieur. Ils
allèrent jusqu’à demander au Pape Urbain II d’intervenir, arguant de la ruine à
la fois morale et financière de leur communauté. Bien que la paix soit revenue
à Molesme avec le retour de Robert, il y avait toujours en communauté un groupe
de religieux aspirant à un style de vie plus simple. On peut penser qu’il
s’agit plutôt d’une divergence d’idéals et non pas de moines exigeants et de
moines laxistes. Mais le résultat pour la communauté était source de
disharmonie, querelles et discorde.
Ne trouvant pas de
modérateur auprès de l’évêque local, les « réformateurs » allèrent trouver
Hugues de Die, réformiste, archevêque de Lyon et légat du Pape Urbain II.
Hugues proposa de diviser la communauté entre Molesme d’une part, et le «
Nouveau Monastère » d’autre part. Robert fut installé comme abbé de Cîteaux par
l’évêque Gauthier de Chalon, et les moines changèrent leur stabilité.
La situation des moines
de Molesme allant se dégradant, ils cherchèrent encore une fois à faire revenir
Robert. Ce dernier ne resta donc supérieur du « Nouveau Monastère » que pendant
un peu plus d’un an. L’abbaye de Molesme continua à croître sous son
gouvernement, jusqu’à sa mort, survenue le 17 avril 1111, à l’âge de 83 ans.
Source : site
des abbayes cisterciennes
SOURCE : http://www.abbayes.fr/histoire/cisterciens/robert.htm
ROBERT DE
MOLESMES saint (1029 env.-env. 1111)
Né dans une famille de
Champagne, Robert, à quinze ans, devint moine à Moutier-la-Celle, près de
Troyes ; à vingt ans, il en était prieur. Vers 1068, il fut élu abbé de
Saint-Michel de Tonnerre. Il ne s'y plut pas et revint dans son monastère,
d'où, en 1073, on l'envoya gouverner le prieuré de Saint-Ayoul de Provins. À
Tonnerre, Robert avait rencontré les ermites de la forêt voisine de
Collan ; ils l'invitèrent à partager leur vie pauvre et retirée. Robert
accepta. Dès 1075, il entreprenait avec eux la fondation d'un nouveau monastère
à Molesmes. Le succès fut immédiat et si grand que Robert se trouva placé à la
tête d'un ordre monastique alors qu'il rêvait d'une vie pauvre et simple. En
1082, il accueillit l'écolâtre de Reims, maître Bruno, à Sèche-Fontaine, une
dépendance de Molesmes. Celui-ci en partit au bout d'un an pour aller se
retirer en Chartreuse. Par deux fois, Robert quitta Molesmes pour de nouveaux
essais ; il réussit le troisième en 1098 : avec une vingtaine de
moines animés du même idéal que lui, il alla fonder un nouveau monastère au sud
de Dijon, dans les marais de Cîteaux. Mais, dès l'année suivante, sur la
plainte des moines de Molesmes, Robert reçut du légat du pape l'ordre de
rentrer dans son abbaye. Il
obéit. Admirable par sa sainteté, rendu instable par son désir de trouver une
formule monastique nouvelle, Robert, qui avait donné à des moines la
possibilité de créer à Cîteaux un nouvel ordre, mourut dans une florissante
abbaye de type ancien, à Molesmes. Les Cisterciens ont
longtemps célébré la fête de saint Robert le 29 avril. Chez tous les
moines bénédictins et cisterciens, Robert de Molesmes est maintenant vénéré
avec les autres fondateurs de Cîteaux, Albéric et Étienne
Harding, en une fête fixée au 26 janvier.
DUBOIS, « ROBERT DE MOLESMES saint (1029 env.-env. 1111) », Encyclopædia Universalis [en ligne], consulté le 29 avril 2017.
URL : http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/robert-de-molesmes/
SOURCE : http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/robert-de-molesmes/
Troyes
(Aube, France), église de la Madeleine, statue en bois du XVe siècle
représentant Robert de Molesme.
Also
known as
Robert of Cîteaux
29 April on
some calendars
26
January (Founders of the Cistercians)
Profile
Born to the French nobility. Benedictine monk in 1044. Prior of
Moutiers-la-Celle Abbey. Abbot of
Saint-Michel-de-Tonnerre, but considered it to have lax standards. Prior of
Saint-Ayeul Abbey.
In 1075,
in an attempt to return to a simpler form of Benedictine life
requested by a group of hermits from
the forests around Colan, France,
he helped found the monastery at
Molesme, Burgundy.
The group, especially Robert, gained a reputation for piety, which led to
bequests of cash, which led to an increase in size of the monastery,
which led to internal difficulties, and suddenly there were many brothers that
objected to the severe life practised by the founders. Robert twice left to
live on his own, but was ordered back to his position by the pope.
In early 1098 Robert, Saint Stephen
Harding, Saint Alberic
of Citeaux and 18 other monks left
Molesme, and on 21 March they
founded the monastery of
Cîteaux near Dijon, France,
with the goal of living strictly by the Benedictine
Rule, strict vows of poverty,
and frequent retreats; Robert served as the first abbot.
However, with conditions deteriorating at the Molesme house he
was re-assigned as abbot there
in 1100 with
a mandate to reform; he lived and worked there the rest of his life.
Traditionally considered one of the founders of the Cistercians,
the reform that developed at Citeaux.
Born
1027 near
Troyes, Champagne (in modern France)
21 March 1110 of
natural causes
1222 by Pope Honorius
III
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Roman
Martyrology, 1914 edition
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
other
sites in english
images
webseiten
auf deutsch
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
nettsteder
i norsk
spletne
strani v slovenšcini
MLA
Citation
“Saint Robert of
Molesme“. CatholicSaints.Info. 16 April 2024. Web. 30 April 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-robert-of-molesme/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-robert-of-molesme/
Abbaye
de Cîteaux, Saint Robert de Molesme, fondateur de l'
St. Robert of Molesmes
Feastday: April 29
Birth: 1029
Death: 1111
Benedictine abbot and
reformer and the founder of the abbey of
Citeaux, France, which became the motherhouse of the great monastic order of
the Cistercians. A native of Troyes, he was born to noble parents in
Champagne. At the age of fifteen, he entered the Benedictine Abbey of
Moutier la Celle, near Troyes, where he became prior and abbot of
Saint Michael de Tonnere in 1068. He attempted to introduce extensive reforms
to the community but met with such resistance that he retired in 1071 and
returned to Moutier la Celle. Soon after, a group of hermits in
the forest of Collan petitioned Robert to become their head. At first he
declined, but the monks persevered and, after winning papal approval for their
community, they convinced Robert to accept. In 1074, Robert moved the hermits into
the monastery he established at Molesmes. Within a few years, Molesmes grew in
size and wealth, and with the prosperity came laxity of discipline. Robert
tried without success to resist, and so resigned, going to the hermitage at Or.
Though recalled, he remained only until 1098 when he stepped down once more in
the face of obdurate resistance by the monks to reinstate full monastic rigor.
After winning permission, Robert left with twenty one monks and founded a new
community at Citeaux on March 21, 1098. Called by Robert the Novum Monasterium,
Citeaux was established with the invaluable aid of Eudes II, duke of Burgundy,
and soon acquired much fame for the depth of its spirituality. Much chastened,
the monks of Molesmes petitioned to have Robert returned to them. As its abbot once
more, Robert turned Molesmes into a leading center for reform, while Citeaux
became the heart of the Cistercian order. Robert died as abbot of
Molesmes; this was soon extended to the Universal Church.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4617
Hölzerne
Statue des Hl. Robert von Molesme (1027 - 1111) in der
Klosterkirche St. Marien Burlo, Stadt Borken (NRW). Die
Entstehung der Figur wird auf das Ende des 17. / Anfang des 18. Jahrhunderts
datiert.
St. Robert of Molesme
Born about the year 1029,
at Champagne, France,
of noble parents who
bore the names of Thierry and Ermengarde; d. at Molesme,
17 April, 1111. When fifteen years of age, he commenced his novitiate in
the Abbey of Montier-la-Celle, or St. Pierre-la-Celle, situated near Troyes,
of which he became later prior. In 1068 he succeeded Hunaut II as Abbot of
St. Michael de Tonnerre, in the Diocese
of Langres. About this time a band of seven anchorites who
lived in the forest of Collan, in the same diocese, sought to have Robert for
their chief, but the monks,
despite their constant resistance to his authority, insisted on keeping
their abbot who
enjoyed so great a reputation, and was the ornament of their house. Their
intrigues determined Robert to resign his charge in 1071, and seek refuge in
the monastery of
Montier-la-Celle. The same year he was placed over the priory of
St. Ayoul de Provins, which depended on Montier-la-Celle. Meantime two of
the hermits of
Collan went to Rome and
besought Gregory
VII to give them the prior of
Provins for their superior. The pope granted
their request, and in 1074 Robert initiated the hermits of
Collan in the monastic life. As the location at Collan was found unsuitable,
Robert founded a monastery at Molesme in
the valley of Langres at
the close of 1075. To Molesme as a guest came the distinguished canon and
doctor (écolâtre) of Reims,
Bruno, who, in 1082, placed himself under the direction of Robert, before
founding the celebrated order of the Chartreux. At this time the primitive
discipline was still in its full vigour, and the religious lived by the labour
of their hands. Soon, however, the monastery became
wealthy through a number of donations, and with wealth, despite the vigilance
of the abbot,
came laxity of discipline. Robert endeavoured to restore the primitive
strictness, but the monks showed
so much resistance that he abdicated, and left the care of his community to his
prior, Alberic, who retired in 1093. In the following year he returned with
Robert to Molesme. On 29 Nov., 1095, Urban
II confirmed the institute of Molesme. In 1098 Robert, still unable to
reform his rebellious monks,
obtained from Hugues, Archbishop of Lyons and
Legate of the Holy
See, authority to found a new order on new lines. Twenty-one religious left
Molesme and set out joyfully for a desert called Cîteaux in
the Diocese of Châlons,
and the Abbey of Cîteaux was
founded 21 March, 1098.
Left to themselves,
the monks of
Molesme appealed to the pope,
and Robert was restored to Molesme, which thereafter became an ardent centre of
monastic life. Robert died 17 April, 1111, and was buried with great pomp in
the church of the abbey.
Pope Honorius
III by Letters Apostolic in 1222 authorized his veneration in the
church of Molesme, and soon after the veneration of St. Robert was extended to
the whole Church by a pontifical Decree.
The feast was fixed at first on 17 April, but later it was transferred to 29
April. The Abbey of Molesme existed up to the French
Revolution. The remains of the holy founder are preserved in the parish church.
Sources
Vita S. Roberti, Abbatis
Molismensis, auctore monacho molismensi sub Adone, abb. saec. XII; Exordium
Cisterciensis Cenobii; CUIGNARD, Les monuments primitifs de la Règle
Cistercienne (Dijon, 1878); WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY, Bk. I, De rebus
gestis Anglorum, P.L., CLXXIX; LAURENT, Cart. de Molesme, Bk. I (Paris,
1907).
Gildas,
Marie. "St. Robert of Molesme." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 29 Apr.
2017 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13097d.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Herman F. Holbrook. For the
Cistercians of Our Lady of Spring Bank, Wisconsin, on the 9th Centenary.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13097d.htm
Robert of Molesme, OSB
Cist. Abbot (RM)
Born near Troyes,
Champagne, France, in 1018; died on March 21, 1110; canonized in 1222. Born of
noble parents, Robert was one of the founders of the Cistercian movement,
which, like the monks of Cluny in the 10th century, was of Benedictine stock.
The Rule of Saint Benedict had lost none of its value since its foundation in
Italy in the 6th century. Absolute fidelity to this rule, and its greatest
possible extension in the religious life were the two aims Robert pursued
throughout his life. Saint Alberic joined Robert in this pursuit, followed by
Saint Stephen Harding. But would they have taken the initiative without Robert?
Or would they have postponed it. Or might they not have become discouraged
while en route? For Robert was endowed with an uncommon will to overcome all
obstacles.
There was no lack of
obstacles. Like Stephen Harding, Robert had received Benedictine training at
Moutier-La-Celle beginning when he was 15. He was appointed prior soon after
his novitiate, then abbot of Saint Michael of Tonnerre at a very early age. He
was unsuccessful in his attempts to reform the abbey. The scandals at the abbey
were the motivation behind Robert's activity.
How did it happen that
the Benedictines had forgotten Saint Benedict and his rule to this extent? It
was not that the rule was antiquated but men who were wicked, and his first
desire was to convince them of their error. But since they did not listen to him,
his second desire was to leave. "But whatever town you enter, and they do
not receive you-- go out into the streets and say, 'Even the dust from your
town, that we shake off against you'" (Luke 10:10-11).
Robert returned to
Moutier-La-Celle, after having learned about a little group of seven hermits in
forest of Collan, near Tonnerre, whom he greatly desired to join and who in
turn wanted him to live with them. But Robert first of all owed obedience to the
abbot of Moutier-La-Celle who sent him to Saint-Ayoul. Nothing less than a
decree issued by Pope Alexander II was required before Robert and the hermits
could come together again; the decree appointed him their superior. But they
did not last long in Collan, since Robert decided to leave that unhealthy site
for a more salubrious setting in the forest of Molesmes (c. 1075).
It was there at Molesmes
that Robert met Stephen Harding. For Stephen Harding, as for posterity, Robert
was always to be known as Robert of Molesmes. What Robert accomplished there,
what Stephen saw there was the model, in miniature but perfect, of what the
Cistercians were to become later: cells, which were mere huts grouped around a
chapel that was really an oratory, and men who formed a little republic
according to the Spirit, governed by an elected abbot, and who had given
themselves as a constitution the famous Benedictine Rule.
These men, who spent
their days divided into alternate periods of silence and common prayer, of
contemplation and manual labor, had greater dependence on God than on the
world. They practiced the evangelical counsels--poverty, chastity, and
obedience--and found that they were both viable and profitable, enabling them
to live in an atmosphere of peace and joy.
The austerity and
holiness of the members of the rejuvenated community led to a great influx of
ill-qualified candidates, and when Robert was unsuccessful in raising the
standards to their previous level and stymied by the bishop of Troyes, who
caused its constitution to be violated. Robert once more shook the dust from
his feet, leaving Alberic and Stephen Harding behind, to retire to a hermitage
at Or.
Recalled again to
Molesmes, and again disgusted with the laxity of the monks, Robert, again shook
the dust from his feet, this time took Alberic and Stephen Harding with him.
They escaped the jurisdiction of the bishop of Troyes to fall under the
jurisdiction of the bishop of Langres, and finally received approval from the
archbishop of Lyons, the papal legate (in 1098), to found their new republic at
Cîteaux, near Dijon, in the diocese of Chalon- sure-Saone, which gave its name
to the order. The new community was dedicated to strict observance of the rule
of Saint Benedict.
Robert was elected abbot
in which post, however, he remained for just a year because the monks of
Molesmes appealed to Rome and Urban II responded by ordering Robert to return
to Molesmes in 1099. It was in Molesmes, regenerated on the model of Cîteaux,
that Robert died, after having governed this abbey for nine years. But in
Robert's mind Cîteaux and Molesmes were only guideposts.
The Lord could have said
to this man: "Your plans are grandiose but you will not realize them all.
Like Moses you will die before reaching the Promised Land. You will be the
inventor, the architect. Another will be the contractor, he will exploit your
invention. Another will steal from you the title of founder, this man will be
Bernard of Clairvaux.
"It was necessary
that I concern myself with your personal sanctity. It is not the least of
things that the first of the Cistercians be a saint. You will not have stolen
this title of saint, and nobody will steal it from you. You love the Truth, but
you are not notable for your patience. You want to discover the great
Benedictine current of spirituality at its source, you want to inundate France
and Europe with it.
"You think that the
truth which dwells in it is beautiful and good for all men. You count on the
indwelling force of this truth to prevail by virtue of its appeal. You do not
want to do violence to consciences. You want them to feel violence being done
to them from within.
"But you forget that
there are closed consciences which must be opened, that the kingdom of truth
does not arrive without a struggle. This is why I shall place obstacles in your
path. You shall be bound by wills other than your own, and you will go where
you do not wish to go. But that which you will have done for the salvation of
others, even without success, will at least be useful to your own salvation for
without these self-imposed troublesome tasks, you would never have become a
saint" (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
Saint Robert is portrayed
in art as a Cistercian monk writing a book. He may also be shown with a cross
and ring, and the arms of the abbey of Molesmes by him; or with Stephen Harding
(Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0429.shtml
Les
trois Fondateurs de Citeaux : Robert, Albéric et Etienne Harding.
Cette peinture commémore et décrit la Fondation de l'abbaye de Citeaux en 1098, montrant les trois Fondateurs vénérant la Vierge Marie
Modern
icon of the founders of Cîteaux Abbey: Saints Robert (kneeling), Albéric and
Stephen Harding venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Theotokos of the Sign.
I
tre fondatori dell'Abbazia di Cîteaux: Santo Stefano Harding, San Roberto di Molesme
St. Robert, Abbot of
Molesme,
Founder of the
Cistercians
From his life by Guy,
abbot of Molesme, his immediate successor, and other monuments collected in
the History of Religious Orders, t. 5, p. 341. M. Stevens, Monas. t. 2, p.
22. See also Le Nain, t. 1, p. 1, Hist. Litér. de la France, t. 10,
pp. 1, 11, Gallia Christ. Nov. t. 4, p. 729, 730
A.D. 1110
ST. ROBERT was born in
Champagne, about the year 1018. His parents, Theodoric and Ermegarde, were no
less noble than virtuous, and brought him up in learning and piety. At the age
of fifteen, he became a Benedictin monk in the abbey of Montier-la-celle, where
he made such progress in perfection, that, though he was one of the youngest in
that house, he was chosen prior, and some time after made abbot of St. Michael
de Tonnerre. But not finding the monks of this place disposed to second his
good intentions and labours to establish regular discipline among them, but
rather of a refractory temper and obstinate behaviour, he left them on the
following occasion. There dwelt at that time, in a neighbouring desert called
Colan, certain anchorets, who, not having then any regular superior over them,
besought him to undertake that office. After several impediments he complied
with their request, and was received by them as another Moses to conduct them
through the desert of this world to the heavenly Canaan. Colan being
unhealthily situated, Robert removed them thence into the forest of Molesme,
where they built themselves little cells made of boughs of trees, and a small
oratory in honour of the Holy Trinity, in 1075. The poverty of those religious,
and the severity of their lives being known, several persons of quality in the
neighbourhood, stirred up by the example of the bishop of Troyes, vied with one
another in supplying them with necessaries, which introduced by degrees such a
plenty as occasioned them to fall into great relaxation and tepidity, 1 insomuch,
that the holy Robert, having tried in vain all means to reduce them to the
regular observance of their profession, thought proper to leave them, and
retired to a desert called Hauz, where certain religious men lived in great
simplicity and fervour. Among these he worked for his subsistence, and employed
as much of his time as possible in prayer and meditation. These religious men,
seeing his edifying life, chose him for their abbot. But the monks of Molesme,
finding they had not prospered since his absence, obtained of the pope and the
bishop of Langres, an order for his return to Molesme, on their promising that
Robert should find them perfectly submissive to his directions. He accordingly
came back; but as their desire of his return was only grounded on temporal
views, it produced no change in their conduct after the first year. Some of
them, however, seeing their lives were not conformable to St. Bennet’s rule,
which was daily read in their chapter, were desirous of a reformation, which
the rest ridiculed. Yet the more zealous, seeing it was impossible faithfully
to comply with their duties, in the company of those who would not be reformed,
recommended the matter to God by ardent prayers, and then repaired to Robert,
begging his leave to retire to some solitary place, where they might be able to
perform what they had undertaken, find were engaged by vow to practise. 2 St.
Robert promised to bear them company, and went with six of the most fervent of
these monks to Lyons, to the Archbishop Hugh, legate of the holy see, who
granted them letters patent to that effect; wherein he not only advised, but
even enjoined them to leave Molesme, and to persist in their holy resolution of
living up to the rigour of the rule of St. Bennet. Returning to Molesme, they
were joined by the rest that were zealous, and, being twenty-one in number,
went and settled in a place called Cistercium, or Citeaux, an uninhabited
forest covered with woods and brambles, watered by a little river, at five
leagues distance from Dijon, in the diocess of Challons. Here these religious
men began to grub up the shrubs and roots, and built themselves cells of wood,
with the consent of Walter, bishop of Challons, and of Renaud, viscount of
Beaune, lords of the territory. They settled there on St. Bennet’s-day, the
21st of March, in 1098. From this epoch is dated the origin of the Cistercian
Order. The archbishop of Lyons, being persuaded that they could not subsist
there without the assistance of some powerful persons, wrote in their favour to
Eudo, duke of Burgundy. That prince, at his own cost, finished the building of
the monastery they had begun, furnished them for a long time with all
necessaries, and gave them much land and cattle. The bishop of Challons
invested Robert with the dignity of abbot, erecting that new monastery into an
abbey. 3 The
first rule established by St. Robert, at Citeaux, allotted the monks four hours
every night for sleep, and four for singing the divine praises in the choir:
four hours were assigned on working days for manual labour in the morning,
after which the monks read till None: their diet was roots and herbs. 4
The year following, 1099,
the monks of Molesme sent deputies to Rome, to solicit an order for their abbot
St. Robert’s return to Molesme, alleging that religious observance had suffered
greatly by his absence; and that on his presence both the prosperity of their
house, and the security of their souls depended: assuring his Holiness that
they would use their best endeavours to give him no further reason to complain
of them. Urban II. therefore wrote to the archbishop of Lyons, to procure St.
Robert’s return to Molesme, if it could be conveniently compassed. The legate
sent his orders to that effect, and Robert immediately obeyed, remitting his
pastoral staff for Citeaux to the bishop of Challons, who absolved him from the
promise of obedience he had made him. He was installed anew by the bishop of
Langres, abbot of Molesme, which he governed till his happy death, which
happened not in 1100, as Manriquez imagined, but in 1110; for, in that year, he
reconciled together two abbots, who had chosen him umpire in a quarrel. 5 The
ancient chronicle of Molesme says, that St. Robert was born in 1018, and died
in 1110: consequently he lived ninety-two or ninety-three years, and survived
St. Alberic, who died in 1109. Upon proof of many miracles wrought at his tomb,
Pope Honorius III. enrolled his name among the saints. Martenne has published
the information of several of these miracles, taken by an order of that pope. 6 Mention
is made of this his canonization by Manriquez, 7 the
Younger Pagi, 8 and
Benedict XIV. 9
Note
1. Baillet and some others have retailed false exaggerations of the
disorders which reigned among the monks of Molesme. Robert de Monte assures us,
they consisted only in this, that St. Robert would oblige them to manual
labour, for their subsistence, forbade them to receive oblations, and
retrenched certain innovations in their habits; for which relaxations the monks
alleged the examples of St. Columban and St. Odo. Sea Hist. Litér, t. 10,
p. 6.
Note
2. Martenne, Ampl. Collect. t. 6, Præfat. n. 40. Orderic Vitalis,
l. 7. Hist. p. 711. Robert. de Monte, l. de Abbatiis Normanniæ, post Opera
Guiberti, p. 311.
Note
3. The Cistercian Order professes to follow the Benedictin rule in its
primitive rigour. The habit used at Molesme was tawny. St. Alberic, who
succeeded St. Robert at Citeaux, changed it for white, and the Order took from
that time the Blessed Virgin for its special protectress. The Cistercian nuns
were instituted before the death of St. Alberic. Within fifty years after its
institution, this Order consisted of no less than five hundred abbeys; which
number was increased to eighteen hundred soon after the year 1200. The sole
monastery of Trebnitz, in Silesia, reckons above forty princesses of Poland who
have there professed this Order. The noble military Orders of Calatrava,
Alcantara, and Montreza in Spain, and those of Christ and of Avis in Portugal,
are subject to it, and borrow from it their rules of piety. The primitive
extreme austerity of the Cistercian Order being relaxed, Pope Sixtus IV. in
1475, granted to the superiors power to dispense with the original obligation
of abstinence from flesh. But several reformations have been since established
in it to restore its ancient severity. That of the Feuillans in France, which
took its name from Feuillens, a Cistercian abbey in Guienne, in the diocess of
Rieux, (which is the chief of this reformed congregation, and the residence of
the general, whose office is triennial,) was begun by Dom. John de la Barriere,
a native of Quercy, and abbot of Notre Dame des Feuillans. Whilst a student at
Paris, he resolved to become a monk, and reform it. After many tears and
prayers in the Carthusians’ church at Paris, he went thither and took the habit
in 1577: established a reform to use no food but roots and herbs, often not
dressed by fire: no raiment but a single tunic, even in winter, without
sandals, sleeping and eating on the ground. Clement VIII. in his bull of
confirmation in 1595, mitigated these austerities: but the founder himself
observed them to his death. Dom. Bernard, called the Petit Feuillent, chosen
abbot of Urvab, in the Low Countries, established a great part of these
austerities there. King Henry III. founded at Paris the second convent, called
St. Bernard’s, in 1601. Doctor Asseline, famous at Paris, thirty-two years old,
in 1605, took the habit, taking this motto:—
Omnia nil sine Te, sine
Te, Deus, omnia vana:
Cuncta relinquenti sis
mihi cuncta Deus.
which he often had in his
mouth. He took the name of F. Eustache de S. Paul. (See his life in French.)
This reformation extended itself into Italy, under the name of Reformed
Bernardins. The most pious and learned Cardinal John Bona, who died in 1674,
was of this congregation.
The most austere
reformation of this Order is established at La Trappe. Its author, John le
Bouthillier de Rancé was of a noble and puissant family, who, having embraced
an ecclesiastical state, was designed to succeed his uncle in the archbishopric
of Tours. By his learning and eloquence he distinguished himself among the
French clergy, was their oracle on many important occasions, and their speaker
in their general assemblies. He was chaplain to the duke of Orleans, and
enjoyed several considerable pensions, and a large church revenue. But, at
thirty years of age, entering seriously into himself, he thought it
inconsistent with his profession to employ the revenues of the church in
support of a splendid equipage and a great table, and to spend his precious
time in company and diversions. He addressed himself to those directors who
would the least flatter him; and in order to make restitution for past
superfluous expenses, he, by their advice, sold his paternal estate of thirty
thousand livres, or between two and three thousand pounds sterling a year, and
out of the purchasemoney distributed a hundred thousand crowns among the poor,
and gave the remainder to pious uses. He resigned three abbeys and two
priories, which he possessed in commendam, and reserved only the abbey of our
Lady of La Trappe, in which he took the Cistercian habit, commenced regular
abbot, and, in 1664, introduced a reformation of that Order according to the
austere primitive institute of St. Bennet, afterwards renewed by St. Bernard.
His books on the obligations of a monastic state, cannot be too often read by
those who profess it; nor his edifying life, written by Le Nain, which seems
preferable to that published by Marsollier. He lived thirty-seven years in this
rigorous solitude, and died in 1700. The monastery is situated in a forest in
le Perche, near Normandy: it consisted, in 1746, of sixty lay-brothers and
novices, and fifty-seven choir monks, of whom eighteen were priests, three
oblates or extern lay-brothers, who are allowed to speak upon necessary
occasions. One of these opens the door to strangers, prostrates himself before
them, and then leads them first to the chapel, and, after a short prayer, into
a parlour; but desires them, while within the monastery, to refrain from
speaking of news or any worldly affairs: only the abbot, prior, or guest-master
are allowed to speak to them. The monks are never allowed to speak to visitors,
nor to one another, otherwise than by signs, except it be to their superior or
confessarius. They never write to their friends in the world after their
profession, nor hear any thing relating thereto; being content to know that
there is a world, that they may pray for it. When the parent of any monk dies,
the news is only sent to the superior, who tells the community that the father
of one of them is dead, and orders their joint prayers for his soul. When a
novice is about to make his profession, he writes to his friends to take his
last leave of them, and makes a renunciation of whatever he possesses in favour
of his heirs; but gives some part to the poor, to be distributed in his own country:
for nothing is received by the monastery, which, though its revenues are not
large, maintains a great multitude of distressed persons. The monks till their
ground themselves. They usually keep their eyes cast down, and never look at
strangers; but make them a low bow if they pass by. When Pope Innocent III.,
returning from, the emperor’s court, called at St. Bernard’s monastery, he took
notice that not one of the monks lifted up his eyes to see him or his
attendants; so much were they dead to all curiosity, and to whatever could
interrupt their attention to God; which made that great pope call St. Bernard’s
monastery the wonder of the world. In like manner the recollection of the monks
of La Trappe in the fields, at work, at meals, and particularly in the church,
is a most moving spectacle. The more perfectly to renounce their own will, they
are bound to obey not only superiors, but the least sign of any other, even the
last among the lay-brothers, though by it they spoil their work; as it happened
to one who, by obedience to another’s sign, knowingly set wrong all the books
of the church-music which he was composing. And abbot John told the brother who
was gardener, it were better that they should be without herbs, than that there
should be found in the garden one plant of self-will. Their drink is a weak
cider, such as is used by the poorest people in Normandy: but small beer is
allowed those with whom cider doth not agree. On fastdays they eat only dry
herbs, boiled with a little salt, with a piece of coarse bread, and are allowed
half a pint of cider. On other days they have an herb-soup, a
dessert of a radish or two, or a few walnuts, or some such thing, and a mess
either of lentils, roots, hasty-pudding, or the like. They never eat fish on
any account, and never touch eggs or flesh-meat, unless when very sick, but
sometimes use milk. Once, the bread being made a little less coarse than
ordinarythe abbot, John de Rancé, put the whole community under penance to
atone for the fault of the baker. For supper they have only three, and on
fast-days only two ounces of dry bread. They use long prostrations, and
practise a general mortification of their senses. Abbot de Rancé turned out a
novice, as not having the spirit of the Order, because he observed him in
weeding to put by the nettles too carefully, for fear of being stung. When they
come to the fire in winter, they stand at some distance from the calefactory,
and never put out a foot, or pull up their clothes to warm themselves, nor stay
long in that place: even in their sicknesses the superior often treats them
harshly, in order to increase their humility and patience: and the monks, under
the greatest pains, reproach themselves as faint penitents, and add voluntary
mortifications, of which we read very remarkable instances in the relations
that have been published of the death of several of the religious of La Trappe.
In their agonies they are carried to the church, laid on ashes, and there
receive the last sacraments, and usually remain in that situation till they
expire. But nothing is more edifying in this house than the most profound
humility which the monks practise, and the care with which the
guest-master or abbot suppresses whatever makes for their
reputation, and even that of their house or Order in general, that they may
avoid the dangers of a refined pride. They work in the fields many hours in the
day, but join prayer with their labour. Their church duties are very long; and
during the whole day no one is out of sight of some others, to take away all
possibility of sloth. They lie on straw beds. The lightest faults are severely
punished in chapter. It happened that a venerable abbot of a very great
monastery of the Cistercian Order, full seventy years of age, being lodged at
La Trappe, had by a sign, out of humility, refused to suffer a lay-brother to
take the trouble to show him the way to his cell at night; but this being
contrary to the rule of the house, in relation to obedience to every one, the
next day De Rancé, in chapter, reproached the abbot, that, not content to ruin
discipline and souls at home, he came to spread scandal among them: and
enjoined him a public penance. How cheerful these holy penitents are amidst
their austerities, appears from the visitations made by authority of the
general, the abbot of Citeaux. In 1678, the abbot of Prieres, being deputed
visiter of La Trappe, declared that he found the religious, though some were
persons of a very delicate and tender constitution, yet several above
four-score years old, all well, cheerful, and begging that
their austerities might be increased. In 1664, when many censured the institute
as too severe, the abbot De Rancé assembled his religious, and commanded them
to declare their sentiments concerning it. The fathers all unanimously cried
out, that their mortifications were too light for heaven, and in consideration
of their past sins; protesting that they underwent their austerities with joy,
and were ashamed of their sloth, and that they did so little. When it was urged
by a certain prelate, that at least the lay-brothers ought to be allowed some
indulgence, the same abbot, in 1687, summoned them to chapter, and ordered them
to speak their sentiments. Brother Malc spoke first, and said: “Twenty years
have I lived in this house, and I never found any thing in it but what was easy
and agreeable. I have always regarded myself as wax, to receive from your hands
whatever figure you are pleased to mould me into: I consider myself as an
untamed horse, if I am not held in by the bridle. If my state wants any
alteration, it ought to be more restrained.” Then, falling on his knees, he
added, that he was as a handkerchief in his hand, which he might use in the
manner he pleased. 2. B. Pachomius said, his life had been unprofitable, and
wished his rigours augmented; and was ashamed to see many in the
world undergo so much for vanity, whilst he did nothing for
heaven. 3. B. Hilarion said, his austerities ought to be doubled, in order to
subject his body to the spirit, lest he should lose his crown. 4. B. Firmin
begged on his knees, that, instead of any relaxation, his abbot would shut him
up in a close prison. 5. B. Francis prayed his austerities might be increased.
The rest answered after the same manner. See abbot John’s Conferences, t. 1, p.
287.
Another famous
reformation of the Cistercian Order was established in the monastery of our
Lady de Sept-Fons, two leagues from Bourbon-Lanci in France, by the abbot
Eustache de Beaufort, in the last century; which house no one can visit without
receiving from the example of those holy men the strongest impressions of
piety. The gardens are cultivated by the hands of the monks, and yield their
principal subsistence, their ordinary food being herbs and pulse: but of these
they are allowed at dinner two portions, whereas the monks of La Trappe have
only one, and that chiefly carrots, turnips, lentils, or the like: all dainty
herbs and roots being forbidden them, such as cauliflowers, peas, and
artichokes; the latter are not given even to the sick in the infirmary. Again,
at La Trappe, the monks never taste wine, except the priests at mass, which at
Sept-Fons is used with water at meals, in a small quantity, because the
ordinary liquor in the Bourbonnois. At Sept-Fons the silence observed by the
monks is perpetual, except with regard to superiors on necessary occasions, and
in conferences of piety. Every thing in the house and church is expressive of
sentiments of humble poverty and simplicity. One hundred monks in choir seem to
have but one voice, so great is the order of uniformity observed in singing
every verse together. They make long pauses in the middle of each verse, that
their minds and hearts may draw from each word a spiritual nourishment to feed
their affections. They are so intent upon their duty at that time, that no part
of their body seems to have the least motion but their lips. They walk to the
refectory and to their work with the most edifying modesty and recollection,
with their eyes cast down; and one is surprised to see the devotion which
appears in their very exterior throughout all their actions, and the vigour
with which they ply manual labour in their extenuated and mortified bodies. To
be the more perfectly unknown to men, they do not suffer any thing of the
eminent virtues which are practised in their house to be published; and the
unfeigned humility, compunction, mortification, devotion, and other virtues of
these holy penitents, strongly affect those who behold them. See Hist. de
la Réforme de l’Abbaye de Sept-Fons, par M. Dronet de Maupertuy, Paris, 1702.
Some are startled and
seemingly shocked at the extraordinary austerities practised by these monks,
and by many ancient hermits. What! say they, has the kind Author of nature
given us organs, and an inclination to pleasure, yet commanded us to forego it!
or does he delight in our pain! These persons seem to be great strangers to
what both faith and reason teach on this head. God has indeed annexed pleasure
to many actions for necessary and good purposes; and many lawful pleasures of
our senses may be sanctified by a virtuous intention. But ever since the
corruption of our nature, and the revolt of our passions against reason, our
appetites stand in need of a severe curb; and without frequent denials and
restraints, self-will and the senses become headstrong and ungovernable, and
refuse subjection. God has appointed the mortification of the senses, joined
with sincere humility, and the more essential interior denial of the will, to
be the powerful remedy, and a necessary condition for obtaining his victorious
graces against this enemy: and Christ frequently inculcates the obligation of
it, and declares that no one can be his disciple who is not crucified and dead
to himself, as the grain of corn must die in the ground before it can bring
forth fruit. To deny the necessity of mortification, both exterior and
interior, would be, on many accounts, to destroy the whole system of Christian
morality. But the extraordinary austerities of certain eminent servants of God
are not undertaken by them without a particular call, examined with maturity
and prudence, and without a fervour equal to such a state. Neither do they
place sanctity in any practices of mortification, or measure virtue by them, as
a Dervise or Brachman might do; but choose such as have the greatest tendency
to facilitate the subjection of the passions, and regard them only as helps to
virtue, and means to acquire it, and to punish sin in themselves. Nor do they
imagine God to be delighted with their pain, but with the cure of their
spiritual maladies. A mother rejoices in the health of her child, not in the
bitterness of the potion which she gives him to procure it. The doctrine of
Christ, and the examples of St. John the Baptist, St. Paul, St. Matthias, St.
James, and the other apostles; of many ancient prophets, and other saints, from
the first ages of our holy religion, are a standing apology and commendation of
this spirit in so many servants of God.
Note
4. Mabill. Annal. t. 1. Buching. in Vita Urbani II.
Note
5. Mabill. Annal. l. 71, n. 99.
Note
6. Martenne, Anecdot. t. 1, p. 904.
Note
7. Annal. Cisterc. ad an. 1222.
Note
8. Pagi Junior in Vitâ Honorii III. ex ejus ep. 132, l. 6.
Note
9. Bened. XIV. de Canoniz. l. 1, c. 9, n. 9, p. 73.
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume IV: April. The Lives of the
Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/4/292.html
Abbaye
de Cîteaux : Robertus (Robert de Molesme), Alberticus (Aubry de Cîteaux),
Stephanus (Étienne Harding)
Abbazia di Cîteaux : San Roberto di Molesme, Sant'Alberico di Cîteaux e Santo Stefano Harding, i fondatori dell'Ordine dei Cistercensi.
San Roberto di Molesme Abate
di Citeaux
Troyes, Francia, 1024
circa – Molesme, Francia, 21 marzo 1111
San Roberto di Molesme fu
come il chicco di frumento che deve morire per portare frutto e la sua “morte”
avvenne per mano dei suoi stessi confratelli. Fondata Molesme infatti, si trovò
circondato da numerosi fratelli, i quali non nutrivano più la sua stessa
aspirazione alla rinuncia alle ricchezze e al prestigio. Tentò allora di dar
vita a una nuova fondazione: lo fece a Citeaux con la collaborazione
dell’inglese Santo Stefano Harding, ma i confratelli invidiosi lo fecero
ritornare a Molesme, senza tuttavia consentirgli di realizzare le necessarie
riforme. Forse fu proprio il suo sacrificio, analogo a quello di Abramo, che
permise a Stefano Harding prima e poi soprattutto al grande San Bernardo di
avviare e consolidare l’esperienza riformatrice di Citeaux, con la sua vita
povera e austera, in una rigorosa fedeltà alla regola benedettina, di cui si
riprendeva anche l’invito a mantenersi col lavoro delle proprie mani.
Etimologia: Roberto =
splendente di gloria, dal tedesco
Emblema: Bastone pastorale
Martirologio Romano: Nel
monastero di Molesme in Francia, san Roberto, abate, che, alla ricerca di una
vita monastica più semplice e austera, già instancabile fondatore e rettore di
cenobi, nonché guida di eremiti e insigne riformatore della disciplina regolare,
fondò un monastero cistercense, del quale fu primo abate e, ritornato poi a
Molesme in qualità di abate, qui riposò in pace.
San Roberto di Molesme e Santo Stefano Harding, la cui fama fu oscurata dal celebre San Bernardo, furono in realtà proprio loro gli iniziatori presso Citeaux di uno dei più grandi e vivai ordini religiosi della storia della Chiesa, i Cistercensi (Citeaux deriva infatti dal latino Cistercium).
San Roberto, patriarca dei Cistercensi, nacque verso il 1024 nella regione francese della Champagne, forse a Troyes o nei dintorni di tale città, da ricchi e nobili genitori. Desiderando ottenere da Dio la remissione delle loro quotidiane fragilità, essi erano soliti elargire ai poveri abbondanti elemosine. Non molto tempo prima della nascita del santo, a sua madre Ermengarda apparve in sogno la Santa Vergine, che le offrì un anello d’oro affermando: “Io voglio per fidanzato il figlio che tu hai concepito: ecco l’anello del contratto”. I genitori furono allora solleciti all’educazione del figlio ed all’età di quindici anni lo affidarono alle cure dei benedettini di Moutier-la-Celle, nei pressi di Troyes, ove costituì un modello per gli altri novizi e l’emulo dei più ferventi religiosi. Anima candida e affettuosa, spiccante per la sua mirabile docilità agli impulsi della grazia, Roberto era più incline alla soavità della contemplazione che alle attività lavorative. L’assidua meditazione di Gesù crocifisso lo spingeva a praticare prolungati digiuni e ad intrattenersi con Dio giorno e notte, al fine di mortificare la sua carne mortale. I monaci suoi confratelli, pieni di stima nei suoi confronti poiché pio e fedele osservante della regola, lo nominarono appena dopo il noviziato quale loro priore. Qualche anno dopo i monaci di Saint-Michel-de-Tonnerre, nel territorio della diocesi di Langres (Haute-Marne), lo elessero loro abate, tanto era nota la sua abilità nell’arte del governo. Nel nuovo ambiente, il santo tentò di riportare i monaci alla piena osservanza della regola, scontrandosi però con l’irrigidimento e l’ostinazione di molti suoi sottoposti. Constatando con tristezza l’inutilità dei suoi sforzi, infine desistette e lasciò il monastero. Non lontano da Tonnerre, nel bosco di Collan vivevano sette eremiti di varia provenienza, riunitisi per praticare una vita comunitaria dedita alla penitenza. Non avendo però ancora un superiore ed essendo a conoscenza della fama di santità di cui godeva Roberto, lo invitarono ad occupare tale ruolo nella loro comunità. Scorgendo in essi un’ottima disposizione a seguire Gesù povero e sofferente, il santo si lasciò convincere dalle loro insistenze ed accettò l’invito, ma il nuovo priore di Saint-Michel-de-Tonnerre vi si oppose. Considerando tale preferenza un vero e proprio affronto alla propria comunità, egli spinse i monaci a trattenere con loro Roberto promettendogli maggiori deferenza ed ubbidienza. Dimostrando però ben presto di non essere minimamente intenzionati a correggere il loro comportamento, Roberto finì per abbandonarli nuovamente, per fare ritorno al suo primo monastero di Moutier-la-Celle. Libero da impegni di governo, nella calma e nella solitudine del chiostro, poté così gustare al meglio le delizie della contemplazione e comprendere pienamente i disegni che Dio aveva su di lui.
L’ubbidienza lo costrinse tuttavia ben presto a trasferirsi nel Priorato di Saint-Ayoul, alle dipendenze di Moutier-le-Celle, ma gli eremiti di Collan tentarono nuovamente di farsi assegnare Roberto quale superiore. Questa volta si rivolsero direttamente addirittura all’allora pontefice Alessandro II, dal quale ottennero dopo lunghe fatiche l’approvazione della loro comunità e la nomina di Roberto a nuovo superiore. Questi accettò con gioia il nuovo incarico e venne ricevuto come un inviato del Cielo, ma essendo la solitudine di Collan troppo malsana, preferì condusse i tredici eremiti nella foresta di Moleste, nella Còte d’Or. Qui nel 1075, presso un piccolo fiume sul declivio di una collina, Roberto fece costruire delle piccole celle con tronchi d’albero e rami, nonché un oratorio dedicato alla Santissima Trinità. Roberto, eletto abate, scelse per i suoi monaci la regola benedettina ed essi presero a servire Dio con ardore incredibile: nella fame e nella sete, nel gelo invernale e nella calura estiva, sempre comunque sostenuti dalla speranza di raccogliere un giorno qualche frutto. Il loro stile di vita povero e mortificato destò ben presto l’ammirazione delle popolazioni dei dintorni ed il vescovo di Troyes, di passaggio nelle vicinanze, volle far visita al nuovo monastero. Rimase perciò sorpreso ed allo stesso tempo edificato dallo spirito di penitenza di quei religiosi e procurò loro in dono almeno gli oggetti più indispensabili alla vita comune. Diversi signori dei castelli vicini non tardarono ad imitarne il generoso esempio. Le elemosine e le donazioni, grande merito per gli offerenti, si rivelarono a poco a poco pericolose per coloro che ne percepivano i frutti: non tardarono infatti a distruggere nei monaci l’amore alla povertà ed alla mortificazione, cioè i principali sostegni di ogni vita religiosa. L’elevato numero di aspiranti costituì un pretesto per far ingrandire la costruzione e dare un nuovo assetto al monastero. I religiosi, nonostante le raccomandazioni dell’abate, non vollero più dedicarsi al lavoro manuale poiché la generosità dei fedeli aveva ormai supplito abbondantemente e colmati i loro bisogni. Ormai apparentemente impossibilitato a riportare la comunità monastica all’osservanza integrale della regola, Roberto preferì abbandonarla con i migliori monaci tra cui il priore Alberto e Stefano Harding per ritirarsi in solitudine, ma poi per ispirazione divina capì che sarebbe stato meglio non scoraggiarsi e piuttosto santificarsi lavorando attivamente per la salvezza delle anime dei suoi monaci.
La discordia s’impossessò però della comunità e le elemosine dei fedeli iniziarono a scarseggiare. I monaci di Molesme si pentirono allora di aver rattristato il loro fondatore e padre e lo supplicarono di ritornare, promettendogli un’assoluta sottomissione ai suoi ordini. Scrissero anche al papa, dal quale ottennero un Breve che imponeva a Roberto di riprendere il governo dell’abbazia ed affidava al vescovo di Langres la pronta esecuzione dell’ordine. Roberto, sempre alla ricerca della volontà di Dio per poterla seguire, fece ritorno a Molesme senza chiedere scuse per il passato od esigere promesse per il futuro. Per un anno i monaci sopportarono pazientemente il santo abate applicava ai loro mali, ma questa buona disposizione non durò. Essi speravano infatti che con Roberto sarebbero tornate affluire le elemosine. Nuovamente il santo preferì ritirarsi a vita solitaria, questa volta in compagnia di Alberico, Stefano ed altri due monaci che non tolleravano la larghezza con cui la regola benedettina veniva interpretata ed applicata. Nelle solitudine di Vinic concepirono allora e sperimentarono in prima persona un piano di riforma dell’ordine monastico occidentale, volto a ristabilire l’osservanza della primitiva regola di San Benedetto in tutto il suo rigore. Ma ancora una volta intervenne il vescovo di Langres minacciando di scomunica i fuggitivi. Constatando però che la riforma di Molesme continuava a rimanere infruttuosa, Roberto ed i suoi compagni preferirono edificare una nuova abbazia in cui poter osservare la regola benedettina senza dispensa alcuna. Dopo lunghe riflessioni e preghiere, desiderando prevenire ogni difficoltà assicurandosi l’autorizzazione della Santa Sede, all’inizio del 1098 Roberto andò a trovare Ugo, arcivescovo di Lione e legato di Urbano II in Francia, ed ottenne il consenso ad intraprendere la sua grandiosa opera. A Molesme il santo presentò il suo progetto ai monaci e, dopo averli sciolti dall’ubbidienza promessagli, lasciò l’abbazia con ventuno confratelli, portando con sé solamente un libro degli uffici divini ed il necessario per la celebrazione dell’Eucaristia.
Il luogo prescelto per la fondazione dell’abbazia fu Cìteaux, nel territorio
della diocesi di Chalon-sur-Saóne. Il terreno paludoso, facente parte di una
foresta, fu donato dal conte di Beaune. Roberto fu subito eletto abate
all’unanimità dai confratelli e ricevette il bastone pastorale dalle mani del
vescovo. Dinnanzi a lui i monaci rinnovarono la loro professione solenne e
s’impegnarono alla stabilità del luogo ed all’osservanza della regola senza
eventuali addolcimenti. Tale cerimonia ebbe luogo il 21 marzo 1098, domenica
delle Palme.
I monaci di Molesme fecero però di tutto ancora una volta per riavere il loro
fondatore: ricorsero quindi ad Urbano II, il quale delegò le trattative all’arcivescovo
di Lione. Costui, ritenendo ormai la neonata comunità di Cìteaux già ben
consolidata, ordinò a Roberto di ritornare a Molesme. Il santo obbedì, non
prima di aver designato quale suo successore come abate di Cìteaux Alberico e
quale priore Stefano Harding. L’abbazia di Molesme accettò la rigorosa
osservanza della regola benedettina e prosperò sotto la guida di Roberto, che
la guidò per il resto della sua vita. Qui morì il 21 marzo 1111 e Sant’Alberico
gli successe nella carica di abate, ottenendo durante il suo mandato la
conferma dell’Ordine da parte del nuovo pontefice Pasquale II. Riconoscendo i
numerosi miracoli avvenuti sulla tomba di Roberto, nel 1222 papa Onorio III lo
canonizzò iscrivendolo nell’albo dei santi ed ancora oggi compare la sua
memoria sul Martyrologium Romanum in data 17 aprile.
Autore: Fabio Arduino
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/51350
Szent
Róbert gyűrűt kap Szűz Máriától
Wagenmeister József freskója a zirci apátsági templom mennyezetén (1744–48)
Saint Robert of Molesme receives a
ring from Virgin Mary
Fresco of Joseph Wagenmeister in ceiling of Abbey Church of Zirc, Hungary
(1744–48)
Den hellige Robert av
Molesme (av Cîteaux) (1027 - 1110)
Minnedag: 29.
april
Den hellige Robert ble
født i 1027 i en fornem familie nær Troyes i Champagne. Han ble i 1044
benediktinermunk og senere abbed i Moûtier-la-Celle. Senere ble han abbed i
St-Michel-de-Tonnerre og St-Ayeul, men snart ba eremitter i Collan ham
undervise dem og senere om å bli deres abbed. Dette ble oppnådd gjennom romersk
inngripen, og ca 1075 flyttet Robert og hans nye kommunitet til Molesme i
Burgund. Men dette reformforetagendet ble snart brakt i fare av tilgang på
rikdom og opptak av uverdige noviser, så de to hellige munkene Alberik og Stefan Harding ba
Robert om lede en ny reform.
Robert gikk av som abbed
i Molesme og slo seg ned sammen med disse og andre munker. Den 21. mars 1098
skal han sammen med den hellige Alberik ha grunnlagt klosteret Cîteaux (latin:
Cistercium) nær Dijon. Målet var å leve strengt etter Benedikts regel,
tilbaketrukket og i fattigdom. Men i Roberts fravær hadde forholdene i Molesme
blitt enda verre, og munkene ba Den hellige Stol om å gjeninnsette abbeden.
Ønsket ble innvilget, og Robert forlot Cîteaux etter bare 18 måneder, ikke bare
motvillig.
Den hellige Alberik ble
den andre abbed i Cîteaux, og han sørget for den indre oppbygging, mens den
hellige Stefan Harding, tredje abbed av Cîteaux, fullførte grunnleggelsen av en
ny gren av benediktinerordenen gjennom en lovgivning.
Robert forble abbed i
Molesme resten av livet, og døde der den 21. mars 1110, 83 år gammel.
Ikke lenge etter gjorde
den hellige Bernhard
av Clairvaux Cistercienserne til en monastisk massebevegelse.
Robert regnes
tradisjonelt som medgrunnlegger av Cistercienserordenen. Men dette har med
rette blitt kritisert i de siste år, for en rekke dokumenter synes å være ca 40
år yngre enn tidligere antatt. Han er heller ikke med på den første listen over
abbeder i Cîteaux.
Robert ble kanonisert i
1222. Hans minnedag er 29. april. Alle tre grunnleggerne Robert, Alberik og
Stefan Harding feires også sammen i Cistercienserordenen den 26. januar.
Kilder: Farmer,
Schauber/Schindler, Attwater/John - Sist oppdatert: 1998-02-14 21:59
SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/rmolesme
Voir aussi : http://www.arccis.org/downloads/robertdemolesme.pdf
http://www.scourmont.be/exordium/unit2b.pdf
https://www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-robert-of-molesme-1027-1110-abbot/