October 6--St. Bruno, Priest and Religious

 

St. Bruno Praying in the Desert by Nicolas Mignard is licensed under the public domain.

The end of the first millennium saw numerous reforms in the Church and religious life. The reforms of Pope St. Gregory VII allowed for the Church to be independent from control of the state. New religious orders, based upon the Rule of St. Benedict, were developing, especially in France. One of those orders was the Carthusian order of monks founded by today’s saint, St. Bruno. “They lived primarily as hermits and came together for the liturgy and for occasional common activities.” St. Bruno was born in Cologne, now in Germany around A.D. 1030 to a principal family of the city. He studied in Reims, France where he eventually became in charge of the school of the bishop for eighteen years. He became chancellor of the Archdiocese of Reims in 1075. He was offered the position of bishop, but instead decided to withdraw from the active ministry of diocesan work for the role of a hermit. In 1084 he and six companions went into the French Alps near Grenoble at Chartreuse and started a small community of hermits, which became the Carthusian order. St. Bruno’s student, Pope Urban II, called him to Rome to reengage in the daily activities of helping to run the universal Church as Pope Urban’s counsellor. St. Bruno died in 1101.

St. Bruno is a model for both the active and the contemplative life as symbolized by Martha and Mary, who were friends of Jesus. We need public servants of the Church to do the daily practical work of teaching, administrating, preaching, worshipping, healing, and more for the benefit of the People of God. But we also need the hidden servants who pray, meditate, sacrifice, and intercede on behalf of the People of God. St. Bruno was a master of both! St. Bruno, pray for us.

May 25--St. Gregory VII, Pope

What happens when a ruler wants to take over the Church?  Our saint today had that problem back in the  eleventh century.  Pope St. Gregory VII was pope at a time when the emperor was trying to control the Church through his investing of authority to bishops.  If Emperor Henry IV could "hire" the bishops, then he could control them and rule them, and the Church, the way he ruled the empire.  This corrupt use of power was called lay investiture, giving authority to leaders of  the Church by lay rulers.

Pope St. Gregory VII was a reforming pope.  Before he became pope he was an advisor to popes in their efforts to help the Church retain their religious rights and liberties against local rulers who wanted to make those bishops and abbots another part of the government.  Gregory excommunicated Henry at one point, but Henry repented and Gregory lifted the excommunication.  Whereupon, Henry consolidated his power, gathered his forces, arrested Gregory, and exiled him, where Gregory died.

The Church as the right to minister as she sees fit without restriction by the government.  She has the right to teach the faith.  She has the right to choose who may teach the faith and the right to require those teachers to be faithful to her teachings. She as the right to serve the poor without being required to follow the latest government dogmas on a new and unjust standard of equality.  She has the right to speak out against injustices perpetrated by the government.  Pope St. Gregory VII would recognize ours as a time of struggle between Church and State.  Pope St. Gregory VII, pray for us.