June 10, 2005
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, in addition to being a nobleman, monk, abbot, preacher, writer and diplomat, was also a realist. He knew the human condition well and had a profound understanding of what was involved in the human response to God. He knew that human beings struggle against evil and struggle to respond to grace.
In one of his Sentences (III, 39B) the abbot of Clairvaux lists four categories of struggle for those attempting to lead spiritual lives. First, he says, we struggle against flesh and blood. That is, we struggle with the weaknesses and limitations of our own human nature. Second, we struggle with those whom we live, in our families or communities. In addition to wrestling with our own weaknesses and limitations, we are forced to come to grips with those of the people closest to us. Third, we struggle with the devil, who is always laying snares for us and trying to trip us up. Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, he says that we struggle with Christ Himself.
It is the mention of the second and fourth kinds of struggle that is most consoling to me. Pretty much all of us know that we struggle with ourselves and with the devil. But to admit that we also wrestle with those near to us is a relief. It’s an expected part of the spiritual life. And finally to know that others also struggle with Christ, to allow Him to guide and direct our lives, is perhaps the most consoling. May we win the first three of these struggles, and lose the last one to Christ.
Fr. Herald Brock, CFR
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