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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240110
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UID:11461-1704844800-1704931199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St William of Bourges
DESCRIPTION:SAINT WILLIAM\, \nARCHBISHOP OF BOURGES\, FRANCE \nFrom “In the Valley of Wormwood” by Thomas Merton4 \n◊◊◊ \nSeek peace and follow after her. The search for interior and exterior peace\, \nfor himself and for others\, is more or less the dominating theme of…Saint William \nof Bourges… William de Donjean came from the family of the Counts of Nevers and \nwas born at the castle of Arthel near Nevers\, probably about 1140… Going on to \nParis where he completed his studies for the priesthood\, he became a canon there \nalso\, but he renounced all that a brilliant career in the Church held out to him and \nretired to the strictest Order he could find: the Order of Grandmont… After a short \ngolden age…the Order of Grandmont fell into a decline…notorious in the Church \nfor its incessant internal quarrels\, dissensions\, rebellions and scenes of violence… \nAbout the time Saint William became a member of the Order\, matters had already \nreached a crisis… Having entered the Order about 1164\, and made his profession\, \nhe left it again about 1170. The peace he had sought\, and which the Rule of \nGrandmont had seemed to promise\, was not to be found here. He made his way to \nthe Cistercian abbey of Pontigny… \nSaint William so impressed all with his virtues and talents that he was soon \nchosen as Prior of Pontigny. Some years later\, about 1184\, he became abbot of \nFountains-Jean\, a thriving community of over two hundred monks with many lay \nbrothers\, but he did not remain there long. In 1188 he was abbot of Chalis. He was \nthe admiration of all for his sanctity which made itself evident by the extraordinary \ninterior peace and spiritual joy which he radiated and which affected all who came \nin contact with them… \nThe fame of his virtues and sanctity made it impossible for him to remain \nlonger in the cloister which he loved… In 1199 the Cathedral Chapter of Bourges\, \nhaving come to a deadlock in their efforts to select a new archbishop\, drew up a list \nthat included several Cistercian abbots and submitted it to Odo of Sully\, Bishop of \nParis\, with the intention of accepting his choice as final… The archbishop…placed \nthree of the best names on slips of paper under the altar cloth while he said Mass\, \nand then afterwards in the presence of two other bishops\, he took one of the papers. \nThe name on it was William of Chalis… Saint William made himself remarkable \nfrom the very outset as a prelate who refused to maintain a private army and resort \nto force in order to keep order in his diocese… William relied first on the example \nof a life of uncompromising abnegation and ceaseless prayer and then on preaching \nof the word of God and showing mercy and pardon to his enemies… \nOn the feast of the Epiphany\, 1209\, Saint William must have had a \npresentiment that his end was near… He received the Body of Christ…kneeling on \nthe floor with his arms out in the form of a cross. After that… he entered into his \nagony. He was then taken from his bed and placed on a haircloth and heap of ashes \nin the middle of the floor\, according to the Cistercian usages\, and there he gave up \nhis soul to God… \nHis process was introduced\, strangely enough\, not at the suggestion of the \nCistercians but of the Grandmontines. The Prior of Grandmont\, speaking of his \nown memory of Saint William as a member of that Order\, praised his holiness of \nlife to Innocent III at the Fourth Lateran Council… Saint William’s canonization \ntook only nine years… It was completed in 1218… At the present day…his life is \npractically unknown. Yet he is one of our greatest saints\, and we have much to \nreflect upon and imitate in his perfection of Christ-like charity and apostolic love \nof souls\, which seeks to win men to the kingdom of God by love and mercy and \npurity of life and prayer…. \n  \n4 Merton\, Thomas. In the Valley of Wormwood – Cistercian Blessed and Saints of the Golden Age. CS 233. Ed. Patrick Hart. \nCollegeville\, MN: Cistercian Publications\, 2013. 19-20\, 22-24\, 26\, 28-30.9 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-william-of-bourges/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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