The Irresistible Play of Gazes
Simone Riva - We see him, just 25 years old, taking his few belongings and setting off for the uninhabited countryside of Clairvaux, which was to become his "Clara Vallis" (Clairvaux). Shy, almost timid, he founded a new monastery with a few others. Prayer, study, reading, but above all, work. Bernard insisted on the latter to restore as much uncultivated land as possible.
His group of "hoe apostles" seeks to restore harmony between land, water, and animals, creating places to live that would otherwise be impossible. Finally, we know that knowing how to work is not enough; it is necessary to do it well.
It is precisely the care for work well done that will give rise to what we now call Europe, which was born in the silence of simple places where time and space were oriented to the affirmation of God, and which today seems to have become an enormous scaffolding in which everything and everyone desperately tries to affirm itself. Although perhaps the Europe of the monks today lives elsewhere, in the same concealment that only the least distracted and the most curious are aware of. A writer and a poet, he had a weakness for the Virgin Mary, which Dante would emphasize in the last canto of Paradise.
According to some accounts, Bernard preached so well that when he arrived in a town, the women locked their husbands in their houses, fearing they would leave their families to follow the monk. But of all those who turn when he passes by, the Virgin's turn remains unforgettable, as Bernard begs her to grant Dante's wish to see God without dying—a game of gazes in which everyone would like to participate.
These are the gazes of those who see, without being content to see, everything around us as a sign of the presence of another. Eyes that, in this way, become a new way of relating to things and people, making possible true relationships, authentic dialogues, and clear thoughts.
They are the glimpses that we all wish for ourselves and that we recognize in the various contingencies of life. St. Bernard, whom the Church celebrates today, said of Mary: "When the winds of temptation blow, when you run into the rocks of affliction, look to the star and call on Mary. When you are tossed by the waves of pride, contempt, and envy, look at the star and call on Mary. When anger, greed, or the temptations of the flesh rock the ship of the soul, look to Mary.
When you, disturbed by the enormity of sin, confused by the laziness of conscience, and frightened by the tenor of judgment, begin to be swallowed up by the abyss of sadness and despair, think of Mary. In the dangers, fears, and uncertainties, think of Mary and call on Mary. She will never leave your lips, she will never leave your heart; so that you may have the help of her prayer, never forget the example of her life. If you follow her, you cannot deviate; if you pray to her, you cannot despair; if you think of her, you cannot go wrong. If she supports you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you will not be afraid; if she guides you, you will not tire; if she is favorable to you, you will reach your goal" (St. Bernard, Hom. II super 'Missus est', 17). Perhaps, to live fully, it is enough to allow oneself to be involved in looking at reality in this irresistible play of gazes.
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