INTRODUCTION
The word spirituality derives from a
Latin word spiritualitas. It is any religious or ethical value which is put
into practice. It is an essential element in the church. Christian spirituality
is one of the full spectrums of those realities that constitute the Christian
life in relation to God. Within the Christian tradition, there is not just one
spirituality but a great diversity. There are also protestant and Islamic
spiritualities.
The spirituality of the early church
is Christocentric;
early Christian spirituality was Christocentric
both
because the words and deeds of Christ were still fresh in the minds of
Christians (thanks to those who had been witnesses to the Lord) and because
Christians lived in anticipation of the return of the risen Christ. This is
seen in the liturgical content of the Eucharistic prayer and homily.[1]
The early Christian spirituality of the early church is also eschatological
which is centered at the second coming of Christ. The spirituality of the early
church is equally ascetical.
To be spiritual means to be related
to God who is the spirit incarnate. Spirituality therefore can be explained as
the nature of God in man. It is striving towards perfection and holiness (cf
Matthew 5:48, Leviticus 11:44). Spirituality in its strict sense, according to
J. Aumann, O.P, refers to the religious or ethical values that are concretized
as an attitude or spirit from which one’s action flow.
Spirituality is the part of theology
that deals with Christian perfection and the ways that leads to it. It is a
comprehensive term, pertaining to our way of being Christian, in response to
the call of God, issued through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Spirituality embraces Trinitarian, Christological, ecclesiological and eschatological
realities. It is noted in the life of the triune God, centered on Jesus Christ,
situated in the church, ever responsive to the Holy Spirit and oriented always
to the coming of God’s reign in all his fullness at the end of human history.
This term paper on spirituality is
concerned and interested in examining the life history and spirituality of St.
Aelred of Rievaulx, and the spirituality of the historic period in which he
lived.
THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE HISTORIC
PERIOD OF ST AELRED OF RIEVAULX.
St Aelred of Rievaulx lived during
the period of the early middle ages. The early middle age is a period in Europe
dating from the collapse of the Roman Empire in the west around the 5th
century. However, the fixing of dates for the beginning and end of the middles
age is arbitrary.
The church’s duty in this period was
to look after the spiritual welfare of the body and everyone else. The only
universal European institution during this period was the church and the
hierarchy was in the hands of the local bishops. The church here basically saw
itself as the spiritual community of the Christian believer, in exile from
God’s kingdom waiting in a hostile world for the day of deliverance.
The spirituality of the early middle
age was highly monastic in nature. It is possible that monastic life in the
West could have developed without any direct influence from the East. The
ascetics, virgins and widows were already observing some of the practices proper
to a monastic lifestyle. Eusebius even speaks of an ascetic living in solitude
as early as the middle of the third century, But one of the distinguishing
elements of monastic life was absent in the first few centuries of the Church
in the West, namely, separation from the world. The early ascetics preferred
life in community to a solitary life separated from the world. Consequently,
although we cannot say with certainty that monastic life in the West was
strictly an importation from the East, during the fourth and fifth centuries
eastern monasticism was a dominant influence on the development of monastic
communities in the West.
The early middle age drew to an end
in the 10th century with the new migration and invasion. During this
period, the church began to take on distinctive shapes, whereas in the east the
church maintained its structure and character.
The
three principal spiritualities that existed in the period of the early middle
ages are:
a)
Celtic spirituality
b)
Benedictine spirituality
c)
Cistercian spirituality
THE
CELTIC SPIRITUALITY OF THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES
The
Celtic spirituality is mostly associated with saint Patrick of Ireland. Ireland
was never a part of the Roman Empire neither was it ever a subject to the Roman
law. It has a unique development and made its first contact with Rome through
the Christian faith. St Patrick was the great apostle of Ireland and his
missionary evangelization and activities left influences and a widespread
acceptance of the Christian faith. St Patrick’s legacy would be a great and
lasting one for the people of Ireland.[2] He
founded numerous monasteries, the most famous being that at Armagh.
Monasticism
played a great and important role in the development of Christianity in
Ireland. There was great enthusiasm by a large number of men and women to
embraces this form or way of life. The 5th and 6th
centuries witnessed the founding and electing of many monasteries throughout
the country of Ireland. The main components of the life of all these
monasteries were prayer, study and manual labour. The study of the sacred
scripture was held high in esteem. The spirituality of the monasteries in this
period was strongly scriptural; the psalms in particular were central to the
life of prayer.[3]
The magnificent history and
apostolic zeal of the monks of Ireland can be summarized in the life and works
of St. Patrick and St. Columbanus. St. Patrick (+493), of course, is the patron
of Ireland and the founder of Irish monasticism. The Church in Ireland developed
along the lines of the clan and the way of life in the local churches was
almost monastic. Both monks and nuns accompanied St. Patrick on his missionary
journeys and throughout the centuries the Irish monks were famous for their
evangelization of foreign lands. The Celtic monks also cultivated a love of
learning, so that Ireland became known as the isle of saints and scholars.[4]
Some
other characteristics of the Celtic spirituality are as follows: the
celebration of mass was the central act of worship and was solemnly celebrated
on Sundays and feast days. The reception of communion was encouraged in daily
basis and the prayer of the office was central to the daily life of the
monasteries and was carried out with great care and devotion. [5]
THE
BENEDICTINE SPIRITUALITY OF THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES
In the seventh and eighth centuries
the Church was still carried along by the momentum received from the fruitful
pontificate of St. Gregory the Great. The Council of Orange (529) had given the
Holy See great prestige and had confirmed the doctrinal authority of St.
Augustine. Prior to this, the writings of Boethius (+ 524) had also helped to
propagate Augustinian doctrine. However, the predominant influence and unifying
force was monasticism, and especially Benedictine monasticism.[6]
St Benedict of Nursia (480-547)
would become the most famous monastic legislator in the west. His rules were
built upon previous monastic rules and reflect the wisdom and the experience of
the tradition that he inherited. His summary of this tradition became the most
significant, and gradually it became supplant to all the other monastic rules
that were written in the sixth and seventh centuries in the west.[7]
St Benedict embraced the ascetic
life and he lived as a hermit on mount Subiaco. He lived in solitude in a cave
for three years. He lived the life of prayer, penance and solitude. The Rule of
St. Benedict is the most influential document in all of western monasticism,
for although there were numerous other monastic rules in this period, it was
the Rule of St. Benedict that the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 817, proposed
as the basic rule for monastic life. It is not, as some have asserted, an
entirely original innovation, but it draws on a number of previous sources such
as St. Pachomius, St. Basil, Cassian, St. Augustine and the Regula Magistri.[8]
St. Benedict had a gift for synthesizing the essential elements of these
diverse sources, with the result that his Rule is at once a faithful
continuation of the monastic traditions and practices and at the same time a
personal contribution to the necessary adaptation of monasticism to
contemporary needs.[9]
The Rule of St. Benedict can be
divided, as was the Regula Magistri, into two main sections: the
Prologue and the first seven chapters consist of spiritual doctrine; the
remainder (chapters 8-73) provides regulations for the life and discipline of
the monastery. Most of the first section is taken almost literally from the Regula
Magistri, and it begins with the well-known phrase, "Listen carefully,
my son, to the master's instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your
heart." Then follows the challenge: "This message of mine is for you,
then, if you are ready to give up your own will, once and for all, and armed
with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King,
Christ the Lord."[10]
The central concept in the Prologue is that the monastery is a "school for
the Lord's service," and St. Benedict concludes the Prologue with the
words: Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that
leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress
in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God's
commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.
Never swerving from his instructions, then, but faithfully observing his
teaching in the monastery until death, we shall through patience share in the
sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in his Kingdom. Amen.
THE CISTERCIAN SPIRITUALITY OF THE
MIDDLE EAST
The third outgrowth of monasticism
in the Middle Ages, and the most popular, was the Cistercian Order, founded by
St. Robert of Molesmes at Citeaux in 1098. After making the foundation, the
Pope commanded Robert to return to Molesmes but the other members remained at
Citeaux, living in great austerity under St. Alberic and St. Stephen Harding.
St. Bernard arrived at Citeaux with thirty companions in 1112 and so great was
the expansion of the Cistercian Order that when St. Bernard died in 1153, there
were 343 monasteries of strict observance covering Europe and reaching into the
Balkans and the Holy Land.
THE LIFE JOURNEY OF ST. AELRED OF
RIEVAULX
Aelred of Rievaulx, an English
Cistercian was born at hex ham in Northumbia around 1109. He spent much of his
youth at the Scottish court of king David 1. At the age of 24, he entered the
newly founded Cistercian abbey at Rievaulx in York-shire, a daughter house of Clairvaulx.
He was novice master there for a short period and then was elected abbot of
Revesby, a foundation of Rievaulx. In 1147 he returned to Rievaulx as abbot and
wisely and successfully directed this monastery until his death in 1167. He
suffered much from poor health and during his last years he was forced to
direct the monastery from his infirmary living quarters.
From his writings and biography written
by one of his discipline, Aelred emerges as a very warm, compassionate and
beloved person with great gift for friendship. He has often been referred to as
“Bernard of the North”. Although he never matched the breath of Bernard’s
accomplishments, there is the same warmth of sentiments in his writings and
wonderful ability to administer and organize. Under his leadership the
monastery at Rievaulx grew rapidly in number.
Aelred writes in his spiritual
friendship about his walking around his monastery and reflecting: “in that
multitude of brethren I found no one to whom I did not love, and no one by
whom, I felt sure, I was not loved. I was filled with such joy that it
surpassed all the delights of this world.[11]
St Aelred wrote various sermons, prayers and treaties which include “Jesus at
the age of twelve, a rule of life, mirror of charity and, spirituality
friendship.[12]
The mirror of charity was written at
the insistence of St. Bernard and flowed through the conferences he gave to his
novices. Aelred writes about the spiritual life as a response to God’s love,
freely choosing the love of God over the love of self. He also developed the
theme of restoration of God’s image and likeness in the human person, made
possible through Christ’s coming. Aelred made a distinct and unique
contribution among the monastic writers.
Aelred sees friendship as God’s gift
realized in Christ. “He that abides in friendship abides in God and God in
him”.[13]
The writing of Aelred has a series of meditation on the life of Christ[14].
Aelred died in 1167, he was a contemporary of St Thomas Becket and Henry II and
like them, was deeply involved in the history of the times. His monastery of
Rievaulx still survives today, one of the loveliest monastic ruins in England.
THE SPIRITUALITY OF ST. AELRED OF
RIEVAULX
Plagued
all his life by bad health, Aelred entered the Cistercian monastery at Rievaulx
at the age of 24 and died in 1167, after being an abbot for twenty years.
During much of this time he administered the abbey from the infirmary and
gained great renown as a spiritual director. Aelred was completely monastic in
his spiritual teaching and writings, attempting to show the monks how to
achieve union with God by abandoning self and sin and, through fraternal love
in community, restoring the image of God that had been lost through sin.[15]
Aelred appreciated the eremitical
life and in fact he wrote a treatise for his sister on the formation of a
recluse, but he was much more in favor of the cenobitic life. According to
Aelred, man's whole being longs for God because God has instilled this desire
in the human heart. More than that, man seeks to become like unto God, even
when he wanders in the "land of unlikeness" because of his sins. It
is only through Christ that man can realize his inmost desire, and hence he
should love Christ as his dearest friend. Indeed, "God himself is
friendship," and "he who dwells in friendship, dwells in God and God
in him." This is where human friendship, if it is a spiritual friendship,
can be a means of friendship with God. Anyone who enjoys such a spiritual human
friendship is by that very fact a friend of God. Friendship with God,
therefore, constitutes perfection because "to love God is to join our will
to God so completely that whatever the divine will prescribes, the human will
consents to."[16]
For Aelred the monastery is not
only, as St. Benedict stated, "A school for the Lord's
Service"
(Prologue, 45); it is a "school of love." Under the abbot, who stands
in the place of Christ, the monks are brought to friendship with God through
their fraternal love in community. Yet this does not mean that the monastic
life is a source of continual joy. The abandonment of human will to the divine
will involves suffering, and daily life in community often presents trials and
crosses. Some monks may even ask themselves, as did Bernard, why they have come
to the monastery or what is the value of their hidden life. To this, Aelred
would respond by showing the importance of the imitation of Christ and of his
apostles who suffered persecution and death.
It is everyone's affair by charity,
and the abbot's by his counsels, to prevent anyone from straying from the path,
or any delay on the journey. This peaceful confidence in the monastic life is
not peculiar to St. Aelred, but he sets it forth with a charm, a good humor,
and at times a humorousness that are entirely his own. St. Bernard, his master,
is a doctor of the Church, whereas St. Aelred is only a doctor of the monastic
life; and yet his teaching has a universal value, because monasticism is part
of the Church, and he himself lays stress on unity of spirit. Still, he is
thinking first of all of monks. The theologian is always the pleasant Father
Abbot.[17]
CHARACTERISTIC PHRASE OF ST AELRED
OF RIEVAULX
St Aelred of Rievaulx is one of the
most popular medieval spiritual writers. He brings together great deal of
traditional materials and organized them in a readable and creative way. He
speaks about the four stages in the process of contemplative prayer: reading, meditation, prayer and
contemplation.
Reading
for him is a careful study of the scriptures, meditation is the busy application of the mind to seek with one’s
own reason for the knowledge of the hidden truth, prayer is the heart’s devoted turning to God to drive away evil and
obtain what is good, contemplation
is the lifting up of the mind to God and held above self, so as to taste the
joys of everlasting sweetness.
The above illustration and
explanations are likened to eating. Reading is just like putting food into the
mouth, meditation is similar to chewing and breaking it up, prayer reflects in
the extraction of the flavour, and contemplation is the sweetness of the food
which gladdens and refreshes the body. This is more illustrated with the well
known words of the scriptures, “blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall
see God”.
RELATION WITH THE MISSION
St Aelred of Rievaulx Plagued all
his life by bad health entered the Cistercian monastery at Rievaulx at the age
of 24 and died in 1167, after being abbot for twenty years. During much of this
time he administered the abbey from the infirmary and gained great renown as a
spiritual director. Aelred was completely monastic in his spiritual teaching
and writings, attempting to show the monks how to achieve union with God by
abandoning self and sin and, through fraternal love in community, restoring the
image of God that had been lost through sin.
St Aelred of Rievaulx was so much
committed to his life as an abbot, he carried all his monks along in his
activity; he never hated any one neither was he hated by any one. He so much
involved himself with the youth, the monks of his time. For Aelred the
monastery is not only, as St. Benedict stated, "A school for the Lord's
service" (Prologue, 45); it is a "school of love." Under the
abbot, who stands in the place of Christ, the monks are brought to friendship
with God through their fraternal love in community. Yet this does not mean that
the monastic life is a source of continual joy. The abandonment of human will
to the divine will involves suffering, and daily life in community often
presents trials and crosses. Some monks may even ask themselves, as did
Bernard, why they have come to the monastery or what is the value of their
hidden life. To this, Aelred would respond by showing the importance of the
imitation of Christ and of his apostles who suffered persecution and death.[18]
His best works consist of sermons
and treatises, and of these the best are Mirror of Charity, Jesus as a
Twelve-year-old Boy, and Spiritual Friendship. It is everyone's
affair by charity, and the abbot's by his counsels, to prevent anyone from
straying from the path, or any delay on the journey. This peaceful confidence
in the monastic life is not peculiar to St. Aelred, but he sets it forth with a
charm, a good humor, and at times a humorousness, that are entirely his own. St.
Bernard, his master, is a doctor of the Church, whereas St. Aelred is only a
doctor of the monastic life; and yet his teaching has a universal value,
because monasticism is part of the Church, and he himself lays stress on unity
of spirit. Still, he is thinking first of all of monks. The theologian is
always the pleasant Father Abbot.[19]
WHAT TOUCHES ME IN THE SPIRITUALITY
OF ST AELRED
Aelred of Rievaulx irrespective of
the health issues he had was still able to paddle on with his monastic life.
Aelred was a monk who later was made an abbot. As an abbot of the monastery of
Rievaulx, Aelred had a special love for the youths especially the monks. This
is shown in his pastoral prayers and was also seen in his spiritual friendship
where he said, “in that multitude of brethren I found no one whom I did not
love, and no one by whom, I felt sure, I was not loved”. He was a loving
pastorally minded abbot, who calmly accepted the changing situation faced by
monks in their journey to God and tried to provide suitable guidance to help
them on their way.
St Aelred’s rule of life is centered
and focused on the goal of achieving spiritual and physical oneness. He sees
friendship as God’s given gift that is realize in Christ; just as he said in
his spiritual friendship, “he that abides in friendship abides in God and God
in him”. There are series of meditation in the life of Christ and devotions to
the humanity of Christ in the writings of St Aelred. He is too sentimental in
his writings and he also had a creative and wonderful ability to administer and
organize; these is seen in his character as the abbot of the monastery. He is very
warmth, compassionate and loving person with a gift and special interest for
friendship.
What touches me most is the ability
of St Aelred to accommodate peoples in his life. Hence, those who were restless
in the world and those to whom no religious house give entry, coming to St
Aelred in Rievaulx, the mother of mercy and finding the gates wide open, freely
entered therein.[20]
THE
ASPECT OF ST AELRED’S SPIRITUALITY WHICH I WOULD LIKE TO INTEGRATE IN MY OWN
SPIRITUAL LIFE
The
aspect of St Aelred’s life that I would love to integrate in my own life is his
love for learning and his desire for God. His love and desire for God is
outstanding in his life because in the monastic tradition, friendship exists as
a means of achieving an edifying union that symbolizes and points to divine
love.[21]
Aelred’s love and desire for God is reflected in his writings and his
relationship with the peoples around him. This led him to embrace and live full
his monastic life both as a monk and an abbot.
His developments on the themes so
dear to all the Cistercians of the restoration of God’s image and likeness in
the human person, made possible through Christ’s coming marvels me a lot. With
this mind set, coupled with the effect of his love and desire for God, he has
emphasis on friendship as a way to God and he made a distinct and unique
contribution among the monastic writers. Friendship for Aelred is rooted in the
love of Christ.
The above are all what touches me in
the life of St Aelred and they also are the things I saw in his life that I
would love to integrate in my own life, both the spiritual and the physical
aspects.
CONCLUSION
The
period of St Aelred of Rievaulx (1109-1167) was a great period in the history
of the early middle ages. It was a time marked by a gradual development of the
early monasticism and the monastic culture. This was also a time of change and
transition that led to the emergency of new developments and trends, it implies
renaissance.
This period in the twelfth century,
brought about developments to the earlier traditional forms of western
spirituality.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.
Charles J. Healey S.J. Christian
spirituality, an introduction to the heritage.
Paulist press, New York. 2003.
2.
Diarmuid O’ Laoghaire ”celtic
spirituality” in the study of spirituality, edited by C, Jones, G, Wainwright
and E, Yarnold. new York; oxford university press, 1986.
3.
Edition by F.M. Powicke, the life of Aelred of Rievaulx by Walter
Daniel. London: Thomas Nelson, 1963.
4.
J. F. Kenney, the Sources for the
Early History of Ireland, New York, N.Y., 1929.
5.
J.
F. Rivera Recio, "Espiritualidad popular medieval," in Historia de
la Espiritualidad, ed. B. J. Duque-L. S. Balust, Juan
Flors, Barcelona, 1969.
6.
J. Leclercq, F.Vandenbroucke, L. Bouyer,
The Spirituality of the Middle Ages, Burns & Oates, London, 1968.
7.
J.
Lortz, Geschichte der Kirche, Munster, 1950.
8.
J. Ryan, Irish Monasticism: Origins
and Early Development, Talbot Press, Dublin, 1931.
9.
Jordan Aumunn, O.P. Christian Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition. Published by
Ignatius Press/Sheed & Ward, 1985.
10.
L.
Génicot, La spiritualité médiévale, Paris, 1958.
11. L.
Gougaud, Christianity in Celtic Lands, London, 1932.
12. Michael
Downey (Ed). The new Dictionary of spirituality. Theological
publications in India, Bangalore.
13. W.
Daniel. The Life of Aelred of Rievaulx, London, 1950
[1] Jordan Aumunn, O.P. Christian
Spirituality in the Catholic Tradition. Published by Ignatius Press/Sheed
& Ward, 1985.
[2] Diarmuid O’ Laoghaire ”celtic spirituality”
in the study of spirituality, edited by C, Jones, G, Wainwright and E, Yarnold
(new York; oxford university press, 1986) pp218-219. (Charles J Healey. Christian
spirituality an introduction to the heritage pg97)
[3]
Charles J. Healey S.J. Christian spirituality, an introduction to
the heritage. Paulist press, New
York. 2003.
[4] Cf. J. F. Kenney, the Sources for the Early
History of Ireland, New York, N.Y., 1929; J. Ryan, Irish Monasticism:
Origins and Early Development, Talbot Press, Dublin, 1931; L.
Gougaud, Christianity in Celtic Lands, London, 1932.
[5]
ibid
[6] Cf. J. Lortz, Geschichte der Kirche, Munster,
1950; J. Leclercq, F.Vandenbroucke, L. Bouyer, The Spirituality of the
Middle Ages, Burns & Oates, London, 1968; L. Génicot, La
spiritualité médiévale, Paris, 1958; J. F. Rivera Recio,
"Espiritualidad popular medieval," in Historia de la
Espiritualidad, ed. B. J. Duque-L. S. Balust, Juan Flors, Barcelona, 1969,
pp. 609-657.
[7]
J. Healey S.J. Christian spirituality, an introduction to the heritage. Paulist press, New York. 2003.pg 85
[8] For discussion of relation between Rule of St.
Benedict and Regula Magistri, cf. C. Peifer, art. cit., pp.
79-90.
[9]
Charles J. Healey S.J. Christian spirituality, an introduction to
the heritage. Paulist press, New
York. 2003.pg 85
[10] All quotations from the Rule of St. Benedict, ed.
T. Fry, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minn., 1981.
[11]
Aelred of Rievaulx, spiritual friendship, translated by mary Eugenia Laker, s.s.n.d and introduction by
douglas Roby( kalamazoo, mi: Cistercian publication,1969).
[12]
(McGinn, op. cit.,pp.309-323) kalamazoo , mi: cistercian publication, 1969).
[13]
Spiritual friendship, op. cit, pp. 65-66. The writings of Aelred has a series
of meditation on the life of Christ.
[14]
Charles J. Healey S.J. Christian spirituality, an introduction to
the heritage. Paulist press, New
York. 2003. pg 131-135.
[15] Jordan. Aumunn O.P. Christian Spirituality in the Catholic
Tradition. published by Ignatius Press/Sheed & Ward, 1985.
[16] Speculum caritatis, PL
195, 566.
[17] Cf. J. Leclercq et al., op. cit., p. 208. For
further details Cf. W: Daniel, The Life of Aelred of Rievaulx, London,
1950.
[18] Jordan. Aumunn O.P. Christian Spirituality in the Catholic
Tradition. published by Ignatius Press/Sheed & Ward, 1985.
The
Life of Aelred of Rievaulx, London,
1950.
[20] Edition by F.M. Powicke, the life of Aelred of Rievaulx by Walter Daniel. London: Thomas
Nelson, 1963.
[21]
Michael Downey (Ed). The new Dictionary of spirituality. Theological
publications in India, Bangalore. pg 425.
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