St. Berard (died 1220) was a well-educated Italian nobleman who gave up his wealth and rank to join the Franciscans in their earliest days. He was accepted into the order by St. Francis himself, and like the other Franciscans, he owned nothing, begged for his daily bread, and traveled from town to town preaching the gospel.
He spoke Arabic, and in 1219 he led a missionary team to Morocco. With his companions Peter, Otho, Accurcius, and Adjutus, he began preaching in the marketplace. They were immediately arrested and ordered to leave the country. When they began preaching again, the exasperated sultan ordered them executed. They were beaten, offered bribes to give up their faith, and finally beheaded by the sultan himself. They were the first Franciscan martyrs.
The word martyr means “witness,” and every martyr is a witness to the faith. But in a case like this, it is easy to wonder what purpose their deaths served. It is not reported that they made any converts among the Muslims. Likewise, it is easy for us to wonder what God is doing with our lives. We trust that he is working through our lives, but sometimes it is beyond us to see how.
This is not the end of St. Berard’s story.
The relics of him and his companions were carried back to Portugal. Upon viewing their relics, and thinking of their heroism, the young Anthony of Padua was inspired to imitate them. He joined the Franciscans and become a traveling preacher. Anthony of Padua was wildly successful in his preaching career, becoming one of the greatest preachers and miracle-workers of the Catholic Church, and one of its most beloved saints. (I will have to post some of those miracles….)
So God knows better than we do how our lives, lived for him, can have an impact on other lives, and can build the Kingdom in ways we would never expect. It is up to us to faithfully do the work he has given us, and trust him.
God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission -- I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I have a part in a great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. -- John Henry Cardinal Newman.
Sounds a lot like Pauls life. The converts he made after his death outnumbered the converts in his life. Giving your life for the Lord is never wasted.
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify my confusion here. This is not St Bernard of Clairveaux, right? This isnt the guy that the breed of dog is named after?
ReplyDeleteNope. For one thing, this guy is named Berard, or Berardus, not Bernard -- although I read Bernard too when I first started looking him up.
ReplyDeleteBernard of Clairvaux started the Cistercian order, preached the Second Crusade, wrote the fabulous mystical commentaries on Song of Songs, and is sometimes shown in art kneeling in front of the Virgin Mary while she shoots breast milk at him.
But St. Bernard dogs aren't named after him.
They're named after the old travelers' lodge on the often treacherous St. Bernard pass between Switzerland and Italy. The dogs, lodge, and pass are all named after Bernard of Menthon, the 10th century monk who established the station. Bernard of Menthon was a Benedictine monk who devoted his life to preaching the Gospel in the Alps, when he realized the people there were still half-pagan.