quinta-feira, 28 de fevereiro de 2019

The study of the Order of Saint Gilbert







The study of the order of St Gilbert, which is of English origin, shows how in this country also sympathy with convent life was spreading during the 12th century, and how, owing to the protection afforded to peaceful and domestic pursuits by the religious houses many girls and women of the middle classes became nuns. From an intellectual point of view the order of St Gilbert has little to recommend it, for we know of no men or women belonging to the order who distinguished themselves in learning, literature or art. As a previous chapter has indicated, its purpose was chiefly to prevent women from drifting into the unattached and homeless class, the existence of which was beginning to be recognized as prejudicial to society.
The material for the study of the order is abundant. We have several accounts of the life and work of Gilbert, besides minute injunctions he drafted to regulate the life of his communities, and there are references to him in contemporary literature. The success of his efforts, like that of the men who founded combined orders of canons and nuns abroad, was due to the admission of women into his settlements regardless of their class and antecedents. Like Robert of Arbrissel his interest centered in women, but he differed from him in giving the supreme authority of his settlements into the hands of men. For the settlements which afterwards became double originated in Gilbert's wish to provide for women who sought him as their spiritual adviser. It was only in consequence of the difficulties he encountered that canons were added to the settlements.
Helyot likens the order of St Gilbert to that of Norbert, the founder of the order of Prémontré,[2*] but here too there are marked points of difference, for in disposition and character Gilbert was as unlike Norbert as he was to Robert; he had neither the masterfulness of the one nor the clear-sighted determination of the other. The reason of his popularity lies more in his gentleness and persuasiveness, and these qualities made him especially attractive to women.
Gilbert was a native of Lincolnshire, born about 1083, the son of a wealthy Norman baron and an English woman of low rank. His ungainly appearance and want of courtly bearing rendered him unfit for knightly service. He was sent to France for his education and there attained some reputation as a teacher. After his return home he devoted his energies to teaching boys and girls in the neighborhood. His father bestowed on him two livings, one of which was at Sempringham. His chief characteristic was pity for the lowly and humble, and this attracted the attention among others of Robert Bloet, bishop of Lincoln († 1123). For a time Gilbert acted as a clerk in Bloet's house, and after his death remained with his successor Alexander († 1148) in a like capacity. With Alexander he consulted about permanently providing for those of the lower classes whom his liberality was attracting to Sempringham.
The first step taken by Gilbert was to erect suitable dwellings round the church of St. Andrew at Sempringham for seven women whom he had taught and who had devoted themselves to religion under his guidance, and as they were not to leave their dwelling place, lay sisters were appointed to wait on them. He also provided dwellings at Sempringham for the poor, the infirm, for lepers, and orphans.
The order of Gilbert is held to have been established before 1135, the year of King Henry l's death.[3*] The author of his life in Dugdale likens Gilbert's progress at this time to the chariot of Aminadab; to it clung clerics and laymen, literate and illiterate women, and it was drawn by Master Gilbert himself.
Gilbert had entered into friendly relations with the Cistercian monks who were then gaining ground in Yorkshire, and William, first abbot of Rievaulx († 1145--6), was among them. He had a good deal to do with Aelred († 1166), a notable north-country man who came from Scotland to live at Rievaulx, and afterwards became abbot successively of Revesby and Rievaulx.
At this time there were no nunneries in the north of England, for the great settlements of the early English period had passed away and no new houses for women had been founded. The numbers of those who flocked to Gilbert were so great that he felt called upon to give them a more definite organization. His friendship with Cistercian monks no doubt turned his eyes to Citeaux, and the wish arose in him to affiliate his convents to the Cistercian order. Having placed his congregations under the care of the Cistercians, he set out for Citeaux about 1146.
But his hopes were not fulfilled. At Citeaux he met Pope Eugenius III († 1153) and other leading men. He cemented his friendship with Bernard of Clairvaux and entered into friendly relations with Malachy, bishop of Armagh († 1 148), who had introduced the Cistercian order into Ireland. But the assembly at Citeaux came to the conclusion that they would not preside over another religious order, especially not over one for women,[4*] and Gilbert was urged to remain at the head of his communities and Bernard and Malachy presented him with an abbot's staff.
He returned to England, burdened with a responsibility from which he would gladly have been free, and obliged to frame a definite rule of life for his followers. As one account puts it, 'he now studied the rules of all religious orders and culled from each its flowers.' The outcome of his efforts was the elaborate set of injunctions which now lie before us.
From these injunctions we can see how Gilbert's original plan had expanded, for his settlements consisted of bands of canons, lay-brethren, nuns, and lay-sisters. One set of rules is drafted for the canons that observed the rule of St Augustine and performed religious service for the double community, and a separate set for the laymen who acted as servants. And similarly there is one set of rules for the nuns who lived by the rule of St Benedict and another for their servants the lay-sisters.
These rules suggest many points of similarity to the combined settlements of canons and nuns previously founded abroad, but there are also some differences.
In the Gilbertine settlements the dwellings of the men and women were contiguous, and the convent precincts and the church were divided between them. The men's dwelling was under the rule of a prior, but three prioresses ruled conjointly in the women's house. The arrangements in both convents were alike, and the duties of prior and prioress similar, but in all matters of importance the chief authority belonged to the prior who was at the head of the whole settlement. The property owned by Gilbertine settlements apparently consisted largely of sheep and among the men we note a number of shepherds and a 'procurator' who bought and sold the animals. The ewes were regularly milked and the wool was either used in the house for making clothes, or sold. The lay-sisters were appointed to spin and weave and the nuns to cut out and make the garments.
There was one cellar and one kitchen for the whole settlement, for the cellaress in the women's house acted as caterer both for the canons and the nuns. Domestic duties fell to the share of the women. They cooked the canons' food as well as their own and handed the meals into the men's quarters through a hole in the wall with a turn-table, through which the plates and dishes were returned to them. They also made clothes for the whole establishment.
At the daily chapter held in the women's house the prioresses presided in turn, with a companion on either side. The cellaress reported to the prioress, which settled the allowances and gave out the food. She received information also from the 'scrutatrices,' the nuns whose duty it was to go the round of the house and report disorders, and according to whose reports she imposed the various penances.
We also hear in the women's house of a librarian ('precentrix'[5*] ), who had the keys of the book-case ('armarium'), which was kept locked except during reading time when the nuns were allowed the use of the books. There was to be no quarrelling over the books; the nun like the canon was directed to take the one allotted to her and not to appropriate that given to another. Simplicity of life was studied. Pictures and sculpture were declared superfluous and the crosses used were to be of painted wood. Only books for choir use were to be written in the convent, but while this holds good alike for the women and for the men, there is this further prohibition with regard to the nuns, that talking in Latin was to be avoided. 'Altogether,' says the rule,[6*] 'we forbid the use of the Latin tongue unless under special circumstances.
The cooking was done by the nuns in turn for a week at a time in compliance with a regulation contained in the rule of St Benedict. The librarian also had her week of cooking, and when she was on duty in the kitchen, gave up her keys to another nun. We hear also of the mistress appointed to teach the novices, and of the portress who guarded the approaches to the house.
The injunctions drafted for the canons and the lay members of the settlement are equally explicit. Directions are also given about tending the sick, who were to be treated with tenderness and care.
Girls were admitted into the company of the nuns at the age of twelve, but several years passed before they could be enrolled among the novices. At the age of twenty the alternative was put before the novice of joining the nuns or the lay-sisters. If she decided in favour of the latter she could not afterwards be promoted to the rank of nun; she was bound to observe chastity and obedience while she remained in the house, but she was not consecrated. A certain amount of knowledge of the hymns, psalms and books of service was required from the novice before she could make profession.
The scheme of life worked out by Gilbert met with success and numerous patrons were found to endow settlements on the plan of that at Sempringham. As the chronicler says, 'many wealthy and highborn Englishmen, counts and barons, seeing and approving of the undertaking the Lord had initiated and holding that good would come of it, bestowed many properties (" fundos et praedia') on the holy father (Gilbert) and began to construct on their own account numerous monasteries in various districts.'
The greater numbers of these settlements were situated in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, but judging by the extant charters the conditions and purposes of their foundations were not always the same. Sometimes the grant is made conjointly to men and women; sometimes reference is made to the prior only. In the earlier charters the women are especially noticed, in the later ones more account is taken of the men. As time went on the order gradually ceased to have any attraction for women, and at the time of the dissolution several foundations originally made for men and women were occupied only by canons.
Gilbert himself did not accept a position of authority in his order but became a canon at Bullington, one of its settlements. He appears to have been influential in wider circles and we find him several times at court. King Henry II visited him, and both the king and Queen Eleanor made grants of land to the order. Henry regarded Gilbert with so much favour that when he was summoned before the King's Court in London on the charge of having supported Becket in his exile, the king sent a message from abroad ordering his case to be. Reserved for royal judgment, which practically meant his acquittal.[7*]
Rapidly as the number of Gilbertine houses increased, the order did not remain entirely free from trouble, for even in Gilbert's lifetime distressing incidents happened which justified to some extent the scornful remarks of contemporary writers. One of these difficulties arose sometime between 1153 and 1166 in connection with a girl at Watton. A full account of the affair was written and forwarded to Gilbert by Aelred, abbot of Rievaulx.[8*] This account illustrates pointedly the readiness of the age to accept a miraculous rendering of fact, and gives a curious insight into the temper of a community of nuns. Indeed such violence of conduct and details of such behavior as are here described show that the barbarity of the age, which so often strikes us in connection with camp and court, was reflected in the monastery.
Watton was among the older Gilbertine houses and had been founded before 1148 by a nobleman Eustace Fitz-John on property which had belonged to a nunnery during the early English period.[9*] The settlement was among the larger Gilbertine houses; it owned property to the extent of twenty acres.
The girl had been placed under the care of the nuns of Watton at the suggestion of Murdach, abbot of Fountains († 1153), and had given endless trouble by her unbecoming levity and hopeless laziness. 'She is corrected by word of mouth but without result, she is urged by blows but there is no improvement,' writes Aelred, who speaks of her as a nun without telling us that she had actually made profession.
She made the acquaintance of one of the lay-brothers who were engaged in repairing the women's dwelling. The two contrived to meet frequently out of doors until at last the nun's condition became obvious. Her fellow-nuns were so incensed at this discovery that they treated her with barbarous cruelty and would have put her to death had not the prioress intervened and had her chained and imprisoned. The anger of the nuns now turned against the lay-brother who had brought disgrace on their convent, and with a mixture of cunning and deceit they managed to discover him and have him terribly mutilated. 'I do not praise the deed, but the zeal,' says Aelred; 'I do not approve of bloodshed, but for all that I praise the virgins' hatred of such wickedness.' The esprit de corps among the nuns and their indignation evidently went far in his eyes to excuse behavior which he would not describe as he did if he had not felt it altogether reprehensible.
Meanwhile the nun overcome by contrition was awaiting her delivery in prison; there she had visions of abbot Murdach who had died some years before. He first rebuked her, but then miraculously relieved her of her burden and restored her to her normal condition. The nuns though greatly surprised were convinced of the truth of the statement concerning the miraculous doings of Murdach because they found the nun's chains loosened. The prior of Watton sent for Ailred to enquire more closely into the matter. Aelred came, collected all possible evidence, and was convinced that there had been divine intervention on the girl's behalf. He wrote an account of what had happened to Gilbert, with these words as preface: 'to know of the Lord's miracles and of his proofs of divine love and to be silent about them were sacrilege.' What became of the girl we are not told. For trespasses such as hers the rule of Gilbert decreed life-long incarceration, but the canon for a like trespass suffered no punishment beyond being expelled from the settlement.
The old age of Gilbert was further troubled by the evil conduct of two men, Gerard a smith, and Ogger a carpenter. He had taken them into the order out of charity, but they greatly abused his kindness, appropriated the revenues of the order, and encouraged dishonesty and sexual irregularities. Their behavior was productive of such results that it called forth a letter from Becket to Gilbert in which he says 'the greater our love, the more we are troubled and perturbed by hearing of things happening in your order, which are a grievance not only before the eyes of men but before the eyes of God.'
However letters in defense of Gilbert were written by Roger archbishop of York († 1181), Henry bishop of Winchester († 1171) and William bishop of Norwich († 1174), who treat the occurrence as a misfortune and praise the order generally in the warmest terms. Praise from other quarters is not wanting, which shows that Gilbert's work was considered remarkable, especially with regard to the influence he had over women. William of Newburgh wrote of him: 'As far as this is concerned, in my opinion he holds the palm above all others whom we know to have devoted their energies to the control and government of religious women.[10*]
Gilbert lived to an advanced age. Walter Map, writing between 1182 and 1189, speaks of him as over a hundred and well-nigh blind. He was buried at Sempringham, where his tomb became the goal of many pilgrimages and the scene of many miracles. He was canonized a saint of the Church by Pope Innocent II in 1202. One of the accounts of his life, written shortly after his death, says that the order at that time numbered thirteen conventual churches and contained seven hundred men and fifteen hundred women.
The East Riding Antiquarian Society has recently begun excavating on the site of Watton Priory, one of the oldest Gilbertine settlements, and has ascertained many particulars about the inner arrangements of this house.[11*] It has found that the church, built on the foundations of a Norman church which had been destroyed by fire in 1167, was divided throughout its entire length by a substantial partition wall nearly five feet thick. The church served for both sexes of the community, which were kept separate by this partition. In some places remains of this wall were found up to the height of four feet; this was part of the solid foundation upon which, above the height of the eye, was erected an open arcade which made it possible for the whole community to hear the sermon preached on festal days from the pulpit. The parts into which the church was divided were of unequal size. Dr Cox, the president of the Society, who read a paper on the Gilbertine statutes, said that the full complement of the double house at Watton consisted of a hundred and forty women and seventy men, and that the larger part of the church was appropriated to the women and the smaller to the men.
It was further shown by the excavations that the dividing wall had in one place an archway, covering the door which was opened for the great processions of both sexes which took place on the fourteen great festivals of the year and at funerals. Remains were also found of an opening in the wall with a turn-table, so arranged that articles could be passed through without either sex seeing the other. Through this the chalice, when the canons' mass was over, would be passed back and restored to the custody of the nuns; no doubt this was constructed on the same plan as the opening through which the food was passed.
The cloister of the nuns lay on the north side of the transept and must have been about a hundred feet square, an alley of ten feet wide surrounding it. It is thought that the stone of which the house was built must have been brought up the Humber from Whitby. An early writer tells us that the nuns' dwelling at Watton was connected by an underground passage with the holy well at Kilnwick, and that the nuns by means of these waters performed wonderful cures.[12*]


Notes
[1*] A. SS. Boll., St Gilbert, Feb. 4, contain two short lives; Dugdale, Monasticon, vol. 6 inserted between pp. 946, 947, contains a longer account, the 'Institutiones,' and various references to Gilbert; Dict. of Nat. Biography refers to a MS. account at Oxford, Digby, 36, Bodleian.
[2*] Helyot, Histoire des ordres mmon., 1714, vol. 2, p. 190.
[3*] Dict. Of Nat. Biography.
[4*] A. SS. Boll., St Gilbert, Feb. 4 , Vita, nr 2, ch. 3; Dugdale, Vita, p. xi.
[5*] The 'precentrix' is strictly speaking the leader of the choir. Cf. Below ch. 10. 2.
[6*] Dugdale, Institutiones, p. 1xxxii.
[7*] Dic. of Nat Biography.
[8*] Ailred, Opera (in Migne, Patrol. Cursus comp., vol. 195), p. 789. 'De sanctimoniali de Wattun.'
[9*] Oliver, G., History of Beverley and Watton, 1829, p. 520 ff.; cf. above, p. 91.
[10*] Dugdale, Monasticon, vol. 6, p. xcviii.
[11*] Report in Athenaeum, Oct 7, 1893.
[12*] Oliver, G., History of Beverley and Watton, 1829, p. 531.




Igreja de São Gilberto em Brothertoft

Resultado de imagem para são gilberto de sempringham


                A igreja de São Gilberto em Brothertoft foi uma igreja paroquial cuidada pelos gilbertinos. O próprio São Gilberto foi um dos responsáveis por esta paróquia. Hoje pertence à Igreja Anglicana.


Interior of St Gilbert of Sempringham, Brothertoft

File:Brothertoft - St Gilbert of Sempringham - geograph.org.uk - 104783.jpg


Photograph of St. Gilbert's Church,  Brothertoft

Ofertas de São Gilberto






       A vida cristã consciente consiste em fazer dela uma oferenda agradável e salutar, santa e imaculada a Deus.
       Assim as ofertas de São Gilberto é um louvor e uma ação de graças a Deus e ao mesmo tempo em que ofertamos sua vida e sua história desejamos também que a nossa via seja uma oferta santa e agradável ao Senhor.
         Para que esse momento de oração-ofertório seja um ato de louvor a Deus, possamos nos colocar na presença viva do Senhor e render-lhe nossa eterna gratidão pela vida e história de seu servo.






Celebrando o nosso ofertório

1- Em nome do Pai...
2- Invocação do Espírito Santo
3- Oração a São Gilberto:

São Gilberto, tu que foste uma oferta agradável a Deus, rogai pela nossa vida, a fim de que nós também sejamos uma oferta pura e sem mancha ao nosso Deus. Amém!

4- Silêncio e meditação
5- Ofertas de São Gilberto:

- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, a concepção de São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, os genitores de São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, os irmãos de São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, os limites físicos de São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, as lutas interiores de vosso servo São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, o coração manso e sereno de São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, o silêncio interior de São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, o amor nutrido e oferecido por São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, a vida de solicitude de São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, o desejo de santidade de vosso filho São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, a confiança e o abandono de São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, o trabalho e a missão de São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, o zelo pelas almas de São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, o caminho de conversão trilhado por São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, a vida em comunidade vivida por São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, as dores e angústias sofridas por amor de São Gilberto
- oferecemos, ó nosso Deus e Pai, a longa vida de São Gilberto

6- Pai nosso
7- Ave Maria
8- Glória ao Pai...
9- Oração espontânea
10- Agradecimento:

Infinitas graças, nós vos rendemos, ó nosso bom Deus, pela vida de vosso servo, o presbítero e confessor, São Gilberto de Sempringham e, suplicamos que pela sua intercessão, a nossa vida também possa ser uma oferenda agradável a vós. Por Cristo, nosso Senhor. Amém!






São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio...

Resultado de imagem para saint gilbert of sempringham

São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a minha familial
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a minha entrega a Deus!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a minha história!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a minha esperança cristã!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a minha saúde espiritual!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio todas as minhas preocupações!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio minhas lutas diárias!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio minhas decisões e resoluções!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio meu desejo de salvação em Cristo!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio o sonho de vida plena!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio os projetos de vida!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio o anseio de minha santidade pessoal!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a busca contínua de ser discípulo!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a vontade e o desejo de ser feliz!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio o continuo anseio de paz!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a busca de minha dignidade humana!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a vida nos corações atribulados!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a paz para os corações violentos!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio o anseio de uma experiência do amor!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a busca de vida para os meus inimigos!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio o anseio de liberdade religiosa!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a solidariedade entre os povos!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a salvação dos perversos!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a minha salvação eterna!
São Gilberto, em tua amizade eu confio a intercessão pela minha conversão!


Imagem relacionada

Rendendo ação de graças com São Gilberto




"Pai de ternura e de bondade, nós vos louvamos, vos bendizemos e glorificamos vosso nome por todos os séculos dos séculos.
Bendito seja vosso poder e vossa misericórdia por todas as gerações.
Bendizemos e adoramos-vos pela vossa infinita e inefável compaixão que nos concedeis em vosso amor de Pai a plenitude de vossa graça através de Jesus Cristo, vosso amado Filho, nascido da Virgem Maria, na noite santa de Belém.
Queremos render-vos graças e louvores juntamente com São Gilberto, vosso servo. Ele que soube render-vos graças e louvores em sua vida e história e, pedimos pela sua intercessão a graça de também nós rendermos graças ao vosso nome glorioso e ao vosso infinito amor revelado em vosso filho unigênito.
São Gilberto, rogai a Deus por nós a fim de que sejamos capazes em nossa vida de reconhecer e louvar o santo nome de Deus Pai e de seu Filho Jesus Cristo.
Ajudai-nos a preparar sempre os nossos corações para acolher com amor e fé o insondável mistério do nascimento do Salvador, assim, nós seremos salvos e poderemos cantar os mais profundos louvores e ação de graças pela plenitude da revelação do Pai em nosso favor.
Rogai por nós, ó servo de Deus e amigo dos homens, e nós seremos fortalecidos para honrar com nossa vida o santo nome do Senhor e haveremos de render-vos louvores e graças por toda a nossa vida. Amém!"



Resultado de imagem para rendendo graças a deus

Oração a São Gilberto pelo dom da sabedoria






"Óh glorioso São Gilberto de Sempringham, tu que foste revestido da força do Alto e viveste ocm sabedoria os teus dias, na santa presença do Senhor, nós te pedimos que interceda por nós junto a Jesus Cristo pelo dom da sabedoria para os nossos dias, a fim de que possamos aprender a contar bem o nosso tempo e viver na presença de Deus.
Intercedei por nós para que fortalecidos pelo dom do Espírito Santo tenhamos a sabedoria em cada momento, que nos leve a discernir sobre a nossa postura, palavra e ação e vigilantes possamos assumir o nosso batismo e viver a santidade.
Pedi ao Senhor por nós e que nos seja dada a cada dia a sabedoria para que não vivamos na mentira que o mundo prega,
não sejamos iludidos pelas aparências que nos é ensinada,
não sejams idólatras do dinheiro e da sensualidade,
não permitamos ser conduzidos ao erro em nossos atos,
não sejamos confundidos diante dos nosso inimigos,
não busquemos a vida nas coisas passageiras,
não tenhamos a esperança aonde não podemos firmar nossos passos.
Ajudai-nos a ter a sabedoria que vem de Deus.
Amém!"

Imagem relacionada

quarta-feira, 27 de fevereiro de 2019

Pedindo a São Gilberto o dom de amar aos inimigos





São Gilberto, amigo de Deus e amigo dos homens, nós te suplicamos a tua intercessão em nosso favor, a fim de que nós possamos amar aos nossos inimigos.
Pedimos a graça da fidelidade ao mandamento novo do Senhor. 
Ajudai-nos a sermos fiéis discípulos de Jesus e no amor ao próximo e ao nosso inimigo, possamos dar um bom testemunho do amor que recebemos do nosso Salvador.
São Gilberto, tu que foste capaz de amar aos teus inimigos, ajudai-nos também a nós a superarmos as nossas dificuldades e a depositar em Deus a nossa confiança e no seu poder experimentar o amor aos que nos ofenderam e machucaram.
São Gilberto, intercedei por nós alcançando-nos esta graça. Amém"

Imagem relacionada

terça-feira, 26 de fevereiro de 2019

Pedido especial a São Gilberto


Resultado de imagem para saint gilbert of sempringham


"Óh São Gilberto de Sempringham, eis que coloco-me à tua santa presença e peço-te de maneira muito especial a graça de viver uma fé vivida verdadeiramente nos meus dias iluminando minhas palavras e ações, ajudai-me junto a Jesus Cristo a assumir uma fé encarnada, a fim de que eu possa ser testemunha do Evangelho da Vida num mundo que não proclama a vida e a sua sacralidade.
Vinde em meu auxílio para que segundo o teu exemplo de vida, minha vida seja fortemente marcada por um encontro intenso e forte do amor do Pai revelado no Divino Salvador da humanidade; esse amor que assumiu toda a nossa miséria humana e nossa debilidade.
Ajudai-me, ó amigo de Jesus Cristo a eu poder viver sob o signo da cruz do amor, do perdão e da verdade evangélica.
Sede, eu te suplico, meu amigo e intercessor diante da majestade de Jesus e no amor e serviço ao próximo, meu irmão. 
Amém!"


Imagem relacionada

sábado, 23 de fevereiro de 2019

Interior da Igreja de Santo André em Sempringham 







A linda e bela igreja de Santo André respira uma profunda espiritualidade e marca o lugar onde um dia nasceu, viveu e morreu São Gilberto





corredor central e vista do altar





colunas que separavam os coros dos cônegos e monjas




Vitral mostrando São Gilberto



antiga porta do sacerdote, dos tempos de São Gilberto





Memorial de São Gilberto, celebrado por católicos e anglicanos



Porta original do tempo de São Gilberto conservada em Sempringham,  Igreja de Santo André



Da Vida de São Gilberto


      


         " E assim a cada dia Gilberto via crescerem os filhos de Deus, a cada dia ganharem força, até se tornarem muito numerosos [1]. Como é típico dos homens corretos, não se achava merecedor de tamanha autoridade porque tinha consciência da própria fraqueza; planejou retirar dos seus homens aquela que era ao mesmo tempo uma obrigação e uma honra, e confiá-la às habilidades de um ou mais que ele encontraria e que fossem mais fortes e mais capazes.
 Era como se outro Moisés dissesse ao Senhor: “Eu Te peço, Senhor, envia o homem que Tu quiseres e a quem Tu propiciarás Senhor, o governo dessa grande multidão que Tu começaste a transformar em uma poderosa nação [2]. Tu tens visto que desde o momento em que disse ao Teu servo que eu guiaria esse povo, eu tenho levado uma vida humilde como homem mundano, comparada com essas pessoas a quem devo superar em mérito e posição social. Percebo o pesado fardo que repousa sobre os homens que exercem autoridade e receio que, se não for melhor do que o meu rebanho por ser o primeiro diante de Ti, serei o último”.
Então Gilberto foi ao Capítulo de Cîteaux onde o Papa Eugênio, de saudosa memória, por acaso se encontrava presente naquela época, pois Gilberto pretendia confiar à responsabilidade das suas casas religiosas aos monges cistercienses [3]. Como Gilberto muitas vezes fora hospedado por esses monges, ficava mais à vontade entre eles do que entre outros.
Também os consideravam mais perfeitos na vida religiosa, uma vez que a iniciaram mais recentemente e as suas regras eram mais estritas; por isso, Gilberto considerava mais seguro encarregá-los da sua obra para que a disciplina da Ordem e a data recente da adoção da vida religiosa desses monges garantissem o padrão de vida que ele próprio desenvolvera e observava estritamente.
No entanto, o Papa e os abades cistercienses disseram que os monges dessa Ordem não tinham autoridade sobre a vida religiosa de outros, muito menos de freiras; portanto, Gilberto não conseguiu o que desejava, mas, sob ordens do Papa e conselhos daqueles irmãos santos, foi autorizado a continuar o que iniciara na graça de Cristo. O Senhor não privaria a comunidade de Sempringham do seu próprio pastor, que se mostraria melhor para ela do que qualquer outro homem.
O Papa se dispôs a orientar o mérito de Gilberto até que ele multiplicasse por cem a colheita, embora naquela época ele continuasse no segundo estágio dos homens [não religioso] [4]. De fato, a nossa irmã, a mesma congregação, continua muito pequena e não possui recursos sob a forma de prelados ou pregadores para alimentá-la com o seu próprio leite ou fortalecê-la com comida sólida, para organizar os assuntos internos, protegê-la da carência e defendê-la em todas as coisas e por toda parte.
Então, o Santo Papa Eugênio concedeu e impôs a São Gilberto o dever de zelar pelo rebanho que reunira; ninguém melhor do que ele, que originariamente o conquistara, e também não era possível existir ninguém mais fervorosamente preocupado com o bem-estar desse rebanho do que o homem que trabalhou primeiro e principalmente para formá-lo.
  No entanto, o santo alegou a fraqueza dos seus últimos anos como desculpa para não assumir responsabilidade tão pesada; alegou ser indigno dessa honraria, inexperiente em ensino e humilde diante da perspectiva de cargo tão elevado. Temeu não poder se igualar aos que tinha sob seu encargo; temeu dispersar a tranquila certeza dos seus pensamentos e que a preocupação com negócios derrotasse a docilidade derivada da vida interior que lhe era tão cara e da sua meditação contínua.
Mas o Papa era homem sábio e percebeu que todos esses argumentos eram desculpas de uma humildade devotada; e assim, observando que o santo não ambicionava cargos eclesiásticos, lhe conferiu o ofício pastoral com mais rapidez e confiança.  A intenção de Gilberto era sempre ser fiel a tudo o que fosse humilde e era vontade do Senhor erguê-lo ainda mais alto da sua constante humilhação.
 Quando o abençoado Gilberto soube do julgamento divino pronunciado no seu caso, não ousou se opor ao plano celestial que o convocara para essa missão; mas, preocupado que se mantivesse uma resistência obstinada se privaria de outras boas qualidades nas quais se sobressaía, devotamente acatou a obediência a Deus e ao Seu vigário o Papa[5], esperando uma grande recompensa, pois não tinha prazer com aquela ação.
 Gilberto pôs de lado os interesses particulares para conseguir a salvação de muitos. Depois de longa experiência na prática da contemplação, ele agora concordava em se dedicar à execução de atos piedosos, para poder colher frutos de ambos os tipos de vida. Exatamente por ele poder ser administrador daquilo que antes possuía, uma vez que, concedendo esses bens aos pobres e ele próprio se tornando pobre exercia o poder como servo das coisas que lhe eram confiadas, e não como senhor dos seus próprios bens.
Por esses e por sinais semelhantes de santidade e de provas consistentes de muitos homens, diz-se que o Papa Eugênio lamentou não ter conhecido Gilberto antes; ele disse que gostaria de tê-lo elevado ao arcebispado de York, sede que estava vaga naquela época, se a notícia dos merecimentos de Gilberto lhe tivesse chegado antes [6].
Gilberto também se tornou íntimo de São Malaquias, arcebispo de Irlanda, e de São Bernardo, abade de Clairvaux [7] durante a visita que fez junto com esses dois homens a um doente que recuperou a saúde, segundo dizem, com as orações desses três homens. “Além disso, Gilberto recebeu demonstrações de afeto do bispo e do abade, cada qual lhe ofertando um bastão, instrumentos de certos milagres; e o abade também lhe ofereceu como lembrança uma estola e um manípulo”.

[1]  Gênesis 26:13.
[2]  Êxodo 4:13; Gênese 12:2.
[3]  1147. Ver pp. xl-xlii.
[4]  Mateus 13:8.
[5]  Cf.M. Maccarrone, Vicarius Christi (Roma, 1952); John de Salisbury, Cartas, ii, 228-9n.
[6]  O Papa Eugênio III finalmente depôs William Fitzherbert, arcebispo de York (futuro SãoWilliam de York) no início de 1147 e confirmou a eleição de Henry Murdac, abade cisterciense de Fountains; mais tarde, a 7 de dezembro do mesmo ano, o Papa consagrou Henry (D. Knowles, The Historian and Character and Other Essays, Cambridge, 1963, p. 90).
[7]  Ver pp. xli, xlvi. São Malaquias de Armagn morreu em Clairvaux em 1148; sobre SãoBernardo e a reconstrução da igreja irlandesa, ver J. A. Watt, The Church and the Two Nations in Medieval Ireland (Cambridge, 1970).