From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
February 4th - St. Gilbert of Sempringham
(1083?=E2=80=931189)
St. Gilbert of Sempringham founded the only medieval religious order
of English origin =E2=80=93 an unusual sort of congregation that Henry VIII destroyed during the English Reformation.
Gilbert was born at Sempringham in Lincolnshire, the son of an
Anglo-Norman knight, Jocelin, a great land holder, and his wife, a
woman of humble Anglo-Saxon background. Physically ill-fitted for the
life of a soldier or knight, Gilbert was sent to France for higher
studies. After finishing the course, he remained in France for a while
as a teacher.
On his return to England, Gilbert's father assigned him the annual
income of two parish churches on the family estates. According to the contemporary feudal custom, Jocelin's son only had to become a less=
er
cleric in order to receive, for his support, the pastors' income of
the two churches. Gilbert did become a lesser cleric of the diocese of
Lincoln, and he did accept the two parish =E2=80=9Cbenefices=E2=80=9D, but =
he used the
income of only one of them for his own needs, devoting the other sum
to the needs of the poor. In 1123 he was ordained deacon and priest by
the bishop of Lincoln.
In 1131 Jocelin died and Gilbert, succeeding him as lord of the manor,
returned to Sempringham. That same year he began his real career,
founding a little religious community of seven young women under the Benedictine rule. The order grew, so it became necessary to accept lay
sisters as well; and later on, lay brothers to take care of the nuns=E2=80=
=99
farms.
He went to France in 1147 to ask the Cistercian monks to assume
management of this religious community. When they declined because it
was not their custom to supervise convents for women, Pope Eugene III
urged Father Gilbert to head the community himself. He accepted, and
eventually added to it another branch for priests. The priests' bra=
nch
was governed by the rule of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine.
By 1500 there would be 25 houses of Gilbertines: 22 in England, two in
Ireland, and one in Scotland. They continued as =E2=80=9Cdouble monasteries= =E2=80=9D,
usually with more female than male members, all under the rule of one
master general. The prior and prioress of each house had equal
authority in the order. The founder remained grand master until he was
about 100; then he appointed a successor. Thus far Gilbert had been a
diocesan priest; only after retirement did he take vows as a member of
the Gilbertines.
Throughout his career as a founder, St. Gilbert was noted for his
austere life and his solicitude for the poor. The government of his
order caused him much grief. At one point in his later years, the
Gilbertine lay brothers revolted and started a campaign of calumny
against him. Only after some time was his reputation cleared, with the
backing of King Henry II and Pope Alexander III.
Yet another calumny was leveled at him later on. During the struggle
between Henry II and St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury,
Gilbert and his monastic aides were accused of having sent Becket
assistance during his exile. The charge was untrue. Yet, so delicate
was the conscience of St. Gilbert that he was ready to submit to
imprisonment rather than defend himself, for if he denied the
accusation, he felt he would be implying that Becket had done
something wrong, and if he had helped him he would have been guilty of
sin.
Dying at age 106, St. Gilbert was canonized 13 years later. His shrine
at Sempringham became a place of pilgrimage. It is said, however, that
in the 13th century King Louis VIII of France transferred the relics
to the church of St. Sernin in Toulouse, France.
English Catholics have not forgotten, however, this saintly
contemporary of St. Thomas of Canterbury. His feast is celebrated
annually in the Catholic dioceses of Northampton and Nottingham; the
former diocese has one, and the latter, two churches dedicated to his
memory.
Bible Quote:
For my people have committed two crimes: they have abandoned me, the
fountain of living water, and dug water-tanks for themselves, cracked water-tanks that hold no water. [Jeremiah 2:13]
Saint Quote:
The Father in heaven urges us, as children of heaven, to ask for the
bread of heaven. [Christ] himself is the bread who, sown in the
Virgin, raised up in the flesh, kneaded in the Passion, baked in the
oven of the tomb, reserved in churches, brought to altars, furnishes
the faithful each day with food from heaven.
--St. Peter Chrysologus, Homilie 67: PL 52, 392
<><><><>
PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY # 1
Eternal Father,
we praise you for sending your Son
to be one of us and to save us.
Look upon your people with mercy,
for we are divided in so many ways,
and give us the Spirit of Jesus to make us one in love.
We ask this gift, loving Father,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)