ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH
Saints celebrated on the 28th of March
Prayer to the Angels and the Saints
Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.
In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.
Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.
ST STEPHEN HARDING, ABBOT
Saint Stephen Harding, the third Abbot of Cîteaux, was born at Sherborne in Dorsetshire, England, about the middle of the eleventh century; he died March 28, 1134.
THE NEW FOUNDATION
He received his early education in the monastery of Sherborne and afterwards studied in Paris and Rome. On returning from the latter city he stopped at the monastery of Molesme and, being much impressed by the holiness of Saint Robert, the abbot, joined that community. Here he practised great austerities, became one of St Robert’s chief supporters and was one of the band of twenty-one monks who, by authority of Hugh, Archbishop of Lyons, retired to Cîteaux to institute a reform in the new foundation there.
HE INSISTED ON STRICT OBSERVANCE
When St Robert was recalled to Molesme (1099), Stephen became prior of Cîteaux under Alberic, the new abbot. On Alberic’s death (1110) Stephen, who was absent from the monastery at the time, was elected abbot. The number of monks was now very reduced, as no new members had come to fill the places of those who had died. Stephen, however, insisted on retaining the strict observance originally instituted and, having offended the Duke of Burgundy, Cîteaux’s great patron, by forbidding him or his family to enter the cloister, was even forced to beg alms from door to door.
ST BERNARD TURNED UP
It seemed as if the foundation were doomed to die out when (1112) St Bernard with thirty companions joined the community. This proved the beginning of extraordinary prosperity. The next year Stephen founded his first colony at La Ferté, and before is death he had established thirteen monasteries in all.
AN EXCEPTIONAL ORGANISER
His powers as an organiser were exceptional, he instituted the system of general chapters and regular visitations and, to ensure uniformity in all his foundations, drew up the famous “Charter of Charity” or collection of statutes for the government of all monasteries united to Cîteaux, which was approved by Pope Callistus II. in 1119. In 1133 Stephen, being now old, infirm, and almost blind, resigned the post of abbot, designating as his successor Robert de Monte, who was accordingly elected by the monks. The saint’s choice, however, proved unfortunate and the new abbot only held office for two years.
HIS HOLY DEATH AND FEAST DAY
Stephen was buried in the tomb of Alberic, his predecessor, in the cloister of Cîteaux. In the Roman calendar his feast is April 17, but the Cistercians themselves keep it on July 15, with an octave, regarding him as the true founder of the order. Besides the “Carta Caritatis” he is commonly credited with the authorship of the “Exordium Cisterciencis cenobii”, which however may not be his. Two of his sermons are preserved and also two letters (Nos. 45 and 49) in the “Epp. S. Bernardi”.
(From Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913)
[His feast is variously given as March 28, April 17, and January 26, which is the day of the joint commemoration with Robert of Molesme and Alberic, the first two abbots of Cîteaux.]
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