Contrasts
21/August/2007 Filed in:
JottingsYesterday we celebrated St Bernard, the most attractive of all Cistercians (and they have more than their fair share of engaging saints); today Pope Pius X. They were both so different, as the times they lived in were different, yet both were controversial in their own day and even now historians continue to argue. They are wonderful examples of flawed human beings attaining holiness. Personally, I think Bernard was magnificent when he was angry, but I wasn't the butt of his anger and can delight in the way he whips and whirls his words. Again, I am grateful to Pius X for his attempts to revitalize the Church's worship (his encouragement of daily Communion and plainsong, for example) while I can sit comfortably on the hedge about other aspects of his papacy. Best of all, I am glad I can call on the prayers of both.