Gospel
Luke 6:12-19
12In
these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in
prayer to God. 13And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from
them twelve, whom he named apostles; 14Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew
his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15and Matthew,
and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,
16and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. 17And
he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his
disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the
seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their
diseases; 18and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19And
all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed
them all.
ABOUT BLESSED BERTRAND OF GARRIGUE
Blessed Bertrand
gets the last part of his name from the village in southern France in which he
was born. Those of the older writers who speak of his birthplace generally say
that it was the Garrigue near Alais, in the present Department of Gard, which borders
on the Mediterranean Sea. The writer of the sketch of his life in the Année
Dominicaine, possibly basing his conclusion on Abbé J. P. Isnard’s Saint
Bertrand de Garrigue, thinks this honor belongs to Drome, a department
just northeast of Gard, and in the Diocese of Valence. There is, he says, a
place in this civic division called Garrigue, where local tradition holds that
Blessed Bertrand was born, and the ruins of an ancient manor house are still
pointed out as the home of his parents. Others, by way of compromise, suggest
that he might have been born near Alais, but that he was taken to “Bouchet” in
his early youth. Father Touron says that be first saw the light of day in the
old County (Comtat) of Venaissin, in the Department of Vaucluse, just
south of Drome and east of Gard.(1)
Even with the
Frenchman who is not a native of either of these departments it matters little
which of the above opinions is correct; for the three governmental divisions
mentioned border the one on the other, and afford an approximate idea of the
part of France in which our blessed was born..(2) We have seen no date given
for his birth, but he was probably a few years younger than Saint Dominic.
Bertrand’s parents, who were splendid Catholics, trained him well in his
religion. They were also close friends of the Cistercian Sisters of the Convent
of Notre Dame of the Woods (du Bosquet), at Bouchet. These
associations must have made a strong impression on the tender mind of Bertrand,
for he was a pious youth, and given to the practice of virtue.
It is no matter of
surprise to see one so circumstanced turn his thoughts towards the
ecclesiastical state. Indeed, Bertrand seems to have been ordained at an early
age. From his childhood he had had personal experience of the abominations committed
by the Albigenses; for he had seen with his own eyes how they defied the laws
of both God and man, how they desecrated churches and convents, how they
trampled all authority under foot, and how little they valued the lives of
those who opposed them..(3) When a young priest, therefore, the man of God did
not hesitate to join the band of missionaries, under the direction of the
Cistercian Fathers, delegated by the Holy See to bring the benighted Albigenses
back to the ways of civilized life, no less than back into the bosom of the
Church.
Here Saint Dominic
found him at the return of Bishop Didacus (or Diego) de Azebes from Rome, for
Bertrand was on the ground before the founder of the Friars Preacher. In fact,
he seems to have been one of the first missionaries with whom the holy man from
Caleruega came in contact. From the outset the two ambassadors of Christ became
fast friends. Cast in the same mold and filled with the same spirit, they
labored, prayed, and fasted together-all for the glory of God, the benefit of
the Church, the good of religion, and the salvation of souls..(4) Doubtless
they effected more by their saintly lives and supplications before the throne
of mercy than by their sermons, however eloquent and earnest these were.
The early writers
speak of none of Saint Dominic’s first disciples more frequently, or in terms
of higher praise, than of Blessed Bertrand of Garrigue. They represent him as
pious, candid, humble, zealous, much given to prayer, extremely mortified. If
we may judge by their representation of him, he was a true Israelite in whom
there was no guile, greatly beloved by Saint Dominic, one of his most
frequently chosen companions in labor and travel. For this reason, as well as
because they had toiled together for years, one can but believe that Bertrand
was one of the first to whom Dominic made known his design of establishing an
apostolic order, whose primary object should be the salvation of souls through
an active ministry, and whose field of operation should embrace the world. In
spite of his modesty and retiring manners, Bertrand was the kind of a man who
would espouse such a cause with his whole heart, for the grace of God ever
impelled him to do all in his power to increase the harvest of heaven.
Thus we find
Bertrand of Garrigue at the side of Dominic, when the latter began to gather
recruits for the foregoing purpose. Bertrand received the habit at Toulouse in
1215, and in the house which Peter Seila gave Dominic that it might become the
first distinct home of the fathers of the new institute. The event must have
occasioned the ardent French ecclesiastic no little joy, for he was now in a
fair way not only to enlarge the sphere of his spiritual activity, but also to
bind himself the more tightly to serve the Church and to magnify the glory of
his Creator. Dominic’s happiness could not have been less at having such a man
in his little company. The experience of years had taught him the worth of
Bertrand, who had shown himself proof against all trials and temptations.
Father Bertrand
seems to have been considered by his confrères second in rank (at Toulouse) to
the founder of the incipient Order. This, together with the confidence which
the venerable founder reposed in him, is shown by the fact that Dominic left
him in charge of the community, when be went to Rome in the fall of 1215 to
seek papal confirmation for the institute. He well knew that everything would
be safe in such bands. After the saint’s return to France, in the late Spring
of 1216, Bertrand certainly took an active part in all the deliberations at
Toulouse and Prouille, of which we have spoken in the sketches of Blessed
Mannes and Matthew of France; but we have no record of what he did.
When they had
selected the rule of Saint Augustine of Hippo as the corner-stone on which the
projected Order should be established, Dominic returned to the house of Peter
Seila, at Toulouse. In July, 1216, Bishop Fulk and his cathedral chapter
bestowed on the incipient religious congregation the Church of Saint Romanus,
in that city, and a small vacant priory contiguous to it. Into this latter the
community was moved at once. There Father John of Navarre made his religious
profession on August 28. Shortly after this, Dominic set out for Rome again
that he might obtain the final approbation of his Order. But before be left
Toulouse he instituted Father Bertrand of Garrigue prior of Saint Romanus’,
which made him the third to hold this position among the Friars Preacher,
Dominic being the first, and Natalis of Prouille the second..(5)
Bertrand filled
the office of superior at Toulouse until after the return of Dominic, with the
bulls of confirmation, in May, 1217, or until the renewal of their vows by the
brethren at Prouille on the fifteenth of the following August. In the distribution
of his disciples which Dominic made at this time, Father Peter Seila became the
new prior of Saint Romanus’, Toulouse. Blessed Bertrand was sent to Paris under
the leadership of Matthew of France. Possibly, as such temporal affairs are a
necessity, the settlement of his little accounts at Saint Romanus’ detained him
a while, and was in part the reason why he, Matthew, John of Navarre, and
Lawrence of England, who travelled together, did not reach the French capital
for about three weeks after the arrival of Blessed Mannes, Michael de Fabra,
and Brother Oderic of Normandy, the other three assigned to that mission..(6)
Paris, because of
its university, was one of the world’s great intellectual centers. The fact
that he sent nearly half of his little company to this place shows the
importance which Saint Dominic attached to a good beginning there. He realized
that he must put his best foot forward in so renowned an educational city. This
most likely explains the choice of Father Matthew as superior. He and Michael
de Fabra, it seems, were to occupy themselves largely with the instruction of
the new recruits. This left the other four priests, with the possible exception
of John of Navarre, to devote their main attention to the work of the
apostolate, while Brother Oderic busied himself with the temporal affairs of
the house.
Our blessed’s stay
in northern France, however, was of short duration. After the death of Count
Simon de Montfort, June 25, 1218, while besieging Toulouse, the Albigenses,
through their abetters, gained the ascendency in that city. Dominic seems to
have foreseen this catastrophe by divine intuition. The new Friars Preacher,
because of the former labors of their founder and his companions in those
parts, were both feared and bated by those now in power. This circumstance
necessitated the departure of Father Peter Seila from Toulouse. Dominic sent
him to Saint James’, Paris. But Bertrand of Garrigue was soon returned to Saint
Romanus’ as its prior, and made that convent his home until death..(7)
From Toulouse, no
doubt, he attended the general chapters held at Bologna in 1220 and 1221. At
this last meeting, it will be recalled, the Order was divided into various
provinces — eight in number. To that of Provence, which included southern
France, was given our blessed as its first provincial. It was hardly to be
expected that Dominic would overlook so close and trusted a friend, whom not a
few of the writers call his rival in holiness and mortification. The two
apostolic men met then for the last time..(8)
Here we must pause
in the course of our sketch to gather up a few hagiological points in Blessed
Bertrand’s life which we have not touched. The reader has been told of the
close friendship that existed between him and Dominic. Judging from the early
writers of the Order, up to the time of their separation by the dispersal of
the brethren at Prouille, August 15, 1217, we might call him the saint’s
travelling companion par excellence; for the holy founder does not
seem to have chosen any other to accompany him quite so often. In this way,
Bertrand became an eye-witness to a number of the wonderful miracles wrought by
Dominic. In obedience to the patriarch’s command he kept them a secret until
after the saint’s death; and then he revealed them to only Blessed Jordan of
Saxony, who evidently used his authority as Master General to extract a
knowledge of them from him..(9)
Bertrand himself
seems to have had the reputation of performing miracles. Nor would this be any
matter for surprise, when we consider his purity of soul, his spirit of prayer,
and his extraordinary severity with himself. More than once Dominic felt
obliged to use his authority to make the pious man observe more discretion in
his penances. Another matter in which the saint interfered was Bertrand’s habit
of incessantly bewailing his imaginary sins. Dominic, who knew well the purity
of his heart, commanded him not to weep any more f or his own fancied misdeeds,
but for those of the wicked. Almost incredible as it may seem, such was our blessed’s
spirit of obedience, this injunction was observed most faithfully.
The last journey
of the two holy men together was in the first half of 1219, when Dominic made
his way from Spain to Paris. He stopped to visit the communities at Prouille
and Toulouse. From the latter he took the prior, Bertrand of Garrigue, as a
companion thence to the French capital. They spent one entire night in prayer
in Notre Dame Church, at Roe-Amadour, in the Department of Lot, north of
Toulouse.
As they travelled
along, they spoke only of God or the things of God. Often they sang sacred
hymns-especially those to the Blessed Virgin. It was on this occasion that, in
answer to their prayers, God gave them the gift of tongues, and enabled them to
speak to some German pilgrims in their native language..(10)
Bertrand’s labors
in southern France from the time he returned from Paris, in 1218, as prior of
Saint Romanus’ were long both trying and delicate. Raymond VI, count of
Toulouse, and his son, Raymond VII, held the reins of authority. They were not
only open abetters of the Albigenses, but also men of the most turbulent and
disingenuous character. Until the surrender of Raymond VII, the last count of
Toulouse, to Louis VIII, Bertrand, whether as prior or provincial, had the
dangerous task of steering between Scylla and Charybdis. However, his patience,
tact, and peaceful disposition guided him safely through those troublous times.
Because of the
slow travel of the day and the custom of speedy burial, the subject of our
story did not attend the funeral of his friend Saint Dominic, in August, 1221.
But we find him at the general chapter assembled at Saint James’, Paris, on May
22, 1222, where he gave his vote to the great Jordan of Saxony for Master
General. Bertrand had doubtless known Jordan in Paris, when the latter was a
student at the university there. He had also met him at the first general
chapter (1220) at Bologna. This casual acquaintance, as seems to have been the
case with all who came in contact with the extraordinary Saxon, convinced
Bertrand that no better choice could be made f or a successor to the first head
and founder of the Order.
As prior of Saint
Romanus’, evidently with vicarial powers from Saint Dominic, our blessed began
to erect houses here and there. No sooner was he appointed provincial than he
showed that no wiser selection could have been made for the office. Back and
forth he traversed the Midi, or southern France. His zeal, kindly
manners, and saintly life won the confidence of the bishops, the good will of
the clergy, the affection of the faithful. Everywhere he was regarded as a
saint. Convents of the Order, peopled with exemplary subjects, rose under the
influence of his charming personality. These he visited with marked regularity.
His confrères considered him a second Dominic. Despite his otherwise busy life,
he preached incessantly. On his way from place to place he rarely passed
through a city, town, or village without giving the people a sermon. Rarely, if
ever, did he fail to draw large crowds, or to meet with a warm approval by his
audience.
Saint Dominic’s
work in southern France may be said to date from the historic meeting which the
papal delegates and missionaries, commissioned to convert the Albigenses, held
at Montpellier. Dominic and Bishop Didacus de Azebes formed a part of the
assembly. Possibly it was there that Bertrand of Garrigue and the founder of
the Friars Preacher first met. This would explain the special affection in
which our blessed ever held the Montpellier convent, Saint Matthew’s..(11)
There, after hard labors, he loved to retire and recuperate his spirit and his
energy in prayer and retreat. This was one of the first houses he had built;
for it was erected in 1220, or before he became provincial.
An incident told
in connection with one of the holy man’s sojourns at Montpellier is so full of
interest, as well as so illustrative of his character, that it deserves a place
in these pages. Possibly in consequence of Saint Dominic’s command not to weep
for his own imagined misdeeds, but for those of the wicked, Bertrand very
frequently said mass for the conversion of sinners, and rarely for the dead. A
Father Benedict of the Montpellier community ventured to ask him the reason for
this custom. The reply was that those who die in grace are sure of salvation,
and the Church is always praying for them; whilst sinners are continually in
danger of losing their souls, and are never safe. Benedict then asked him, if
he had two beggars before him, one of whom was strong and able-bodied, and the other
without feet or bands, which would he help? The one who could do nothing for
himself was the immediate reply. That is precisely the case with the dead, said
Benedict. They can do nothing for themselves. But sinners can help themselves
by a reformation.
Our blessed, as
the story runs, was not fully convinced by his confrère’s argument. The next
night he had a frightful dream of a soul in purgatory, which awoke him from his
slumbers time and time again. When morning came, be told his friend, Father
Benedict, of his distressful experience. From that time he frequently said mass
for the departed souls..(12)
Evidently Blessed
Jordan and the fathers of the Province of Provence were eminently satisfied
with Bertrand as provincial, for they seem to have kept him in the position
until death. One of the things which he ever sought to impress on the minds of
those under his charge was that the calling of a Friar Preacher is to labor for
the salvation of souls; or, as he was wont to express it, to convert sinners. In
this, as in all things else, he set the example which he wished others to
follow. While the embodiment of kindness towards those under his charge, or
with whom he came in contact, he showed himself no mercy. Ceaselessly did he
toil on and on and on until the end. He died in harness..(13)
The holy man’s
last apostolic work was for the Cistercian Sisters of Notre Dame of the Woods
(“du Bosquet”), which Father Touron says was in the old
County (Comtat) of Venaissin, and the Année Dominicaine at
Bouchet, in the Diocese of Valence. These austere religious asked Bertrand to
give them a course of sermons on the spiritual life. While thus engaged, he
fell sick and died. This was in 1230, but the time of the year is not known. As
the Friars Preacher then had no house in the vicinity, the first provincial of
the Province of Provence was buried in the conventual cemetery of the
Cistercian Nuns near the apse of the abbatial church.
Blessed Bertrand
had always enjoyed a great reputation for sanctity. Shortly after his death
marvellous cures began to be wrought through his intercession. In consequence
of this, the sisters had an altar erected to his honor in their church, and
placed his statue on it. Then his remains were moved under this altar. When the
body was taken from the grave, although he had been dead twenty-three years, it
was found to be wholly intact. From this time until more than a century and a
half afterwards Notre Dame of the Woods was one of the most popular places of
pilgrimage in southern France. Many miracles occurred there. Devotion to the
holy Friar Preacher was not only intense, but also widespread.
Then came the
unfortunate Schism of the West, with its chilling effect on the piety of the
faithful. As is always the case, the religious houses were the first to suffer
from the demoralization; the more rigid their rule, the quicker their decline.
The great Notre Dame of the Woods became all but desolated, and the convent was
fast falling into ruins. For this reason, in 1413, the few remaining sisters
were removed to the larger Abbey of Aiguebelle. Then the Friars Preacher, who
now had a house at Orange, transferred the relics of their saintly confrère to
their church in that city, and enshrined them under the main altar. Almost
immediately the sacred edifice became a noted place of pilgrimage. But the
devotion to Blessed Bertrand did not cease at the former Notre Dame of the
Woods and its vicinity. Indeed, as will now be seen, it was fortunate that his
relics bad long been left there.
The mad vagaries
of Martin Luther soon made their way into southern France, where they found
many followers who have become known in history as Huguenots. They were even
more violent than the Albigenses had been. In 1545, they gained the ascendency
in Orange. Sixteen years later (1561), they seized the Dominican
church by night, and appropriated it to their own usages. The interior of the
sacred edifice was completely demolished. Altars, crucifixes, statues, and all
other religious objects, that could not be converted into coin, were torn to
pieces and burned. Even the body of Blessed Bertrand of Garrigue, which until
then had remained incorrupt, was ruthlessly consigned to the flames. Those who
are over prone to censure the cruelty meted out to the Huguenots of France at a
later date should reflect that it was largely brought on them by their own
misdeeds.
As was but
natural, this act of desecration, by depriving the faithful of Orange of every
vestige of (and physical contact, so to express it, with) the man of God,
greatly lessened the devotion towards him in that city and its environs.
Happily, the band of tyranny and impiety bore with less weight on the rural
parish at Bouchet, whose people continued to venerate our blessed and to seek
his intercession before the throne of divine mercy.
There can be no
doubt that the tombstone which marked Bertrand’s grave in the quondam cemetery
of the Cistercian Sisters of Notre Dame of the Woods, and the altar and statue
erected to his honor in their church, aided greatly in the preservation of this
tender devotion at Bouchet. Hither people came from far and near to pray. From
the place where his body had lain earth was taken as a cure for all kinds of ailments.
Many miracles were attributed to him. The graveyard of Notre Dame of the Woods
became known as “Saint Bertrand’s Cemetery,” the name which it still bears. The
red-handed revolutionists of 1790 destroyed his altar and mutilated his statue;
but even the remnants of the latter continued to be cherished as something
sacred.
By good fortune,
these miscreants overlooked the Friar Preacher’s tombstone and former grave.
Possibly it was God’s way of keeping alive the memory of Saint Dominic’s early
disciple and co-laborer. In any ,case, devotion and veneration towards him did
not wane. In 1870, the Right Rev. Francis N. Gueulette, bishop of Valence, gave
his juridical approval to the immemorial cult of Bertrand in his diocese. From
that time the cause of the beatification of the first bead of the Province of
Provence was urged at Rome by the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops of Paris,
Toulouse, Marseilles, Valence, Nimes, Avignon, Besancon, Carcasonne,
Montpellier, Orleans, and Cahors, as well as by his own Order. The cardinal
archbishop of Bologna, Italy, and the bishop of Cordova, Spain, also took an
active interest in the matter..(14)
Finally the Sacred
Congregation of Rites sanctioned the cult of Blessed Bertrand of Garrigue. This
was by a decree of date July 12, 1881. Two days later, the great Leo XIII gave
it his formal approval, and allowed his mass and office to the Order of
Preachers and the dioceses of Nimes and Valence. September 6 was assigned as
his feast day.
