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The Importance Of St. Bernard Of Clairvaux

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Proverbs 5:23 says, “For lack of discipline they will die, led astray by their own great folly” (NIV). This statement does not only seem to be the foundation of St. Bernard’s teachings, but it is also provides a glimpse to a life without Christian mysticism. St. Bernard of Clairvaux lived from 1090 - 1153 AD and lived as a Cistercian abbot, acting as the mouthpiece for Christian mysticism during the Middle Ages. Mysticism is defined, “The spiritual discipline that enables an individual to experience union with God or a divine principle” (Quinn). Throughout St. Bernard’s letters and teachings, he wanted the reader to grasp the meaning and necessary steps to have an established relationship with Christ. St. Bernard of Clairvaux was a mediator for Christian Mysticism because his teachings reflected mysticism’s values of discipline, obedience, and selflessness. St. Bernard stressed the importance of discipline, as it is not only beneficial for someone to strengthen their relationship with Christ, but it is necessary for someone to discipline themselves in order to draw closer to Christ. St. Bernard says in Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, “Thus I have determined to follow him as master always and everywhere, but on the condition never to deviate from the authority of the Rule, which, as he himself is witness, I have sworn and determined to keep” (St. Bernard). In this excerpt of St. Bernard, he is illustrating that the person must refrain from things that are

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