Salve, Regina, Mater Misericordiae.
God's ways are not our ways.
This is what the prophet Isaiah wants to teach us in chapter 55 of his book.
The prophet says,
This is very important to keep in mind as we make our way through life and head towards heaven,
to have a superintendence.
To have a supernatural view of all events that take place in our lives.
To see every event through the eyes of faith.
And there's a great example of this in the life of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.
King Louis of France made known to the other princes and authorities of the region
his intention to go on a crusade.
This was the 12th century.
But he,
along with the other authorities,
thought it would be wise to go and seek first the counsel of Saint Bernard
to see whether it really is the will of God to carry out the crusade.
And Saint Bernard, when they approached him,
he thought the same thing.
He said this is an important matter,
we should go consult the Pope,
who was Pope Eugenius at the time.
And so Saint Bernard went and consulted the Pope.
And the Pope gave a positive response.
He greatly praised and approved of it,
and gave Bernard authority to preach and to rouse the minds of all.
For he was looked upon as an apostle or prophet by all the people of France and Germany.
This was Saint Bernard.
He had a great reputation for holiness among all of the people.
Wherefore, not only in the Empire,
but in the neighboring kingdoms in Western France,
England, and Hungary,
people and nations were stirred up to assume the cross
and enroll themselves in that sacred army.
The expedition, which was confirmed by signs and miracles,
came to a disastrous end.
And the Christian soldiers perished,
defeated by the infidels,
by the just judgment of God.
And Saint Bernard, whom before all men,
whom before all men honored exceedingly,
was condemned as an impostor
and a false prophet.
An interesting turn of events.
So we see first of all that Saint Bernard
had the Pope's approval.
And this is why afterwards he really didn't have
any qualms of conscience.
In fact, he says,
as if we had acted with rashness or levity in the matter,
we went forward openly in it,
not as if it were a doubtful matter at the bidding,
namely of Pope Eugenius, or rather,
at the bidding of God through him.
So not only was there approval of the Pope,
but there were also great signs and miracles
that God worked through Saint Bernard
in preparation for the crusade while he was preaching
in order to, again, as the gospel of Saint Mark says,
to confirm his word,
to confirm that this was in fact the will of God.
One testimony relates,
but what and how manifold were the signs?
It would be difficult to number them,
not to speak of recording them.
They began to be committed to writing,
but the numerousness of them and the matter
were too much for the capacity of the writer.
For sometimes in one day,
20 persons or more were cured of diverse infirmities,
and scarcely a day passed over without such signs.
The blind were made to see,
the lame to watch,
the withered strong,
the deaf to hear,
and the dumb to speak.
In fact, when news arrived back to Saint Bernard
and the people of his region
that the Christian army was defeated,
God worked a miracle on that very day
to further confirm that everything happened
according to his will.
It's written,
it came to pass, however,
that when the lamentable tidings of the Lord's call,
that when the lamentable tidings of the Lord's call,
the lamentable tidings of the destruction
of the Crusaders resounded through France,
a father brought his blind boy
to the servant of God, Saint Bernard,
to have sight restored to him,
and by many prayers prevailed on the saint who declined.
The saint, placing his hand on the child,
prayed to our Lord that he would be pleased
to make known, by restoring sight to the child,
whether the preaching of the Crusade was from him,
and whether his spirit was with himself.
While, after praying, he was waiting its effects,
the child said,
what am I to do, for I see?
Then a great shout was raised by those who were present,
for many were present,
not of the monks only,
but of people living in the world,
who, when they perceived that the boy saw,
were greatly comforted and gave thanks to God.
So then how do we go about explaining
the defeat of the Christian army,
and this, in fact, being the will of God,
and this, in fact, being the will of God,
and this, in fact, being the will of God,
will remember, as I said at the beginning,
as the prophet Isaiah teaches us,
that God's ways are not our ways.
The most high and unchangeable truth of God
was not understood by man.
The counsel of men was one thing,
that of God another.
Men had proposed to themselves as their goal
the subjugation of Jerusalem,
for their thoughts are of the earth,
glory, and wealth.
And God, the eternal salvation of those
who in that expedition had died for the faith
and the church.
It is those Christian soldiers,
by giving their lives for the faith and for the church,
saved their souls.
In fact, there was another abbot living in Casamare,
I believe that's in Italy,
and he wrote a letter
to Saint Bernard saying that he had a vision
of Saints John and Paul who appeared to him.
He says,
do not doubt what I am going to say.
I make it known as to my spiritual father in confession.
The patrons of this place of ours,
the blessed John and Paul,
have frequently visited us,
and I have questioned them on this subject.
They replied and said that a multitude of angels
who have fallen had been restored in the persons of those
who fell there.
So God had in mind the salvation of the soldiers who died,
and they ended up taking the thrones of the fallen angels.
I believe as well that this will of God was also meant
to test the virtue of Saint Bernard,
going from renowned holiness and being held up as a saint
and a prophet to being held in contempt for what had happened
in the battle,
testing his patience,
also testing his faith.
So this is also something that we need to bear in mind
as we go throughout our lives,
that God's ways are not always our ways,
and we need to have a supernatural vision
of all of the events that take place in our lives.
In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.