By CAROLE BRESLIN
St. Anselm was born in France near the Swiss Alps around 1033. At the age of 15, he wished to enter religious life by joining a monastery. Sadly, his influential father was so against it that the monastery refused to accept him. This so discouraged the youth that he drowned his sorrows in worldly pursuits. He deeply regretted this brief wayward journey later in life.
As happened with many saints, Anselm’s mother provided a good example of holiness and patience. St. Anselm was greatly devoted to his mother whom he missed dearly when she died. His father treated him so poorly that he was forced to leave home, traveling to the other side of the country.
In Normandy he pursued his studies and then moved to the abbey in Bec after three years. This move marked the direction he would take for the rest of his life. He met and became the eager disciple of a professor named Lanfranc. He studied in Bec where he became a religious in the year 1060.
When Lanfranc was transferred to St. Stephen’s in Caen, Anselm was elected to the post of prior of Bec. Some of the monks grumbled at having such a young man in such a high position, but Anselm soon won them over with his gentleness and patience. In fact, Anselm won over his greatest opponent, caring for him ceaselessly during his last days.
Although extraordinarily virtuous, his mind proved to be his most outstanding quality. It had been over 600 years since the Church had witnessed such a brilliant theologian — St. Augustine of Hippo — earning Anselm the title of “Father of Scholasticism.” A thinker’s thinker in the realm of God, he wrote significant and enduring papers on metaphysics. Among these were his Monologium giving proofs on the nature and attributes of God, his commonly cited Proslogium which was the fruit of his contemplation of God’s attributes, and other papers on the art of reasoning, free will, and the origins of evil.
His uncommon understanding of human nature helped many teachers. When listening to an abbot from a nearby institution lament his poor success with the youth entrusted to his care, St. Anselm urged him to give the boys more freedom, comparing them to a tree. “If you bound it on all sides…it would be useless, with its boughs all twisted and tangled. . . . But that is how you treat your boys . . . debarring them also from the enjoyment of freedom.”
Note the similarity with the educational philosophy of St. John Bosco in the 1880s.
Anselm became abbot of Bec in 1078. As William the Conqueror had endowed the abbey of Bec with other properties in England, Anselm had to travel there frequently to oversee the administration of them. Since Lanfranc had been made the archbishop of Canterbury, the two met again. When Lanfranc died in 1092, Anselm saw the advantage the English king was taking of the vacant see.
King William Rufus intentionally refused to approve a bishop for Canterbury since by so doing he, rather than the Church, could collect the revenues. William Rufus fully intended to keep the seat vacant until his death. Anselm could not persuade him otherwise until the king nearly died. Fearing death, he nominated Anselm for the position.
Despite Anselm’s reluctance, the people finally forced the staff into his hands and carried him off to the cathedral where they all sang the great Te Deum.
The king, once recovered, returned to his greedy ways, thus setting the precedent for centuries of conflict between the Church and the king of England. When Anselm refused to comply with the demands of the king and insisted the king fill the vacancies at the abbeys and curb both clerical and lay abuses, the king sought to remove Anselm from his post. Although the king won over some bishops to his side, the nobles refused to unseat Anselm. The Pope also refused the king’s request to have him removed.
Seeing the king’s determination to persecute the Church and steal her wealth, Anselm wanted to leave England to consult with Rome. He feared, however, he would not be able to return once he left England. Nevertheless, he finally left in 1097 for Rome. The Pope confirmed his support of Anselm by writing a letter to the king demanding that the king return to Anselm his rights and possessions. When Anselm left Rome he stopped at a Campanian monastery to recover his health. While resting there, he wrote Cur Deus Homo?, considered the best treatise ever written on the Incarnation.
This time of quiet contemplation inspired him to write the Pope requesting relief from his duties in Canterbury. The Pope refused. Since Anselm was barred from returning to England, he remained at the Campanian retreat which enabled him to attend the Council of Bari in 1098. At this council he denounced the king of England for his oppression of the Church. Pope Urban sought to excommunicate the king. Anselm pled for mercy so the Pope decided to only threaten the king with excommunication. At this council, St. Anselm distinguished himself by his treatment of the issues of the schism of 1054.
When King William Rufus died, Anselm returned to England, only to be troubled by the new king, Henry I. Worried about an impending invasion, he made peace with Anselm; but once tensions eased, Henry sought to control the Church by investing the bishops. Conditions continued to worsen so Anselm once again appealed to Rome and once again the Pope, Paschal II, backed him. Fearing excommunication, Henry capitulated and eventually came to regard Anselm with great respect, even to appointing him regent in 1108.
Anselm soon returned to Canterbury with failing health. In 1109, at the age of 76, he passed away. He was canonized by being included among the doctors of the Church in 1720. His feast day is April 21.
+ + +
(Carole Breslin home-schooled her four daughters and served as treasurer of the Michigan Catholic Home Educators for eight years. For over ten years, she was national coordinator for the Marian Catechists, founded by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress