St. John Gualbert was born at Florence of rich and noble parents,
and in his youth was carefully instructed in the Christian doctrine
and in the elements of the sciences; but afterward, by conversing
with the world, he imbibed a relish for its vanities and follies.
While a thirst of worldly pleasure kept possession of his desires,
and seemed to him innocent, and while he thought a certain degree
of worldly pride the privilege of his birth, he was a stranger to
the gospel maxims of penance, meekness, and lowliness of heart;
and all arguments of virtue lost their force upon him. But God was
pleased by a remarkable accident to open his eyes, and to discover
to him his errors, and the extent of his obligations. Hugo, his only
brother, was murdered by a gentleman of the country; and our young
nobleman determined to revenge the crime by the death of him who had
perpetrated it, and who seemed out of the reach of the laws. Under
the influence of his resentment, which was much heightened by the
invectives and persuasion of his own father Gualbert, he neither
listened to the voice of reason nor of religion. The motive of
revenge is criminal if it creeps into the breast even in demanding
the just punishment of a delinquent; much more if it push men to
vindicate their own cause themselves by returning injury for injury,
and wreaking wrongs on those that inflicted them. But passion stifled
remorse, and John was falsely persuaded that his honor in the world
required that he should not suffer so flagrant an outrage to pass
unpunished. It happened that riding with his man home to Florence
on Good Friday, he met his enemy in so narrow a passage that it
was impossible for either of them to avoid the other. John seeing
the murderer, drew his sword, and was going to despatch him. But
the other, alighting from his horse, fell upon his knees, and with
his arms across, besought him by the passion of Jesus Christ, who
suffered on that day, to spare his life. The remembrance of Christ,
who prayed for his murderers on the cross, exceedingly affected the
young nobleman; and meekly raising the supplicant from the ground
with his hand, he said, “I can refuse nothing that is asked of me
for the sake of Jesus Christ. I not only give you your life, but
also my friendship for ever. Pray for me that God may pardon me my
sin.” After embracing each other they parted, and John went forward
on his road till he came to the monastery of St. Minias,[116] of
the holy Order of St. Bennet. Going into the church, he offered up
his prayers before a great crucifix, begging with many tears and
extraordinary fervor that God would mercifully grant him the pardon
of his sins. Whilst he continued his prayer the crucifix miraculously
bowed its head to him, as it were to give him a token how acceptable
the sacrifice of his resentment, and his sincere repentance were.
The divine grace made such deep impressions on his heart, that
rising from his devotions he cast himself at the feet of the abbot,
earnestly begging to be admitted to the religious habit. The abbot
was apprehensive of his father’s displeasure; but at length was
prevailed upon with much ado to allow him to live in the community in
his secular habit. After a few days John cut off his hair himself,
and put on a habit which he borrowed. His father, at this news of the
step his son had taken, hastened to the monastery, and stormed and
complained dreadfully; till after some time seeing the steadiness of
his son’s resolution, and hearing his reasons and motives, he was so
well satisfied, that he gave him his blessing, and exhorted him to
persevere in his good purposes.
St. John devoted himself to the exercises of his new state in the
most perfect dispositions of a true penitent. He was most exact in
every religious observance. He subdued his body with much fasting
and watching; never gave way to idleness, but kept himself day and
night employed almost in continual prayer. His corporeal austerities
he animated with a perfect interior spirit of penance, or desire
of punishing sin in himself, the more powerfully to move God to
compassion and mercy towards him; and he endeavored by them to
facilitate the subjection of his passions, which victory he completed
by a watchfulness over the motions of his own heart, and heroic acts
of all virtues, especially meekness and humility. But assiduous and
humble prayer and meditation were the principal means by which this
wonderful change was effected in all the affections of his soul, so
that he became entirely a new man. Nothing can have so prevalent a
power to still the agitation of passion in the breast, nothing is
so fit to induce a smooth and easy flow, and a constant evenness
of temper, as a frequent application to the throne of grace. This
presence of the mind with the Lord is an absence from the body, or
from the tumult of carnal passions. The pure and serene tranquillity
that springs up in the soul by an intercourse with heaven, shows that
here she is nearest the centre of her true happiness, where earthly
things lose all their power of attraction. The very preparation of
the heart to wait upon God in this solemn exercise is of admirable
use to remove that corruption which inflames the passions. Especially
a lively sense of God’s infinite greatness, and of our littleness and
infirmities, powerfully impressed on our minds by assiduous prayer,
soon brings us to a conviction that pride is the root of all our
disorders; and enables us to discover its disguises, and to banish it
out of our souls. By fidelity and perseverance St. John obtained the
victory over himself, and became most eminent in meekness, humility,
silence, obedience, modesty, and patience.
When the abbot died our saint was earnestly entreated by the greatest
part of the monks to accept that dignity; but his consent could by
no means be extorted. Not long after, he left this house with one
companion, and went in quest of a closer solitude. He paid a visit
to the hermitage of Camaldoli; and having edified himself with the
example of its fervent inhabitants, he proceeded further to an
agreeable shady valley covered with willow trees, commonly called
Vallis Umbrosa, in the diocess of Fiesoli, half a day’s journey from
Florence, in Tuscany. He found in that place two devout hermits, with
whom he and his companion concerted a project to build themselves
a small monastery of timber and mud-walls, and to form together a
little community, serving God according to the primitive austere
rule and spirit of the Order of St. Bennet. The abbess of St. Hilary
gave them the ground on which they desired to build, and when the
monastery was finished, the bishop of Paderborn, who attended the
emperor Henry III. into Italy, consecrated the chapel. Pope Alexander
II. in 1070 approved this new Order, together with the rule in which
the saint added certain particular constitutions to the original rule
of St. Bennet. From this confirmation is dated the foundation of the
Order of Vallis-Umbrosa. St. John was chosen the first abbot, nor was
he able to decline that dignity. He gave his monks a habit of an ash
color; and settled among them retirement, silence, disengagement of
their hearts from all earthly things, the most austere practice of
penance, profound humility, and the most universal charity.
Though most humble and mild, he severely reproved the least tepidity
or sloth in others. For the virtue of meekness is not further removed
from intemperate anger which clouds or dethrones reason, than from
a vicious defect or tameness and stupidity which beholds vice with
indifference. God has committed to every man a kind of trust and
guardianship of virtue, whose rights we are obliged to maintain in
proportion to our power not only by example, but also by advice,
exhortation, and reproof, as often as it is reasonable. And he who
regards the sins of others with a careless unconcernedness, makes
himself accountable for them, when it is in his power to prevent
them. Superiors especially lie under the most grievous obligations to
check and chastise the irregularities and faults of those under their
immediate care and inspection. Our saint feared no less the danger of
too great lenity and forbearance than that of harshness; and was a
true imitator both of the mildness and zeal of the Jewish legislator,
whom the Holy Ghost calls “the meekest of all men upon the face of
the earth.” St. John was himself a perfect model of all virtues,
and tender and compassionate towards all, especially the sick. This
compassion for them he learned by his own perpetual infirmities,
and weakness of stomach. Such was his humility that he would never
be promoted even to Minor Orders, never presumed to approach nearer
the altar than was necessary to receive the holy communion, and
never would open the church door, but always prayed one in Minor
Orders to open it for him. He was very zealous for holy poverty, and
would not allow any monasteries to be built in a costly or sumptuous
manner, thinking such edifices not agreeable to a spirit of poverty.
He founded the monastery of St. Salvi, that of Moscetta, that of
Passignano, another at Rozzuolo, and another at Monte Salario. He
reformed some other monasteries, and left about twelve houses of his
Order at his death. Besides monks he received lay-brothers, who were
exempt from choir and silence, and employed in external offices.
This is said to be the first example of such a distinction; but it
was soon imitated by other Orders. The saint’s charity to the poor
was not less active than his love for holy poverty. He would have no
poor person sent from his door without an alms, and often emptied
all the granaries and stores of his monasteries in relieving them.
In a great dearth he supplied, sometimes by miracle, the multitudes
of poor people that flocked to his monastery of Rozzuolo. The saint
was endowed with the spirit of prophecy, and by his prayers restored
many sick persons to perfect health. The holy pope Leo IX. went to
Passignano on purpose to see and converse with this holy man. Stephen
IX. and Alexander II. had the greatest esteem for him. This latter
testifies that the whole country where he lived owed to his zeal the
entire extinction of simony. The holy man at length fell sick of a
sharp fever at Passignano. He called for all the abbots and superiors
of his Order, and telling them he was soon to leave them, strongly
exhorted them to watch vigilantly over the most exact observance
of their rule, and to maintain peace and fraternal charity. After
this, having most devoutly received the last sacraments, he died
happily on the 12th of July in 1073, being seventy-four years old.
Pope Celestine III. having caused juridical informations to be taken
concerning his virtues and miracles, solemnly enrolled him among the
saints in the year 1193.
The eminent degree of penance and sanctity to which the divine grace
raised this saint, was the fruit of his mildness in forgiving an
injury. Christ not only commands us to pardon all offences, but
has recommended this precept to us with his expiring breath, with
his head crowned with thorns and his hands stretched out for us.
We renounce the glorious title of being his disciples if, whilst
we behold him hanging on the cross, and hear his last prayers, we
trample on his sacred law, and harbor malice in our hearts against
a brother whom our dying Redeemer commands us to forgive for his
sake. Can we be angry with him who is by so many sacred ties our
brother, the living son and member of our common Redeemer and Father,
and whom we expect to be the associate of our happiness for all
eternity? We owe infinitely more to Christ than any brother can owe
to us: the least venial sin is an immense debt. Our Divine Master
not only conjures us to forgive our brother for His sake, but also
makes it our own infinite interest so to do, promising to pardon us
our immense debts in the same manner as we pardon others. Shall we
base worms who have nothing to boast of before men only our having
concealed from them our baseness and ignominy; and to whom the
most cruel outrages from creatures would be too mild a treatment,
considering our sins; shall we, I say, complain of injuries which
we ought to receive with patience and joy as the easy means of
cancelling our own sins, and procuring for ourselves the greatest
graces and mercy.