St. Odo of Cluny: Personal Austerity and a Joyful Contemplation of Christ's Mercy

Sorry this post is late for yesterday's General Audience.  The whole past week has had a lot going on for me. 

In yesterday's General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI returned to his catechesis on the Church's great writers with a presentation about St. Odo, abbot of Cluny.  The Cluniac monasteries of the Middle Ages were a reform of the Benedictine Order.  I was actually kind of excited to see that catechesis because one of the places I visited during my trip to France in January was a church from a Cluniac monastery, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Paray-le-Monial.  There is a post about it here and a photo album here.  The original Cluniac monastery at nearby Cluny has been rebuilt over the years, so that the basilica at Paray-le-Monial is often considered the best example of Cluniac architecture that still stands.  That church was built in the 12th century under Abbot Hugh, at a monastery that was founded in the 10th century.

In his catechesis today, the Holy Father explained that St. Odo was born around 880 and became the second abbot of Cluny in 927. The Pope mentioned the ruins of Cluny that now remain as indicative of "its intense dedication to ascesis, study, and, in a special way, divine worship, enveloped in decorum and beauty."  Here is his English language summary of the catechesis:

"Our catechesis today deals with another great monastic figure of the Middle Ages, Saint Odo of Cluny. Attracted by the Benedictine ideal, Odo became a monk, and later the second abbot, of Cluny. At the beginning of the ninth century, Cluny was the center of an influential movement of Church reform, and Odo, by his example and teaching did much to further this spiritual renewal throughout Europe. His writings reveal how deeply he was influenced by the monastic virtues of contemplation, detachment from this world and longing for the world to come. Odo was particularly devoted to the Eucharist, emphasizing the real and substantial presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine. This conviction of faith led him to work for the reform of the clergy and to stress the need for a worthy reception of the Sacrament. An authentic spiritual guide for his troubled times, Odo blended the personal austerity of a great reformer with a constant and joyful contemplation of Christ’s infinite mercy."

Zenit and Benedetto XVI Forum have full English translations of the Holy Father's catechesis from today.  The Daily Bulletin has the original Italian text.   Asia News has an article.