April 2023 Saint of the Month: Anselm of Canterbury by Daniel

“I shall defend thy honor, fair maiden! On my honor as a knight, I challenge this foul villain to duel to the death!” For some people this kind of old English dialogue is what comes to mind when the Middle Ages is mentioned. However, that was not the experience for the peasants of the time who were illiterate and too busy working the fields to worry about impressing young women. Though that was not exactly a bad thing. In fact, the mindset of Medieval Era is one that valued hierarchy and order with the understanding that each person played a crucial role and purpose. Theoretically, the peasant labors so the knight can train for war so the lord can manage the territories so the clergy can minister to souls in peace so the king can rule righteously with moral authority given by the pope who receives his office directly from God. Feudalism worked best for the time because it provided order and direction in a chaotic world filled with death and disease. This month’s saint, Anselm, lived in the midst of all of this and understood that acknowledging God as the highest authority leads to a more fulfilling and joyful life.

Anselm was born in the town of Aosta located in the Italian Alps to a noble family whose influence was on the decline. His father was very harsh choosing to focus on regaining political power while his mother was faithful and passing on her Christian knowledge to her son. Anselm was so on fire for his faith that he tried to enroll in a monastery at the age of 15, but he was stopped by his father did not want his only son to become a monk. His mother died shortly thereafter which pushed him to cope by withdrawing form his family indulging in worldly pleasures traveling around France and England.

His travels would lead him to northern France because he wanted to visit some of his mother’s family. Along the way, he came in contact with Lanfranc who was the head of the monastery in the city of Bec, France and the leading theology teacher in all of northern Europe. When he received word that his father had died, Anselm had to choose between going home and possibly using his wealth for good or give it all up to join the monastic life. After deep discernment and prayer with his new mentor, he chose to enroll in the monastery at Bec. The young monk was such a gifted student that he became the prior or head of the monastary when Lanfranc left and he was chosen to lead the monastic school. Once he became more established, Anselm published numerous writings adding to the theological and philosophical strength of the Catholic faith.

The first of these major works was the Monologion (Monologue) which looked at the existence of God through the lens of reason. He posited that if we think about what is good, we come to realize that there are different degrees to it. So, if there are degrees (implying there is a spectrum), there must be an idea of goodness that is supreme or most exemplifies the idea. For Anselm, God not only possesses supreme goodness, but He is the ideal. The Benedictine monk expands upon this in his second major work, the Proslogion (Discourse), where he laid out this idea that God was “a being than which no greater can be conceived.” His argument would be known as one of the earliest forms of the ontological (philosophical study of being and reality) argument for the existence of God and one of the most debated proofs even today because of how deceptively simple it is. The argument is as follows: there is no greater being that can be conceived than God which means that He must at least exist as an idea in our minds. A being which exists in our mind and in reality is superior to one that only exists in the mind. If God is the greatest being that can be conceived then He would necessarily have to exist as an idea and in reality, therefore, God exists.

Anslem’s wisdom became well known and, as such, he was regularly consulted by the English monarch and his old mentor Lanfranc, who was now the Archbishop of Canterbury. Canterbury was one of the major dioceses of England at the time which meant that the archbishop had a close working relationship with the king. So, when Lanfranc died, Anselm was naturally chosen to be his successor. However, his consecration was delayed because King William II was in conflict with the pope because he believed he could confiscate Church property and appoint bishops without papal approval. Anselm refused to accept the office of bishop until the king made amends and acknowledged Pope Urban II as the true pope of the Catholic Church during a confusing time where two men claimed to be the rightful successor of Peter. The king resisted these demands until he became very sick and he repented only out of fear of going to hell for his disobedience.

When the king had recovered, he began to reverse his prior actions and tried to force Archbishop Anselm into accepting his authority over the pope’s.The saint naturally resisted and was punished with exile where the king then took possession of lands in Canterbury. Pope Urban II called for the Council of Bari, Italy in 1098 which Anselm attended defending the doctrine of the Filioque (the language in the Nicene creed which said that the Holy Spirit descended from the Father and the Son) against the Eastern Greek Church. Later, he was allowed to return by the new king of England, yet it was not to be in peace because Henry I demanded his loyalty the same way William II did. Anselm was to suffer persecution from his king, which included another exile, until a compromise was finally reached years later.

Before he died in 1109, St. Anselm would spend the remainder of his years in peace as he continued to lead his flock and wrote more on theology. He would later receive the title “Confessor” because he endured persecution in defense of the Church without being martyred. Above all, he deeply believed that faith in God comes first, then understanding will follow. If we find that we are having trouble following the path to holiness, we can follow Anselm’s example to trust God and wait for Him to guide you. If you ever find yourself in need of St. Anselm’s intercession, here is a good prayer:

“O my God, teach my heart where and how to seek You,

where and how to find You.

You are my God and You are my all and I have never seen You.

You have made me and remade me,

You have bestowed on me all the good things I possess,

Still I do not know You.

I have not yet done that for which I was made.

Teach me to seek You.

I cannot seek You unless You teach me

or find You unless You show Yourself to me.

Let me seek You in my desire,

let me desire You in my seeking.

Let me find You by loving You,

let me love You when I find You. Amen.”

Stay awesome and blossom 🌱

By: anh Daniel