(1030-1101) Born to a prominent family in Cologne, Bruno studied in France and returned to Germany to be ordained a priest around the age of 25. He returned to Reims, France, where he led the cathedral school. He criticized worldliness among clergy, and following a vision of a place where he could grow closer to God, he retreated to a mountain in France and founded the Carthusians. Bruno later helped Pope Blessed Urban II, a former student of his, in reforming the Church.
The Carthusian Order emphasizes a solitary, hermit-like life with extreme simplicity (aestheticism) and continuous contemplation. It is one of the most austere orders in the Church. Perhaps without going to the Carthusian extreme, how can you simplify your life in recovery and make God the main thing?
“For the devil may tempt the good, but he cannot find rest in them; for he is shaken violently, and upset, and driven out, now by their prayers, now by their tears of repentance, and now by their almsgiving and similar good works” (Saint Bruno of Cologne).
Reflection by Brad Farmer