Today the Church --though localized to the Cistercian Order-- celebrates the liturgical memorial of Saint Stephen Harding, one of the 3 founders of the Cistercian reform of Benedictine monastic life. Most of the faithful would not know of Saint Stephen unless they had contact with the Cistercians or remember their church history class. Several things distinguish Saint Stephen Harding: he was English, he was the third abbot of Cîteaux, he was a man of great pragmatism, he was the author of the Charter of Charity (the foundational document of the Cistercian life), and was responsible for the liturgical formulations for this way of life, cleaning up the corruptions inserted into the Divine Office over the years.
On Saint Stephen's deathbed he said, I assure you that I go to God in fear and trembling.
If my baseness should be found to have ever done any good, even in this I fear,
lest I should not have preserved that grace with the humility and care I ought.
For more on Saint Stephen Harding read this entry and this one.
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