October 6
Saints of the Day...and Events
 

St. Bruno, 1030-1101
The German who founded the Carthusian Order in France in the desert of Chartreuse (from which comes the word Carthusians).

    Following a vision he received of a secluded hermitage where he could spend his life becoming closer to God, he retired to a mountain near Chartreuse in Dauphiny in 1084 and founded what became the first house of the Carthusian Order; he and his brothers supported themselves as manuscript copyists.
    Others joined him in retreat, desiring the pursuit of perfection, according to the means Christ prescribed. If you will be perfect, go, sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. (Matthew 19:21). Saint Bruno aspired to a desert and, inspired by God, looked towards the Alps of the east.
    With six companions, four priests and two laymen, Saint Bruno applied to Hugh, Bishop of Grenoble, who led them to a wild solitude called the Chartreuse (from which comes the word Carthusians). There they lived in poverty, self-denial, and silence, each apart in his own cell, meeting only for the worship of God, and employing themselves in copying books.
    They met for Matins and Vespers each day, and spent the rest of the time in solitude, eating together only on great feasts.

    Assistant to Pope Urban II in 1090, and supported his efforts at reform. Retiring from public life, he and his companions built a hermitage at Torre, where, 1095, the monastery of Saint Stephen was built. Bruno combined in the religious life the eremitical and the cenobitic; his learning is apparent from his scriptural commentaries.

Born 1030 at Cologne, Germany

Died 1101 at Torre, Calabria, Italy of natural causes; buried in the church of Saint Stephen at Torre

Canonized 1623

Additional Information
    - http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintb14.htm
    - http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1160
    - http://www.magnificat.ca/cal/engl/10-06.htm
    - Carthusian Order

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Readings

Rejoice, my dearest brothers, because you are blessed and because of the bountiful hand of God's grace upon you. Rejoice, because you have escaped the various dangers and shipwrecks of the stormy world. Rejoice because you have reached the quiet and safe anchorage of a secret harbor. Many wish to come into this port, and many make great efforts to do so, yet do not achieve it. Indeed many, after reaching it, have been thrust out, since it was not granted them from above.
    By your work you show what you love and what you know. When you observe true obedience with prudence and enthusiasm, it is clear that you wisely pick the most delightful and nourishing fruit of divine Scripture. from a letter by Saint Bruno to the Carthusians