By Livia Lupi
St John Gaulbert, or Giovanni Gualberto, founder of the Vallombrosan order, died on 12 July 1073. This same day was chosen as his feast day by pope Clement VIII in 1595.
Giovanni Gualberto was probably born towards the end of the tenth or the beginning of the eleventh century in Tuscany. According to the hagiographical tradition, he chose the religious life after forgiving the man who had murdered one of his relatives. Giovanni became a benedictine monk at the monastery of San Miniato al Monte overlooking the city of Florence.
After a time spent within the San Miniato community of monks, he travelled around Romagna visiting various monasteries, until he decided to fund his own order at Vallombrosa, a solitary location on the Tuscan Appenines. The Vallombrosan eremitic community, founded on the benedictine rule, grew rapidly, attracting numerous monks who left San Miniato al Monte for a more secluded, peaceful life. Shortly afterwards, other Vallombrosan monasteries were founded at other Tuscan locations, including Passignano, Settimo and Marradi.
Giovanni Gualberto became a popular saint and the subject of several artworks.
Reference: Antonella degl’Innocenti, “ Giovanni Gualberto, santo,” Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Enciclopedia Treccani, 2001.
Further reading:
Agnolo Firenzuola, Tales of Firenzuola, Benedictine Monk of Vallombrosa (XVIth Century). Leopold Classic Library 2018.
Caterina Caneva, Museo d’arte sacra dell’Abbazia di Vallombrosa. Polistampa, 2007.
Neri di Bicci, St John Gaulbert Enthroned with Saints, 1455, Santa Trinita, Florence. Fresco.
Giovanni del Biondo, St John Gaulbert Enthroned and Scenes from His Life, 1370, previously Santa Croce, Florence. Tempera on panel.
Bicci di Lorenzo, Miracle of St John Gaulbert, 1434, predella panel from dismembered polyptych, previously Santa Trinita, Florence. Tempera on panel.
Abbey at Vallombrosa, 15th-18th centuries
Tags: giovanni gualberto, john gaulbert, vallombrosa, vallombrosa abbey, vallombrosan monks
italianartsociety.org NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
First Reading:
From: Hosea 14:2-10 (New American Bible)
Or: Hosea 14:1-9 (Revised Standard Version & New Vulgate)
Call to Conversion
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[1] Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. [2] Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept that which is good and we will render the fruit of our lips. [3] Assyria shall not save us, we will not ride upon horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In thee the orphan finds mercy.”
[4] I will heal their faithlessness, I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. [5] I will be as the dew to Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, he shall strike root as the poplar; [6] his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive and his fragrance like Lebanon. [7] They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom as the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon. [8] O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress from me comes your fruit.
A Word to the Wise
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[9] Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.
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Commentary:
14:1-8. The last oracle follows the pattern of the whole book: the denunciation of Israel’s infidelity is followed by a blessing from the Lord. This. happened in the episode, from Hosea’s personal life at the start of the book (1:2-2:1), in the central poems (2:2-23), and in the first part of the oracles (4:1-11:11). The novelty of this oracle lies in the fact that previously salvation and forgiveness were offered by the Lord spontaneously and generously without Israel’s being asked for anything; whereas here (vv. 1-3) the prophet entreats Israel to be converted so that God may heal her unfaithfulness (v. 4).
In the oracle, both the prophet (vv. 1-3) and the Lord (vv. 4-8) speak. The words of the prophet are a call to conversion. (v. 1) and a prayer proper to a penitential liturgy (vv. 2-3) in which the sins of Israel are expressly mentioned--reliance on foreign pacts rather than on the Lord, and revering man-made idols as if they were God.
The Lord’s, words (vv. 4-8) benevolently offer the people reconciliation and a cure for their unfaithfulness. They speak of a golden age of love between the Lord and his people; all sorts of attractive imagery are used: the dew, the fragrance of Lebanon, the grain (note w) and the vine stand for the good things that the Lord, and not the Baals, bestows on the people; the Lord is depicted as a cypress, evergreen; that is, he is stable and enduring. So, the book’s conclusion is clear: since the Lord loves them so deeply there is nothing that the people can do but respond: "The love of the Beloved or, to put it better, the Beloved who is love, loves only love and faithfulness. Do not resist his love. Can we stop loving the one who is Love in person? Can, the one who is Love by his very nature be unloved?” (St Bernard, "In Cantica Canticorum", 83, 5).
14:9. The last verses of the book are a piece of wisdom writing. They are somewhat reminiscent of Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 107:43 and Proverbs 4:7. They invite us to read the book by applying its message to our own circumstances.