Saint Bernard (1091 - 1153) reminds us that questions about God and the meaning of life cannot be answered without prayer and contemplation. Bernard led the influential Cistercian monastery of Clairvaux for thirty-eight years and put the love of God and Jesus Christ at the centre of his writings. He shows us that without deep faith in God that is strengthened by prayer, contemplation and an intimate relationship with Our Lord, our reflections on the divine mysteries risk being mere intellectual excursions that lose credibility. Saint Bernard is famous for his writings on Mary, the Mother of Jesus.