Sermons of St. Bernard on Advent and Christmas : including the famous treatise on the incarnation called "Missus est"

JOHN M. KELLY LIBRARY

Donated by

The Redemptorists of
the Toronto Province

from the Library Collection of
Holy Redeemer College, Windsor

University of
St. Michael's College, Toronto

SERMONS
OF ST. BERNARD

ON

ADVENT £? CHRISTMAS

INCLUDING THE FAMOUS TREATISE
ON THE INCARNATION CALLED "MISSUS EST"

Compiled and translated at St. Mary's Convent^
from the Edition (1508), in black-letter^ of
St. Bernard's Sermons and Letters

[CHIEFLY FOR CONVENTS]
WITH INTRODUCTION

BY THE

RIGHT REV. J. C. HEDLEY, O.S.B.

BISHOP OF NEWPORT

R. & T. WASHBOURNE, LTD.

i, 2 & 4 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
MANCHESTER : 74 BRIDGE ST. GLASGOW : 248 BUCHANAN ST.

BENZIGER BROS. \ NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO
1909

[All rights resented

H8LY REDEEME« LIBRARY. WIJ$SOR

HENRICUS G. S. BOWDEN,

CENSOR DEPUTATUS.

Imprimatur.

EDM. CAN. SURMONT,

VICARIUS GENERALIS.

WESTMONASTERII,

die 25 OctobriS) 1909.

CONTENTS

ADVENT

I. SERMON ON ITS Six CIRCUMSTANCES
II. SERMON ON THE WORDS TO ACHAZ, " ASK THEE
A SIGN," ETC.

II

ON THE " MISSUS EST "

I. PRAISES OF THE VIRGIN-MOTHER
II. THE MISSION OF THE ANGEL -

III. COLLOQUY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN AND THE

ANGEL -

IV. THE ANNUNCIATION, AND THE BLESSED VIRGIN'S

CONSENT

III

PAGE
I

23

33

48
60

ON THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S NATIVITY

I. ON THE JOY His BIRTH SHOULD INSPIRE - 75

II. ON THE MIRACULOUS NATURE OF THE NATIVITY 81
III. ON THE DISPOSITIONS REQUIRED IN THOSE WHO

CELEBRATE THE FEAST - - 89

iv CONTENTS

IV
ON OUR LORD'S NATIVITY

PAGE

I. THE FOUNTAINS OF THE SAVIOUR - 101

II. THE THREE COMMINGLINGS - 108

III. ON THE PLACE, TIME, AND OTHER CIRCUM

STANCES - 115

IV. ON THE SHEPHERDS FINDING OUR LORD - 122
V. ON THE WORDS, " BLESSED BE THE GOD AND

FATHER," ETC. - . 126

V
ON THE CIRCUMCISION - - 135

VI
ON THE HOLY NAME AND OTHER SCRIP-

TURAL TITLES OF OUR LORD - - 141

VII

ON THE EPIPHANY
I. ON " THE GOODNESS AND KINDNESS OF OUR

SAVIOUR HATH APPEARED " - - 151

II. " GO FORTH, YE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM " 157

III. ON THE GIFTS OF THE WISE MEN - - 161

INTRODUCTION

IT is a pleasure to write a few words of introduction
to an admirable translation of some interesting
" Sermons of St. Bernard " made by one of the
Community of St. Mary's, York. The sermons are
nineteen in number, and are all of them related to
the mysteries of Advent and Christmas. Of the
seven sermons, Z)0 Adventu Domini, printed in Dom
Mabillon's edition of the saint's works, we have here
the first two. Then follow the four homilies on
the text Missus est, etc. This is the title that is
generally given to these famous sermons, but the
holy preacher himself intended them to be called
De laudibus Virginis Matris, as we read in his letter
to Peter the Deacon. Of the six discourses for the
Vigil of Christmas, the translator has selected the
first, the fourth, and the sixth. All the five sermons
on Christmas Day are given. The volume ends
with two on the Circumcision and three on the
Epiphany.

These sermons are fully and conscientiously trans
lated. A few omissions have been made — chiefly,
it would seem, through sheer inability to present in

vi INTRODUCTION

an acceptable modern version all the devout and
fanciful dealings of the holy Doctor with the text
of the Scripture. St. Bernard knew St. Augustine
well, and he had learnt this fashion of using Holy
Scripture from him. St. Bernard's mind and heart
were steeped in the Scriptures, and it comes natural
to one to whom the text is so living and real to treat
it as holding a lesson in every word and syllable. I
have used the word " fanciful," but rather in the
sense of imaginative fertility than of childish or
mere poetic dreaminess. The Holy Spirit, as all
Catholics believe, has a message for man in the Bible
beneath and besides the letter. In general, it is the
prerogative of the saints and doctors to discourse
and reveal this mystical sense. This is the reason
why the commentaries of holy men are so precious.
For the exposition of a St. Augustine, a St. Gregory,
or a St. Bernard is the expression of the interior
illumination of a favoured soul, and it would be rash
to doubt that such comments are, in a general sense,
guided and ""inspired" by the Author of the
Scripture Himself. If, then, the translator of these
sermons has found some passages too " quaint " to
be reproduced, still, there is a sufficient number left
to make it useful to remind the reader that he is here
listening to one of the princes of the contemplative
life, and that he should rather try to follow the idea
than to criticize. No one can read St. Bernard
with any profit or satisfaction who does not heartily
accept him as a mystical expert in Holy Scripture .
In one or two places considerable liberty has been
taken with the text of the sermons. We are in
formed, in r egard to the sermon on the Circumcision

INTRODUCTION vii

(p. 135), that this sermon has been combined with
one on the same subject in the saint's commentary
on the Canticle of Canticles. As the earlier discourse
touches on the Holy Name, and as it is not, perhaps,
one of St. Bernard's most striking utterances, it was
a temptation not to be resisted to have recourse to
the well-known Fifteenth Sermon on the Canticles,
and to attach to the first the famous passages in
which the Holy Name is compared to Lux, Cibus, et
Medicina. This truly Bernardine outburst presents
great difficulties to the translator, if the spirit and
rhythm of the original are to be reproduced. It will
be seen that the present translation is not unworthy
of the original. I may, however, be permitted to
say that, in the thrilling passage where the miracle
wrought by the Holy Name on the cripple at the
Gate of the Temple is described, I miss the tanquam
fulgur egrediens — the comparison of Peter's utter
ance of that Name to a flash of lightning. The fine
oratorical point which ends that passage — the
healing of one cripple contrasted with the illumina
tion of multitudes of blind — is left out. This kind
of shortcoming rarely occurs in these pages, and is
only an example of the excessive difficulty of
rendering the exact rhetorical turn of a very vivid
Latin into corresponding English.

St. Bernard's sermons were all delivered in the
Chapter-house at Clairvaux. There can be no doubt
that they were spoken in Latin, as we have them
now. If the lay-brothers were present, they had to
be content at the moment with picking up what
they could, but we learn that at other times these
discourses were repeated to the lay-brethren in

viii IN TROD UCTION

French, or in the Romance tongue which was the
precursor of modern French. We have a specimen
of translation which must be almost contemporary,
and possibly by St. Bernard himself, in a Paris
manuscript quoted by Mabillon. The version shows
that even an illiterate may have caught much of
the sense of the spoken Latin. For example, in the
sermon for Advent, the passage beginning, " Fugite
superbiam, fratres mei, quseso, multum fugite,"
begins in Romance, " Por Deu, chier Friere, fuyez
orgoil, et forment lo fuyez." St. Bernard's Latin
style was much admired by the Humanists, such as
Henry of Valois and Erasmus. The latter very
acute critic says he was a born preacher, spirited,
pleasing, and moving. We must remember that up
to his twentieth year he had an excellent training
in scholarship and divinity at Chatillon. His
reading in both sacred and profane literature must
have been very wide. He is well acquainted with
theology, as one can see, for example, in his sermons
on the Canticles, especially in Sermons 80 and
81, where he discourses on the image of God in
the Word and in the soul of man, and on the
simplicity of God, with a penetration not unworthy
of St. Anselm. His knowledge of the Canon Law
is shown in his most able treatise, addressed to
Eugenius III., the fine book ^De Consider atione.
It is true he never considered himself a student.
He said that he learnt more from the " oaks and
beeches " of the Cistercian solitude than from
books or masters. What he thus learnt was the
most precious part of what he has left us. But still,
great Popes, like Alexander III. and Irmocent III.,

INTRODUCTION ix

have given him the title of Doctor, a title conferred
upon him in a more liturgical way by Pope Pius IX.
At what date he was first called the " Mellifluous "
Doctor is a little uncertain. Theophilus Raynauld,
who wrote in the fifteenth century, seems to be the
first who records that name, but it carried too happy
a description of his spirit not to be promptly taken
up. It was Nicholas Faber, the tutor of Louis XIII. ,
who called him the " Last of the Fathers."

Those who cannot read the " Sermons of St.
Bernard " in the original may be strongly recom
mended to study them in this excellent translation.
They will find the style, and even the matter, a little
difficult. In a writer of the twelfth century there
must be an idiom that is unfamiliar, and his subjects
and his points will not be those of the books and
preachers of our own times. But the reader will find
in St. Bernard, as in all the Fathers, that steady,
large, and almost unconscious exposition of Catholic
faith in its widest sense, which the multiplication of
religious books must always need as a corrective to
limited views and one-sided enthusiasms. He will
also, I do not doubt, appreciate the fire and piety
of that great saint. The ardent devotion which
marks every page of his sermons may not now be a
novelty to Catholics, for a leader like St. Bernard
makes his own spirit in this regard an inheritance of
the whole Church, and we are all to a great extent
thinking the devout thoughts and practising the
elevations of the heart of which he gave the example.
But it is always inspiring and stimulating to go to
the fountain-head, and to study the very turns and
expressions of such a master ; and his touching piety,

x INTRODUCTION

whenever he treats of the Word made flesh, or the
Virgin-Mother, will always be more real to us and
more edifying when we feel ourselves actually in his
presence — the presence of one who was at once so
heroic in his sanctity, and so great an historical
figure in the twelfth century.

* J. C. H.

November 5, 1909.

I
ADVENT

SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

SERMON I

ON THE ADVENT OF OUR LORD AND ITS
SIX CIRCUMSTANCES

TO-DAY we celebrate the beginning of Advent.

The name of this great annual commemoration is
sufficiently familiar to us ; its meaning may not be
so well known.

When the unhappy children of Eve had aban
doned the pursuit of things true and salutary, they
gave themselves up to the search for those that are
fleeting and perishable. To whom shall we liken
the men of this generation, or to what shall we
compare them, seeing they are unable to tear them
selves from earthly and carnal consolations, or
disentangle their minds from such trammels ?
They resemble the shipwrecked who are in danger
of being overwhelmed by the waters, and who may
be seen catching eagerly at whatever they first
grasp, how frail soever it may be. And if anyone
strive to rescue them, they are wont to seize and drag
him down with them, so that not infrequently the
rescuer is involved with them in one common
destruction. Thus the children of the world perish
miserably while following after transitory things

i — 2

4 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

and neglecting those which are solid and enduring,
cleaving to which, they might save their souls. Of
truth, not of vanity, it is said : " You shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free."1

Do you, therefore, to whom as to little ones God
has revealed things hidden from the wise and
prudent, turn your thoughts with earnestness to
those that are truly desirable, and diligently medi
tate on this coming of our Lord.2 Consider Who He
is that comes, whence He comes, to whom He comes,
for what end He comes, when He comes, and in
what manner He comes. This is undoubtedly a
most useful and praiseworthy curiosity, for the
Church would not so devoutly celebrate the season
of Advent if there were not some great mystery
hidden therein.

Wherefore, in the first place, let us with the
Apostle consider in astonishment and admiration
how great He is Who comes. According to the
testimony of Gabriel, He is the Son of the Most
High, and consequently a coequal with Him. Nor
is it lawful to think that the Son of God is other
than coequal with His Father. He is coequal in
majesty ; He is coequal in dignity. Who will deny
that the sons of princes are princes, and the sons of
kings kings ?

But how is it that of the Three Persons Whom we
believe, and confess, and adore in the Most High
Trinity, it was not the Father, nor the Holy Ghost,
but the Son that became Man ? I imagine this was
not without cause. But " who hath known the mind
of the Lord ? Or who hath been his counsellor ?"3

1 St. John viii. 32. 2 St. Matt. xi. 25. 3 Rom. xi. 34.

ADVENT 5

Not without some most deep counsel of the
Blessed Trinity was it decreed that the Son
should become Incarnate. If we consider the cause
of our exile, we may perchance be able to compre
hend in some degree how fitting it was that our
deliverance should be chiefly accomplished by the
Son.

Lucifer, who rose brightly as the morning star,
because he attempted to usurp a similitude with
the Most High, and " it was thought robbery in
him to equal himself with God," an equality which
was the Son's by right, was cast down from heaven
and ruined ; for the Father was zealous for the
glory of the Son, and seemed by this act to say :
" Vengeance is mine, I will repay/' And instantly
" I saw Satan as lightning falling from heaven."1

Dust and ashes, why art thou proud ? If God
spared not pride in His angels, how much less will
He tolerate it in thee, innate corruption ? Satan
had committed no overt act, he had but consented
to a thought of pride, yet in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, he was irreparably rejected
because, as the Evangelist says, " he stood not in
the truth."2

Fly pride, my brethren, I most earnestly beseech
you. " Pride is the beginning of all sin,"3 and
how quickly did it darken and overshadow with
eternal obscurity Lucifer, the most bright and
beautiful of the heavenly spirits, and, from not only
an angel, but the first of angels, transform him into
a hideous devil ! Wherefore, envying man's happi-

1 St. Luke x. 18. 2 St. John viii. 44.

3 Ecclus. x. 15.

6 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

ness, he brought forth in him the evil which he had
conceived in himself by persuading man that if he
should eat of the forbidden tree he would become
as God, having a knowledge of good and evil.
Wretch ! what dost thou promise, when thou
knowest that the Son of God has the key of know
ledge — yea, and is Himself the " key of David, that
shutteth and no man openeth " j1 that " in him are
hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and know
ledge of God " ?2 Wouldst thou, then, wickedly steal
them away to give them to men ?

You see, my brethren, how true is the sentence
of our Lord, " The devil is a liar and the father of
lies/'3 He was a liar in saying, " I will be like
unto the Most High,"4 and he was the father of lies
when he breathed his spirit of falsity into man.
" You will be as gods."6 And wilt thou, 0 man,
" seeing the thief, run with him " ?6 You have
heard, my brethren, what has been read this night
from Isaiah. The Prophet says to the Lord, " Thy
princes are faithless, companions of thieves/' or,
as another version has it, " disobedient companions
of thieves/'7 In truth, Adam and Eve were dis
obedient companions of thieves, for, by the counsel
of the serpent, or, rather, of the devil in the serpent,
they tried to seize upon what belonged by birth
right to the Son of God. Nor did the Father
overlook the injury, for the Father loveth the Son.
He immediately took revenge on that same man,
and let His hand fall heavily on us all, " for in Adam

1 Apoc. iii. 7. 2 Col. ii. 3. 3 St. John viii. 44.

* Isa. xiv. 14. 5 Gen. iii. 5. 6 Ps. xlix. 18.
7 Isa. i. 23.

ADVENT 7

all have sinned/' and in his sentence of condemna
tion we have shared.

What, then, did the Son do, seeing His Father so
zealous for His glory, and for His sake sparing none
of His creatures ? " Behold," He says, " on My
account My Father has ruined His creatures : the
first of the angels aspired to My throne of sove
reignty, and had followers who believed in him ; and
instantly My Father's zeal was heavily revenged on
him, striking him and all his adherents with an
incurable plague, with a dire chastisement. Man,
too, attempted to steal from Me the knowledge
which belongs to Me alone, and neither doth My
Father show him mercy, nor doth His eye spare
him. He had made two noble orders sharing His
reason, capable of participating in His beatitude,
angels and men ; but behold, on My account He
hath ruined a multitude of His angels and the entire
race of men. Therefore, that they may know that
I love My Father, He shall receive back through
Me what in a certain way He seems to have lost
through Me. ' It is on my account this storm has
arisen ; take me and cast me into the sea.'1 All
are envious of Me ; behold I come, and will exhibit
Myself to them in such a guise as that whosoever
shall wish may become like to Me ; whatsoever I
shall do they may imitate, so that their envy shall
be made good and profitable to them."

The angels, we know, sinned through malice,
not through ignorance and frailty ; wherefore, as
they were unwilling to repent, they must of neces
sity perish, for the love of the Father and the
1 Jonas i. 12.

8 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

honour of the King demand judgment. For this
cause He created men from the beginning, that
they might fill those lost places, and repair the
ruins of the heavenly Jerusalem. For He knew
" the pride of Moab, that he is exceedingly proud/'1
and that his pride would never seek the remedy
of repentance, nor, consequently, of pardon. After
man's fall, however, He created no other creature
in his place, thus intimating that man should yet
be redeemed, and that he who had been supplanted
by another's malice might still by another's charity
be redeemed.

Be it so, dear Lord, I beseech Thee. Be pleased
to deliver me, for I am weak. Like Joseph of old,
I was stolen away from my country, and here with
out any fault was cast into a dungeon. Yet I am
not wholly innocent, but innocent compared with
him who seduced me. He deceived me with a
lie : let the truth come, that falsehood may be dis
covered, and that I may know the truth, and that
the truth may make me free. But to gain the
freedom I must renounce the falsehood when dis
covered, and adhere to the known truth ; otherwise
the temptation would not be human, nor the sin a
human sin, but diabolical obstinacy. To persevere
in evil is the act of the devil, and those who persevere
in evil after his example deservedly perish with
him.

Behold, you have heard Who He is that comes ;

consider now whence and to whom He comes. He

comes from the heart of God the Father to the

womb of a virgin mother ; He comes from the

1 Isa. xvi. 6.

ADVENT 9

highest heaven to this low earth, that we whose
conversation is now on earth may have Him for
our most desirable companion. For where can it be
well with us without Him, and where ill if He be pre
sent ? " What have I in heaven, and besides Thee
what do I desire upon earth ? Thou art the God
of my heart and the God that is my portion for
ever ";* and " though I should walk in the midst
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil," if only
" thou art with me."2

But here I see that our Lord descends not only
to earth, but even to hell ; not as one bound, but
as free among the dead ; as light that shines in the
darkness, " and the darkness did not comprehend
it." Wherefore His soul was not left in hell, nor
did His holy body on earth see corruption. For
Christ " that descended is the same also that
ascended . . . that he might fill all things " ;3 " who
went about doing good, and healing all that were
oppressed by the devil."4 And elsewhere we read,
He " hath exalted as a giant to run his way
His going forth is from the highest heavens, and his
circuit even to the end thereof."5 Well might
St. Paul cry out : " Seek the things that are above,
where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God."€
In vain would the Apostle labour to raise our
hearts upwards if he did not teach us that the
Author of our salvation is sitting in heaven.

But what follows ? The matter here is indeed
abundant in the extreme ; but our limited time
does not admit of a lengthened development. By

1 Ps. Ixxii. 25, 26. 2 Ps. xxii. 4. 3 Eph. iv. 10.

4 Acts x. 38. 5 Ps. xviii. 7. G Col. iii. i.

io SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

considering Who He is that comes, we see His
supreme and ineffable majesty, and by contem
plating whence He comes, we behold the great high
way clearly laid out to us. The Prophet Isaias
says : " Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from
afar."1 By reflecting whither He comes, we see His
inestimable and inconceivable condescension in His
descending from highest heavens to abide with us
in this miserable prison-house. Who can doubt
that there was some grand cause powerful enough
to move so sovereign a Majesty to come " from
afar," and condescend to enter a place so
unworthy of Him as this world of ours. The
cause was in truth great. It was His immense
mercy, His multiplied compassion, His abundant
charity.

For what end must we believe that He came ?
This question is the next in order to be examined ;
nor will the search demand much labour, for the
end and purpose of His coming is proclaimed by
His words and His works. To seek after the one
sheep of the hundred that had strayed He hastened
from the mountains. For our sake He came down
from heaven, that His mercies and His wonders
might be openly proclaimed to the children of men.
O wonderful condescension of God in this search !
O wonderful dignity of man who is thus sought ! If
he should wish to glory in this dignity, it would not
be imputed to him as folly. Not that he need
think anything of himself, but let him rejoice that
He Who made him should set so high a value on
him. For all the riches and glory of the world, all
1 Isa. xxx. 27.

ADVENT n

that is desirable therein, is far below this glory — nay,
can bear no comparison with it. " Lord, what is
man that thou should magnify him ? and why
settest thou thy heart upon him P"1

I still further desire to know why He should come
to us, and not we rather go to Him, for the need
was on our side, and it is not usual for the rich to
go to the poor, though otherwise willing to assist
them. It was indeed our place to go forward to
Him, but there stood a twofold impediment in the
way ; for our eyes were heavy, and He " dwelt in
light inaccessible." We lay as paralytics on our
beds, and could not raise ourselves to the Divine
elevation. Wherefore this most benign Saviour
and Physician of souls descended to us from His
lofty throne, and tempered His brightness to the
weakness of our sight. He clothed Himself with
His most glorious and spotless body as with the
shade of a lantern, thus attempering to us His
splendour. This is that bright and shining cloud
upon which the Lord was to descend upon Egypt,
as the Prophet Isaiah foretold.2

It is now fitting that we should consider the time
of our Lord's coming.

He came, as you know, not in the beginning, nor
in the midst of time, but in the end of it. This was
no unsuitable choice, but a truly wise dispensation
of His infinite wisdom, that He might afford help
when He saw it was most needed. Truly, " it was
evening, and the day was far spent " ;3 the sun of
justice had wellnigh set, and but a faint ray of his
light and heat remained on earth. The light of

1 Job vii. 17. 2 Isa. xix. i. 3 St. Luke xxiv. 29.

12 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

Divine knowledge was very small, and as iniquity
abounded, the fervour of charity had grown cold.
No angel appeared, no prophet spoke. The angelic
vision and the prophetic spirit alike had passed
away, both hopelessly baffled by the exceeding
obduracy and obstinacy of mankind. Then it was
that the Son of God said : " Behold, I come."1 And
" while all things were in quiet silence, and the
night was in the midst of her course, the almighty
word leaped down from heaven from thy royal
throne."2 Of this coming the Apostle speaks :
" When the fullness of time was come, God sent his
Son."3 The plenitude and affluence of things tem
poral had brought on the oblivion and penury of
things eternal. Fitly, therefore, did the Eternal
God come when things of time were reigning
supreme. To pass over other points, such was the
temporal peace at the birth of Christ that by the
edict of one man the whole world was enrolled.

You have now heard Who He is that comes,
whence, whither, and to whom He comes ; the
cause, likewise, and the time of His coming are
known to you. One point is yet to be considered —
namely, the way by which He came. This must be
diligently examined, that we may, as is fitting, go
forth to meet Him. As He once came visibly in
the body to work our salvation in the midst of the
earth, so does He come daily invisibly and in spirit
to work the salvation of each individual soul ; as
it is written : " The Spirit before our face, Christ
the Lord." And that we might know this spiritual
advent to be hidden, it is said : " Under his shadow
1 Heb. x. 7. 2 Wisd. xviii. 14, 15. 3 Gal. iv. 4.

ADVENT 13

we shall live among the Gentiles/'1 Wherefore, if
the infirm cannot go far to meet this great Phy
sician, it is at least becoming they should endeavour
to raise their heads and lift themselves a little to
greet their Saviour. For this, O man, you are not
required to cross the sea, to penetrate the clouds,
to scale the mountain-tops. No lofty way is set
before you. Turn within thyself to meet thy God,
for the Word is nigh in thy mouth and in thy heart.
Meet Him by compunction of heart and by con
fession of mouth, or, at least, go forth from the cor
ruption of a sinful conscience, for it is not becoming
that the Author of purity should enter there.

It is delightful to contemplate the manner of
His visible coming, for His " ways are beautiful, and
all his paths are peace/'2 " Behold," says the
Spouse of the Canticles, " he cometh leaping upon
the mountains, skipping upon the hills."3 You see
Him coming, O beautiful one, but His previous
lying down you could not see, for you said : " Shew
me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou
feedest, where thou liest/'4 He lay feeding His
angels in His endless eternity with the vision of His
glorious, unchanging beauty. But know, O beauti
ful one, that that vision is become wonderful to
thee ; it is high, and thou canst not reach it. Never
theless, behold He hath gone forth from His holy
place, and He that had lain feeding His angels hath
undertaken to heal us. We shall see Him coming
as our food, Whom we were not able to behold while
He was feeding His angels in His repose. " Be
hold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains,

1 Lara. iv. 20. 2 Prov. iii. 17. 3 Cant. ii. 8. 4 Cant. i. 6.

1 4 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

skipping upon the hills." The mountains and hills
we may consider to be the Patriarchs and the Pro
phets, and we may see His leaping and skipping in
the book of His genealogy. " Abraham begot
Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob,"1 etc. From the moun
tains came forth the root of Jesse, as you will find
from the Prophet Isaias : " There shall come forth
a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise
up out of his root, and the Spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon him."2 The same prophet speaks yet
more plainly : " Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a Son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel,
which is interpreted, ' God with us/ "3 He Who
is first styled a flower is afterwards called Emmanuel,
and in the rod is named the virgin. But we. must
reserve for another day further consideration of
this sublime mystery, as there is ample material for
another sermon, especially as to-day's has been
rather long.

SERMON II

ON THE WORDS TO ACHAZ, " ASK THEE
A SIGN," ETC.

" And the Lord spoke again to Achaz, saying : Ask thee
a sign of the Lord thy God, either unto the depth of hell,
or unto the height above. And Achaz said : I will not ask,
and I will not tempt the Lord."4

WE have heard Isaiah persuading King Achaz to

ask for a sign from the Lord, either in the depth of

hell, or in the height above. We have heard the

1 St. Matt. i. 2. 2Isa. xi. i, 2. 3 Isa. vii. 14. 4 Ibid. 10-12.

ADVENT 15

King's answer ^ having the semblance of piety, but
not its reality. On this account he deserved to be
rejected by Him Who sees the heart, and to Whom
the thoughts of men confess. " I will not ask," he
says, " and I will not tempt the Lord." Achaz was
puffed up with the pomp of the regal throne, and
skilled in the cunning words of human wisdom.
Isaias has therefore heard the words : " Go, tell that
fox to ask for himself a sign from the Lord unto the
depths of hell." For the fox had a hole, but it was
in hell, where, if he descended, he would find One
Who would catch the wise in his cunning. Again :
" Go," says the Lord, " to that bird, and let him
ask for a sign in the heights above," for the bird hath
his high nest ; but though he ascend to heaven, he
will there find Him Who " resisteth the proud," and
trampleth with might on the necks of the lofty and
high-minded. Achaz refused to ask a sign of that
sovereign power, or that incomprehensible depth.
Wherefore the Lord Himself promised to the house
of David a sign of goodness and charity, that those
whom the exhibition of His power could not terrify,
nor the manifestations of His wisdom subdue, might
be allured by His exceeding love. In the words
" depth of hell " may be not unfitly portrayed the
charity " greater than which no man hath," that
Christ should at death descend even unto hell " for
His friends." And in this God would teach Achaz
either to dread the majesty of Him Who reigns in
the highest, or to embrace the charity of Him Who
descends to the lowest. Grievous, therefore, alike
to God and man is he who will neither think on
majesty with fear nor meditate on charity with

16 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

love. " Wherefore/1 the Prophet says, " the Lord
himself shall give you a sign."1 — a sign resplendent
alike with majesty and love. " Behold a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a Son, and his name shall be
called Emmanuel, which is interpreted, ' God with
us.' f O Adam ! flee not away, for God is with us !
Fear not, O man, nor be afraid to hear His name ;
it is " God with us/' With us in the likeness of our
nature ; with us for our service and for our profit.
For us He is come as one of us, passible like unto us.

It is said, " He will eat butter and honey " ; as if
to say, He shall be a little one, fed with infant's
food. " That he may know how to reject evil and
choose good." As in the case of the forbidden tree,
the tree of transgression, so now we hear of an option
between good and evil. But the choice of the
second Adam is better than that of the first. Choosing
the good, He refused the evil ; not as He Who loved
cursing, and it came upon Him ; and He would not
have blessing, and it was far from Him.2 In the
prophecy that He would eat butter and honey you
may notice the choice of this little one. But may
His grace support us, that what He grants us the
power to understand He may likewise enable us to
explain !

From milk we obtain two substances, butter and
cheese. Butter is oily and moist ; cheese, on the
contrary, is hard. Our little one knew well how to
choose when, eating the butter, He did not taste
the cheese. Behold, therefore, how He chose the
best ; He assumed our nature free from all corruption
of sin. Of sinners we read that their heart is
1 Isa. vii. 14. 2 Ps. cviii. 18.

ADVENT 17

curdled as milk ; the purity of their nature is cor
rupted by the fermentation of malice and iniquity.

And now let us turn to the honey. Our bee feeds
among lilies, and dwells in the flowery country of the
angels. This bee flew to the city of Nazareth,
which is, interpreted, a flower ; He came to the sweet-
smelling flower of perpetual virginity ; He settled
upon it, He clove to it. But bees, besides their
sweet honey, have likewise their sharp sting. The
Prophet that sang of the mercy and judgment of
the Lord, knew that this bee had a sting as well as
honey.1 Nevertheless, when He descended to us
He brought honey only — that is, mercy, not judg
ment — so that to the disciples who wished to call
down fire from heaven on the cities that would not
receive Him, He answered : " The Son of Man is
not come to judge the world, but to save it."2
Our bee had no sting in His mortal life ; amid the
extremity of insult He showed mercy, not judgment.
Christ, then, may be symbolized both as a bee and
as the flower springing from the rod. And, as we
know, the rod is the Virgin Mother of God.

This flower, the Son of the Virgin, is " white and
ruddy, chosen out of thousands."3 It is the flower
on which the angels desire to look, the flower whose
perfume shall revive the dead, the flower, as He
Himself declares, of the field, not of the garden.
This flower grew and flourished in the field inde
pendent of all human culture ; unsown by the hand
of man, un tilled by the spade, or fattened by
moisture. So did the womb of Mary blossom. As
a rich pasture it brought forth the flower of eternal

1 Ps. c. i. 2 St. John xii. 47. 3 Cant. v. 10.

2

i8 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

beauty, whose freshness shall never fade nor see
corruption, whose glory is to everlasting. O
sublime virgin rod, that raisest thy holy head aloft,
even to Him Who sitteth on the throne, even to the
Lord of Majesty ! And this is not wonderful, for
thou hast planted thy roots deeply in the soil of
humility. O truly celestial plant, than which none
more precious, none more holy ! O true tree of
life, alone deemed worthy to bear the fruit of sal
vation ! Thou art caught, O wicked serpent,
caught in thy own cunning ; thy falsity is laid bare.
Two evils thou hadst imputed to thy Creator ; thou
hadst defamed Him by envy and by lying, but in
both imputations thou art convicted a liar. He to
whom thou hadst promised that he should not die
did die, " and the truth of the Lord remaineth for
ever/'1 And now answer, if thou canst, what tree
God could forbid man, seeing He denied him not
this chosen rod, this sublime fruit ? For " he that
spared not his own Son, how hath he not with him
given us all things ?"2

It is now surely clear how the Virgin is the royal
way by which the Saviour has drawn near to us,
coming forth from her womb as a Bridegroom from
His bridal chamber. Holding on, therefore, to this
way, let us endeavour to ascend to Him by her,
through Whom He descended to us ; let us seek His
grace through her by whom He came to succour
our need.

O blessed finder of grace ! Mother of life ! Mother
of salvation ! may we through thee have access to
thy Son, that through thee we may be received by
1 Ps. cxvi. 2. 2 Rom. viii. 32.

ADVENT 19

Him Who through thee was given to us. May thy
integrity and purity excuse before Him the stain
of our corruption ; may thy humility, so pleasing
to God, obtain from Him the pardon of our vanity.
May thy abundant charity cover the multitude of
our iniquity, and thy glorious fruitfulness supply
our indigence of merits. Our Lady, our Mediatrix,
our Advocate, reconcile us to thy Son, commend
us to thy Son, present us to thy Son. By the grace
thou hast found, by the prerogative thou didst
merit, by the mercy thou didst bring forth, obtain,
O blessed one, that He Who vouchsafed to become
partaker of our infirmity and misery, may, through
thy intercession, make us partakers of His blessed
ness and glory, Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord,
Who is God blessed above all for evermore. Amen.

2 — 2

II
ON THE "MISSUS EST "

ON THE " MISSUS EST '

The holy Abbot St. Bernard's Preface to His "Praises
of the Virgin Mother.'' — I am in straits. My devotion bids
me write ; my occupations hinder me. Nevertheless, as
sickness prevents me at present from following the com
munity exercises with my brethren, I will not spend use
lessly that little leisure which I contrive to find by shorten
ing my night's rest. Besides, it is a pleasure to me to
attempt what has been for so long in my mind — namely,
to speak or write something to the praise of the Virgin
Mother, upon that portion of St. Luke's Gospel which con
tains the history of the Annunciation of our Lord's birth.

" And while I devote myself to this work, so long as
the brethren over whom I am placed, and whom it is my
happy duty to serve, do not find me less ready to minister
either to their pressing needs, or even to their reasonable
demands upon my time, I think none ought to object
to my thus satisfying my devotion.

HOMILY I

THE PRAISES OF THE VIRGIN-MOTHER

" The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of
Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man
whose name was Joseph, of the house of David ; and the
virgin's name was Mary."1

WHAT can be the Evangelist's intention in mention
ing in this text so many proper names ? I think
it is that he would not have us listen carelessly to
1 St. Luke i. 26, 27.

23

24 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

what he has been at such pains to relate. He names
the messenger sent, the Lord by Whom, the Virgin
to whom he is sent, the spouse of the Virgin, with the
race of each ; their city, too, and country are
pointed out by name. And why all this explana
tion ? Can the Evangelist have said anything
superfluous ? By no means. If not a leaf from a
tree, nor a single sparrow falls to the ground without
a cause and the knowledge of our heavenly Father,
can I suppose that one superfluous word would fall
from the lips of the holy Evangelist, especially
when he is giving the history of the Word Incar
nate ? Certainly I cannot. Full is every word of
divinest mystery, redolent of sweetest heavenly
perfume ; to him, that is, who searches it diligently
and knows how to draw " honey from the rock and
oil from the flinty stone."1 For in that day " the
mountains dropped down with sweetness, and the
hills flowed with milk "2 and honey. When the
heavens dropped down dew and the clouds rained
the Just One, then the joyous earth was opened
and budded forth a Saviour, then the Lord gave
goodness and our earth yielded forth her fruit.3
On that mountain of mountains heaped up and fat
" mercy and truth met each other, justice and
peace kissed/'4 In that day, too, one mountain
was especially blessed among mountains — namely,
the Evangelist himself, when, with mellifluous
eloquence, he made known to us the beginning of
our long-desired salvation, like some delightful south
wind bringing delicious spiritual perfumes caught
from the rising Sun of justice. Would that God
1 Deut. xxxii. 13. 2 Joel iii. 18. 3 Ps. Ixxxiv. 13. 4 Ibid.

ON THE " MISSUS EST ' 25

would now also " send forth his words 'a and " let
them flow to us " ; may " his Spirit breathe," may
the Evangelist's words be intelligible to us ; may they
become to our hearts " more desirable than gold
and precious stones " ;2 may they be sweeter to us
than honey and the honeycomb.

" The angel Gabriel was sent from God."3 I do
not think that this was one of the lower angels who
for one cause or another are often sent to earth ;
and I gather it from his name, which is interpreted
" Strength of God " ; because, also, he was not
sent as is usual from a superior spirit, but from
God Himself. For this reason it is said " sent from
God," or appointed by God, lest we should suppose
that God had revealed His design to anyone before
the Blessed Virgin. Among the blessed spirits
themselves Gabriel alone was excepted, for he alone
was found worthy of his name and embassy. The
name befits the messenger, for could Christ, the
Power of God, be more fittingly announced than by
him who bore a similar name ? Nor is it unbecoming
or unsuitable that the Lord and His nuncio should
bear the same title, for though the name is alike, the
cause for which it is given differs. Christ is called
the Strength or Power of God in quite another sense
than the angel. In the angel it is merely an appel
lation ; in Christ it expresses a substantial quality.
Christ is called, and is, the Power of God. Stronger
than the strong-armed, the Prince of this world, who
kept his goods in peace, He came down upon him,
waged war against him, and with His own arm
bore away the spoils. The angel is called the

1 Ps. cxlvii. 2 Ps. xviii. u. 3 St. Luke i. 26.

26 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

Strength of God either because he had merited the
prerogative of officially announcing the Advent of
the Power of God, or in order that he might
strengthen and support the Virgin, by nature timid
and bashful, whom the novelty of the miracle might
terrify and overpower. This he did when he said :
" Fear not, Mary, thou hast found grace with God."1
It is not unreasonable to suppose, though the
Evangelist does not mention the angel's name, that
this was the same archangel who strengthened and
comforted Mary's spouse, a humble and timorous
man. " Fear not, Joseph," he says, " son of
David, to take unto thee Mary thy wife."2 Gabriel,
therefore, was most fitly chosen for this work, or
rather the name was imposed because of the embassy.
The angel, therefore, is sent from God. Whither ?
" To a city of Galilee called Nazareth." Let us see if,
as Nathaniel says, anything good can come from
Nazareth. Nazareth is interpreted flower. The
seed of this flower seems to me to have been cast
from heaven upon the earth by the heavenly words
spoken and the promises made to our fathers
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Of this seed it is
written, " Except the Lord of Hosts had left us seed,
we had been as Sodom, and we should have been as
Gomorrha."3 This seed flowered in the wonders
displayed in the going forth from Egypt ; it flowered
in the signs and figures that marked the journey of
the Israelites through the wilderness to the Prom
ised Land ; it flowered in the vision sand pro
phetical declarations of the Prophets, in the
establishment and order of the kingdom and priest-
1 St. Luke i. 30. 2 St. Matt. i. 20. 3 Isa. i. 9.

ON THE " MISSUS EST ' 27

hood before the coming of Christ. But Christ is
rightly understood to be the fruit of this seed and
flower. For David says, " The Lord will give
goodness, the earth shall yield her fruit."1 And
again : " Of the fruit of thy womb, I will set one
upon thy throne/'2 In Nazareth, therefore, Christ's
future birth is announced, because when the flower
has budded we have hope that fruit will follow. But,
as in the formation of the fruit the flower decays
and drops off, so with the appearance of the Truth
in the flesh, the figures passed away.

As the Apostle says, " These things happened to
them in figure."3 Hence Nazareth is called a city
of Galilee — that is, change, or passage. We who
have the fruit see that these flowers have passed
away, and that even while they seemed to flourish
their future decay was foretold. For David says :
" In the morning he shall grow up like grass : in
the morning he shall flourish and pass away, in the
evening he shall fall, grow dry and wither."4 In
the evening — that is, in the fullness of time, when
" God sent his only Son made of a woman, made
under the law."5 " Behold," He says, " I make all
things new."6 Hence it is again written, " The
grass is withered and the flower is fallen : but the
word of the Lord remaineth for ever."7 I think
there is no doubt that the Word is Christ, and
Christ is the good fruit that remaineth for ever.
But where is the grass that withered ? where the
flower that fell off ? Let the Prophet answer : " All

1 Ps. Ixxxiv. 13. 2 Ps. cxxxi. .11. 3 i Cor. x. 6.
4 Ps. Ixxxix. 6. 5 Gal. iv. 4. 6 Apoc. xxi. 5.

7 Isa. xl. 7, 8.

28 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower
of the field."1 If all flesh is grass, the carnal Jews
were grass ; and did not the grass wither when that
people, devoid of spiritual unction, adhered to the
dry letter ?2 And did not the flower fall off when
they no longer gloried in the law ? If the flower
did not fall, where is their kingdom, their priest
hood, their prophets, their temple ? Where are
those wonders in which they were wont to glory and
to say : " How great things have we heard and
known, and our fathers have told us "? 3 And again :
" How great things he commanded our fathers, that
they should make known to their children."4

' To Nazareth, a city of Galilee." To this city
the angel Gabriel was sent from God. To whom ?
To a Virgin espoused to a man whose name was
Joseph." Who is this Virgin so reverently saluted
by the angel ? and so lowly as to be espoused to a
carpenter ? Beautiful commingling of virginity
with humility ! That soul is in no small degree
pleasing to God, in Whom humility commends
virginity, and virginity adorns humility. But how
much more worthy of veneration is she, in whom
fecundity exalts humility, and child-bearing con
secrates virginity. Virginity is a commendable
virtue, but humility an indispensable one. The
first is of counsel, the latter of precept. Of the
one it is said, " He that can take, let him take it."5
Of the other, " Unless you become as little children,
you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."6
To the one reward is offered : the other is exacted

1 Isa. xl. 6. 2 Ibid. 7. 3 Ps. Ixxvii. 3.

4 Ibid. 5 St. Matt. xix. 12. c St. Matt, xviii. 3.

ON THE " MISSUS EST ' 29

under a threat. Again, we can be saved without
virginity, not without humility. A soul that has
to deplore the loss of virginity may still be accept
able to God by humility : without humility, I will
venture to say that even the virginity of Mary would
not have been pleasing to Him, the Divine Majesty.
Upon whom shall my spirit rest, if not on him that
is humble and peaceable P1 He says not on the
virgin, but on the humble. If, therefore, Mary
had not been humble the Spirit would not have
rested on her. If the Holy Spirit had not rested
on her, she would never have become fruitful ; for
how without Him could she have conceived of Him ?
Therefore, as she herself testifies, in order that she
might conceive of the Holy Ghost, God the Father
" regarded the humility of his handmaid,"2 rather
than her virginity. And if by her virginity she was
acceptable to Him, nevertheless, it was by her
humility that she conceived Him. Hence it is
evident that it was her humility that rendered even
her virginity pleasing to God.

A proud virgin, what can you say ? Mary forgets
herself and her virginity, and glories only in her
humility, and you, neglecting humility, presume
to pride yourself on your virginity. She says :
" He hath had regard to the humility of his hand
maid." And who is this handmaid ? A holy
virgin, a prudent virgin, a devout virgin. Are you
more chaste than she ? Are you more devout ?
Is your purity more pleasing than the chastity of
Mary, that without humility, you deem it sufficient
for you, when without humility her virginity could
1 Isa. xl. 2. 2 St. Luke i. 48.

30 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

not find favour ? The more honourable the gift
of chastity, the greater the injury you do it in tar
nishing its beauty within you by any admixture of
pride. It would have been better for you not to
be a virgin than to be puffed up and grow insolent
by virginity. Virginity is not for all ; it is for the few ;
and there are few among the few that unite humility
with virginity. Wherefore, if you can only admire
the virginity of Mary without being able to imitate
it, study to copy her humility, and it will be sufficient
for you. But if with virginity you possess humility,
then you are great indeed.

But in Mary there is something more wonderful
still : it is the union of fecundity with virginity.
Since the beginning of the world it had not been
heard that a woman was at once a virgin and a
mother. And if you consider of whom she is the
mother, how great will be your admiration of her
exalted dignity ! Do you feel as if you can never
sufficiently praise it ? Do you not judge, and rightly,
that she who has the God-man for her Son is exalted
in greatness above all the choirs of angels ? Did
not Mary confidently call the God and Lord of
Angels her Son, saying : " Son, why hast thou done
so to us P"1 Which of the angels would have pre
sumed thus to speak ? It is sufficient for them and
something great, that while by nature they are spirits
by grace they are made and called angels, as David
says : " Who maketh his angels spirits."2 In con
fidently calling God her Son, Mary acknowledges
herself mother of that Majesty Whom those angels
serve with reverential awe. Neither does God
1 St. Luke ii. 48. 2 Ps. ciii. 4, and Heb. i. 7.

ON THE " MISSUS EST '' 31

disdain to be called what He vouchsafed to be.
For the Evangelist adds shortly after, " And he
was subject to them."1 Who was subject ? God,
to man. God to Whom the angels are subject.
God, Whom the powers and principalities obey, was
subject to Mary. And not only to Mary, but to
Joseph also for Mary's sake. Consider, then, and
choose which you will most admire, the gracious
condescension of the Son, or the surpassing dignity
of the mother. Both are amazing ; both are
miraculous. That a God should obey a woman
is humility without example ; that a woman
should command the Son of God is a dignity without
parallel. In the praise of virgins we hear that
wonderful verse : " They shall follow the Lamb
whithersoever he goeth."2 But what praise, think
you, is worthy of her who leads the way before Him ?
Learn, O man, to obey ; learn, O earth, to be subject ;
learn, O dust, to be submissive. The Evangelist,
speaking of your Creator, says : " He was subject
to them " — that is, of course, to Mary and Joseph.

Blush, O dust and ashes, and be ashamed to be
proud. God humbles Himself, and do you exalt your
self ? God submits to man, and do you desire to
domineer over your fellow-man ? In so doing you
prefer yourself to your Creator. Would that when such
thoughts assail me, God would vouchsafe to make
me the same reproach as to His Apostle : " Get
behind me, Satan, for thou savourest not the things
that are of God/'3 As often as I seek distinction
among men, so often do I dispute the pre-eminence
with my God, and then assuredly I savour not the

1 St. Luke ii. 51. 2 Apoc. xiv. 4. 3 St. Matt. xvi. 23.

32 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

things that are of God, since of Him it is said :
" He was subject to them." If, O man, you disdain
to imitate the example of your fellow-man, you
cannot find it degrading to follow that of your
Maker. If you cannot follow Him " whithersoever
he goeth," at least follow Him in the most safe
road of humility, for, from this straight path should
even virgins deviate they will not " follow the
Lamb whithersoever he goeth." The Larnb is
followed by the innocent soul and by the once sin-
stained but now humble and repentant soul ; by
the proud virgin, likewise, He is followed, but
assuredly not " whithersoever he goeth." The
penitent cannot rise to the purity of the Lamb
without spot, the proud soul cannot descend to the
meekness of Him Who, not before His shearers only,
but even before His executioners, was dumb and
opened not his mouth. It is safer for the sinner
to follow in humility than to be proud in virginity,
because the sinner by his humility makes satis
faction for, and purges away his impurity, whereas,
the purity of the other is polluted by pride.

Happy was Mary in whom neither humility nor
virginity was wanting. O glorious virginity ! which
fecundity honoured, but did not contaminate.
O singular humility ! that a fruitful virginity elevated
but did not destroy. O incomparable fecundity !
in which virginity was associated with humility.
Which of them is not wonderful, incomparable,
unique ? In pondering them, we are at a loss to
decide which is the more worthy of admiration :
the Virgin's fecundity, the Mother's integrity, or
the adorable dignity of her offspring ; or, again,

ON THE ''MISSUS EST ' 33

that in such sublime elevation she still preserves
her humility. Can we be surprised that God,
Who is wonderful in His saints, should also show
Himself wonderful in His Mother ? Admire, ye
married, and reverence her integrity in corruptible
flesh ! Ye sacred virgins, behold with astonish
ment this fruitful virgin ! Let all Christians imitate
the humility of the Mother of God ! O holy angels,
honour the Mother of your King ! He is at once our
King and yours, the Redeemer of our race, the
replenisher of your city. To Him Who with you
is so glorious, with us so humble, be rendered for
ages without end, both by us and by you, the rever
ence due to His dignity and the honour and glory
worthy of His infinite condescension. Amen. Amen.

HOMILY II

THE MISSION OF THE ANGEL

No one, surely, will doubt that in the kingdom of
God the Queen of virgins will join — nay, rather,
will take the lead — in the canticle which only virgins
sing. Further than this, I think she will gladden
the City of God with a yet sweeter and more thrill
ing melody, whose enrapturing strains not one
among the virgins will be worthy to utter. This
song will be reserved to her who alone could glory
in her child-bearing — a Divine child-bearing. In
thus glorying, she glories not in herself, but in Him
Whom she brought forth ; for God would certainly
enrich with singular glory in heaven that Mother
whom He prevented with the surpassing grace of

3

34 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

bringing Him into the world without pi|$judice to
her virginity. Such a birth was becoming a God
Who alone could be born of a virgin. Such a child-
bearing was befitting one who had a God for her
Child. Therefore, it was needful that the Creator
of man, in order to unite Himself to the human race,
should choose — nay, create — a Mother whom He
knew to be worthy of, and acceptable to^ Himself.
He willed her to be an immaculate virgin, that she
might merit to have for her Son the Spotless One,
Who was about to take away the sins of the world.
He willed her, too, to be humble, from whom He Who
was meek and humble should come into the world,
He Who was to show to all men a salutary example
of these two virtues. He gave fruitfulness to the
Virgin whom He had previously inspired with the
desire of vowing her virginity to God, and whom
He had also enriched with the grace of humility.
Otherwise, how could the angel have proclaimed
her " full of grace " if ?he had possessed any of the
least good that was not the effect of Divine grace ?
In order, therefore, that she who was to conceive
and bring forth the Holy of Holies might be holy
in body, she received the gift of virginity, and that
she might be holy in mind, she received the gift
of humility. With these gems of virtue the royal
Virgin was adorned, and, radiant with the double
splendour of holiness in body and mind, she was no
sooner revealed to the heavenly citizens than they
fixed upon her their admiring gaze. The King
Himself stooped to desire her beauty, and sent her
His heavenly ambassador. And this is what the
Evangelist makes known when he says that the

ON THE " MISSUS EST "

angel was sent from God to the Vii
God to the Virgin — that is, from the hi
lowliest ; from the Lord to His handma:
Creator to His creature. How great tne con
descension of God ! How pre-eminent the excel
lence of the Virgin !

Hasten, 0 ye mothers ! Press forward, ye daughters
of Eve ! Come quickly, all you who, on account of
Eve's fall, bring forth in sorrow ! Approach the
Virgin's chamber ; enter, if you can, the modest room
of your Sister ; for, behold ! God sends a message
to the Virgin. An angel addresses Mary. Place
your ear close to the wall ; listen to what he
announces ; perchance you may receive a word of
consolation. Rejoice, O father Adam, and exult
yet more, 0 mother Eve — you who, though the
parents of all, were their destroyers even before
you became their parents. Be consoled now in
your daughter, and in such a daughter ! you especi
ally, O Eve, from whom the evil first originated,
and whose reproach passed as a disgraceful legacy
to womanhood. The time is at hand when that
reproach shall be taken away. Wherefore, O Eve,
hasten to Mary ; hasten, O Mother, to your daughter.
Let the daughter answer for the mother ; let her
take away her mother's reproach ; let her satisfy
also for her father Adam, for if he fell by a woman,
behold, he is now raised up by a woman. God gave
a woman in exchange for a woman ; a prudent woman
for one that was foolish ; a humble woman for one
who was proud ; one who, instead of the fruit of
death, shall give you to eat of the tree of life, and
who, in place of the poisoned food of bitterness,

3—2

36 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

will bring forth the fruit of everlasting sweetness.
Change now, O Adam, your wicked words of excuse
to the song of endless thanksgiving, and say : " O
Lord, the woman whom thou hast given me, gave
me of the tree of life ; and I have eaten, and its
fruit has been sweeter than honey to my mouth,
and by it thou hast given me life." This is why
the angel was sent to the Virgin. O wondrous and
most honourable Virgin ! O woman singularly
venerable ! admirable among all women ! thou who
hast satisfied for thy parents, and restored life to
their posterity.

" The Angel was sent to a virgin." A virgin in
body, a virgin in mind, a virgin by profession, a
virgin such as the Apostle describes " holy in body
and in mind."1 She is no recent and chance dis
covery, but the object of God's eternal predilection ;
foreknown by the Most High, prepared for Himself,
guarded by angels, pointed out by the Patriarchs,
promised by the Prophets. Search the Scriptures,
and prove the truth of my words. To give a few
testimonies out of many, of what other woman
could God have spoken when He said to the serpent,
" I will place enmities between thee and the
woman ?"2 And if you still doubt whether Mary
were that woman, listen to what follows : " She
shall crush thy head."3 To whom but to Mary was
such a victory reserved ? Undoubtedly the em
poisoned head of the serpent was crushed by Mary,
who brought to naught every suggestion of the Evil
One, as well as regards carnal allurements as in-
1 i Cor. vii. 34. 3 Gen. iii. 15. 3 Ibid.

ON THE " MISSUS EST " 37

tellectual pride. Again, what other woman did
Solomon seek ? The Wise Man knew the frailty
of that sex, the weakness of their bodies, the in
constancy of their minds. But he had read God's
promise, and saw that it was fitting that the enemy
who had been victorious over the human race by
means of a woman should by another woman be
himself overcome. Wondering exceedingly, he
exclaimed : " Who shall find a valiant woman P"1
As if to say, if upon a woman depends alike the
salvation of our race, its restoration to innocence,
and its victory over our common enemy, she must
indeed be valiant to be fitted for so sublime an
undertaking. But " who shall find a valiant
woman ?" And lest he should be accused of asking
in despondency, he adds in prophecy, " The price
of her is as of things brought from afar off, and
from the remotest coasts." Such a price is not
small, nor mean, nor of light account, nor is it from
earth, but from heaven. And not even from the
heaven nearest the earth, but from the highest
heavens — " His going forth is from the height of
heaven."2 And what, again, was that bush shown
to Moses, burning and yet unburnt, but Mary
who brought forth without sorrow ? In Aaron's
rod, which flowered without moisture, she is also
typified, for she conceived without knowing man.

The mystery of this stupendous miracle Isaias
more clearly points out when he says : " There shall
come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a
flower shall rise up out of his root." The rod is the
Virgin, the flower the Virgin's Child. There is
1 Prov. xxxi. 10. 2 Ps. xviii. 7.

38 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

nothing unfitting in Christ being represented under
different figures for different causes. So we may
speak of Him as the rod, an emblem of power, or as
the flower, emblem of fragrance, or as the fruit,
that of sweetness ; whilst by the leaves we may
understand His ceaseless protection — that protection
which He continually extends over the little ones
who take refuge under His shadow from the heat of
earthly desires, and from the face of them that
afflict them. 0 good and desirable shade, under the
protection of Jesus, where he that is pursued finds
refuge, and where the weary obtain rest and refresh
ment ! Have mercy on me, O Jesus, for my soul
confides in Thee, and under the shadow of Thy
wings I will hope till iniquity pass by.

Other references might be quoted equally suitable
to the Virgin Mother and to the Son of God — Gideon's
fleece, for instance, cut from the flesh without
wounding it, and placed on the dry ground, where
the dry fleeces are in turn moistened by the dew.
This similitude represents the flesh assumed from
the flesh of Mary without injury to her virginity.
Upon it Heaven dropped down dew, filling it with
the plenitude of the Divinity, and from that fullness
we have all received — we who, but for it, were as
parched and arid soil. The Psalmist seems to refer
very beautifully to this fact in Gideon's history.
In Ps. Ixxi. we read : " He shall descend like rain
upon the fleece, and as showers falling gently upon
the earth."1 Gently at first, and without noise of
human operation, He fell softly into the Virgin's
womb ; afterwards, when the Apostles announced
1 Ps. Ixxi. 6.

ON THE " MISSUS EST " 39

Him, it was with the noise of words and the display
of miracles. For they were mindful of the words
spoken to them when they were sent : " What I tell
you in the dark, speak ye in the light, and what you
hear in the ear, preach ye on the housetops."1 This
injunction they carried out, for " their sound has
gone forth to the whole earth, and their words to the
uttermost ends of the world."2

Let us now give ear to Jeremias, who foretells a
new and unheard-of wonder, while he ardently
desires, and confidently promises, the coming of Him
Whose presence he might not behold. " God has
created a new thing on the earth, a woman shall
encompass a man."3 Who is this woman, and who
is this man ? And if a man, how is He encompassed
by a woman ? " Can a man," said Nicodemus,
" return to his mother's womb, and be born again ?"4
I turn for my answer to the Virgin's conception and
child-bearing, yet even there, among the many new
and wonderful mysteries that meet the consideration
of the diligent inquirer, this which the Prophet here
proposes will excite admiration. There is seen
length abbreviated, width straightened, height
lowered, depth filled up. There we behold light
withholding its rays, the Word an infant, the Living
Water athirst, Him Who is the Bread of Heaven
suffering hunger. Attend and see how Omnipotence
is ruled, Wisdom instructed, Power sustained ; the
God Who rejoices the angels is become a Babe at the
breast ; He Who consoles the afflicted lies weeping
in a manger. Attend and see how joy is made

1 St. Matt. x. 27. a Ps. xviii. 5, and Rom. x. 18.

3 Jer. xxxi. 22. * St. John iii. 4.

40 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

sorrowful, strength becomes weakness, life death ;
but — what is equally wonderful — that sorrow gives
joy, that weakness imparts strength, that death
restores life.

Who does not now see that I have found what I
sought, and that we behold " a woman encom
passing a man " when we see Mary enclosing in her
womb Jesus, the Man-God ? For I may call Jesus
a man not only when He was proclaimed " a
prophet mighty in work and word," but also when
His tender infant limbs lay in the womb of His
Mother, or gently nestled on her bosom. Jesus,
then, was a man even before His birth ; not in age,
but in wisdom ; not in strength of body, but in
vigour of mind ; not by the development of His
members, but by the perfection of His intelligence :
for the wisdom of Jesus was as great at His con
ception as at His birth, when He was a child as
when He was a perfect man. Whether hidden in the
womb or weeping in the manger, whether a boy
among the doctors or teaching the people in perfect
manhood, He was ever equally full of the Holy
Ghost. There was no moment of His human life
when that plenitude of the Holy Spirit which He
received at His conception suffered either diminution
or augmentation. From the first He was perfect,
from the first He was full of " the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, of the spirit of counsel and fortitude,
of the spirit of knowledge and piety, and of the
spirit of the fear of the Lord."1 Yet be not surprised
if you read elsewhere : " And Jesus advanced in
wisdom and age, and grace before God and men."2
1 Isa. xi. 2, 3. 2 St. Luke ii. 52.

ON THE " MISSUS EST " 41

What is here said of wisdom and grace must be
understood not of their essence, but of their outward
appearance. That is to say, that our Lord never
acquired what He did not before possess ; but that
He seemed to acquire it when He willed it to
appear.

You, O Christian soul, advance not when and as
you would ; you find your progress apparently
checked, your life at the disposal of another. But
the Child Jesus Who guides your life regulated also
His own. When He would, and on what occasions
He would, He appeared wise ; when and as He willed,
more wise ; and as He willed, most wise ; though all
the while He never was aught but sublimest
wisdom. In like manner, though He was ever full
of all the grace which it was fitting He should have
before God and men, according as He judged proper,
He showed now more, now less, according to the
merits of the observers, or as He knew their spiritual
needs required it. It is evident, therefore, that if in
bodily development Jesus did not always appear a
man, His mind was ever fully developed.

But let us see if Isaias, who above explained the
new flowers on Aaron's rod, has not also brought
light to bear on this " new thing " of Jeremias.
He says : " Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bring
forth a son/'1 Here for the " woman " we have
" virgin." What does He say of the " man " ?
" And his name shall be called Emmanuel, that is,
' God with us.' ' Therefore the woman encom
passing a man is the Virgin conceiving the Son of
God. How stupendous this very miracle wrought
1 Isa. vii. 14.

42 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

in a virgin and from a virgin's nature — a miracle
which so many other miracles had foreshadowed,
so many oracles proclaimed. The spirit of the
Prophets was ever the same. Though at different
times and in different ways, it was not in a different
spirit that they foresaw and predicted the same
truth. What is shown by Moses' burning bush,
by Aaron's flowering rod, by Gideon's dew and
fleece, is clearly spoken of by Solomon in the valiant
woman and her price ; more clearly by Jeremias in
the woman and the man ; most plainly by Isaias in
the Virgin and Emmanuel. To Gabriel it was
reserved to point her out by his salutation. For of
her the Evangelist says : " The angel Gabriel was
sent from God to a virgin espoused to Joseph/'1

' To a virgin espoused/' Why espoused ? In
order that Joseph, by carefully studying her life and
conversation, might be a most faithful witness to her
purity, for it was intolerable that any slur should be
cast on the Mother of God. But could not God have
given some sign which would have preserved His
own birth from infamy, and His Mother's honour
from suspicion ? Undoubtedly He could, but not
without discovering to the devil what He had re
vealed to men ; and it was necessary that this
secret of God's counsel should for a time be concealed
from the prince of this world. Not that God had
any obstacle to fear from the devil, had He chosen
to make His operation manifest, but because He
acts not only powerfully, but wisely, in all that He
does, and preserves an exquisite order in all His
works, observing the fitting times and circumstances
1 St. Luke i. 27.

ON THE " MISSUS ES'.

for their performance. Therefore, in
work of our redemption He likewise wi<
forth His wisdom as well as His power.^
have accomplished it by other means, bu1
to reconcile man to Himself by the same
in the same order as He knew man had fa\
the devil had first deceived the woman, then over
come the man by the woman, so he was to be
deceived by a woman, a virgin, and afterwards be
openly attacked and conquered by the Man (Christ) .
Thus, by a device of infinite compassion, God laid
bare the fraud of malice. The power of Christ
broke the strength of the Evil One, and the might
and wisdom of God confounded the devil's malice
and craft.

It was necessary, then, that Mary should be
espoused to Joseph, in order that what was holy
might be concealed from the unholy, that the
virginity of Mary might be proved to her spouse,
and that the Virgin might be preserved from
suspicion and her reputation protected. What
more wise ? What more worthy of Divine Provi
dence ?

But it is written : " Joseph, her husband, being a
just man, and not willing publicly to expose her,
had a mind to put her away privately."1 Truly,
because he was just, he would not expose her
publicly ; for as he would not have been just had he
countenanced one that was guilty, neither would
he have been just if he had condemned one whose
innocence he had proved. Since, then, he was just
and unwilling to expose her, why had he a mind to
1 St. Matt. i. 19.

SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

put her away ? I give you on this point not my
own opinion, but that of the Fathers. Joseph's
reason was the same as Peter's when he said,
" Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord,"
and that of the centurion when he exclaimed, " I
am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my
roof." Joseph looked on himself as a sinner and
as unworthy to entertain one in whom he beheld
a superhuman dignity. He beheld with awe in the
Virgin-Mother a certain sign of the Divine Presence,
and as he could not penetrate the mystery, he
wished to put her away. Peter was struck with
awe at the greatness of Christ's power ; the cen
turion by the majesty of His presence ; and Joseph
was naturally afraid at the novelty and splendour
of the miracle and the depth of the mystery. We
need not wonder that he thought himself unworthy
of the society of such a virgin when we hear the
holy Elizabeth exclaim with fear and trembling :
" Whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord
should come to me P"1 But if, on the other hand,
any believe that Joseph suspected Mary, this very
doubt of his was necessary, and merited to be
dispelled by Divine intervention ; for it is written :
" But while he thought on these things " (that is,
the putting her away privately), " behold, an angel
of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying :
Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee
Mary, thy wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost."2 For the above reasons,
therefore, Mary was espoused to Joseph.

What are we to think of the dignity of Joseph,
1 St. Luke i. 43. 2 St. Matt. i. 20.

ON THE " MISSUS EST " 45

who deserved to be called and to be regarded as the
father of our Saviour ? We may draw a parallel
between him and the great Patriarch. As the first
Joseph was by the envy of his brothers sold and sent
into Egypt, the second Joseph fled into Egypt with
Christ to escape the envy of Herod. The chaste
Patriarch remained faithful to his master, despite
the evil suggestions of his mistress. St. Joseph,
recognizing in his wife the Virgin Mother of his
Lord, guarded her with the utmost fidelity and
chastity. To the Joseph of old was given inter
pretation of dreams, to the new Joseph a share in
heavenly secrets. His predecessor kept a store of
corn, not for himself, but for the whole nation ;
our Joseph received the Living Bread from heaven,
that he might preserve it for his own salvation and
that of all the world. A good and faithful servant
was the Joseph to whom Mary, the Mother of the
Saviour, was espoused ; a faithful and prudent
servant whom our Lord chose for the comfort of
His Mother and the nurse of His own childhood, as
well as the only and most trustworthy co-operator
in the Divine design.

We read in this place that he was of the house of
David. Yea, truly was this our Joseph descended
from royal stock, a man of noble race and yet nobler
mind, the son of David, in nothing degenerating
from the nobility of David, his father. He was son
of David less by kinship of blood than by inheritance
of faith, of devotion, and of holiness of life — a man
whom, like another David, God found according
to His own heart, and to whom He entrusted His
most precious secret; to whom, as to David, He made

46 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

manifest the uncertain and hidden things of his
wisdom, and to whom He revealed a mystery hidden
from the great ones of the world. To Joseph it
was given to behold Him Whom many kings and
prophets had desired to see and had not seen, to
hear and had not heard. And not only was he
allowed to behold Him and listen to His words,
but he might bear Jesus in his arms, guide His
steps, embrace and caress Him, feed and protect
Him.

It is also supposed that Mary was of the same
house of David, otherwise she would not have been
espoused to a man of that house. Both, then, were
of the royal race ; but in Mary was fulfilled the truth
which the Lord swore unto David ; in Joseph we
have the witness of its fulfilment. The verse con
cludes with the words : " And the virgin's name
was Mary."1

We will dwell a while on this name, which is,
rightly interpreted, " Star of the Sea," and is there
fore admirably appropriate to the Virgin Mother.
Fitly is she compared to a star, which, in giving forth
its light, suffers no waning, since she brought forth
her Son without stain to her virginity. As the ray
of the star lessens not its brightness, so the Son of
Mary detracted in no way from her integrity. She
is therefore that glorious star which arose from
Jacob, and which cast its radiance over the whole
world — the star whose splendour rejoices heaven,
terrifies hell, and sheds its mild and beneficent
influence on the poor exiles of earth. She is truly
the Star which, being placed over this world's tern-
1 St. Luke i. 27.

ON THE " MISSUS EST ' 47

pestuous sea, shines forth by the lustre of her merits
and example.

O you who find yourself tossed about by the
storms of life, turn not your eyes from the brightness
of this Star, if you would not be overwhelmed by
its boisterous waves. If the winds of temptations
rise, if you fall among the rocks of tribulations, look
up at the Star, call on Mary. If anger, covetous-
ness, or other passions beat on the vessel of your
soul, look up to Mary. If you begin to sink in the
gulf of melancholy and despair, think on Mary. In
dangers, in distress, in perplexities, think on Mary,
call on Mary. Let her not depart from your lips,
let her not depart from your heart, and, that you
may win the suffrage of her prayers, never depart
from the example of her life. Following her, you
will never go astray ; when you implore her aid,
you will never yield to despair ; thinking on her,
you will not err ; under her patronage you will never
wander ; beneath her protection you will not
fear ; she being your guide, you will not weary ;
if she be your propitious Star, you will arrive
safely in the port, and experience for yourself the
truth of the words, " And the virgin's name was
Mary."

And let us not turn too rapidly from the brightness
of this transcendant luminary, for, in the words of
the Apostle, "It is good for us to be here." Let
us, then, gaze in silent contemplation on that
which words are powerless to explain. Thus
shall we repair our spiritual powers, and be
enabled to consider more fervently the points that
follow.

48 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

HOMILY III

COLLOQUY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN AND
THE ANGEL

" WOE is me," says the Prophet, " because I have
held my peace, because I am a man of unclean
lips."1 I, too, will say " Woe is me," not because
I have held my peace, but because I have spoken,
for I, too, " am a man of unclean lips." How
many vain, erroneous, and unbecoming words hath
not this my vile mouth uttered, which now pre
sumes to speak of the things of heaven ! Would
that there were brought to me from the altar above,
not one " live coal " only, but a great ball of fire to
touch and cleanse my unworthy lips, and make me fit
to repeat the chaste and beautiful colloquies between
the angel and the Virgin. The Evangelist says :

" And the angel being come in to her " (that is,
to Mary), " said, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is
with thee."2 Where did he come in to her ? I
think into the secrecy of her virginal chamber,
where perchance, having closed the door upon her,
Mary was praying to her Father in secret. And it
was not difficult for the angel to penetrate through
the closed door into the inner chamber of the Virgin.
Neither bolts nor bars could oppose the subtlety of
his nature, to which all solid substances yield, and
which bears him whither the impetus of his spirit
leads him. We cannot suppose that he found her
door unclosed, who so studiously avoided the
1 Isa. vi. 5. 2 St. Luke i. 28.

ON THE " MISSUS EST ''' 49

company and conversation of men, lest her recollec
tion should be disturbed or her virtue threatened.
Closed, therefore, at that hour was the dwelling of
that most prudent Virgin, but to men, not to angels.
For the angels are wont to be near those who pray ;
they delight in beholding them raise their pure hands
to heaven ; and with glad service they present to
God the sacrifices of devotion which they offer in
the odour of sweetness. How pleasing to the Most
High were the prayers of Mary is well shown by
the reverence with which the angel saluted her.

Being come in to her, he said : " Hail, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee." In the Acts of the Apostles
we read that Stephen was full of grace, and that
the Apostles were filled with the Holy Ghost, but
their measure of grace was far other than Mary's.
In her dwelt the fullness of the Godhead corporally.
" Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." What
wonder that she was full of grace when the Lord
was with her ? Rather, is it not wonderful that He
Who had sent the angel was already found by him
with the Virgin ? Had, then, God been swifter
than the angel, and reached the earth before His
messenger ? Oh yes ; for while the King was on
His couch the spikenard of the Virgin gave forth
its sweet perfume, and ascending into His glorious
presence, found favour in His sight, while His
ministers around exclaimed : " Who is she that goeth
up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical
spices, of myrrh, and frankincense."1 And straight
way the King, going forth from His holy place,
" rejoiced as a giant to run his way ";2 and though
1 Cant. iii. 6. 2 Ps. xviii. 6.

4

5o SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

His going out is from the height of heaven, yet
through exceeding desire He hastened on His way,
and anticipated His messenger with the Virgin,
whom He had loved, whom He had chosen for
Himself, whose beauty He had desired. Beholding
Him from afar, the Church exclaims exultingly :
" Behold, He cometh leaping over the mountains,
skipping over the hills."1 Rightly had the King
been desirous of the Virgin's beauty, for she had
long before attended to the words of her father
David : " Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline
thine ear, and forget thy people and thy father's
house, and the king shall desire thy beauty/'2 She
heard and saw, but not as those who, hearing, hear
not, and seeing, do not understand. She heard and
believed, she saw and understood. She inclined
her ear to obedience and her heart to discipline,
and forgot her people and her father's house. She
cared not to multiply her people by offspring. The
honour that might have been hers among her people,
and the wealth that might have accrued to her from
her family, she counted as dross that she might gain
Christ. Not even the wish to call Christ her Son could
lead her to violate her promised virginity. Truly,
then, is she full of grace who clung to the grace of
virginity, and also obtained the glory of fecundity.
" Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." He
says not in thee, buftoith thee. God, Who is equally
present everywhere, remains whole and entire by
His simple substance and essence. He is present
with rational creatures in many different ways.
With the good alone He is present by love as well
1 Cant. ii. 8. 2 Ps. xliv. n.

ON THE "MISSUS EST " 51

as by knowledge, so that He is with them by
agreement of wills. While their wills are subject to
justice and right reason, God does not disdain to
will what they will, for their wills being conformed
to His, they in a manner unite God to themselves.
If God is thus present with all the saints, He is
especially so with Mary, with whom He was so
closely united as to have not only one will, but one
flesh, for from His own Divine nature and from her
virginal substance one Christ was made, Who, sharing
both natures, was at once the Son of God and Son
of the Virgin Mary. The angel therefore says :
" Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." Not
only is there with thee God the Son, Whom thou
dost clothe with thy flesh, but also God the Holy
Ghost, of Whom thou dost conceive, and God
the Father, Who begot Him, Who is to be thy Son.
The Father is with thee who makes His Son to be
thine ; the Son is with thee who institutes with thee
a wondrous Sacrament, and yet preserves the seal of
thy virginity. The Holy Spirit is with thee, and
with the Father and the Son He sanctifies thy pure
womb. ' The Lord," therefore, " is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women."

I love to add what Elizabeth soon after pro
nounced, and " Blessed is the fruit of thy womb."
Not that, because thou art blessed, the fruit of thy
womb is also blessed, but because He prevented
thee with the blessings of sweetness, therefore art
thou blessed. Truly blessed is the fruit of thy
womb, in whom all nations are blest, of whose full
ness thou hast received as others have, but in a
fuller measure. For this reason, therefore, thou art

4—2

52 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

blessed best " amongst women." He is called blessed
not amongst men, nor amongst angels, but, as the
Apostle says, " God blessed above all for ever."1

" Blessed, therefore, is the fruit of thy womb " —
blessed in sweet odour, blessed in sweet savour,
blessed in beauty and comeliness of form.

The fragrance of this odoriferous fruit was per
ceived by him who said : " The smell of my son is as
the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord hath
blessed ";2 and is not he truly blessed who is blest
by the Lord ?

Of the sweet relish of this fruit one who had
tasted of it exclaimed, " O taste and see how sweet
is the Lord ";3 and elsewhere, " O how great is
the multitude of thy sweetness, 0 Lord, which thou
hast hidden for them that fear thee."4 And Christ
says of Himself while inviting us all to Him : " He
that eateth me shall yet hunger, and he that drinketh
me shall yet thirst." He said this because the sweet
savour of this fruit, when once tasted, excites a
greater appetite. Blessed fruit ! which is the food and
drink of those who hunger and thirst after justice.

You have heard of its fragrance and of its savour ;
hear now of its beauty. For if the fruit which
brought death into the world was not only sweet to
the taste, but beautiful to the eye, as the Scripture
testifies, much more ought we to seek for beauty in
this fruit of life, " upon which," as another passage
in Holy Scripture remarks, " the angels desire to
look."5 Its beauty was seen in spirit, and desired
to be seen in the flesh by him who said : " Out of

1 Rom. ix. 5. 2 Gen. xxvii. 27. 3 Ps. xxxiii. 9.
4 Ps. xxx. 20. 5 i Pet. i. 12.

ON THE " MISSUS EST " 53

Sion the loveliness of his beauty."1 And, lest you
should think lightly of the beauty here commended,
remember what is said in another Psalm : " Beautiful
above the sons of men, grace is poured abroad on
thy lips, therefore God hath blessed thee for ever."
" Blessed, then, is the fruit of thy womb," whom
God hath blest for ever, and by whom thou thyself,
O Mary, art blessed amongst women, because an
evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit.

Blessed art thou amongst women, who didst
escape that universal curse, " In sorrow thou shalt
bring forth children " ; and that other, " Cursed is
the barren in Israel." Thou hast obtained the
singular blessing of neither remaining sterile, nor
bringing forth in sorrow. But who has taught thee,
0 prudent Virgin, 0 devout Virgin, that virginity is
pleasing to God ? What page of the Old Testament
exhorted thee, what ordinance counselled thee,
what law commanded thee to live in the flesh, yet
not according to the flesh, and lead on earth the
life of the angels ? Where didst thou read that
the " wisdom of the flesh is death,"2 and that we
are not to " make provision for the flesh in its concu
piscences "?3 Where didst thou read of virgins that
they sing a new song no other can sing, and that
they follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth ?
Where didst thou read that they are praised who
have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom
of heaven ? Where didst thou find that "though
we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to
the flesh ";4 and that " he that giveth his virgin in

1 Ps. xlix. 2. 2 Rom. viii. 6. 3 Rom. xiii. 14.

4 2 Cor. x. 3.

54 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

marriage doth well ; but he that giveth her not, doth
better "P1 Where didst thou hear, " I would that
all men were as myself "; and "it is good for a man,
if he so remain according to my counsel " ? The
unction of the Holy Spirit, 0 Virgin, has taught
thee all these things.

Before becoming thy Son God has been thy
Master. Thou dost vow thyself as a chaste virgin
to Christ, and thou knowest not thou shalt be His
Mother. Thou wilt conceive, but without sin ; thou
wilt bring forth, but without sorrow ; thou knowest
not man, but thou wilt bear a Son. What Son ?
Thou wilt be Mother of Him whose Father is God.
The Son of the Father's love will be the crown of thy
chastity ; the wisdom of the Father's mind will be
the fruit of thy virginal womb. Of God, therefore,
thou wilt conceive, and thou wilt bring forth a God.
Take courage, then, fruitful Virgin, chaste Mother,
spotless Mother ; thou wilt no longer be accursed in
Israel, nor reckoned among the barren. Thou wilt
be blessed on earth by the angel, and all generations
of the earth shall call thee blessed. " Blessed art
thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy
womb."

" And when she had heard, she was troubled at
his saying, and thought with herself what manner
of salutation this might be." Virgins who deserve
the name are ever timid ; they never think them
selves secure ; and while avoiding what ought to be
feared, they fear where there is no danger. They
know that they bear a precious treasure in fragile
vessels ; that it is difficult to live among men an
1 i Cor. vii. 38.

ON THE "MISSUS EST " 55

angelic life, to converse on earth after the manner of
the celestial spirits, to lead on earth a holy life in
mortal flesh. In every unforeseen occurrence they
suspect some snare for their virtue, and therefore
Mary was troubled at the words of the angel. She
was troubled, but not disturbed. " I was troubled,"
says the Psalmist, " and I spoke not. I thought
upon the days of old, and I had in my mind the
eternal years."1 Mary was troubled, and spoke not ;
she thought what manner of salutation this might
be. That she was troubled proves her virginal
modesty ; that she was not disturbed, her fortitude ;
her thoughtful silence shows her prudence.

" She thought what manner of salutation this
might be." This prudent Virgin knew how often
Satan transforms himself into an angel of light, and
because she was singularly simple and humble, she
did not expect to hear such words addressed to her
by the angel, so she thought with herself what
manner of salutation this might be. Then the
angel, looking on the Virgin, and easily reading the
conflicting thoughts that were passing through her
mind, encouraged her in her timidity and in her
doubt. Calling her by her name, he gently per
suaded her not to fear.

" ' Fear not, Mary, thou hast found grace with
God.' There is here no deception, no falsehood.
Thou needest fear no fraud, no snare, no delusion.
I am not a man, but a spirit ; I am an angel of God,
not a minister of Satan. ' Fear not, Mary, thou hast
found grace with God.' Oh, if thou didst know
how pleasing thy humility is to the Most High,
1 Ps. Ixxvi. 5, 6.

56 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

what a sublime exaltation awaits thee in His sight,
thou wouldst not judge thyself unworthy of the
conversation, nor even of the homage, of angels !
Why think thyself undeserving the favour of angels
when thou hast found favour with God ? Thou
hast found what thou hadst sought, what none before
thee had been able to find — thou hast found grace
before God. What grace ? The grace of peace
and reconciliation between God and man, the
destruction of death the reparation of life. This
is the grace thou hast found with God. And let
this be a sign to thee. ' Thou shalt conceive and
bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus.' Understand from the name of the promised
Son, 0 prudent Virgin, how great and what a special
grace thou hast found with God."

" And thou shalt call his name Jesus." Another
Evangelist gives the reason of this name : " Because
he shall save his people from their sins."1 I have
read of two men who bore the name of this our
Jesus ; both went before Him and prefigured Him,
and both were serviceable to their people. One
conducted his brethren into the Land of Promise ;
the other led 'forth his people from the captivity
of Babylon. Both did, indeed, defend those they
governed from their enemies, but they did not save
them from their sins. But this our Jesus saves His
people, and washes away their sins, and likewise
introduces them into the land of the living. " For
he shall save his people from their sins."

Who is this that forgiveth sins also ? Would that
the Lord Jesus would deign to number me, a sinner,
1 St. Matt. i. 21.

ON THE "MISSUS EST " 57

among His people, and save me from my sins. Truly,
blessed are the people that have our Lord Jesus
for their God, for He will save His people from their
sins. But I fear there are many who profess to be
of His people, but whom He does not recognize as
such. I fear that to many who are counted among
the more religious-minded of His people He will
say : " This people honoureth me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me/'1 For the Lord
Jesus knoweth who are His, and whom He hath
chosen from the beginning. " Why do you call me
Lord, Lord, and do not the things I command you ?"2

Would you know if you belong to His people, or,
rather, do you wish to be one of His disciples ? Do
what Jesus commands, and He will number you
among His followers. Fulfil what He enjoins in the
Gospel, what He prescribes in the Law and the
Prophets, what He ordains through His ministers
in the Church. Obey His representatives ; obey
your superiors, not only the good and gentle, but
even the froward ; and learn of Jesus Himself to
be meek and humble of heart. You will then belong
to the blessed people whom He has chosen for His
inheritance, and of whom He bears witness, saying :
" A people, which I knew not, hath served me : at
the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me."3

But let us consider what the angel thinks of Him,
Whom he would willingly himself have called by the
name of Jesus. He says : " He shall be great, and
shall be called the Son of the Most High." Great
indeed is He Who deserves to be called the Son of

1 St. Matt. xv. 8, and Isa. xxix. 13. 2 St. Luke vi. 46.
3 Ps. xvii. 45.

58 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

the Most High. Is not He great whose immensity
knows no limitation ? Who is great as the Lord
our God ? It is He Who is as great as He is high —
yea, Who is Most High. As " Son of the Most High/'
He thought it not robbery to equal Himself to the
Most High. Satan, indeed, meditated robbery.
Though made out of nothing in angelic form, he
compared himself with his Maker, and arrogated
to himself what belonged of right to the Son of the
Most High, the Son not made by God, but begotten
of Him. For the Most High God the Father,
though Omnipotent, could not make a creature
equal to Himself, nor beget a Son who was not His
equal. He made the angel great, but not as Himself,
therefore not Most High. In one alone did He
think it no robbery that He should equal Himself
with Him in all things ; the only-begotten Son, Who
was not made, but begotten, by the Omnipotent,
Omnipotent ; by the Most High, Most High ; by
the Eternal, Co-eternal. Rightly, then, shall He be
great Who shall be called the Son of the Most High.

But why is it said " He shall be," and not, rather,
" He is," great, since He is always equally great, and
can have no increase ? He will not be more exalted
after His conception than He was before. Perhaps
the angel would have us understand that He Who
was great as God will be great as man. Elsewhere
in the Gospel we read, " A great Prophet hath risen
up amongst us."1

O Virgin, thou wilt indeed give birth to a Little
One, thou wilt nourish a Little One ; but while thou
lookest on Him as little, think upon Him as great.
1 St. Luke vii. 16.

ON THE " MISSUS EST " 59

He will be great, because God will magnify Him in
the sight of kings ; wherefore let all the kings adore
Him and all nations serve Him. Let thy soul
magnify the Lord, for " He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Most High."

He shall be great ; and " He that is mighty shall
do great things for thee, and Holy is his name."
What name holier than " Son of the Most High " ?
This great Lord shall be magnified also by us little
ones ; for He became a Little One that He might
make us great. " A Child is born to us, a Son is
given to us."1 " To us," not to Himself ; for He
Who before all ages was much more nobly born of
His Father needed not in time to be born of a
Mother. Nor was He born and given to the angels.
They Who possessed Him in His greatness did not
require Him in His lowliness. To us, then, He is
born, to us He is given, because by us He is so
greatly needed. And since He is born of our race
and given to us, let us accomplish that for which
He was born and given. Let us make use of Our
Own for our profit ; let us work out our salvation
by means of our Saviour. Behold, " a Child is set
in the midst." O Little One, desired by little
ones ! O true Child, but a guileless Child full of
wisdom ! Let us study to become as this Little
One. Let us learn to be meek and humble of heart,
lest the great God should without fruit have become
Man and a Child ; lest He should have died in vain
and been crucified in vain. Let us learn His
humility ; let us imitate His meekness ; let us embrace
His love ; let us share His sufferings ; let us be
1 Isa. ix. 6.

60 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

washed in His blood ; let us offer Him as a propitia
tion for our sins. To this end He was born and given
to us. Let us offer Him to His Father, for the
Father spared not His own Son, but delivered Him
for us all ; and the Son emptied Himself, taking the
form of a servant, and delivered " His soul to
death/' and was reputed with the wicked ; He bore
the sins of many, and prayed for the transgressors,
that they might not perish. But they cannot perish
for whom the Son prays, and for whom the Father
delivers His own Son to procure them life. From
both, therefore, equally may we hope for pardon,
because in both are equal mercy and compassion,
equal power, one will, one substance in Godhead,
wherein with them the Holy Ghost liveth and
reigneth one God for ever and ever. Amen.

HOMILY IV

THE ANNUNCIATION AND THE BLESSED
VIRGIN'S CONSENT

WHO doubts that the praises we give to the
Mother of God redound to the honour of the Son of
God ; and, in like manner, that in honouring the
Son we are also honouring the Mother ? For if,
according to Solomon, " A wise son is the glory of
the father,"1 how much more glorious is it to become
the Mother of Wisdom Himself !

But how shall I dare to commend her whose
praises are announced by Prophets, spoken by an
angel, recorded by the Evangelist ? I will not praise,
1 Prov. x. i.

ON THE " MISSUS EST " 61

because I do not dare ; I will but repeat with all
devotion what the Holy Spirit Himself has spoken
by the Evangelist, for the words of the text are :
" And the Lord will give him the throne of David
his father/' These are the words of the angel to
the Virgin declaring that her promised Son should
possess the kingdom of David. We all know that
our Lord Jesus sprang from the race of David ; but
how, I ask, did God give Him the throne of His
father David, since He never reigned in Jerusalem ?
On the contrary, when the multitude desired it, He
would not consent to be their King, and before Pilate
He protested that His kingdom was not of this
world. Besides, what great gain was it for Him
Who sits upon the Cherubim, and Whom the Prophet
saw " upon a throne high and elevated,"1 to be pro
mised the throne of His father David ? But we
know that another Jerusalem is signified by the
Jerualem that now is, one far nobler and richer
than that in which David reigned. And I believe
it to be here understood, because we often find in
Scripture the figure put for that which is typified.
Evidently God gave our Lord the throne of His
father David when He " constituted Him King upon
Sion, His holy mount."2 And the Prophet seems
to show more plainly of what kingdom he spoke
when he said not in Sion, but upon Sion. David
reigned in Sion. Upon Sion points out the kingdom
of Him of Whom it is said to David, " Of the fruit
of thy womb I will put to sit upon thy throne,"3
and of whom another Prophet speaks, " He shall sit
upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom."4
1 Isa. vi. i. 2 Ps. ii. 6. 3 Ps. cxxxi. n. 4 Isa. ix. 7.

62 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

In each text we find upon. " The Lord God, there
fore, will give him the throne of David his father " —
not a typical but a true throne, not temporal but
eternal, not earthly but celestial. And what has
been said above shows that David so regarded it,
for the throne in which he reigned as temporal
sovereign bore the image of the eternal one.

" And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for
ever, and his kingdom shall have no end/'1 Here
also, if we understand the temporal house of Jacob,
how can we say that Christ will reign eternally, since
that house is not eternal ? We have therefore yet to
find the eternal house of Jacob in which He shall
reign eternall}/, whose kingdom shall have no end.
Question the Apostle, and he will point out to you
the difference between him who is a Jew inwardly
and him who is only outwardly a Jew ; between the
circumcision of the spirit and the circumcision
which is only of the flesh2 — that is, between the
spiritual and the carnal Jew, the children of the
faith of Abraham and the children according to the
flesh. " For all are not Israelites that are of Israel.
Neither are all they that are of the seed of Abraham,
children."3 In like manner we may look upon those
alone who are found perfect in the faith of Jacob, or
Israel, as constituting the spiritual and eternal house
of Jacob in which the Lord Jesus shall reign eternally.

Who is there amongst us who, according to the
interpretation of the name Jacob, makes Jesus
Christ supplant the devil in his heart ? Who is
there that struggles with his vices and concupiscences
that sin may not reign in his mortal body, but that

1 St. Luke i. 32, 33. 2 Col. ii. u. 3 Rom. ix. 6, 7.

ON THE "MISSUS EST " 63

in him Jesus may reign, now, indeed, by grace,
afterwards eternally by glory ? Blessed are they in
whom Jesus shall reign eternally, for they also shall
reign with Him, and of His kingdom there shall be
no end. Oh, how glorious is that kingdom in which
Kings have assembled, and have agreed together to
praise and glorify Him Who is King of Kings and
Lord of Lords ; in the glorious contemplation of
Whom the just shall shine as the sun in the kingdom
of their Father ! Oh, may our Lord Jesus deign to
be mindful of me, a sinner, when He cometh in His
kingdom. In that day when He shall give up His
kingdom into the hands of God and the Father, may
He graciously visit me in His saving mercy, may He
look on me in goodness as one of His elect, may He
rejoice me with the joy of His chosen people, and be
praised even by me with all His inheritance ! Come,
Lord Jesus, take away scandals from Thy kingdom,
which is my soul, and reign therein, Thou Who alone
hast the right. For avarice comes to claim a throne
within me ; haughtiness and self-assertion would
rule over me ; pride would be my king ; luxury says,
" I will reign " ; ambition, detraction, envy, and
anger struggle within me for the mastery. I resist
as far as I am able ; I struggle according as help is
given me ; I call on my Lord Jesus ; for His sake I
defend myself, since I acknowledge myself as wholly
His possession. He is my God ; Him alone I cling
to, Him I proclaim my Lord ; I have no other King
than my Lord Jesus Christ. Come, then, 0 Lord,
and disperse these enemies in Thy power, and Thou
shalt reign in me, for Thou Thyself art my King and
my God, Who givest salvation to Thy chosen ones.

64 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

" But Mary said to the angel : How shall this
be done, because I know not man ?" At first she
kept a prudent silence, for she was in doubt what this
salutation might be, and she preferred in humility
to give no answer rather than risk speaking of what
she did not understand. Now, however, she was
strengthened and prepared, for while the angel spoke
externally God disposed her heart, for the Lord was
present with her when the angel said, " The Lord
is with thee."

Thus animated to cast out fear by a spirit of faith,
she said to the angel : " How shall this be done, for
I know not man ?" She doubts not the fact, but
only inquires about the manner of its accomplish
ment. She says not " Will it be done ?" but " How
will this be done ?" As if she would say : " Since
my Lord knows, and my conscience bears me witness,
that His handmaid has made a vow to know no
man, by what law shall it please Him to work this
wonder ? If I must break my vow that I may
bring forth such a Son, I rejoice on account of the
Son, but I grieve because of my vow. Nevertheless,
His will be done. If, however, as a Virgin I may
bring forth this Son — and it is not impossible if He
so will it — then I shall know that He hath had
regard to the humility of His handmaid. How,
then, shall this be done, for I know not man ?"

" And the angel, answering, said to her : The
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of
the Most High shall overshadow thee." It had been
said before that she was full of grace ; how is it now
said : " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and
the power of the Most High shall overshadow

ON THE "MISSUS EST ' 65

thee " ? Could she be filled with grace and not
possess the Holy Spirit, the giver of all grace ?
And if He is already in her, how is it promised that
He shall come upon her in some new way ? Was it
not to explain this to us that the angel said not
merely " in thee/' but also " upon thee " ? For the
Holy Spirit was in her before His coming by an
abundant grace ; now it is declared that He will come
upon her by the fullness of the more abundant grace
which He will pour out upon her.

But how will she be able to receive a fresh
infusion of Divine grace when she is already full
of grace ? And if she can receive more, how are we
to understand that she is already full of grace ?
Was it that hitherto grace had only filled her mind
and soul, and that the new infusion of it was to
penetrate her body, so that the plenitude of the
Divinity which had hitherto dwelt in her spiritually —
as He dwells in many of the saints — might begin to
abide in her corporally as He has never dwelt in any
other saint ? Yes, this is what the angel reveals to
us. ' The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and
the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee."

" And therefore also the Holy One which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God." That
is to say, " Since it is not of man, but of the Holy
Ghost, that you conceive, and since "you conceive by
the Power of the Most High, therefore what is born
of thee is holy, and shall be called the Son of God."
In like manner, " He Who was born of the Father
before all ages will also be called your Son. What
was born of the Father shall be thine ; what shall be
born of thee shall be His ; yet there will not be two

5

66 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

Sons, but one Son/' and "therefore the Holy One that
shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."

" And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath
conceived a son in her old age." Why was it
necessary to make known this event to the Blessed
Virgin ? Had she been doubtful or incredulous of
the angel's words ? Far from it. We read that the
hesitation of Zachary was punished by this same
angel, but we do not read that Mary received the
least blame ; on the contrary, we know that her
faith was praised by Elizabeth : " Blessed art thou
that hast believed, because those things shall be
accomplished that were spoken to thee by the
Lord." Her cousin's happiness was announced to
Mary that, miracle being added to miracle, joy might
be heaped upon joy. For it was needful that no
ordinary prevenient joy and burning love should
take possession of her who, with the joy of the Holy
Ghost, was soon to conceive the Son of the Father's
love. A most glad and most generous heart was
alone capable of containing so exuberant an influx
of sweetness and delight.

Again, the announcement may have been made
to Mary, in order that she might be cognizant, not
only of the Saviour's coming, but also of His
precursors, and that, by preserving a faithful
remembrance of the order and circumstances of the
events, she might later be better able to unfold the
truth of the Gospel to those who were to write and
preach it. This was the rightful office of her who
from the first had been fully instructed by Heaven
in all its secret mysteries. Or we may believe that
Mary was told of Elizabeth's happiness to give her,

CN THE "MISSUS EST " 67

the younger of the two, the opportunity of tendering
her loving service to her cousin, and that the little
unborn Prophet might offer to his younger Lord the
first-fruits of his ministry, while the joy and devotion
of both infants being excited by the meeting and
mutual joy of the mothers, wonder might be added
to wonder, miracle to miracle.

Lest, however, it should be supposed that the
accomplishment of these magnificent promises was
brought about by the angel who declares them, he
adds : " For no word shall be impossible to God."
As if he would say : " In all that I faithfully promise
I rest not on my own power, but on the power of
Him Who sent me, for no word shall be impossible
with Him." How could any word be impossible to
Him Who made all things by the Word ? And this
is striking — that the angel expressly says no word
shall be impossible, not no act. He says word
because, as men can easily speak what they wish,
even though they cannot afterwards carry it into
effect, with the same or, rather, with incomparably
greater facility can God accomplish in act what
they are able to express in words ; therefore with
good reason " no word is impossible with God."
For instance, the Prophets by God's power could
foresee and predict that a virgin and a barren
woman would have sons ; but God alone, Who
enabled the Prophets to foresee these events, could
by His own power fulfil what He had promised.
Because, too, He is Infinite Power and Infinite
Wisdom, " no word shall be impossible with " Him.

You have heard, O Virgin, the announcement of
the great mystery ; the means designed for its fulfil-

5—2

68 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

ment have been unfolded to you, each wondrous,
each replete with joy. " Rejoice, O daughter of
Sion, and exult exceedingly, O virgin daughter of
Jerusalem."1 And because to you has been given
joy and gladness, allow us to hear from your lips the
answer and the good tidings which we desire, that
the bones that have been humbled may rejoice.
You have heard the fact, and have believed ; believe
also in the means which have been explained to you.
You have heard that you are to conceive and bring
forth a Son, and that it will not be through the power
of man, but by the virtue of the Holy Ghost.

The angel awaits your reply, for it is time that
he should return to God, Who sent him. We, too,
are waiting, O Lady, for a word of mercy — we, who
are groaning under the sentence of condemnation.
See, the price of our salvation is offered to you ; if
you consent, we shall at once be delivered. By the
Eternal Word of God we were all created, and
behold we die. By your short answer we shall be
refreshed and recalled to life. Adam, with all his
race — Adam, a weeping exile from Paradise, implores
it of you. Abraham entreats you, David beseeches
you. This is the object of the burning desires of the
holy fathers, of your fathers, who are still dwelling in
the region of the shades of death. Behold the entire
human race prostrate at your feet in expectation.

And rightly, for on your word depend the consola
tion of the wretched, the redemption of the captive,
the freedom of the condemned, the salvation of your
entire race, of all the children of Adam. Hasten,
then, O Lady, to give your answer ; hasten to speak
1 Zach. ix. 9.

ON THE " MISSUS EST ' 69

the word so longed for by all on earth, in limbo, and
in heaven. Yea, the King and Lord of all things,
Who has greatly desired your beauty, desires as
eagerly your word of consent, by which He has
purposed to save the world. He whom you have
pleased by your silence will now be more gratified
by your reply.

Hark ! He calls to you from heaven : " 0 most
beautiful among women, give me to hear your
voice." If you let Him hear your voice, He will
enable you to see our salvation. And is not this
what you have sought for, what you have prayed for
night and day with sighs and tears ? Why, then,
delay ? Are you the happy one to whom it has
been promised, or " look we for another " ? Yes,
you indeed are that most fortunate one. You are
the promised virgin, the expected virgin, the much-
longed-for virgin, through whom your holy father
Jacob, when about to die, rested his hope of eternal
life, saying : " I will look for thy salvation, O Lord."1

You, O Mary, are that virgin in whom and by
whom God Himself, our King before all ages, deter
mined to operate our salvation in the midst of the
earth. Why do you humbly expect from another
what is offered to you, and will soon be manifested
through yourself if you will but yield your consent
and speak the word ? Answer, then, quickly to the
angel — yes, through the angel give your consent to
your God. Answer the word, receive the Word. Utter
yours, conceive the Divine. Speak the word that is
transitory, and embrace the Word that is everlasting.

Why do you delay ? Why are you fearful ?
1 Gen. xlix. 18.

70 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

Believe — confess — receive. Let humility put on
courage, and timidity ^confidence. It is certainly
by no means fitting that virginal simplicity should
forget prudence. Yet in this one case only the
prudent virgin need not fear presumption, because,
though modesty shone forth in her silence, it is now
more necessary that her devotion and obedience
should be revealed by her speech.

Open, 0 Blessed Virgin, your heart to faith, your
lips to compliance, your bosom to your Creator.
Behold, the desired of all nations stands at the gate
and knocks. Oh, suppose He were to pass by while
you delay ! How would you begin again with
sorrow to seek Him whom your soul loveth ! Arise —
run — open ! Arise by faith, run by devotion, open
by acceptance. Mary speaks. " Behold the hand
maid of the Lord, may it be done unto me according
to thy word."

Humility is ever the close companion of Divine
grace, for " God resist eth the proud, and giveth
grace to the humble." She answers humbly, there
fore, that the throne of grace may be prepared.
" Behold the handmaid of the Lord." She is the
chosen Mother of God, and she calls herself His
handmaid. Truly, it is no small sign of humility to
preserve even the remembrance of the virtue in
presence of so great glory. It is no great perfection
to be humble when we are despised ; but it is a
great and rare virtue to preserve humility in the
midst of honours. If, deceived by my apparent
virtue, the Church has raised me, an insignificant
man, to some small dignity, God permitting it, either
because of my own sins, or those of my subjects, do

ON THE " MISSUS EST " 71

I not immediately, forgetting my past deficiencies,
imagine myself to be that which men, who see not
the heart, have reputed me to be ? I hearken to
fame, and attend not to conscience. I forget that
honour is rendered to virtue, and take the virtue for
granted because of the honour, and so esteem myself
the more holy when I find myself in an exalted
position. Let us listen to the words of her who,
though chosen to be the Mother of God, yet laid not
aside her humility. " Behold," she says, " the
handmaid of the Lord, may it be done unto me
according to thy word."

Fiat mihi (Be it done to me). Fiat is a mark of
desire, not of doubt. In saying, " Be it done unto
me according to thy word," she expresses the dis
position of one who longs to see the effect, not of one
who doubts its possibility. Fiat may also be under
stood as a word of petition, for no one prays unless
he believes, and hopes to obtain. God wishes to
be asked for what He has promised, and perhaps
promises many things which He had predetermined
to bestow, in order that the promise may arouse our
devotion, and that what He intends to give gratis
we may merit by devout prayer. Thus, our gracious
God, Who desires the salvation of all, as it were,
extorts meritorious works from us, and while He
strengthens our will by His grace, He wishes that
what He gives freely we shall labour to obtain.

This the prudent Virgin understood when to the
prevenient grace of a gratuitous promise she joined
the merit of her own prayer, saying : " Be it done
unto me according to thy word."

Be it done unto me concerning the Divine Word

72 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

according to Thy word. May the Word which was
in the beginning with God be made flesh of my flesh
according to Thy word. May He, I entreat, be
made to me, not a spoken word, to pass unheeded,
but a word conceived — that is, clothed in flesh —
which may remain. May He be to me not only
audible to my ears, but visible to my eyes, felt by
my hands, borne in my arms. Let Him be to me
not a mute and written word traced with dumb
signs on lifeless parchments, but an Incarnate, living
Word vividly impressed in human form in my chaste
womb by the operation of the Holy Ghost.

Be it done unto me as it has never hitherto been
done to mortal, and never shall be done to any after
my time. " God diversely and in many ways spoke in
times past to the fathers by the prophets"1 — to some
in the hearing of the ears, while to others the word
of the Lord was made known in signs and figures.
Now in this solemn hour I pray that in my own being
it may be done unto me according to Thy word.

Be it done unto me — not preached to me in the
feeble strains of human eloquence, not shown forth
to me in the figures of earthly rhetoric, not painted
in the poetic dreams of a fervid imagination, but
breathed upon me in silence, in person Incarnate, in
a human form veritably reposing within me. In
His own nature the Word needed not change, was
incapable of change. Yet now graciously in me
" may it be done according to thy word." Be it
done universally for all mankind, but most especially
for me — " Be it done unto me according to thy
word."

1 Heb. i. i.

Ill

ON THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S
NATIVITY

ON THE JOY HIS BIRTH SHOULD INSPIRE

" The voice of gladness hath resounded in our land, the
voice of exultation and salvation in the tents of sinners.
A good word has been heard, a consoling word, a speech
full of joy fulness, a rumour worthy of all acceptance.
Sing praise, O ye mountains, and all ye trees of the woods.
Clap your hands before the face of the Lord, because He
cometh. Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth !
Be amazed, and let every creature give praise ; but thou
beyond others, O man !"

JESUS CHRIST, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem
of Juda.

What heart so stony as not to be softened at
these words ? What soul is not melted at this
voice of her Beloved ? What announcement could
be sweeter ? what intelligence more enrapturing ?
Was its like ever heard before ? or when did the
world ever receive such tidings ?

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem
of Juda.

O short word, telling of the Eternal Word abbre
viated for us ! O word full of heavenly delights !
The heart is oppressed by its mellifluous sweetness,
and longs to pour forth its redundant riches, but
words refuse their service. So overpowering is the
music of this short speech that it loses melody if one
iota is changed.

75

76 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem
of Juda.

O Nativity of spotless sanctity ! O birth honour
able for the world, birth pleasing and welcome to
men, because of the magnificence of the benefit it
bestows ; birth incomprehensible to the angels, by
reason of the depth and sacredness of the mystery !
In all its circumstances it is wonderful because of
its singular excellence and novelty. Its precedent
has not been known, nor has its like ever followed.
0 birth alone without sorrow, alone without shame,
free from corruption, not unlocking, but conse
crating the temple of the Virgin's womb ! 0
Nativity above nature, yet for the sake of nature !
Surpassing it by the excellence of the miracle,
repairing it by the virtue of the mystery ! Who
shall declare this generation ? The angel announces
it. Almighty Power overshadows it. The Spirit of
the Most High comes upon it. The Virgin believes.
By faith she conceives. The Virgin brings forth.
The Virgin remains a virgin. Who is not filled with
astonishment ? The Son of the Most High is born.
The Son, begotten of God before all ages, is Incar
nate ! The Word is become an Infant ! Who can
sufficiently admire ?

And it is not a needless Nativity, a superfluous
condescension of Infinite Majesty.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem
of Juda.

Awake, you who lie in the dust — awake and give
praise. Behold, the Lord cometh with salvation.
He comes with salvation, He comes with unction,
He comes with glory. Jesus cannot come without

ON THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 77

salvation, Christ cannot come without unction, nor
the Son of God without glory. For He Himself is
salvation, He is unction, He is glory, as it is written,
" A wise son is the glory of his father."1

Happy the soul who has tasted this fruit of
salvation, and is drawn to " run in the odour of
his ointments/'2 that she may " see his glory, the
glory as of the only-begotten of the Father."
Take courage, you who were lost : Jesus comes to
seek and save that which was lost. Ye sick, return
to health : Christ comes to heal the contrite of heart
with the unction of His mercy. Rejoice, all you
who desire great things : the Son of God comes down
to you that He may make you the co-heirs of His
kingdom. I beseech you, then, 0 Lord, heal me,
and I shall be healed ; save me, and I shall be saved ;
glorify me, and I shall be glorious. Then indeed
shall my soul bless the Lord, and all that is within
me praise His Holy Name, when He shall have been
merciful to my iniquities, have healed my infirmities,
and have filled my desire with good things.

On account of these three precious gifts of salva
tion, unction, and glory, it is consoling to hear that
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born. For why is
He called Jesus, but because He shall save His
people from their sins ? Why has He willed to be
named Christ, but because He will soften the yoke of
His law by the unction of His grace ? Why was the
Son of God made man, but to make men the sons of
God ? Who shall resist His will ? If Jesus justifies,
who can condemn ? If Christ heals, who can wound ?
If the Son of God exalts, who shall cast us down ?
1 Prov. x. i. 2 Cant. i. 3.

78 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

Since Jesus is born, let everyone rejoice whom
the consciousness of sin has condemned as deserving
of eternal punishment. For the compassion of
Jesus exceeds all crimes, however great their number
and enormity. Since Christ is born, let him rejoice
who wages war with the vices inherent in our nature.
No disorder of the soul, how inveterate soever, can
withstand the unction which Christ brings. Since
the Son of God is born, let him rejoice who desires
great things, for a great re warder comes. ' This is
the heir " ; let us receive Him devoutly, " and the in
heritance shall be ours." For He Who has given
us His own Son, how has He not with Him given
us all things ? Let no one disbelieve, let no one
doubt ; we have a most trustworthy testimony.
" The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us."

The only-begotten Son of God desired to have
brethren, that He might be the first among many
brethren. Even human frailty has no cause to
hesitate. He has become the brother of men ; He
has become the Son of man ; He has become man.
" Et Homo factus est." And, if man thinks this
incredible, sense enforces belief.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem
of Juda.

Behold what condescension ! It is not in the
royal city of Jerusalem, but in Bethlehem, which is
the least of the thousands of Juda. O Bethlehem !
O little Bethlehem ! once little, now magnified by
the Lord ! He has magnified thee Who, though
great, became little in thee.

Rejoice, O Bethlehem, and make holiday in thy
streets with songs of Alleluia ! What city on hearing

ON THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 79

of thy good fortune will not envy thee that most
precious stable and the glory of its manger ? In all
the wide world thy name is now celebrated, and all
generations call thee blessed. Everywhere glorious
things are said of thee, O little city of God. Every
where is sung, " A man is born in her, and the Most
High himself hath founded her."1 Everywhere it
is proclaimed, everywhere it is made known that

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem
of Juda.

Nor is it idly added " of Juda." This word re
minds us of God's promise to our fathers. " The
sceptre shall not be taken from Juda, nor the leader
from his thigh, until he come who is to be sent,
and he shall be the expectation of nations."2 " For
salvation is of the Jews ;"3 " salvation to the ends
of the earth."4 To Juda Jacob says : " Thee shall
thy brethren praise : thy hands shall be on the
necks of thy enemies."5 All these words we see
fulfilled in Christ, Who, ascending on high, led
captivity captive, yet derived no earthly advantage
therefrom, but rather gave gifts to men. These
and similar prophecies are recalled to the mind by
the words " Bethlehem of Juda."

And we have no need to inquire whether any
thing good can come from Bethlehem ; it is suffi
cient for us to know that our Lord willed to be
born there. For doubtless there were in the
world noble palaces which He might have judged
worthy of His choice — palaces where the King of
Glory might have been received more honourably ;

1 Ps. Ixxxvi. 3, 5. 2 Gen. xlix. 10. 3 St. John iv. 22.
4 Acts xiii. 47, and Isa. xlix. 6. 5 Gen. xlix. 8.

8o SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

but it was not to purchase them that He came from
His royal throne. In his left hand were riches and
glory ; in His right hand length of days.1 There
was an endless supply of these treasures in heaven,
but poverty could not be found there. Earth
abounded and superabounded in this kind of mer
chandise, and men knew not its value. The Son
of God was desirous of it. He came down from
heaven to make it His own, and so render it precious
to us by His choice. Adorn thy bridal-chamber,
O Sion, 0 devout soul, but with humility, but with
poverty. These are the swathing-bands that please
our Infant Jesus ; these are the rich robes in which
Mary tells us He loves to be clothed. Sacrifice to
thy God the abominations of the Egyptians.

Remember, too, that it is in Bethlehem of Juda
that Jesus is born ; and be very careful lest you
fail to be found there, lest He fail to be received
by you. Bethlehem is the house of bread ; Juda
signifies confession or praise. If, then, you replenish
your soul with the food of the Divine Word, the
Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and devoutly receive
the Bread which came down from heaven, and which
giveth life to the world ; if the vessel of your body
is made strong and able to hold the new wine by
being refreshed and strengthened with His new
and glorified flesh ; if, moreover, you live by faith,
and have no need to weep because you have forgotten
to eat your bread, then, indeed, you are become a
Bethlehem fitted to receive our Lord.

But see that praise be not wanting. Put on
praise and beauty ; these are the garments Christ
1 Prov. iii. 16.

ON THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 81

approves of in those who serve Him. The Apostle
commends them to you in a few words : " In the
heart we believe unto justice ; by the mouth is made
confession unto salvation/'1 Let, then, justice be
in the heart, the justice which is of faith. This
alone has glory before God. Let confession also be
in the mouth unto salvation, and you are sure to
receive Him Who was born in Bethlehem of Juda,
Jesus Christ the Son of God.

II

ON THE MIRACULOUS NATURE OF THE NATIVITY

THE custom of our Order does not demand a
sermon to-day ; but as to-morrow we shall be
engaged longer than usual in the celebration of the
Masses, and the short remaining time will not allow
of a long sermon, I thought it would not be out
of place to prepare your hearts to-day for so great
a festival. It is the more permissible as the mystery
of this day is so profound and so incomprehensible.
It is a fountain of life whose waters can never be
exhausted — waters that flow the more plentifully
the more freely they are drawn. I know, too, how
great are your sufferings and tribulations for Christ's
sake, and glad should I be that your comfort might
also abound through Him. Worldly consolation is
what I am neither willing nor permitted to offer.
Such a consolation is both useless and valueless —
yea, it is a thing to be dreaded, for it is a true
1 Rom. x. 10.

6

82 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

hindrance to the consolation which is from heaven.
For this reason He Who is the delight and glory of
the angels is become the salvation and the consola
tion of all who suffer. He Who is glorious and tran
scendent in His own city, and beatifies its citizens
by His presence, became little and humble, when in
exile, that He might rejoice the exiles. He Who
in the highest heavens is the glory of the Father
became, as a Child on earth, " peace to men of good
will."

A Little One is given to little ones, that the Great
One may be given to the great, and that those
whom the Little One justifies, the Great and Mighty
One may afterwards magnify and render glorious.
Hence, without doubt, St. Paul, the vessel of
election, pours out to us the treasures which he
had received from the fullness of this Child. For
Christ, though a Child, is full of grace and truth.
" In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
corporally." Hence, I repeat, St. Paul utters that
good word which you have heard so often during
these past days : " Rejoice in the Lord always : again
I say, Rejoice."1 Of the showing forth of the
mystery, he says " Rejoice " ; of the promise of it
he adds : " Again I say, Rejoice." For both the
mystery and its promise are causes of great joy.
Rejoice that you have received the gifts of the left
hand ; rejoice in the expectation of the rewards of
the right. " His left hand is under my head, and
his right hand shall embrace me."2 For the left
hand raises, the right receives. The left hand heals
and justifies ; the right embraces and blesses. In
1 Phil. iv. 4. 2 Cant. ii. 6.

ON THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 83

the left hand are contained His merits, in the right
His rewards. In the right are delights, in the left
are remedies.

But see how gentle the Physician is ! behold how
wise ! Consider diligently the novelty of these
remedies that He brings. See how they are not
merely precious, but beautiful as well. They are
fruits beneficial for our healing, and at the same time
they are charming to the spiritual eye, sweet to the
spiritual taste.

Notice, I beg of you, that His first remedy is in
His left hand ; this is His conception without
human co-operation. How new, how wonderful,
how attractive is this gift ! For what is fairer than
the chaste generation ; what more glorious than a
holy and pure conception in which there is no shame,
no stain, no corruption ?

" Behold," He says, " I make all things new."
Who is it that so speaks ? It is no other than the
Lamb Who sitteth upon the throne — the Lamb all
sweetness, the Lamb all happiness, the Lamb all
unction ; for His name is Christ. O miraculous
novelty ! The curse of Eve is reversed in our
Virgin, for she brought forth her Son without pain
or sorrow. The curse has been changed into a
blessing, as the Angel Gabriel foretold : " Blessed
art thou amongst women." O only blessed one
amongst women ! Blest, not cursed ! Alone free
from the universal malediction ! And no wonder
that Jesus gave no sorrow to His Mother, since He
Himself bore all the sorrows of the world, as Isaias
says : " Truly he hath carried our sorrows."1

1 Isa. liii. 4.

6—2

84 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

i% There are two things from which our weak human
nature shrinks — pain and shame. Christ came to
take both from us, and this He did by accepting
both in His own person — when, for instance, not to
mention other occasions, He was condemned to
death, and to a most shameful death, by wicked
men. And, to give us fullest confidence of this
deliverance, He first freed His Mother from both.
This is an unheard-of wonder, yet we see here still
greater miracles and still fuller glory. The Mother
loses not her virginity, the Son is without stain of
sin. The curse of Eve falls not on the Mother, nor is
the Son subject to the universal calamity of which
the Prophet speaks : " No one is clean, not even the
babe whose life upon earth is but one day." Behold
here an Infant without stain ! Behold the Lamb
without spot, the Lamb of God, Who taketh away
the sins of the world ! Who could better take them
away than He Who knew no sin ? He, indeed, can
cleanse me, who has never Himself been defiled.
His touch can remove the clay from my eyes, for
His hand is free from the lightest dust. He can
take the mote from out my eye Who has no beam in
His own ; or, rather, He Who has no smallest grain
of dust in His own eye can take the beam from mine.

We have now certainly seen the riches of salvation
and of life. We have seen His glory, the glory as of
the Only-begotten of the Father. What Father ?
" And he shall be called the Son of the Most High/'1
" That which shall be born of thee shall be holy, and
shall be called the Son of God."

Oh, truly the Holy One ! Here miracles increase
1 St. Luke i. 32.

ON THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 85

in number, riches are multiplied, a treasure is
opened out. Our treasure was hidden. The incor-
ruption of the Mother was hidden in the legal
purification, and the innocence of the Child in the
customary circumcision. Hide, O Mary, hide the
brightness of the new Sun ; place Him in the manger,
wrap your Infant in swaddling-clothes, for His
swathing-bands are our riches. The rags of our
Saviour are more precious than purple, and His
poor manger is more glorious than the gilded thrones
of kings. The poverty of Christ is greater riches
than all this world's wealth, for what is richer or
more precious than the humility by which heaven
is bought and Divine grace is obtained ? " Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven." And St. James says : " God resists the
proud, and gives his grace to the humble."1

We see humility commended in our Lord's Nativity,
for in it " he emptied himself, taking the form of a
servant, and in habit was found as man." If you
desire to find yet greater riches, yet higher glory,
behold His charity in His passion ; for " greater love
than this no man hath, that he lay down his life
for his friends." These riches of salvation are the
precious blood in which we were redeemed. This
glory is the cross of our Lord, so that with the
Apostle we exclaim, " God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ" ; 2
and elsewhere : " I have not judged myself to know
anything among you, but Jesus Christ and him
crucified."3 This is the " left hand," Jesus Christ
and^Him crucified ; the " right hand " ist Jesus Christ

1 St. Jas. iv. 6. 2 Gal. vi. 14. 3 i Cor. ii. 2.

86 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

and Him glorified. Show us, O Lord, Thy right hand,
and it is sufficient for us, for " at thy right hand
are delights even to the end."1 " Glory and wealth
shall be in the house of him that feareth the Lord."2
What, then, shall be found in Thy house ? Oh,
it will be thanksgiving and the voice of praise.
" Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord :
they shall praise thee for ever and ever."3 "Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered
into the heart of man, what things God hath pre
pared for them that love him." They are light
inaccessible, peace which surpasseth all under
standing, a stream of delights ceaselessly flowing.
Eye hath not seen light inaccessible, ear hath not
heard what is peace incomprehensible. " How
beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel
of peace."4 But though their sound " hath gone
forth into all the earth," it hath surpassed all their
understanding to comprehend how deep is this
peace ; they could not, therefore, transmit it to other
ears. " Ear hath not heard it." St. Paul himself
says : " Brethren, I count not myself to have appre
hended."5 But faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God — yes, faith, not vision ;
the promise of peace, not its manifestation. It is
true even now there is peace upon earth to men of
good-will. But what is this peace compared to that
plenitude and abundance of peace to be enjoyed in
God's house ? Whence our Lord says, " Peace I
leave with you, my peace I give you."6 My peace —

1 Ps. xv. ii. 2 Ps. cxi. 3. 3 Ps. Ixxxiii. 5.

4 Rom. x. 15, and Isa. lii. 7. 5 Phil. iii. 13.

6 St. John xiv. 27.

ON THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 87

that is, the peace which surpasseth all understanding,
and is peace upon peace. You are not able to
receive it yet, therefore I promise you the country of
peace, and " leave " you in the meantime the way
of peace.

" Neither hath it entered into the heart of man
what things God hath prepared for them that love
him."1 Why cannot the thought of the good things
God has prepared for us enter into our hearts ? Is
it that pride lifts up the heart and grace cannot flow
in ? It would seem so, for every proud spirit, like
Satan, exalts itself above God. God wishes His
will to be done ; the proud man prefers to do his
own. What folly ! God desires His will to be
carried out only in those things which reason
approves ; the proud man will have his will accom
plished without reason, and even contrary to reason.
This is a height to which the streams of grace cannot
rise. " Unless you be converted, and become as
this little child," says our Lord, " you shall not enter
into the kingdom of heaven." He is Himself the
little and humble Child whom He sets for our Model.
He is the Fountain of life, in whom dwelleth and
from whom floweth the fullness of all grace. Prepare,
then, the way for the waters of grace. Cast down
the heights of earthly and proud thoughts. Be
conformed to the Son of man, not to the first and
fallen man, for the streams of grace cannot " enter
into " the heart of the proud and carnal — that is, of
the earthly-minded man. Cleanse your " eye," that
you may be capable of beholding the most pure light
of faith. Incline your " ear " to the call of obedience,
1 i Cor. ii. 9, and Isa. Ixiv. 4.

88 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

that you may one day attain to perpetual rest and
peace upon peace. That future life is called " light "
because of its serenity, peace because of its tran
quillity, a fountain because of its abundance and
its eternity.

We may attribute the " fountain " to the Father,
of Whom the Son is born, and from Whom the Holy
Ghost proceeds ; " light " to the Son, Who is the
brightness of eternal life, and the true light enlighten
ing every man who cometh into this world ; " peace,"
to the Holy Ghost, Who rests upon the humble and
peaceable. I do not mean to say that these names
are proper to any of the three Divine Persons, for
the Father is Light, since the Son is Light of Light ;
and the Son is Peace, as the Apostle says, " he is our
peace who hath made both one " j1 and the Holy
Ghost is the " Fountain of Water springing up into
life everlasting."2

But when shall we attain to these wonderful
truths ? When, O Lord, wilt Thou fill us with joy
by the sight of Thy countenance ? We rejoice in
Thee that Thou, the Orient from on high, hast
visited us. We rejoice, too, " in the blessed hope "
of Thy second coming.

But when shall come that fullness of joy not in the
memory of past blessings, but in actual possession
of the eternal — joy, not in the expectation of good
things, but in their present manifestation ? " Be
hold," He says, " I am with you all days, even to
the end of the world."3 " The Lord is nigh,Xbe
nothing solicitous."4 He is at hand, and will soon

1 Eph. ii. 14. 2 St. John iv. 14.

3 St. Matt, xxviii. 20. 4 Phil, iv, 5

ON THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 89

appear. Faint not ; be not weary. " Seek him
while he may be found, call upon him while he is
near/' He is near to them who are of a contrite
heart ; He is near to those who wait for Him, who
expect Him in truth.

Would you likewise know how near He is ?
Listen to the song of the Spouse to her Divine
Bridegroom : " Behold, he standeth behind our
wall."1 This wall is our mortal body, which hin
ders our seeing Him Who is so near, and it is the
reason why St. Paul himself desires " to be dissolved
and to be with Christ " ; and, crying out yet more
piteously, he says : " Unhappy man that I am, who
will deliver me from the body of this death ?"2
The Prophet also speaks in the Psalm : " Lead my
soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name/'3

III

ON THE DISPOSITIONS REQUIRED IN THOSE
WHO CELEBRATE THE FEAST

" We have heard a rumour from the Lord, and he hath
sent an ambassador to the nations."4

WE have heard a rumour full of grace, worthy of
all acceptance. " Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is
born in Bethlehem of Juda." My soul is melted at
this word, and my spirit burns within me through
eager desire to proclaim it to you. Jesus is, inter
preted, Saviour. What so necessary to the lost ?

1 Cant. ii. 9. 2 Rom. vii. 24. 3 Ps cxli. 8.

4 Abdias i. i.

go SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

What so desirable to the wretched ? What so
welcome to the hopeless ? Without this gracious
promise, whence should we have obtained redemp
tion ? Unless some new and unexpected help had
arisen for us, how could we have had the faintest
hope of salvation, subject as we were and are to a
law of sin, living in a body of death, surrounded by
the wickedness of this present life, which is only a
place of affliction ? Perhaps you will tell me that
you do desire salvation, you do desire a cure, but
that, knowing your own weakness, you shrink from
the sharpness of the remedy. Fear not. Christ
is all sweetness and gentleness. He is full of mercy,
for He is " anointed with the oil of gladness beyond
his fellows " — that is, beyond those who enjoy at
least a share of that unction, though they do not
receive it in its plenitude.

When, however, you hear that Jesus is sweet and
gentle, do not suppose Him a weak and inefficient
Saviour, for He is the " Son of God." Such as the
Father is, such is the Son. He has the power to do
whatever He wills. Had your Saviour been an angel,
or an archangel, or anyone from the higher orders
of blessed spirits, you would have had no cause for
discontent. Since, however, He is one Who has
inherited a much more excellent name than they —
Jesus Christ, the Son of God — He ought to be
received with all devotion.

And notice that Gabriel commended these His
titles clearly when he announced " a great joy "
to the shepherds, for he said : " This day is born to
you a Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord." Let us,
then, exult and repeatedly rejoice in this birth,

OAT THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 91

because it so convincingly persuades us of the
usefulness of salvation, of the sweetness of the
anointing, and of the majesty of the Son of God
that nothing is wanted to its glory.

Let us rejoice as we ponder upon this sweet
message. Let us repeat to one another this delightful
speech : " Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born in
Bethlehem of Juda." Let no one be so indevout,
so ungrateful, so irreligious, as to say : This is nothing
new ; it was heard long ago ; Christ was born long
ago. I answer : Yes, long ago and before long ago.
No one will be surprised at my words if he remembers
that expression of the Prophet, In ceternum et
ultra, " for ever and ever/' or, " for ever and beyond
it." Christ, then, is born not only before our times,
but before all time. That Nativity made " darkness
its hiding-place/' or, more truly, " it abides in
light inaccessible " ; it hides in the bosom of the
Father as in the " thick and shady mountain."
Therefore, that this mysterious Nativity might to
some extent be made known, Jesus Christ was born
in time, born of flesh, born in flesh, " the Word was
made flesh."

What wonder, then, if to-day the Church says,
" Christ, the Son of God, is born," when so long
before it had been said of Him, " A Child is born
to us " ! This word began to be heard in the ancient
days, and none of the saints of the old law ever
grew weary of its repetition. So that we may say,
" Jesus Christ yesterday, to-day, and the same for
ever."

God revealed this His secret counsel to the man
" according to his own heart " — the man to whom

92 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

" he swore truth, and he will not make it void : Of
the fruit of thy womb I will set upon thy throne."1
For this reason it is that He is born in Bethlehem
of Juda, in the city of David — that is, for the sake
of God's truth and to confirm the promises made
to the Fathers. This birth was " at sundry times
and in divers manners spoken of in times past to the
fathers by the prophets."2

Hearing of this birth of our Saviour, is there one
amongst us who does not say in his heart, "It is
good for me to adhere to my God,"3 or those other
words of the same Prophet, " Shall not my soul be
subject to God ?"4 In this day's most joyful
announcement it is not said " has been born," but
" is born " ; it is not treated as a past event, but
as one actually taking place. " Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, is born in Bethlehem of Juda." For,
as He continues still to be in a manner immolated
daily whilst we announce His death, so He seems to
be born again while we devoutly commemorate His
Nativity.

To-morrow, therefore, we shall see the majesty of
God, but with us, amongst us, not in Himself. We
shall see Majesty in humility, Power in weakness,
the God-man. For He is Emmanuel — " God with
us " — and " the Word was made flesh, and dwelt
amongst us." Finally, from that time and ever
since " we have seen his glory, the glory as of the
only-begotten of the Father "5 — a glory, therefore,
" full of grace and truth."6

He is born, then — but where ? In Bethlehem of

1 Ps. cxxxi. ii. 2 Heb. i. i. 3 Ps. Ixxii. 28.

4 Ps/lxi. i. 5 St. John i. 14. 6 Ibid.

ON THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 93

Juda. It would ill become us to leave Bethlehem
unnoticed. " Let us go over to Bethlehem," say
the shepherds. They do not say, " Let us pass by
Bethlehem." What though it be a little town ?
What if it does seem to be the least in Judea ? Is
not such a town becoming for Him Who, " being
rich, became poor for our sake," and Who, though
He was the " Lord great and exceedingly to be
praised," was born for us a Little One, and said,
" Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven"?1 Therefore He chose a
stable and a manger — yea, a despicable hut, a shed
fit only for beasts, that we may know that He it is
" Who raiseth up the poor one from the dunghill," and
" saveth men and beasts " — He Who said, " Unless •
you be converted and become as this little child, j
you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."2 \
Would that we also might be found to be a !
Bethlehem of Juda, so that in us also He might
deign to be born, and that we might deserve to hear :
" To you who fear my name the sun of justice shall
arise."3 Perhaps this refers to what we said above,
that we are to see Majesty amongst us, and that
there is need of sanctification and preparation, for,
according to the Psalmist, " Judea is become his
sanctification " — that is, we are all cleansed and
sanctified by confession. Bethlehem — as " House
of bread " — seems to relate still more to the pre
paration for the feast. For how could he be ready
to receive so great a guest who said, " In my house
there is no bread "? 4 The man in the Gospel was

1 St. Matt. v. 3. 2 St. Matt, xviii 3. 3 Mai. iv. 2.
4 Isa. iii. 7.

94 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

likewise unprepared when he was obliged to rouse
his friend in the middle of the night, and say : " My
friend has come to me on a journey, and I have
nothing to set before him."

The Prophet tells us that the just man's heart " is
ready to hope in the Lord," and that " it is strength
ened, and shall not be moved/'1 The heart, then,
that is not strengthened is not ready. But we know
from the same Prophet that " bread strengthens
the heart of man."2 He, therefore, who forgot to
eat his bread had not his heart ready, but had left
it dry and lifeless. The just man, on the contrary,
keeps his heart ready and unmoved, prepared to
keep the Commandments of God. Like the Apostle,
he forgets the things which are behind, and stretches
forth himself to those that are before.3 Thus you
see there are some things which we must fly from,
and about which a certain forgetfulness is desirable.
There are others which should never be lost sight
of. It is said of one man that he was unmindful
of the Lord his Creator, of another that he kept
Him ever before his eyes, having forgotten his people
and his father's house. This last forgot the things
that are seen and are upon the earth ; the other
those that are not seen and are heavenly. The
good Christian forgets the things that are his own
to remember those of Jesus Christ. Such a one is
ready to see the majesty of God within him, while the
negligent and forgetful Christian is very unpre
pared. He is not the house of bread in which our
Saviour dwells. He is not the Manasses to whom
Christ, Who rules Israel, appears, and Who as God
1 Ps. iii. 8. 2 Ps. ciii. 15. 3 Phil. iii. 13.

ON THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 95

" sits upon the cherubim," and to Whom the
Psalmist exclaims, " Shine forth before Ephraim,
Benjamin, and Manasses."1

I think that these three men represent all that
are saved, and to whom another Prophet alludes
as Noe, Daniel, and Job ;2 and that they also pre
figure the three shepherds, to whom the angel
announced " a great joy " at the birth of the
" angel of the great council." Perhaps they repre
sent also the three Magi. In this sense, it may not
seem unfitting to attribute to Ephraim, which name
means "Fruitfulness," the offering of the incense, since
to offer worthy incense in the odour of sweetness is
the office of those whom God has appointed to go
and bring forth fruit — that is, the prelates of the
Church. And, as Benjamin means " Son of the right
hand," he must give the gold — that is, the substance
of this world — in order that the faithful people may
be placed on the right hand at the Last Day, and
deserve to hear from the Judge, " I was hungry,
and you gave me to eat,"3 and the rest. As for
Manasses, if he would be one of whom " the Lord
appears," let him offer the myirh of mortification,
and this, I think, is especially required in our
sacred profession of the religious life.

We have digressed. Let us now return " to
Bethlehem, and see this word that is come to pass,
which the Lord hath showed to us."4 It is the house
of bread, and we have already said that " it is good
for us to be there." For where the word of God is
there will be no lack of the bread which strengthens

1 Ps. Ixxix. i, 2, 3. 2 Ezech. xiv. 14.

3 St. Matt. xxv. 35. 4 St. Luke ii. 15.

96 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

the heart, as the Prophet says, " Strengthen thou
me in thy words."1 We also read, " Man liveth by
every word that proceedeth from the mouth of
God " ; then he liveth in Christ, and Christ liveth
in him. In his heart Christ is born, to him Christ
appears — Christ, Who loves not the faltering,
wavering heart, but the strong and steadfast heart.
One who murmurs, who hesitates, who wavers in
his purpose, who thinks of returning to what he has
left, of relinquishing his vow, of changing his state
of life, is no Bethlehem, no house of bread. Christ
is not born in such a heart as this, where the fortitude
of faith and the bread of life are wanting, for the
Scripture says, " The just man liveth by faith/'2 and
Christ, the true life of the soul, dwells in our heart
by faith. Besides, how could Christ be born in
that heart, how could such a one attain salvation,
when the sentence is so utterly true that " he only
that perseveres to the end shall be saved " ? How
could the proud and vacillating heart belong to a
follower of the Son of God whose spirit rests only
" on him that is poor, and little, and of a contrite
spirit, and that trembleth at his words " ?3 For
there can be no connection between eternity and
such fickleness, between him who is and him who
never remaineth in the same state.

But if we are strong, if we are constant in faith,
if we are ready to receive our Lord, if we abound in
bread, we owe it entirely to His bounty to whom
we say daily, " Give us this day our daily bread/'
though we have need also to add, " forgive us our
trespasses/' for " if we say we have no sin we deceive

1 Ps. cxviii. 28. 2 Hab. ii. 4 et seq. 3 Isa. Ixvi. 2.

ON THE VIGIL OF OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 97

ourselves, and the truth is not in us." He is Truth
itself Who is born not merely in Bethlehem, but in
Bethlehem of Juda, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Let us, then, come in before His presence with
praise, that we may be found both sanctified and
prepared, and so may deserve to see Christ born in
ourselves, His Bethlehem of Juda.

IV
ON OUR LORD'S NATIVITY

7—2

THE FOUNTAINS OF THE SAVIOUR

THE solemnity of our Lord's Nativity is indeed a
great and glorious day, but a short one, and a short
day calls for a short sermon.

No wonder if we make a short speech, since God
the Father has made an abbreviated Word —
Verbum abbreviatmn. Would you know how long
and how short is the Word He has made ? This
Word says, "I fill heaven and earth/'1 yet,
now that " the Word is made flesh," He is placed
in a narrow manger. The Psalmist exclaimed,
" From eternity and to eternity thou art God,"2 yet,
behold ! He is a Child of a day. And why this ?
What necessity was there that the Lord of Majesty
should so annihilate Himself, should thus humble
Himself, thus abbreviate Himself, except to show
that we should do in like manner ? He now pro
claims by example what He will one day preach in
words — " Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble
of heart " — and He does so that the Evangelist
might be proved truthful when he said of this Word,
" Jesus began to do and to teach."

I therefore earnestly beseech you not to allow
so precious an example to be set before you in vain.

1 Jer. xxiii. 24. 2 Ps. Ixxxix. 2.

101

102 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

Conform yourselves to it, and be ye renewed in the
spirit of your mind. Aim at humility ; it is the
foundation and the guardian of all virtues. Follow
after it, for it alone can save your souls. What is
more deplorable, what more hateful, what more
grievously punishable than that, after seeing the
God of heaven become a Little One, man should
any longer endeavour to glorify himself upon earth ?
It is an intolerable insolence that when Majesty
has annihilated itself, a worm of earth should inflate
and puff itself up. It was to make reparation
for this pride that He Who, in the form of God, was
equal to the Father, " emptied himself, taking the
form of a servant."1 He emptied Himself — yes, of
His majesty and His power, not of His mercy and
His goodness, for the Apostle tells us " the goodness
and kindness of our Saviour hath appeared."2 His
power had appeared in the creation of the world,
His wisdom has ever been manifested in its govern
ment, but now in His humanity His goodness and
mercy are more specially made known. He had
shown His power to the Jews in signs and prodigies ;
therefore you will often find in the writings of the
Old Law such expressions as " I am the Lord,"
" I am God." To the ancient philosophers, abound
ing in their own sense, he likewise made His majesty
known, according to those words of the Apostle,
" That which is known of God is manifest in them,
for God hath manifested it to them."3 The Jews
were subdued by this same power ; the philosophers,
searchers into majesty, were overwhelmed by His
glory. Power exacts subjection, majesty inspires
1 Phil. ii. 7. 2 Titus iii. 4. 3 Rom. i. 19.

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 103

awe, but neither oblige to imitation. Let thy
goodness, O Lord, now appear, that man, who is
created in Thy likeness, may be conformed to it ;
for power, majesty, and wisdom are not what we can
imitate, or what it is expedient that we should copy.
In the case of the angels Thy mercy was withheld
from a portion only of them ; afterwards the whole
human race was overwhelmed by Thy judgment.

Let mercy extend her dominion, let her reach
from end to end mightily, and dispose all things
sweetly. In the past, 0 Lord, Thou didst limit Thy
mercy by judgment ; come, we beseech Thee, now,
flowing with compassion and overflowing with
charity. What dost thou fear, O man ? Why dost
thou tremble before the face of the Lord " because
He cometh " ? It is not to judge the earth that He
comes, but to save it. Fly not, 0 man, fear not ;
Jesus comes not in anger, He comes not to punish :
He comes to seek thy salvation. And lest thou
shouldst say even now, " I heard thy voice, and I hid
myself/'1 behold, He comes as an Infant, and without
speech, for the voice of the wailing infant arouses
compassion, not terror. If He is terrible to any, yet
not to thee. He is become a Little One, His Virgin
Mother swathes His tender limbs with bands, and dost
thou still tremble with fear ? By this weakness thou
mayest know that He comes not to destroy, but to
save ; not to bind, but to unbind. If He shall take
up the sword, it will be against thine enemies, and,
as the Power and the Wisdom of God, He will
trample on the necks of the proud and the mighty.
We have two enemies, sin and death — that is, the
1 Gen. iii. 10.

io4 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

death of the soul and the death of the body. Jesus
comes to conquer both, and to save us from both.
Already He has vanquished sin in His own person
by assuming a human nature free from the corrup
tion of sin. For great violence was offered to sin, and
it knew itself to be indeed subdued, when that nature
which it gloried to have wholly infected and possessed
was found in Christ perfectly free from its dominion.
Henceforth Christ will pursue our enemies, and will
seize them, and will not desist until they are over
come in us. His whole mortal life was a war against
sin. He fought against it by word and example. But
it was in His passion that He came upon the strong
man armed, and bound him, and bore a way his spoils.1

Jesus Christ also conquers our second enemy,
death. He overcomes it first in Himself, when He
rises from the dead, the first-fruits of them that
sleep, and the first-born from the dead. Afterwards
He will, in like manner, vanquish death in all of us
when He shall raise our mortal bodies from the
dust, and destroy this our last enemy. Thus, when
He rose from the dead, Jesus was clothed in beauty,
not wrapped in swaddling-clothes as at His birth.
He that previously overflowed with mercy, " judging
no man," girded Himself in His resurrection with
the girdle of justice, and in so doing seemed in some
degree to restrain His superabundant mercy in
order to be thenceforth prepared for the judgment
which is to follow our future resurrection.

But Christ comes now, in His Nativity, as a Little
One, with the prerogative of mercy, that His mercy,
going before, may temper the justice of our future
1 St. Luke xi. 22.

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 105

judgment. Although He comes as a Little One,
the gifts He brings are not little, the treasures He
bestows are not little. In the first place, He brings
mercy, for the Apostle testifies : " According to his
mercy he hath saved us."1 Neither was it only to
those among whom He lived that He brought these
benefits. Christ our Lord is a fountain that can
never be exhausted. He is a fountain for us, too,
wherein we may be washed from sin ; as it is written,
" who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins."2
But water not only washes away our stains, it like
wise quenches our thirst. This is the second use of
the fountain, and the Wise Man says : " Justice shall
give him the wholesome water of wisdom to drink."3

The water of wisdom is rightly called wholesome,
for the wisdom of the flesh is death, and the wisdom
of the world is the enemy of God. The only whole
some wisdom is the wisdom that is from God, and
which, according to St. James's definition, " is first
chaste, then peaceable."4 The wisdom of the flesh
is sensual, not chaste. The wisdom of the world
is turbulent, not peaceable. But the wisdom that
is of God is first chaste, not seeking the things that
are her own, but those that are Jesus Christ's ; for,
let no one do his own will, but consider what is the
will of God. It is, then, peaceable, not abounding in
her own sense, but rather yielding to the counsel or
judgment of another.

The third use of water is for irrigation. This is
specially needed by young plantations and seeds
newly sown, lest they be either stunted in growth,

1 Titus iii. 5. 2 Apoc. i. 5. 3 Ecclus. xv. 3.

4 St. Jas. iii. 17.

io6 SERMONS OP ST. BERNARD

or wither away through want of moisture. Let,
then, everyone who wishes to sow the seed of good
works seek the water of devotion, that, being
fertilized by the fountain of grace, the source of a
good life, he may not wither away, but make progress
in continual freshness of spirit.

Let us now see if we can find a fourth fountain,
and win back our paradise, to be beautified, like that
of old, by the water from four fountains or springs.
Because if we do not desire to have the earthly
paradise restored to us, how shall we hope for the
kingdom of heaven ? " If I have spoken to you
earthly things, and you believe not, how will you
believe if I shall speak to you heavenly things P"1
In order, therefore, that by the manifestation of
things present the expectation of the future may be
made sure, we have a paradise far better and more
delightful than that of our first parents. Our
paradise is Christ our Lord. In this paradise we
have already found three fountains ; the fourth is
yet to be sought. We have the fountain of mercy for
washing away the stains of our sins ; we have the
fountain of wisdom, giving the waters of discretion
for allaying our spiritual thirst ; and we have the
fountain of grace and devotion for irrigating the
plants of our good works. The fourth fountain
seems to be the fervid waters of charity. Hence the
Prophet exclaims : " My heart grew hot within me,
and in my meditation a fire broke forth."2 And
elsewhere : " The zeal of thy house hath eaten me
up."3 So that the just man loves justice from the
sweetness of devotion, and hates iniquity from the

1 St. John iii. 12. 2 Ps. xxxviii. 4. 3 Ps. Ixviii. 10.

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 107

fervour of zeal. Was it not of these four fountains
that Isaias spoke : " You shall draw waters with joy
from the Saviour's fountains " P1 And that we may
know this promise to be spoken of the present life,
not of that to come, mark what follows : " In that
day, praise ye the Lord, and call upon his name."
Invocation belongs to the present time, as it is
written : " Thou didst call upon me in the day of
tribulation, and I heard thee."2

Of these four fountains, three seem to apply
specially to each of the three chief needs of the
faithful. The first — remission — is common to all,
for we all " offend in many things/'3 and we have
need of the fountain of mercy for washing away the
stains of our sins. ' We have all sinned, and do
need the glory of God,"4 whether prelates, virgins,
or married people.

All Christians likewise, both the penitent and the
devout, must have recourse to the second fountain,
that of wisdom, for all walk in the midst of snares,
and require its guidance to enable them to decline
from evil and do good.

All, again, must hasten to the fountain of grace
and devotion, that they may receive the unction
necessary for fructifying their works and labours of
penance and abstinence, and to enable them to act
always in a spirit of cheerfulness, for " God loveth
the cheerful giver." This grace we ask in the
Lord's Prayer under the name of our daily bread.

In all these points nothing else seems to be meant
but that our good works are to be seasoned with the

1 Isa. xii. 3. 2 Ps. Ixxx. 8. 3 St. Jas. iii. 2.

4 Rom. iii. 23.

io8 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

fervour of devotion and the spiritual sweetness of
grace.

The fourth fountain of zeal seems more specially
suited to those in authority.

These four fountains our Blessed Lord offers to
us in His own person while we still live on earth.
A fifth, which is the fountain of life, He promises
to give us in the world to come. This is the water
for which the holy Prophet thirsted : " My soul hath
thirsted after the strong living God."1

Was it to signify the first four fountains that
Christ was wounded in four places while still living
on the Cross ? while the fifth wound in His side was
not inflicted till after He had expired. Jesus Christ
: offers us the first four fountains during our life. He
opens the fifth fountain to us after our death, when
He leads us into the possession of eternal life.

But see how, after treating of the mysteries of
our Lord's Nativity, we have suddenly turned to
the mystery of His Passion. Yet it is no wonder
that we should seek in the Passion for the treasures
that Christ brought us in His Nativity, since it was
in His Passion that He poured out for us the price
of our redemption.

II

THE THREE COMMINGLINGS

" GREAT are the works of the Lord,"2 says the

Psalmist. Great indeed are all God's works, but

the mysteries which chiefly excite our wonder and

1 Ps. xli. 3. 2 ps. ex. 2.

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 109

admiration are naturally those which concern our
eternal salvation. Hence the same Prophet sings :
' The Lord hath done great things for us/'1 His
munificent dealings with us are shown forth chiefly
in our Creation, our present redemption, and our
future glorification. O Lord, how greatly art Thou
exalted in all Thy works ! Do Thou proclaim their
excellence to Thy people, and let us not be silent
concerning them.

There is a threefold commingling to be considered
in these three mysteries, most manifestly heavenly,
most evidently the effect of the omnipotence of
God. In the first of these mysteries, that of our
creation, " God made man from the slime of the
earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life."2
What a wonderful Creator, Who unites and com
mingles things so opposite ! At His beck the slime
of the earth and the spirit, or breath of life, are
united, and make one being. The earth of which He
made man had been previously created when " in
the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth.0 But the origin of the spirit was special, not
common. It was not infused into the mass of
matter, but is specially breathed into each individual
of the human race.

O man, acknowledge your dignity ! Recognize
the glory of human nature ! You have a body
taken from this earth, for it was fitting that one who
is the appointed lord of all visible creatures should
bear a similarity to them. But you are at the
same time more noble and more exalted than they ;
nor are they in any way to be compared to you.
1 Ps. cxxv. 3. 2 Gen, ii. 7.

no SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

In you body and soul are closely united ; the first is
moulded and fashioned, the second is inspired. On
which side lies the advantage ? Which of the two
is the gainer in this union ? According to the
wisdom of this world, where what is low and mean
is associated with what is excellent, those who are
in power lord it over their inferiors, and bend them
to their will. The strong man tramples on him
who is the weaker ; the learned man ridicules one
who is unlearned ; the crafty one deceives the
simple ; the powerful man despises the weak. It is
not thus, O God, in Thy work, not thus in Thy com
mingling. It was not for such a purpose that Thou
didst unite spirit with matter ; what is exalted with
what is lowly ; a noble and excellent creature with
the abject, worthless clay. Thou didst will the
soul to rule ; at the same time who does not see what
dignity and advantage it thus confers on the body ?
Would not the body without the soul be senseless
matter ? From the soul it derives its beauty, from
the soul its growth, from the soul the brightness of
the eye and the sound of the voice. All the senses
are animated by the soul. By this union charity is
commended to me. I read of charity in the very
history of my own creation. Not only is charity
proclaimed in its first page ; it is imprinted within
me by the gracious hand of my Maker.

Great indeed is this union of body and soul ;
would that it had remained firm and unbroken !
But, alas ! though it had been secured by the
Divine seal — for God made man to His own image
and likeness — the union was marred, for the seal
was broken and the likeness defaced. The worst

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY in

of thieves approached, stealthily damaged the yet
fresh seal, and so sadly changed the Divine likeness
that man is now compared to senseless beasts, and
is become like unto them.

God made man just, and of this his likeness to
God it is written : " The Lord our God is righteous,
and there is no iniquity in him."1 He made man
just and truthful, as He Himself is justice and
truth ; nor could this union be broken while the
integrity of the seal was preserved. But that forger
came, and, while promising a better seal, broke,
alas ! that which had been stamped by the hand of
God. " You shall be as gods," he said, " knowing
good and evil."2 O malicious one ! O crafty spirit !
Of what use to that man and woman could the
likeness of this knowledge be ? Let them "be as
gods " by all means, but let them be upright, truth
ful, like God, in Whom there is no sin. While this
seal remained whole the union remained uninjured.
Now we have a woeful experience of what we were
persuaded to attempt by the devil's craft. The seal
once broken, a bitter parting followed, a sad
divorce. O wicked wretch ! where is your promise,
" You shall not die " ? Behold, we all die. There
is no man living that shall not taste death. What,
then, will become of us, O Lord our God ? Will no
one repair Thy work ? Will no one help to raise
the fallen ? None can remake but He Who first
made. Therefore, " by reason of the misery of the
needy, and the groans of the poor, now I will arise,
saith the Lord. I will set him in safety : I will
deal confidently in his regard."3 The enemy shall
1 Ps. xci. 16. a Gen. iii. 5. 3 Ps. xi. 6.

H2 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

not prevail over him, nor the son of iniquity have
any power to hurt him. Behold, I now make a
new mixture, upon which I set a deeper and stronger
seal. I will give to fallen man Him Who was not
made to My likeness, but Who is the very image and
splendour of My glory and the figure of My sub
stance ; not made, but begotten before all ages.

The first mixture was compounded of two things,
earth and spirit. The second is made up of three,
that from this fact we may learn to contemplate
the mystery of the Blessed Trinity — the Word
Who was in the beginning with God, and was God ;
the soul, which was created out of nothing, and had
no previous existence ; and the flesh, taken from
corrupted nature without any corruption, separated
and singled out by a Divine plan, as if it had not
been a portion of mortal flesh ; and these three are
united together in one Person, our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. We have in these three a threefold
exhibition of power. What was not was created ;
what had perished was recreated ; and what was
higher than all was made a little lower than the
angels. Here are the three Gospel measures of
meal which are, as it were, fermented, that they
may become the bread of angels, in order that man
may eat the bread which strengthens his heart.
Happy Mary ! blessed amongst women, in whose
chaste womb that bread was prepared by the Holy
Ghost Who came down upon thee ! Yea, happy
woman ! who hid in these measures the leaven of
thy own glorious faith ; so that by faith thou didst
conceive Him, by faith thou didst bring Him forth,
and by thy faith those things were accomplished

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 113

in thee which were spoken to thee by the Lord, and
for believing which Elizabeth declared thee blessed.
And who need wonder when I say that the Word
was united to human flesh through the faith of
Mary, seeing that He received that same flesh from
hers ? There is nothing in the foregoing explanation
opposed to our regarding the faith of Mary as a
type of the kingdom of heaven ; nor does it seem
unfitting to compare her faith with the kingdom of
heaven, since by that same faith its losses are re
paired. This bond of union, this Trinity in Christ,
no human power could wholly sever. The " prince
of this world " had nothing in Him, the latchet of
whose shoe the Baptist himself was unworthy to
loose. Yet it was necessary that this triad should
in a certain way be dissolved ; otherwise, what is not
dissolved cannot be reconstructed. Of what use are
bread unbroken, a treasure hidden, wisdom con
cealed ? Well might St. John weep when no one
was found to open the book and break its seals.
Whilst it remained closed, no man amongst us could
attain to its Divine wisdom. O Lamb of God ! O
truly meek Lamb ! do Thou open the book. Open
out Thy pierced hands and feet, that the treasure
of salvation and the plentiful redemption hidden
in them may come forth. Break Thy bread to the
hungry. Thou alone canst break it to them, Who
alone couldst stand firm and^unshaken when the
union between Thy Divine and human natures
appeared broken in Thy passion. In this breaking
Thou still hadst power to lay down Thy life and to
take it up again. In Thy mercy Thou didst to a
certain degree destroy this temple, but didst not

8

H4 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

wholly dissolve it. Let the soul be separated from
the body, the Word will preserve that flesh from
corruption and bestow a full liberty on the soul,
that it alone of all human souls may be free among
the dead, and lead forth from the prison-house
those who were bound, those sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death. Let this holy and
Divine soul lay down its immaculate flesh, that by
dying it may conquer death ; but let it resume that
flesh on the third day, that by rising again it may
raise us all from death to life. This has been done,
and let us rejoice in the accomplishment of the
mystery. By that death, death is destroyed, and
by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
we are regenerated in the hope of life.

But who shall say what is to take place in the
third and future union ? " Eye hath not seen, ear
hath not heard, nor hath it entered into the heart
of man to conceive what God hath prepared for
them that love Him." The consummation of the
union will be when Christ shall have restored and
given back the kingdom to God and the Father.

To sum up, in the first mixture, where man is
made and composed of body and soul, we saw
charity recommended. In the second mixture or
union, the Incarnation, humility shines pre-eminent
in the infinite condescension of God in assuming our
human nature, whereby He teaches us that it is by
humility alone we can repair the wounds of charity.

In the first union it is no result of humility that
the rational soul is united to an earthly body, for it
is not by any deliberate act of its own. The soul
is immediately breathed into it by God.

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 115

It is otherwise in the second union, where the
Uncreated Spirit, Himself the Sovereign Good,
humbly drew nigh to our nature, and of His own
will and choice assumed an unsullied body.

From both we learn that charity and humility
are deservedly followed by glorification, for without
charity nothing can profit us, and without humility
none shall be exalted. In humility, then, is laid up
for us the perfection of the beatitude which we
expect and long for. May we be so blest as to
attain it !

Ill

ON THE PLACE, THE TIME, AND OTHER
CIRCUMSTANCES

IN the Nativity of our Blessed Lord there are two
things to be considered, both exceedingly different,
exceedingly wonderful. The Child Who is born is
God, the Mother of whom He is born is a Virgin, and
her child-bearing is without pain. To celebrate
these new wonders a new light from heaven shines
forth in the darkness of midnight. The angel
announces tidings of great joy. A multitude of the
heavenly army praise God and sing, " Glory to God
on high, and peace on earth to men of good-will."
The shepherds hasten to find the Word that has
been announced to them. They proclaim it to
others, and all that hear are filled with admiration.
Mysteries such as these are signs of Divine power,
not of human weakness. They are as the gold and
silver vessels, from which, on account of the

8—2

n6 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

solemnity, even the poor are served at our Lord's
Sacred Table.

The wise man says, " Consider diligently the things
set before thee."1 I may truly claim to myself the
time and place of this Nativity, the weakness of
His infantine body, the tears and cries of this sweet
Little One, as well as the poverty and vigils of the
shepherds to whom our Saviour's Nativity was first
announced. These circumstances are truly mine ;
for me they were planned, before me they have
been placed, and they are offered to me for my
spiritual food, for my contemplation.

Christ was born in winter. He was born in the
night. And are we to believe that His coming into
the world in such an inclement season and in the
darkness of night are mere casual events, matters
simply fortuitous ? From Whom come winter and
summer, day and night ? Other children that as
yet have hardly begun to live do not choose the
time of their birth ; they have not the use of reason,
nor liberty of choice, nor faculty of deliberation.
But Christ, though man, was nevertheless God.
He was in the beginning with God. He was God,
the same of Whom He is the Power and the Wisdom,
for He is " the Power and the Wisdom of God."
Therefore, the Son of God, in Whose power it re
mained to do whatever He willed, when about to be
born, chose His own time, and chose, too, what was
most specially burdensome to a little child and to
the son of a poor mother who had hardly sufficient
linen wherewith to swathe Him and no cradle
wherein to place Him. And though so great was
1 Prov. xxiii. i.

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 117

His necessity, and He God, we hear no mention
of a rich and warm coverlet for His Divine and
royal members. The first Adam was clothed in a
tunic of skins ; the second Adam was swathed in
rags. Such things are not according to the judg
ment of this world. Either Christ is deceived, or
the world errs. But that the Divine Wisdom could
be deceived is impossible. Justly, therefore, is the
prudence of the flesh an enemy of God ; for the
prudence of the flesh is death, and the prudence of
the world is folly. What follows ? Christ, Who
could not be deceived, chose what was painful and
troublesome ; therefore it is the best, the most
profitable choice, that which is to be preferred to
all others, and whoever teaches or persuades to the
contrary is to be avoided as a tempter and deceiver.

Our Blessed Lord willed to be born in the obscurity
of night. Where are they who so shamelessly and
studiously display themselves and their actions in
the blaze of day ? Christ chose what He judged to
be most salutary ; they choose what He rejected.
Which of the two is the more prudent choice ?
Whose judgment the more just ? Whose sentence
the more reasonable ?

Christ is born in a stable, and lies in a manger.
Yet is He not the same that said, " The earth is
mine and the fullness thereof " ? Why, then, need
He choose a stable ? Plainly that He might reprove
the glory of the world, that He might condemn its
empty pride. The Infant Jesus is silent. He does
not extol Himself ; He does not proclaim His own
power and greatness, and behold, an angel announces
His birth, a multitude of the heavenly host praise

n8 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

and glorify the new-born King. You that would
follow Christ do in like manner imitate His example.
Hide the gifts and graces you have received. Love
to be unknown. Let the mouths of others praise
you, but keep your own lips closed.
I His tongue has not spoken, and, behold, every
where He is proclaimed, preached, made known.
These infantine members will not be silent ; they have
another kind of language : in all of them the judg
ment of the world is reproved, subverted, and set
at naught. What man with intelligence, being free
to choose, would not prefer a full-grown, robust
body rather than that of an infant ? O Divine
Wisdom ! Thou art manifested by Thy preference
for what was hidden and abject. O truly Incarnate
Wisdom, veiled in the flesh ! This is nevertheless
what was long ago prophesied by Isaias : ' The
child will know how to refuse evil and choose good."
The pleasures of the body are the evil which He
refuses ; affliction is the good He selects. And
assuredly, He that makes His choice is a wise Child, a
wise Infant. He is the eternal Word of God, for the
Word was made flesh — infirm flesh, tender flesh,
the feeble, helpless flesh of an Infant, incapable of
its own nature of any good work, feeling a repug
nance to labour and hardships. Truly the Word was
made flesh, and in flesh dwelt amongst us.

When in the beginning the Word was with God,
He dwelt in light inaccessible, and there was none
that could bear that light. For who hath known
the mind of the Lord, or who hath been His coun
sellor ? The carnal man of His own nature perceives
not those things which are of the Spirit of God ; but

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 119

now he can perceive them though still carnal, for
the Word was made flesh. Since man, on account
of the flesh, could understand nothing but what was
of the flesh, behold, the Word was made flesh that
man might be able even by the flesh to hear and
understand the things of the Spirit. O man, behold
that wisdom which was heretofore hidden is shown
forth to you ! It is now drawn forth from its hiding-
place, and is laid open to you, and it penetrates into
the very perceptions of your nature.

I have already said that He preaches to you even
in His Infancy, and says : " Fly from pleasure, for
death follows swiftly when sensual pleasure enters.
Do penance, for the kingdom of God is at hand." The
Stable preaches this penance to us, the Manger pro
claims it to us ; this is the language which His Infant
members speak ; this is the Gospel He announces
by His cries and tears. Christ weeps, but not as
the rest of children — that is, not for the same cause.
In other children it is from the suffering inflicted on
their senses, in Christ the affections were the source
of His sufferings. They suffer but do not act, for
they have no power as yet to use their will. They
weep from passion, Christ from compassion. They
weep under the heavy yoke laid upon every child
of Adam ; Christ deplores the sins of the children of
Adam, and that for which He now sheds streams of
tears He will afterwards pour out torrents of blood.

O hardness of my stony heart ! Would that as
our Lord has been made flesh, so He would make
my heart a heart of flesh. It is what He promised
by His prophet Ezechiel. " I will take away the
stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a

120 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

heart of flesh."1 The tears of Christ fill me with
shame and sorrow. I was taking my pastime with
out in the streets, and in the secrecy of the King's
chamber the sentence of death was passed upon me.
His only-begotten Son heard this judgment, and,
laying aside His royal diadem, He went forth,
sprinkled ashes upon His head, clothed Himself in
sackcloth, bared His feet, and mourned and wept
over the condemnation of His poor slave. I see Him
suddenly go forth. I am amazed at the strangeness
of the spectacle. I demand, and am told, the cause.
What course am I to take ? Shall I still indulge
myself and deride His tears ? Yea, if I am mad,
if I am wanting in mind, I shall fail to follow Him,
I shall not weep with Him that weeps. Behold,
whence comes my shame, whence is my sorrow,
whence my fear ? From the consideration of the
remedy I may estimate the gravity of the danger.
I knew it not. I thought my self in health, and lo !
the Son of the Virgin is sent, the Son of the Most
High God is sent, and it is even ordained that He
shall be put to death in order that by the balsam of
His precious Blood my wounds may be healed.

Understand, O man, the grievousness of those
wounds for the healing of which it was necessary
that Christ our Lord should be wounded. Had they
not been wounds unto death, and to eternal death,
the Son of God would never have died for their
remedy. We have indeed reason to blush and be
confounded at our negligence in respect to the
Passion of Christ, beholding as we do so much
compassion shown to us by such infinite Majesty.
1 Ezech. xi. 19.

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 121

The Son of God compassionates man, and weeps
over him ; man allows Him to do it, and keeps up
incessant laughter.

Thus, by considering the remedy, my sorrow and
my fear are increased. If I carefully observe the
injunctions of my Physician, they will afford me
consolation. For, though I recognize the grievous-
ness of the disease for the cure of which such severe
remedies were needed, from the very fact of their
existence I conjecture that my disease is not in
curable. The wise Physician would not apply such
costly remedies in a hopeless case, for the very
reason that He is a wise Physician — yea, Wisdom
itself. Neither would He apply such remedies to a
case easily curable without them, still less in one
where cure was impossible. This hope in our Divine
Physician's power and goodness excites us to
penance, and enkindles in us the most ardent desire
of virtue. This is the same consolation that the visit
and discourse of the angels gave to the shepherds
in their midnight vigils. Woe to you rich, for you
have your consolation here ; you do not deserve to
have that which is heavenly. How many men noble
according to family rank ; how many of the powerful
and wise of this world, were at that hour stretched
restfully on their soft beds, not one of them being
found worthy to behold the new and glorious light,
to share in the " great joy," to hear the angels sing,
" Glory to God on high " !

This teaches us that those who are not engaged in
some useful labour or employment are not worthy
to be visited by angels, and that labour undertaken
with a pure intention is pleasing to the citizens of

122 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

heaven. Indeed, they have been known to hold
converse, and such happy converse, with the poor
and laborious. Is it not, moreover, God's own law
that man should earn his support by his own labour
and exertions ?

Let me, then, earnestly beseech you to consider
attentively how much God has done for your
instruction and salvation, that a " word so living
and efficacious " may not be found fruitless in you.
It is a word " faithful and worthy of all acceptance";
it is an efficacious word, no mere verbal expression.

I, who have been speaking to you, am but a
miserable man, yet do you suppose it would be a
small affliction for me if I were to find that my words
had failed to produce any good results in your
hearts ? With how much more justice, then, will
the Lord of all Majesty be indignant if our negligence,
our slowness, our hardness of heart, were to make
void and vain His great and precious labour.

May He Who for our salvation vouchsafed to
clothe Himself in the form of a seivant avert this
evil from us His servants — He Who is the only-
begotten Son of God the Father, God blessed for ever
and ever. Amen.

IV

ON THE SHEPHERDS FINDING OUR LORD

OBSERVE how great is this day's solemnity, for
which the day itself is too short and the breadth
of the whole earth is too circumscribed. This day
encroaches on the night, it anticipates the natural

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 123

dawn. It fills heaven and earth with its brightness.
It fills heaven before it fills the earth. For the night
was made light as the day, when in the bitter mid
night a new light from heaven shone around the
shepherds. And that we might know in what place
the joys of this solemnity began to be celebrated,
and that it had already been a feast for the angels,
immediately there was present a multitude of the
heavenly host, sounding forth the Divine praises ;
and they proclaimed that it should be a day of joy
for the people also.

For this reason this night is considered solemn
beyond all others, and is spent in psalms and hymns
and spiritual canticles. And while we thus keep
vigil, we may undoubtedly believe that the heavenly
princes unite still in our canticles, and even anticipate
our psalmody.

See how many altars glitter to-day with gold and
jewels ! Behold how the walls of churches are
adorned with costly hangings ! Think you, then,
that the angels will turn in preference towards these
things and depart from men in poverty ? If so,
why did they choose to appear to the shepherds
rather than to the kings of the earth and the priests
of the Temple ? Why did this same Saviour, to
Whom belong the gold and the silver, consecrate
holy poverty in His own person ? It cannot be
without some special mysterious reason that the
Saviour of the world is wrapped in swaddling-clothes
and laid in a manger. Thy swaddling-clothes, O
Lord Jesus, are given as a sign of Thee ; but they
are a sign that shall be contradicted by many
even to this day, " for many are called, but few

i24 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

are chosen " ; therefore few are signed with the sign
of salvation.

Here I recognize and acknowledge in all truth
the " great High Priest Jesus, covered with filthy
garments 'a in His Passion, while He contended
with the devil. I speak here to those who are
versed in the Scriptures, and to whom the pro
phetical vision of Zachary is not unknown. There
we find our Head exalted above our enemies from
the very fact that His vesture is changed. Yes, He
has put on the stole of beauty, and clothed Himself
with light as with a garment. He has given us an
example that we also should do as He has done.
When the members, following their Head on High,
shall form but one body, then they will sing in one
spirit : " Thou hast cut my sackcloth and hast com
passed me with gladness/'2

The angel said : " You will find the Infant wrapped
in' swaddling-clothes and laid in a manger." And
a little later the Evangelist goes on to say : " They
came in haste, and they found Mary and Joseph, and
the Infant lying in the manger."

How is it that the angel mentions only the
Infant, since that was not all that the shepherds
were to find ? Is he recommending humility in the
Person of the Sacred Infant ? If so, why humility
specially ? Perhaps because his fellow-angels fell
by pride, while by humility he stood firm. Or it
may be that humility is thus proclaimed to be a
heavenly virtue, because it is that most fittingly
exercised towards the Divine Majesty. Humility,
however, can never be found alone. It cannot
1 Zach. iii. 1-5. 2 Ps. xxix. 12.

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 125

exist as a single virtue, for God gives His grace to
the humble. Wherefore the shepherds found Mary
and Joseph with the Infant laid in the manger.
As humility is the virtue specially exemplified in the
infancy of our Saviour, so chastity appears in the
Blessed Virgin, and justice is suitably pointed out
by the just man Joseph, so named in the Gospel.

We all know that continence and purity are to be
observed in regard to the flesh. Justice is the virtue
by which we render to everyone what is his due, and
it is necessary in our dealings with others. Humility
reconciles us with God, makes us subject to Him, and
renders us well pleasing in His sight, as the Blessed
Virgin testifies. " He has had regard to the humility
of his handmaid." So that by impurity we sin
against ourselves ; by injustice against our neigh
bour ; by pride and self-exaltation against God.
The unchaste man dishonours himself ; the unjust
man is burdensome to his neighbour ; the proud
man, as far as in him lies, dishonours God. God
has said : " I will not give my glory to another."
The proud soul says : " As you will not give it to
me, I will usurp it." Consequently such a one
cannot relish the distribution by the angel, of
giving " glory to God, and on earth peace to men
of good-will." The proud man does not worship
God, but impiously and faithlessly lifts himself up
against Him. What is piety but the worship of
God ? And who pays true homage to God but the
man that is willingly subject to Him ? As the eyes
of the servant are on the hands of his master, so are
the eyes of the just man ever directed towards the
Lord his God.

126 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

Therefore, let Mary and Joseph and the Infant
be always found in us, that we may live soberly
and justly and piously in this world. For it is for
this purpose that the grace of God our Saviour hath
appeared instructing us ; and it is by the exercise
of the virtues we have mentioned that His glory
will appear. The Apostle says : " The grace of God
hath appeared to all men, instructing us that, denying
impiety and worldly desires, we may live soberly and
justly and piously in this world, expecting the blessed
hope and coming of the glory of the great God.

In the Little One there hath appeared grace for
our instruction, because He will yet be great, as the
angel Gabriel foretold. And they whom He, as a
Little One, shall have instructed in humility and
meekness of heart, He will afterwards exalt and
glorify, when He shall come as great and glorious,
Jesus Christ our Lord for ever. Amen.

ON THE WORDS " BLESSED BE THE GOD AND
FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST"

" Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all consolations,
who comforts us in all our tribulations."1

BLESSED be He Who, in the exceeding charity
wherewith He has loved us, has sent His beloved
Son, in Whom He is well pleased ; by Whom, being
reconciled, we have peace with God ; and Who is at
1 2 Cor. i. 3, 4.

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 127

once our Mediator and the pledge of our reconcilia
tion. Under so powerful a Mediator there is no
ground for doubt ; under so merciful a Protector
we have no cause for fear. But, you will say, what
sort of a Mediator is He Who is born in a stable,
laid in a manger, and wrapped in swaddling-clothes
as other children, Who weeps as other children, and
lies before us subject to all the needs of infancy ? I
answer, He is a Mediator great in all things that
appertain to our peace. He seeks that peace not
perfunctorily or carelessly, but sincerely and effica
ciously.

An Infant He truly is, but the Word — an Infant
whose very childhood speaks more powerfully than
the most eloquent discourse. " Be comforted, be.
comforted, my people, saith the Lord your God/'1
saith our Emmanuel, our God with us. The stable
proclaims it, the manger proclaims it, His tears and
His swathing-bands proclaim it. The stable declares
that He is preparing to cure the man that fell among
robbers ; His manger tells us that He will minister
food to him that was compared to beasts, and made
like unto them. His tears and His swaddling-
clothes cry out that He will wash and cleanse man's
wounds. Christ needed not any of these things for
Himself. All were for His elect. ' They will
reverence My Son," says the Father of mercies.
Yes, they will indeed reverence Him ; but who are
they who will render this homage ? Not the Jews,
to whom He was sent, but the elect, for whose sake
He was sent. We will reverence Him in His manger,
we will reverence Him on His cross, we will reverence
1 Isa. xl. i.

128 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

Him in His sepulchre. We will receive devoutly
Him Who is a feeble Infant for our sakes, Who was
pallid in death for us, and Who was buried for us.
With the Magi we will devoutly adore Him, with
holy Simeon we will embrace the Infant Saviour, and
so we shall " receive thy mercy, O God, in the midst
of thy temple." Because this is He of Whom we
read, " The mercy of the Lord is from eternity," for
who is co-eternal with the Father unless the Son
and the Holy Ghost ? And these Divine Persons are
not so much merciful as mercy itself. The Father
is mercy, and the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are
but one mercy, as they are one Essence, one Wisdom,
one Deity, one Majesty.

But as God the Father is called the Father of
Mercies, who does not see that He thus points out
His Son by an appropriate name ? Justly is He
called the Father of Mercies, whose property it is to
have mercy and to spare.

But some may object : How can it be His property
to have mercy, since " his judgments are a great
deep " ? x It is not said that His ways are mercy only,
but that they are mercy and truth.2 He is not less
just than merciful, and He is praised for mercy and
judgment. It is true He will have mercy on whom
He will have mercy, and whom He wills He will
harden. Yet since His property is to have mercy,
He draws from Himself the matter and cause for
mercy ; the cause for judgment He finds in us, for
mercy seems far nearer to His heart than condem
nation. " Is it my will," he says, " that a sinner
should die, and not rather that he should be con-
1 Ps. xxxv. 7. 2 Ps. xxiv. 10.

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 129

verted and live ?" Justly, therefore, He is called
the Father, not of judgment, but of mercy. And
this not only because a father is readier to have
mercy than to show indignation, but also because
as a Father He has compassion on the children that
fear Him, and because to have compassion is a
property inherent in Him, for He is the cause and
source of mercy.

But if on this account God is the Father of mercy,
why is He called the Father of met ties ? God once
said : " These two things have I heard, that power
belongeth to God, and mercy to thee, O Lord."1
Moreover, the Apostle commends to us this same
mercy as manifold, calling God the Father not of
one mercy, but of " mercies " ; not of one consolation,
but of " all consolation " ; Who comforts us not in
this tribulation or that, but in all our tribulations.
The mercies of the Lord are many, says the Prophet.
They are many ; for many are the tribulations of the
just, and out of them all the Lord will deliver them.
The Son of God is One, the Word of God is one ; but
our misery is manifold, and demands not only great
mercy, but a multitude of mercies.

Perhaps, on account of the two substances, spirit
and matter, which make up our human nature, and
each of which is subject to many troubles, man's
misery may be said to be multiplied, as well in body
as in soul. In truth, our tribulations, both of body
and soul, are multiplied, but from the necessities
of both we are delivered by Him Who saves the
whole man. Since, then, the One and Only Son of
God is now come for the salvation of our souls — that
1 Ps. ixi. 12.

I3o SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

is, to take away the sins of the world — and His second
coming will be to raise up our bodies and make them
conformable to the body of His glory, it is not sur
prising if we confess in Him this twofold mercy and
bless Him as Father of mercies.

When the Son of God assumed our nature, and
took both a body and a soul, He said not once only,
" Be comforted," but, as you saw above, the con
solation is repeated : " Be comforted, be comforted,
O my people, saith the Lord your God."1 This
repetition is to assure us that He Who disdained
not to receive both a body and a soul will work out
the salvation of both in us. But as He will not
save all indiscriminately, in whom will He effect
this salvation ? In " his people " certainly, for it
is said, " he will save his people from their sins."
Likewise, hereafter, He will not make all bodies like
to the " body of his glory," but only the bodies of
the humble. He will comfort His people. He will
save a humble people ; but the proud He will bring
low.

j* Would you know who are His people ? 'To
thee," says the man according to God's own heart —
" to thee the poor man is left." Jesus Himself says
in the Gospel, " Woe to you rich, for you have now
your consolation." God grant, dearly beloved, that
we may always be found among God's people, to
whom He does not say " Woe " — the people whose
comforter is the Lord their God.

Who will care to offer consolation to those who
already abound in worldly comforts ? The silent
Infancy of Christ will not console the talkative ;
1 Isa. xl. i.

OUR LORD'S NATIVITY 131

the tears of Christ will be no comfort to one given
up to worldly enjoyments ; the swaddling-clothes of
Christ will offer no attraction to those who are
clad in soft garments ; the stable and the crib
will only repel the lovers of the first places in the
synagogues.

This universal consolation of Christ will, perchance,
be found to descend preferably upon those who
await their Lord in peaceful silence ; on those who
are in affliction ; on those who are poor and detached
from the world. Let such as these hear how the
very angels console them. It is to these, not to
others, that the holy angels whisper consolation.
It is to the shepherds, watching and keeping the
night watches over their flocks, that the joy of the
new light is announced. To them it is revealed
that the Saviour is born. Yes, to the poor, to the
hard-working, not to the rich, who have their con
solation here below. It is to the poor that the light
of a glorious day has shone forth amid their vigils,
and the night shall be light as the day — yea, it is
converted info day. " This day," says the angel,
not this night, " is born to you a Saviour/' The
night is truly past, the day is at hand — a day of days,
the day of the salvation of our God, Jesus Christ
our Lord, Who is God blessed above all for ever
more. Amen.

9—2

V
ON THE CIRCUMCISION

ON THE CIRCUMCISION

" After eight days were accomplished that the child
should be circumcised, his name was called Jesus."1

IN these few words we have heard the great sacra
ment of piety set forth. We have heard the abbre
viated Word which the Lord has revealed upon the
earth. For He was " abbreviated " in taking flesh,
and is still further " abbreviated " in receiving the
circumcision of the flesh. In clothing Himself with
human nature, the Son of God was made a little
lower than the angels ; but now that He does not
disdain to submit to the remedy of human corrup
tion, He is clearly made much lower than they.
Here is a great teaching of faith, a manifest example
of humility.

To what end could circumcision serve Him, Who
had neither contracted sin nor committed it ? That
He had not committed sin His age is a proof ; that
He had not contracted it is manifest from the
Divinity of His Father and the integrity of His
Mother. He is the High Priest Who " neither for
father nor mother shall be defiled ";2 and these
words of Scripture are rather a prophecy of Him
than a command of the law. His Father is from
eternity, and He Himself is God, upon Whom no
1 St. Luke ii. 21. 2 Lev. xxi. n.

136 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

sin can fall. His Mother is of time, but she is a
Virgin ; and incorruption could not yield corrup
tion.

Notwithstanding all this, the Child, the Lamb
without spot, is circumcised. Though He stood in
no need of circumcision, He willed to submit to that
humiliating ceremony. Though He was without
wounds, He shrank not from binding up our wounds.
This is not the way the impious act ; it is not thus
with the perversity of human pride. We glory
in our wounds, and blush to have them bound up
and healed ; while He Whom no man can convince
of sin is the remedy of sin, and, without any neces
sity on His own part, receives both its shame and
its punishment, and submits to the sacrificial knife.
We, on the contrary, though shameless in sins,
blush to do penance for them, and this is the excess
of folly. It is a misery to be prone to sins ; it is a
greater one to be ashamed of their remedy. He
that " did no sin " disdained not to be reputed a
sinner ; we are willing to be sinners, but not to be
reputed as such.

In this mystery we see Him Who is in health
taking the medicine intended for the sick, submitting
to the remedy which they refuse.

" And after eight days were accomplished that the
child should be circumcised, his name was called
Jesus."

O great and wonderful sacrament ! The Child
was circumcised and called Jesus. What connec
tion does the Evangelist wish to show between these
two facts ? Circumcision would seem to belong
more properly to the saved than to the Saviour. It

ON THE CIRCUMCISION 137

was more befitting Him Who was the great High
Priest to perform the rite to others than to submit
to it Himself. He allowed it to be administered to
Him in order to teach us that He is the Mediator
between God and man, Who by His Nativity united
His Divinity to our human nature — what is highest
to what is lowliest.

He was born of a woman, but of a woman in
whom the flower of virginity flourished together
with the fruit of fecundity. He was wrapped in
swaddling-clothes, but He was honoured with the
praises of the angelic host. He lay in an obscure
manger, but a radiant star from heaven pointed
Him out. In like manner, by undergoing the rite
of circumcision, He gave further proof of His human
nature, but the adorable name of Jesus which He
then received is above every other name, and
declares the glory of His majesty. He was circum
cised as a true son of Abraham ; as Son of God He
is called Jesus. This my Jesus bears not, as others
do, an empty name ; it is not in Him a shadow of
greatness, but the reality. Heaven assigned it to
Him, for the Evangelist testifies that the angel gave
it to Him. And mark the depth of the mystery.
It was after His birth that He was called by men
Jesus, the name which had been given Him by the
angel before His birth. For He is truly the Saviour
of both angels and men ; of men by His Incarnation,
of angels from the beginning of creation. Before
His birth the angels, who possessed the secrets of
God, were allowed to know and utter the sacred
name of salvation, but till this day of the Circum
cision we knew it not. On this day it was first given

138 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

me to pronounce confidently the blessed name of
my Jesus, the name of my eternal salvation. Can
we now doubt or hesitate to proclaim that He Who
has condescended to dwell amongst us will work
out the salvation of all those who are His own ?

Circumcision is necessary for us also, in order
that we may receive this name of salvation — a
circumcision not according to the letter, but one in
spirit and in truth. After the fall of our first
parents human nature was wholly infected with the
venom of sin. While the human race was yet, as
it were, in infancy as to faith and love, man received
a commandment suited to his imperfect condition.
When he had grown to the age of the more perfect
man he received the command of baptism, by which
the entire man is circumcised. In like manner
our Saviour was circumcised in His infancy, and, in
His perfect manhood, was pleased to be crucified
and to endure a penalty which caused every member
of His body and every power of His soul to suffer.
What, then, is our moral circumcision, if not what
the Apostle recommends, " Having food and
raiment, with these we are content "? x The cir
cumcision of the religious life is voluntary poverty,
the labours of penance, and the observance of regular
discipline.

We should, therefore, admit nothing into the soul
which we fear would not be acceptable to Him
Whose Name is a name of salvation.
1 i Tim. vi. 8.

VI

ON THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS

AND OTHER SCRIPTURAL

TITLES OF OUR LORD

ON THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS AND OTHER
SCRIPTURAL TITLES OF OUR LORD1 •

" After eight days were accomplished that the child
should be circumcised, his name was called Jesus."2

THE eighth day is always the crowning day of the
Church's greater festivals, and completes the cele
bration of the principal solemnities of the year. It
is, as it were, linked with the first or opening day
of the octave, just as our Lord in His Sermon on the
Mount connected the eighth beatitude with the
first by the promise of the kingdom of heaven.

When the Child that is born to us was circumcised
He was called the Saviour, for it was then that He
began the work of our salvation by shedding His
precious blood for us. No Christian can now ask
why Christ willed to be circumcised. For us He
was born, for us He was circumcised, for us He
suffered and died. Nothing of all this was for
Himself, but all for His elect. He was not circum
cised for His own sins, but for ours. The name He
was called by the angel before His birth was His
name from all eternity. This name of Saviour was
His natural right ; it was born with Him, not imposed

1 This sermon hasjbeen combined with one on the same
subject, on Cant. i. 2.
3 St.jLuke^ii. 21.

141

I42 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

by either angel or man. The illustrious Prophet
Isaias, predicting the birth of this Divine Child,
calls Him by many great titles, but he seems to
have been silent on this one name which the angel
foretold, and to which the Evangelist bears testimony.
Isaias, like Abraham, exulted that he might see
Christ's day ; he, too, saw it and was glad. Re
joicing and praising God, he says : " A child is born
to us, a son is given to us, and the government
is upon his shoulder : and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father
of the world to come, the Prince of Peace."1 These
are indeed great names, but where is the name
which is above all names, the name of Jesus at which
every knee should bow ? Perhaps we may find
that one name expressed, or poured out in all, for
it is the same that was spoken of by the Spouse
in the canticle of love, " Thy name is as oil poured
out." Therefore, from and in all these names and
titles we have but the one name of Jesus. His
office of Saviour includes all. If one had been
wanting, He could neither have been called nor
have been the Saviour.

Has not each one of us found by experience that
He has been Wonderful in the conversion and change
of our wills ? For is it not the beginning of salvation
when we loathe what we formerly loved, grieve over
what we once delighted in, embrace what we had
feared, follow after that which we had fled from,
desire what we had contemned ? He that has
wrought such wonders in us is assuredly Wonderful.

Jesus shows Himself to be the Counsellor by direct-
1 Isa. ix. 6.

ON THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS 143

ing us in the choice of penance and of a well-ordered
life, lest our zeal be without knowledge and our good
will without prudence.

It was likewise necessary that we should ex
perience Him to be God the Mighty. God in the
remission of our past sins, for none but God can
forgive sin, and Mighty when enabling us to fight
victoriously those sinful passions which are ever
warring in us, and which are liable to render our
last state worse than the first.

Does anything still seem wanting to the office of
Saviour ? Yea, truly, the chief thing would be
lacking were He not also the Father of the world
to come, so that we who are engendered in this
world unto death may by Him be raised up to a
glorious immortality.

A further title and quality is required — that of
the Prince of Peace Who has reconciled us to His
Father, to Whom He is to give back the kingdom.
Otherwise, as children of perdition, we might have
risen again to punishment instead of reward.

The government, which is upon His shoulder,
shall be magnified by the number of the saved, that
He may be truly called the Saviour ; that there may
be no end of peace ; and that we may know our
salvation to be a true salvation which leaves no fear
of failure.

0 blessed Name ! O sacred Oil ! how widely hast
thou been spread, how profusely poured out !
Whence did this oil come ? It came from heaven to
Judea, and thence was diffused over the whole
earth, to its uttermost bounds. The Church cries
out, " Thy name is oil poured out." Poured out,

I44 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

'indeed, to overflowing, since it is spread abroad,
not only over the heavens and earth, but its influence
reaches even to hell ; so that " in the name of Jesus
every knee shall bow, of those that are in heaven,
on earth, and under the earth ; and every tongue
shall confess ia and say, " Thy name is as oil
poured out." Behold the name of Christ and the
name of Jesus were both communicated to the
angels and poured out upon men. I am, then, made
a participator in this salutary and life-giving
name. I am a shareholder in His inheritance.
I am a Christian. I am a brother of Christ. If
a brother, then an heir also of God and co-heir with
Christ.

And what wonder that the name of the Divine
Spouse is poured out ? In His passion He emptied
Himself, taking the form of a servant. By this
pouring out the plenitude of His divinity is diffused
or spread abroad upon the earth, and of His pleni
tude all shall receive ; and when refreshed with the
life-giving perfume of this mystic oil they will
exclaim, " Thy name is as oil poured out."

But why is this name compared to oil ? There
is undoubtedly a similitude between the name of
the Spouse and oil, and not without reason has the
Holy Ghost drawn a comparison between them.
Oil gives light, nourishes and strengthens the body,
and alleviates pain. Hence it is light, food, and
medicine. All these qualities may be recognized
in the holy name of Jesus. It shines and gives
light when preached, it feeds and strengthens by
its remembrance, it alleviates sorrow and anoints
1 Phil. ii. io.

ON THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS 145

the wounds of the soul by its invocation. Let us
consider these three qualities singly.

How was it that the light of faith shone forth so
suddenly over the whole earth, if not by the preaching
of the blessed name of Jesus ? Is it not by the light
of this name that God has called us " into his
marvellous light,"1 so that, being enlightened by it,
we shall see light as the Apostle declares, " For you
were heretofore darkness, but now light in the
Lord."2 The Apostle was commanded to carry this
name before kings and nations, and the children of
Israel. He carried it as a brilliant torch, and by it
enlightened the nations sitting in darkness, so that
he could exclaim : " The night is past, and the day
is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of
darkness, and put 'on the armour of light. Let us
walk honestly as in the day."3 He lifted the light
on high, and announced everywhere the name of
Jesus and Him crucified. How brilliantly, too, did
this light shine forth and attract the gaze of all
when from the mouth of Peter the sacred name
gave strength to the feet of the lame man at the
Beautiful Gate of the Temple ! Was he not diffusing
this light when he said to this man, " In the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth arise and walk "? 4
And to how many did he not restore sight, and
health, and faith, by the power of this same name.

But the name of Jesus is not only light, it is
likewise food. Are you not strengthened and con
soled as often as you call it to mind ? There is no
thought that so replenishes and fills the soul with
sweetness and spiritual joy ; no exercise so effica-

1 i Pet. ii. 9. 2 Eph. v. 8. 3 Rom. xiii. 12. 4 Acts iii. 6.

IO

146 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

ciously recruits and refreshes the wearied spirit,
and even the senses ; so repairs the inward strength,
gives vigour to virtue, and cherishes pure affections,
as the frequent invocation of the name of Jesus.
All food of the soul is unsavoury to me if this oil be
not poured upon it ; it is insipid to me if not seasoned
with this name. If you write, it does not relish
if I read not there the name of Jesus. If you
dispute or instruct, it does not satisfy me if I hear
not the sweet sound of the name of Jesus. Jesus is
honey to the mouth, music to the ear, jubilee to
the heart.

The name of Jesus is, moreover, a sovereign
medicine. If there be anyone overwhelmed with
sorrow, let Jesus come into his heart, and thence
to his lips, and behold, at the rising light of this
sacred name all darkness and clouds will be dis
persed, peace and joy will return, and the serenity
of his mind will be restored. If there be anyone
stained with crime, and driven headlong by despair
to the pit of destruction, let him call upon this
life-giving name, and he will speedily be restored
to hope and salvation. Is there anyone amongst
you in hardness of heart, in sloth, or tepidity, in
bitterness of mind, if he will but invoke the name
of Jesus his heart will be softened, and tears of
contrition will flow gently and abundantly. In
dangers and distress, in fears and anxieties, let him
call on this name of power, and his confidence will
return, his peace of mind will be restored. Doubts
and embarrassments will be dispelled and give
place to certainty. There is no ill of life, no adver
sity or misfortune, in which this adorable name

ON THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS 147

will not bring help and fortitude. It is a remedy
whose virtue our dear Saviour invites us to test.
" Call upon me in the day of trouble : I will deliver j j
thee, and thou shalt glorify me."1

Nothing so efficaciously bridles anger and subdues

the fire of all unruly passions as this holy name.

When I pronounce the name of Jesus, I represent to
myself a man meek and humble of heart, benevolent, '
chaste, merciful, a man endowed with all sanctity,
all graces, all virtues, and I call to mind that this
man is Divine, is the Almighty God, Who heals me
by His example and strengthens me by His power., ,
All manner of good things come to my mind when
the sacred name of Jesus sounds in my ear. I
will, therefore, make to myself a sweet and sovereign
ointment from the virtues of His humanity and the
Omnipotence of His Divinity. It shall be to me a
healing balsam, the like to which no physician was

_- ,-ever able to compound* And this electuary, my
soul, thou hast laid up in the little vessel of the
name of Jesus.

Let, then, this name of power be ever in my
heart, that all my thoughts, desires, and actions
may be directed by Jesus and unto Jesus. To this
He Himself urges me : " Place me as a seal upon thy
heart, as a seal upon thy arm."
1 Ps. xlix. 15.

10—2

VII
ON THE EPIPHANY

"THE GOODNESS AND KINDNESS OF OUR
SAVIOUR HATH APPEARED"

" The goodness and kindness of God our Saviour hath
appeared."1

THANKS be to God, through Whose mercy in this
our pilgrimage, in this our banishment, in this our
state of misery, unto us consolation also has greatly
abounded. For this reason we have taken care
often to admonish you that this our distance from
our true country should not be long absent from
our mind, and that we should be found ever hastening
onwards to our heavenly inheritance. He that
knows not desolation cannot appreciate consolation,
and whosoever is ignorant that consolation is neces
sary shows plainly that he is not in God's favour.

Hence it is that men engrossed in the turmoil
of worldly pursuits are unconscious of their misery,
and neglect to hope for mercy. But to you it may
be fitly said, " Taste and see that the Lord is
sweet ";2 to you the same Prophet says, " He will
show forth to his people the power of his works."3

Therefore He willed to descend upon the earth, not
only to be better known thereon, not merely to be
born for us, but also to be acknowledged as our
Saviour. This recognition is celebrated and pro-

1 Titus iii. 4. 2 Ps. xxxiii. 9. 3 Ps. ex. 6.

152 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

claimed in to-day's solemnity, the Epiphany or day
of manifestation.

To-day the Magi came from the East, seeking the
risen Sun of justice, Him of Whom we read, " Behold
a man, the Orient is his name."1 To-day the Magi
adored the new-born Child of the Virgin, following the
guidance of the newly risen star. And have we not
here a great cause for consolation ? God spoke. They
answered, not by their words, but by their works.

What are you doing, O Magi ? Do you adore a
little Babe, in a wretched hovel, wrapped in miserable
rags ? Can this Child be truly God ? God is in
His holy Temple. God's seat is in the highest
heaven, and do you seek Him in a poor stable, in the
lap of a maiden-Mother ? What are you doing ?
Do you offer Him gold ? Is He, then, a King ? If
so, where is His palace ? where His throne ? where
the retainers of His regal court ? Is a stable His
palace ? a manger His throne ? Are Mary and
Joseph the sole occupants of His audience-chamber ?
Are you become foolish, O Wise Men, that you can
adore a Child, despicable alike for His age and for
the poverty of His surroundings ? Yes, these Wise
Men have become fools that they may be wise.
They are foretaught by the Holy Spirit, who after
wards breathed on the Apostle, when be said : " If
any man among you seem to be wise, ... let him
become a fool that he may be wise." Because,
since the world could not through wisdom know
God in His wisdom, it pleases God through the
foolishness of preaching, as St. Paul calls it, to save
those who believe.

1 Zach. vi. 12.

ON THE EPIPHANY 153

Was it not to be feared that these men, beholding
such signs of poverty, would be scandalized and
believe themselves deluded ? They expect to find
the King in the royal city, but they are directed to
little Bethlehem, " the least among the thousands
of Juda." They enter the stable, they find the
Babe in swaddling-clothes. The repulsiveness of
the place deters them not, the swathing-bands offend
them not, the Child at His Mother's breast shocks
not their faith ; they fall down and worship Him as
their King, they adore Him as their God. And
immediately, we may believe, He Who had led them
thither Himself instructs them. He Who had
spoken outwardly by the star now teaches them
secretly in their hearts. This day is therefore made
doubly glorious and sacred by the new manifestation
of our Lord and by the devout adoration of the
Magi.

But this is not the only manifestation celebrated
on this day ; there is a second, which, as we have
learnt from our fathers in the faith, occurred on this
same day, though after an interval of several years.

When our Blessed Lord, Who according to His
Divinity " is always the selfsame and his years
cannot fail," had completed the thirtieth year of
His mortal life, He came amongst the crowds of the
people to be baptized by John. He came as one
of them, as a sinner, though He was without sin.
Who would then have believed Him to be the Son
of God ? Who would have thought Him the Lord
of Majesty ? Thou art indeed exceedingly
humbled, O Lord. Thou art hidden amongst the
lowest of the people, but Thou canst not hide

154 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

Thyself from John, from him who, yet unborn,
recognized Thee in Thy Mother's womb. Then his
prophetic eye pierced through the double conceal
ment ; but as he was unable to cry out to the people,
he made known his great joy to his mother. What
will he now do ? The Evangelist tells us. " John
saw Jesus coming to him, and he saith : Behold the
Lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sin
of the world." The true Lamb, the truly humble
One, the truly meek One. Behold ! this is He Who
is to be the purification of our crimes.

Notwithstanding this noble testimony, Jesus
wishes to be baptized by John. John trembles, and
what wonder ? What marvel that he, a mere man,
shudders and dares not touch the sacred head of
his Lord and God, that head adorable to the angels,
venerable to the powers, terrible to the princi
palities ?

0 Lord Jesus, wouldst Thou be baptized ? But
why ? What need hast Thou of baptism ? Do the
healthy need medicine, or do those that are clean
require to be purified ? What has sin to do with
Thee, that baptism should be necessary for Thee ?
Is it for the sin of Thy Father ? But Thy Father is
God, and who does not know that God cannot have
sin ? and Thou art equal to Him, God of God and
Light of Light. Is it for Thy Mother's sin ? But
she is a Virgin conceived without sin, and in Thy
birth she preserved her virginal integrity. What
blemish, then, can be found in the Lamb without
spot ?

" I ought to be baptized by thee," says John,
" and comest thou to me ?" The humility of each

ON THE EPIPHANY 155

is great, but may not be compared. How could
man fail to humble himself before a humble God ?
" Suffer it to be so now," Jesus says, " for so it
behoveth us to fulfil all justice."1 John therefore
consented and obeyed. He baptized the Lamb of
God, and by their contact with our Lord the waters
were cleansed. We were purified, not He ; and the
necessity of our being cleansed was prefigured in the
purifying of the waters.

Lest, however, we should discredit the testimony
of John — for he is a man, and liable to error, a
relative, too, of Him to Whom he bears witness —
a greater testimony is added to that of John — the
Dove descends upon Christ. The dove is a fitting
symbol to point out the Lamb of God. The lamb
and the dove are equally the chosen emblems of
perfect innocence, perfect gentleness, perfect sim
plicity ; both are incapable of inflicting injury or
practising deception.

That no one may suppose the appearance of the
Dove to have been fortuitous, the testimony of God
the Father is also added. ' This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased."2 This is He Who later
said of Himself, " I always do the things that please
him."3

0 Lord Jesus, now at length speak to us, we
entreat Thee. Too long — yea, greatly too long —
Thou hast been silent and remained in obscurity.
Now Thy Eternal Father's public recognition leaves
Thee free to speak. How long shall the Power of
God and the Wisdom of God remain hidden and
unknown among the crowd ? How long, O noble

1 St. Matt. iii. 15. 2 Ibid. 17. 3 St. John viii. 29.

156 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

King, 0 King of Heaven, wilt Thou suffer Thyself
to be called and be reputed the son of a carpenter ?

O humility ! O virtue of Christ ! how terribly dost
Thou confound our pride and vanity ! I have, or,
rather, I seem to myself to possess, some trifling
knowledge, yet I cannot hold my tongue, but must
shamelessly and recklessly thrust myself into notice
only to make a display of what is rather my ignor
ance. I am ever prompt to speak, ready to impart
my supposed knowledge, yet slow to accept infor
mation. Did, then, Christ fear vainglory even after
His long silence and concealment ? Why should
He fear the glory of men Who is the true glory of
the Father ? He feared it not Himself, but for us,
for whom it was very much to be feared, and thus
He already warned and instructed us by His
example what He would afterwards inculcate in
word : " Learn of me, because I am meek and humble
of heart."1

Concerning the infancy of our BJessed Lord the
Gospel gives us some information, but of the years
intervening between it and His public life it tells
us absolutely nothing. Now, however, that His
Heavenly Father has openly pointed Him out, He
can no longer remain concealed.

The third mystery celebrated on this day is the
marriage feast of Cana. As in His first manifesta
tion He willed to appear in the company of His
Blessed Mother, so now at the third we also find
her present. Our Lord had been " invited and his
disciples to the marriage."2 The wine failed. He had
compassion on the confusion of the newly-married
1 St. Matt. xi. 29. 2 St. John ii. 2, 3.

ON THE EPIPHANY 157

couple, and at the prayer of His Mother He vouch
safed to change water into wine. '' This beginning of
says St. John miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee,"1
In His first manifestation He was made known as
truly man in the arms of His Mother ; in the second
as truly Son of God, from the testimony of His
Eternal Father ; in the third He is proved to be truly
God, at Whose command Nature's laws are re
versed. These three mysteries commemorated on
this day are so many proofs to confirm our faith,
so many promises to strengthen our hope, so many
incentives to inflame our love.

II

GO FORTH YE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM

" Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see King Solomon
in the diadem wherewith his mother crowned him."2

OF the three manifestations of our Lord, which all
took place on this day, though not all at one time,
the first is the most wonderful, though the second
and third also greatly deserve our study and con
templation. The change of water into wine is an
amazing miracle ; the testimony of John, the descent
of the Dove, the declaration of the Eternal Father,
fill us with admiration ; but the faith of the Magi
in recognizing Christ under His disguise is indeed
surpassingly wonderful.

By their adoration and their offering of incense
they confess Jesus to be God. By their gold they
1 St. John ii. ii. 2 Cant. iii. n.

158 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

show Him to be King as well as God. By their
myrrh they acknowledge that His death, the sacra
ment of piety, had been revealed to them.

The Magi adore and offer gifts to an Infant in
His Mother's arms. But where, 0 Magi, is the purple
of royalty ? Do you not see the poor rags in which
He is wrapped ? If He is a King, where is His
diadem ? But you do see Him in the diadem
with which His Mother crowned Him — His sacred
body, of which He will say at His Resurrection :
' Thou hast cut my sackcloth, and hast compassed
me with gladness."1

" Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see King
Solomon in the diadem wherewith his mother
crowned him/' Go forth, ye angelic hosts, ye
citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem. Behold your
King, but in our crown, in the diadem wherewith
His Mother hath crowned Him ; in the sacred
humanity He has taken from us. Until now you
have been deprived of these delights ; up to this
time you have not enjoyed this attractive sight.
You have possessed Him in His Majesty, but not
till this day have you seen Him in His humiliation.
" Go forth, then, and see King Solomon."

Yet the angels need not our exhortation. This
is He on Whom they ever desire to look. The more
fully they know His greatness, the more precious
and lovable do they find His lowliness. And though
His abasement is for us a greater source of joy,
because it is for us He was born and to us He was
given, nevertheless they have been beforehand with
us, and have encouraged us to rejoice. The angel
1 Ps. xxix. 12.

ON THE EPIPHANY 159

Gabriel proved this when he announced " a great
joy "l to the shepherds. " And there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly army."

Therefore it is to you, worldly souls, that we must
direct these words " daughters of Sion " ; to you,
weak, delicate souls, daughters, not sons, in whom
there is no fortitude, no manly courage. " Go
forth, daughters of Sion/' Go forth from the
carnal mind to the understanding mind, from the
servitude of the flesh to the liberty of the spirit.
Go forth from your country, your kindred, your
father's house, " and see King Solomon " ; if you
refuse, you may not safely meet Him in judgment.
He is Solomon — that is, peaceful — in His dealings
with us during our exile ; He will be terrible in
judgment ; in His kingdom, as our reward, He will
be our Beloved. In exile He is meek and amiable ;
in judgment just and terrible ; in His kingdom
glorious and wonderful. " Go forth," then, that
you may see Him, for everywhere He is King.
Although His kingdom is not of this world, He is
nevertheless King in this world. When asked by
Pilate, "Art thou a King?"2 He replied: "For
this was I born, and for this came I into this world."
Here, then, He is the regulator of morals ; in judg
ment He will be the discriminator of merits, in His
kingdom the dispenser of rewards.

" Go forth, daughters of Sion, and see King
Solomon in the diadem wherewith his mother hath
crowned him," a crown of poverty, a crown of
misery. Because, as He has been crowned on
earth by His false mother — the Jewish Synagogue —
1 St. Luke ii. 13. 2 St. John xviii. 37.

i6o SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

with a crown of thorns, a crown of suffering, there
fore should He be crowned by His children and
servants with a crown of justice. For when He
shall come to judge with the ancients of the people,
the angels will go forth and gather all scandals out of
His kingdom. Then all the earth shall fight for Him
against the wicked and unwise. But the Father is now
crowning Him with glory, as we read in the psalm,
'' Thou hast crowned him with glory and honour."1

Till then, behold Him, ye daughters of Sion, wearing
the crown wherewith His mother hath crowned Him.
Take up the humble crown of your King, become a
Little One for your sake. Adore His humility, like
the Magi whose faith and devotion are this day
proposed for your imitation. To whom shall we
compare these men ? To whom shall we liken
them ? If we consider the faith of the penitent
thief and the confession of the Centurion, the faith
of the Magi seems to surpass theirs ; inasmuch as
the thief and Centurion had had the testimony of
many miracles, our Lord's fame had been spread
far and wide, He had been acknowledged and
adored by many.

The good thief cried out from his cross, " Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom/'
His faith taught him that it was by His torments
Christ was to enter into His kingdom. The Cen
turion's faith revealed to him the divinity of our
Lord. When he heard Him cry out with a loud
voice in the very act of expiring, he exclaimed,
" Truly this man was the Son of God."

Oh, how wonderfully keen is the eye of faith !
1 Ps. viii. 6.

ON THE EPIPHANY 161

It knows the Son of God hanging on the cross,
pierced with nails ; it recognizes Him even in death,
and here, in Bethlehem, with the Magi, it believes
and confesses Him to be God, though a helpless
Infant in the manger. What the others confessed
by their words the Magi declared by their gifts.
The thief believes Him a King ; the Centurion, both
man and the Son of God ; the Magi acknowledge all
three titles by their gold, their frankincense, and
their myrrh.

I beseech you, therefore, dearly beloved, to draw
profit from the immense charity which the God of
Majesty has shown you ; from the humility which He
accepted ; and from the loving kindness which has
been made apparent to you through Christ's
humility. Let us give thanks to our merciful
Mediator and Redeemer, by Whom the good-will of
God the Father has been made known to us. For
we have now so known His mind that we may truly
say : " We so run not as at an uncertainty."1 For
in truth the Father has given outward expression
to His love for us by sending into this world His
only-begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.

Ill

ON THE GIFTS OF THE WISE MEN

"Behold, there came wise men from the East . . . and
opening their treasures, they offered him gifts."2

WE seem to expect that, as on other feasts, so also
on this day's solemnity, we should have some

1 i Cor. ix. 26. 2 St. Matt. ii. i and n.

II

162 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

explanation of the mystery we commemorate.
There are other days when we may very usefully
speak on sin and vice ; but on festival days, and
especially on the greater festivals, it is preferable
to dwell on what relates to the solemnity, that the
mind may be enlightened and the affections also
may be aroused. For how are we to solemnize what
we are ignorant of, and how shall we know what
preachers have not declared ? Therefore let not
the learned think it irksome if we comply with the
demands of charity, and say a few words to those less
instructed.

This day's festival, then, takes its name from the
apparition of the star : Epiphany means appearance.
To-day we celebrate still more definitely the appear
ance or manifestation of our Lord ; and not one only,
but three manifestations, as our fathers have trans
mitted to us. To-day our little King, a few days
after His birth, appeared by means of a star to the
Magi, the first-fruits of the Gentile world. On this
day also He went to the Jordan to be baptized, and
was there revealed to men by the testimony of God
the Father. To-day, likewise, having been invited
with His disciples to a marriage feast where the
wine failed, He changed water into wine as a sign
of His miraculous power. But the manifestation
which took place in His infancy is the most attractive
one, and we will consider it more attentively ; both
because it is a sweeter mystery and the one which
is specially taken notice of in this day's liturgy.

To-day we have heard read in the Gospel of the
feast that Wise Men came from the East to Jeru
salem. With good reason did they come from the

ON THE EPIPHANY 163

East who announced to us the new rising of the
Sun of Justice, they who illuminated the whole
world with their joyful tidings. Unhappy Judea
alone, on the contrary, by hating the light, was
plunged into a deeper darkness by the effulgent
brightness of the new light ; her eyes, already
clouded, were more incurably blinded by the
flashing radiance of the Eternal Sun.

Let us listen to the words of these Wise Men
coming from the East : " Where is he that is born
King of the Jews P"1 What unwavering faith !
They have no hesitation. They do not question
the fact of His birth, but only inquire where it had
taken place. At the mention of the word " King "
Herod " was troubled," greatly fearing one who
would supplant him in his kingdom. That he
should fear is not surprising, but that Jerusalem —
the City of God, the Vision of Peace — should be
troubled with him is indeed a matter for wonder.
Behold, how hurtful a wicked government is whose
head seeks to bring subjects to conform to its own
evil views ! Woe to that State where a Herod
reigns ! It will without doubt share his impiety,
and, like him, be troubled at the tidings of salvation.
I trust in God that such a spirit will never reign
among us, if, indeed, it has begun to get a footing,
which may God forbid. It is the malice of a Herod
to oppose and seek to stifle in their birth any rising
efforts in the cause of religion, and to take part in
what destroys the souls of God's little ones. To do
so is to join with Herod in seeking to murder the
new-born Saviour.

1 St. Matt. ii. 2.

II — 2

1 64 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

But let us return to the history of this day's
mystery ; it will lead us to avoid more carefully the
spirit of Herod.

The Magi, pursuing their inquiries concerning
the King of the Jews, learnt from the Scribes, whom
Herod had assembled, the name of the place marked
out by the Prophet Micheas for the birth of Christ,
the Saviour of the world. Then, leaving the Jews,
" behold, the star which they had seen in the east
went before them." This plainly shows that when
they eagerly sought for human directions they lost
the Divine leading ; when they turned to earthly
teaching the heavenly portent was withdrawn. But
once they had left Herod and his court they were
immediately " rejoiced with exceeding great joy."1
For " the star went before them until it came
and stood over where the child was."2 " And enter
ing into the house, they found the child with
Mary his mother, and falling down, they adored
him."3

Whence is this to you, O holy strangers ? We
have not found so great faith even in Israel. Is it
possible that the mean dwelling of a stable and the
poverty of the manger-crib do not shock you ?
That the sight of the poor Mother and her Infant
offers you no stumbling-block ? No, the Evangelist
says : " Opening their treasures, they offered him
gold, frankincense, and myrrh."4 If they had
offered only gold, the poverty of the Mother, and
how to provide her with the means of bringing up
her Child, might have appeared to be their one
consideration. But the myrrh and frankincense,

1 St. Matt. ii. 10. 2 Ibid. 9. 3 Ibid. u. * Ibid. u.

ON THE EPIPHANY 165

along with the gold, intimate the spiritual nature
of their oblation.

Amongst worldly riches gold is looked upon as
most precious, and this, by God's grace, we religious
offered to our Saviour when, for His name, we
heartily left all the substance of this world. Only,
having left and utterly despised it, it behoves us to
seek and eagerly desire the wealth that is heavenly.
In like manner we continue to offer the sweet
fragrance of incense, which St. John tells us signifies
the prayers of the saints. The Prophet also, in
Ps. cxl., says : " Let my prayer be directed as
incense in thy sight."1 And in Ecclesiasticus we
read : " The prayer of him that humbleth himself
shall pierce the clouds, and he will not depart until
the Most High behold."2

That our prayer may thus rise to God it must have
the two wings of contempt of the world and mortifi
cation of the flesh. Our offering will be a pleasing
and acceptable sacrifice when, with gold and incense,
we bring also our myrrh. Myrrh is bitter, but it
is very useful, and preserves the body from returning
to the corruption of sin.

We have so far said a few words which may lead
us to imitate the offerings of the Magi ; we will now
show that each of the manifestations of our Lord is
a proof of His Divinity.

" And entering into the house " the Wise Men
" found the child with Mary his mother."

First, in His infant form which His Mother was
fostering in her virginal bosom is manifested the
reality of the flesh which He had assumed ; and
1 Ps. cxl. 2. 2 Ecclus. xxxv. 21.

1 66 SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD

from the fact that the Holy Child was found with
His Mother may it not be inferred that He is true
Man and truly the Son of man ?

In the second manifestation the voice of the
Eternal Father — " This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased " — openly acknowledges our
Blessed Lord to be the Son of God — God and Man ;
as does also the descent of the Holy Ghost upon Him
in the visible form of a dove.

In the third manifestation He evidently shows
Himself to be God and the Author of nature, whose
laws He can change at will.

Let us, then, with our whole hearts, love our Lord
Jesus Christ as true Man and our Brother. Let us
honour Him as Son of God, and adore Him as truly
God. Let us firmly believe in Him, let us surrender
ourselves utterly into His keeping, for He is neither
wanting in power to save us, since He is true God
and the true Son of God, nor in the will to save us,
for He is, as it were, one of ourselves, true Man and
truly the Son of man. And how could He be
inexorable to us Who became a sufferer for love
of us ?

THE END

ft. &> T. Washbonrne, Ltd.^ i, 2 & 4, Paternoster Row, London.

BX 890 .B44713 1909 SMC

Bernard, of Clairvaux,
Saint, 1909 or 91-1153.

Sermons of St. Bernard
on Advent and Christmas

AWL-4205 (sk)

! I