Bellarmine on Psalm 6: Verses 5-6

We continue our series posting a commentary on the first of the Penitential Psalms, Psalm 6, written by St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1641). Where footnotes are included, the text follows each verse.

The Latin is reproduced courtesy of the Digital Collection site  - UANL and is accompanied by my fairly literal translation. The Scripture excerpts (Douay Rheims/Vulgate) are taken from the DRBO site but the verse numbering follows that of Bellarmine’s Latin text.

Verse 5

For there is no one in death, that is mindful of thee: and who shall confess to thee in hell?

Quoniam non est in morte qui memor sit tui; in inferno autem quis confitebitur tibi?

Here is the fourth argument, drawn from the glory of God. I ask, he says, not to be rebuked in Thy indignation, because if that were to happen, I would undoubtedly be condemned to eternal death; and thus (in me) Thy memory and praise would perish. For the damned in Hell are not mindful of God that they might praise Him, neither is there anyone in Hell who confesses the Lord.that is, who praise the Lord, confessing His benefits and all that makes Him worthy of remembrance. There are some who understand the text here to be about bodily death, and by infernum (the lower regions/Hell) they understand the tomb; they make the sense to be that the dead, lying in the tomb, do not praise God, neither are they mindful of Him, because they do not feel anything; they cite the words of Ezechias[1] in Isaias xxxviiii|: “ For hell shall not confess to thee, neither shall death praise thee:”and it seems that Ezechias sought to be freed from the danger of bodily death.[2] But assuredly this text of Ezechias must be understood to concern eternal death and the Hell of the damned. For even if Ezechias feared bodily death, he also feared eternal death; and he gave thanks to God in this   

canticle for he understood the gift of bodily health was also a sign of divine benevolence that his sins had been forgiven and that he had been delivered from the danger of Hell; whence he says: “but Thou hast rescued my soul, that it may not perish; Thou hast cast behind Thee all my sins, for Hell doth not confess Thee, neither doth death praise Thee; those who fall into the lake do not look for Thy truth.” For truly, if these words are to be understood as concerning bodily death alone, the arguments would lead to a dead end. For even though those who are bodily dead and lying in the tomb do not praise God, their souls are yet living and give praise to God; and even those bodies lying in the tomb look for the truth of God, that is, God’s trustworthiness about the promised resurrection. Only those who fall into the lake of eternal damnation do not look for the truth of God; neither do they remember the goodness of God, nor do they praise Him, nor will they in the future. This is how St Jerome in his Commentary on Isaiah , as well as other fathers, understand this text of Ezechias.

[1] The commonly received computation reckons his reign from 726 to 697 B.C. In character and policy, Ezechias was pious and agreeable to God. He was a strenuous civil and religious reformer, and on this account the sacred writer compares him to King David. The events of his reign are related in the Fourth Book of Kings, and also in the parallel account in the Second Book of Chronicles.

[2] The commonly received computation reckons his reign from 726 to 697 B.C. In character and policy, Ezechias was pious and agreeable to God. He was a strenuous civil and religious reformer, and on this account the sacred writer compares him to King David. The events of his reign are related in the Fourth Book of Kings, and also in the parallel account in the Second Book of Chronicles.

Verse 6

I have laboured in my groanings, every night I will wash my bed: I will water my couch with my tears.

Laboravi in gemitu meo; lavabo per singulas noctes lectum meum; lacrimis meis stratum meum rigabo.

The Prophet draws the fifth argument from fruits worthy of penance. For as the Apostle says in I Corinthians: “ But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged,”[1] that is, if we would condemn and punish ourselves, we would not be condemned or punished by the Lord. For God spares those who do not spare themselves. He says therefore that he not only understands and detests his sin but that he is punishing and will punish himself as far as his powers allow him. “ I have laboured,” he says, “in my groanings,” that is, I have wept with such great grief for my sin that I am weary, and yet I still do not cease. For, “every night I will wash my bed,” that is, every night instead of resting or sleeping, I shall weep copiously for my sins and water my couch with tears. The abundance and the duration of the tears should be noted at this place in the text. Now in Hebrew,  they have for “I will wash” asche, I will make to swim, as even St Jerome translates; and even the Latin words lavabo/I will wash does not signify the effusion of a few teardrops but of such a quantity that the bed can be awash with them. The word rigabo/I will water suggests a huge quantity of water pouring in rivulets. But where it says, per singulas noctes / every night, is ambiguous in Hebrew. For it can mean for the whole night through, as St Jerome translates; it can also mean every night, and this is what the Septuagint translators put; Either is wondrous and perhaps they can both be true, that is, for a long time, every night throughout the night he shed tears most copiously. This is a sight to be contemplated by those who have committed the gravest of sins and are scarcely able to shed a few teardrops when they seek forgiveness from God.

[1]  But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. Quod si nosmetipsos dijudicaremus, non utique judicaremur. [I Cor. xi. 31]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

Bellarmine on Psalm 6: Verses 3-4

We continue our series posting a commentary on the first of the Penitential Psalms, Psalm 6, written by St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1641). Where footnotes are included, the text follows each verse.

The Latin is reproduced courtesy of the Digital Collection site  - UANL and is accompanied by my fairly literal translation. The Scripture excerpts (Douay Rheims/Vulgate) are taken from the DRBO site but the verse numbering follows that of Bellarmine’s Latin text.

Verse 3

And my soul is troubled exceedingly: but thou, O Lord, how long?

Et anima mea turbata est valde; sed tu, Domine, usquequo?

He puts forward another argument from knowledge of his own sin, as he says in Psalm L: “For I know my iniquity.” He says therefore: Not only am I miserable, but I acknowledge it; besides this, my soul, beholding herself so deformed and wretched, is horrified, greatly troubled, and wholesomely frightened; becoming impatient, she calls out: “but Thou, O Lord, how long?” Wilt Thou not have mercy, wilt Thou not heal me? Without any other words, the phrase “how long,”  is given great emphasis; it signifies the expression of a troubled soul not strong enough to form a complete sentence.

Verse 4

Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul: O save me for thy mercy's sake.

Convertere, Domine, et eripe animam meam; salvum me fac propter misericordiam tuam.

Here is his third argument, which is drawn from mercy. “Turn to me,” he says, that is, look on me. For God’s look is the cause of all our good. See “ Shew us thy face, and we shall be saved;” [1] and “ Thou turnedst away thy face from me, and I became troubled.”[2]  The Lord looked upon Peter, and he began to weep. St James calls God the Father of Lights[3], just as the sun by its gaze illumines, warms and vivifies bodies, so God, with His loving eyes, illumines, heats and vivifies souls. “And deliver my soul,” that is, lift it up out of the pit into which it fell; loose it from the hunters’ snare into which it was captured and held trapped; deliver it from the enemies’ hands, to whom it was given over through sin. “ O save me,” that is, deliver me from imminent damnation in hell. Now, properly speaking, to save is to deliver from the imminent danger of death. The order should be noted: firstly, God turns towards us and looks upon us with His grace; secondly, we turn to Him and thus the soul is rescued from sin; thirdly, freed from sin, we are saved from the danger of imminent damnation. All this, which is done in the act of justification, is not through any preceding merit on our part (what might the wicked merit other than punishment?) but through God’s mercy; and so he adds: “for Thy mercy's sake,” as though he might say: I dare to ask for so great a gift not because I am worthy but because Thou art merciful.

[1] Ps. lxxix. 4, 8 & 20.

[2] Ps. xxix. 8.

[3] Iac. i. 17.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

Bellarmine on Psalm 6: Title and verses 1-2

Today we begin a series posting the commentary on the first of the Penitential Psalms, Psalm 6, written by the great  Scripture scholar, apologist and polymath, St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1641). Where footnotes are included, the text follows each verse.

The Latin is reproduced courtesy of the Digital Collection site  - UANL and is accompanied by my fairly literal translation. The Scripture excerpts (Douay Rheims/Vulgate) are taken from the DRBO site but the verse numbering follows that of Bellarmine’s Latin text.

Psalm VI: Title and subject matter

Unto the end, in verses, a psalm for David, for the octave.

In finem, in carminibus. Psalmus David. Pro octava.

What is written as for the octave,or, as Hebrew has it, hhal haschminith, over the octave, seems to be a reference to a kind of harp with eight strings,1 or something similar. For in the first book of Paralipomenon, chapter xv, where various instruments are described, with which the Psalms were to be sung, a harp over eight is included, amongst others. It is not to be denied, however, that it is commonly said that octavam / eight signifies in this context the last day of judgement, which will be the eighth day, because it follows after the six days of labour in this life and after the seventh day of rest for souls. Now this Psalm is the first of those seven which pertain to penitence. It is not likely that the Rabbis and their followers are right in saying that this Psalm was composed by David for the recovery of his bodily health, which he had lost because of committing adultery and murder. For Scripture makes it plain enough in the second Book of Kings that God was to impose a punishment on David on account of the sin charged against him. Nowhere does it recall disease of the body.  The Church would not have numbered this Psalm, from the most ancient times, among the penitential Psalms, and even as the first of them, unless properly and according to the letter, it did not pertain to penitence. And so, the subject matter of this Psalm will be the prayer of a sinner fearing divine judgment and hoping for reconciliation.

Verse 1

O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath.

Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corripias me.

This is a petition by someone who is truly repentant and contrite, and who hates his sins above all else. For God blames, that is, reproves the sinner in anger and fury when He punishes not so that He might save a sinner in paternal love but so that He might chastise and destroy him utterly and satisfy justice.

This is what He does in this life when He strikes the sinner with blindness and stubbornness, so that the sin becomes the punishment for the sin: and indeed in the next life, when He consigns a soul to be lost in Hell. Shaken, therefore, with horror and fearing the abyss of God’s judgements, David does not reject the scourge of punishments which do not separate from God but which rather make sinners draw nearer to God. But he dreads that evil more horrible than all others, which is to be delivered up to the desires of his heart, unto shameful passions, to be made obdurate and blind, and finally to be separated for ever from the face of God. The words ira/anger and furor/fury are here interchangeable as are arguit/blames  and corripit/reproves for, as we have noted elsewhere, it is quite common for prophets to repeat a word by way of explaining or emphasising grace.

Verse 2

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak: heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.

Miserere mei, Domine, quoniam infirmus sum; sana me, Domine, quoniam conturbata sunt ossa mea.

In order to move God so that He does not condemn him in His fury, David brings forward certain arguments; and the first one he takes up from his weakness, as though he might say: Do not consider, O Lord, my sins as being offences against you but rather as coming from my misery and sickness; and so do not punish me as a judge but heal me as a physician; burn me and cut me, should this be needed, but from mercy so as to heal me, and not from justice so as to cast me off as lost. For of a truth sins are miseries and the more malice there is in committing them, the greater the miseries; and the less we acknowledge them and fear them, so much the more miserable we are. And so he says: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak,” that is: look mercifully upon my sins, whatever they may be, as though upon illness and sickness which render me weak and feeble. “Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.” He repeats the same, using different words. For God, if He shows mercy, will take away his misery and then He will heal him, and so the two phrases are the same: “have mercy on me” and “heal me.” And so also “for I am weak” means the same as “for my bones are troubled.” By bones is signified health and strength; bones are said to be troubled when strength wavers and health is broken or weakened. The Greek and Hebrew words can however be rendered: trembled, or my bones were shaken.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

Bellarmine on Psalm 50: Verses 17 to 20 (conclusion)

1542-1641. Rijksmuseum, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Today we presenting the commentary on Psalm 6 written by the great polymath, Scripture scholar and apologist, St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1641).

“One of Bellarmine’s confreres in the College of Cardinals called him ‘the most learned churchman since St. Augustine’and I’d agree with that,” Fr. Baker[1] said. “His knowledge of Scripture and Theology — he seemed to know the entire Bible by heart, plus the teachings not only of nearly every pope, but of many bishops, too! — it’s just astonishing. Bellarmine was truly a polymath.” [From an interview published in the National Catholic Register in September 2017]
[1] Author of a translation of Bellarmine’s Controversies of the Christian Faith, published by Keep the Faith Books (2016)

The Latin is reproduced courtesy of the Digital Collection site  - UANL and is accompanied by my fairly literal translation. The Scripture excerpts (Douay Rheims/Vulgate) are taken from the DRBO site but the verse numbering follows that of Bellarmine’s Latin text.

Verse 17

For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.

Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique; holocaustis non delectaberis.

He provides the reason why he wants to offer a sacrifice of praise, which is to say because sacrifices of animals are not pleasing to God, as if he were to say: “my mouth shall declare thy praise,” since I know you are pleased by a sacrifice of praise, not by sacrifices of irrational animals. For if they were pleasing to you, I would not delay in offering them. Now the meaning is not that sacrifices of cattle is in no way pleasing to God, since it is plain enough from the Book of Leviticus that they were instituted

by God and ordered to be offered. But they are said not to be pleasing in themselves, as if the slaughter of animals might of itself be a work pleasing to God, or useful or necessary. They are also said not to be pleasing when compared with the sacrifice of the Eucharist, as appears from the the first chapter of Malachias[1] where it is said that the old sacrifices will cease when a clean oblation will be offered to all the gentiles. The sacrifices are also said not to be pleasing when they are offered by sinners, as is said in Isaias, chapter I;[2] and see “ Obedience is more pleasing to God than the oblation of victims;”[3] 

Finally, they are said not to be pleasing unto the removal of sins since “It is impossible,” as says the Apostle, “that with the blood of oxen and goats sin should be taken away;”[4] and in this sense David says here: “ if thou hadst desired sacrifice,” for the remission of my sins, “I would indeed have given it,” but because “with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted,” this in order that you may forgive me my sins through their grace, “my mouth shall declare thy praise.;” for, as we said above in the commentary on the Psalm, a sacrifice of praise is most pleasing to God, since it is blazes with the fire of charity on the heart’s altar. In the Hebrew, it expresses it a little differently. If read literally, it says: For thou wilt not a sacrifice, and I will give one: a burnt offering will not please Thee. But it seems the negation must be repeated when he says, and I will give one, so that the sense might be: For thou wilt not a sacrifice, and I will not give one. The Septuagint interpreters have read in place of negation a particle giving a conditional (imperfect subjunctive) sense: for it can be placed so that the Hebrew is read: For if thou were to have wanted a sacrifice, I would have given one. Which is the same as what we have in the Septuagint version: “For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it.”

[1] For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation: for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts. Ab ortu enim solis usque ad occasum, magnum est nomen meum in gentibus, et in omni loco sacrificatur : et offertur nomini meo oblatio munda, quia magnum est nomen meum in gentibus, dicit Dominus exercituum. [Malach. I. 11]
[2] See, e.g., To what purpose do you offer me the multitude of your victims, saith the Lord? I am full, I desire not holocausts of rams, and fat of fatlings, and blood of calves, and lambs, and buck goats. Quo mihi multitudinem victimarum vestrarum? dicit Dominus. Plenus sum : holocausta arietum, et adipem pinguium, et sanguinem vitulorum et agnorum et hircorum, nolui.[Isai. I. 11]
[3] Cf.And Samuel said: Doth the Lord desire holocausts and victims, and not rather that the voice of the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is better than sacrifices: and to hearken rather than to offer the fat of rams. Et ait Samuel : Numquid vult Dominus holocausta et victimas, et non potius ut obediatur voci Domini? Melior est enim obedientia quam victimae : et auscultare magis quam offerre adipem arietum. [I Reg. xv. 22]
[4] Hebr. x. 4.

Verse 18

A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus; cor contritum et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies.

He explains more clearly that a sacrifice of praise is pleasing to God when it proceeds from a contrite and humbled heart, that is to say when a man, acknowledging his misery and God’s mercy, is humbled beneath His powerful hand; and when he accords to God honour and glory, but to himself shame and confusion: “ To thee, O Lord, justice: but to us confusion of face;”[1] and shortly after: “ O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our princes, and to our fathers that have sinned. But to thee, the Lord our God, mercy and forgiveness.”[2] The spirit is afflicted because the heart is contrite; for in the Hebrew codex and in the Greek codex, the word is repeated: the contrite spirit and the contrite heart. Now a translator preferred to vary the vocabulary, but the sense is the same;  for what is called an afflicted spirit is a soul suffering pain, and put in tribulation on account of sin committed against God. The spirit is contrite  when the soul is affected by grief or admission of guilt, as though it were cut in pieces and ground into dust, retaining no longer its stony hardness and resistance. 

This contrition of spirit is however a most pleasing sacrifice to God; for by however many sins God is offended, so much is he pleased by repentance, and therefore quite rightly  are added the words: “ A contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise,” “ for God hates the proud and He resists them; but to the humble,” who willingly subject themselves to Him, “He always gives grace.”[3]

[1] To thee, O Lord, justice: but to us confusion of face, as at this day to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel to them that are near, and to them that are far off in all the countries whither thou hast driven them, for their iniquities by which they have sinned against thee. Tibi, Domine, justitia : nobis autem confusio faciei, sicut est hodie viro Juda, et habitatoribus Jerusalem, et omni Israel, his qui prope sunt, et his qui procul in universis terris, ad quas ejecisti eos propter iniquitates eorum, in quibus peccaverunt in te. [Dan. ix. 7]
[2] O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our princes, and to our fathers that have sinned. Domine, nobis confusio faciei, regibus nostris, principibus nostris, et patribus nostris, qui peccaverunt. But to thee, the Lord our God, mercy and forgiveness, for we have departed from thee: Tibi autem Domino Deo nostro misericordia et propitiatio, quia recessimus a te, [Dan. ix. 8, 9]
[3] Cf But he giveth greater grace. Wherefore he saith: God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. majorem autem dat gratiam. Propter quod dicit : Deus superbis resistit, humilibus autem dat gratiam. [Iac. iv. 6]

Verse 19

Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.

Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion, ut aedificentur muri Jerusalem.

This is the last reason David uses so as to be pleasing to God, to obtain perfect justification and reparation after such a grave lapse. He says that this, his reparation, may be of benefit to all people, just as his fall harmed all the people. And so he asks that this benefit may be for himself and for the City of Sion and Jerusalem. “Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion;” that is, if I am not worthy of being heard, respect the city of which I am the head, and confer a benefit on it by healing its head, “in thy good will,” that is, according to your good pleasure, by which it was pleasing to you to choose this city as your own, particular seat. “That the walls of Jerusalem may be built up;” that is, that thus the walls of Jerusalem, which were crumbling, might be built up again. He refers to himself as the walls of Jerusalem, as the one who, like the walls, guarded and protected the people; this metaphor is also used of Christ the King: “ a wall and a bulwark shall be set therein;”[1] see also: “ I will make thee to this people as a strong wall of brass.”[2] In Hebrew, it reads: “Build the walls of Jerusalem,” which fell because of my fall; restore to me a well-furnished spirit and abundant grace, that, just like the city walls, I may guard and defend your people.

[1] In that day shall this canticle be sung the land of Juda. Sion the city of our strength a saviour, a wall and a bulwark shall be set therein. In die illa cantabitur canticum istud in terra Juda : Urbs fortitudinis nostrae Sion; salvator ponetur in ea murus et antemurale. [Isai. Xxvi. 1]
[2] And I will make thee to this people as a strong wall of brass: and they shall fight against thee, and shall not prevail: for I am with thee to save thee, and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Et dabo te populo huic in murum aereum, fortem : et bellabunt adversum te, et non praevalebunt, quia ego tecum sum ut salvem te, et eruam te, dicit Dominus : [Hierem. xv.20]

Verse 20

The effects of justification are works of justice,

which are pleasing to God, as the Apostle says in Hebrews xiii: “And do not forget to do good, and to impart; for by such sacrifices God's favour is obtained.”[1]  see also I Pet. ii: “Offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”[2] “Then,” he says, that is, when I am perfectly restored and justified, “shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice,” which is to say my good works and those of my people; “oblations and whole burnt offerings:” which are good works, whether spiritual oblations or spiritual burnt offerings. Spiritual oblations are when someone makes a gift of his goods out of charity, by giving alms.A holocaust is truly when someone offers himself in complete submission to God, according as it is writtent in Romans xii: “ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,etc;”[3]  “Then shall they lay calves upon thy altar;” that is, when men shall see thatthese sacrifices are most acceptable to you, many will come running and will eagerly lay sacrifices upon your altar, not ordinary ones but the very best of all.For the sacrifice of calves was the most precious sacrifice of all; and placing these calves upon your altar is nothing less than offering up the works of perfect justice to the Lord God. St Augustine explains in his own way this text as being about the building of the heavenly Jerusalem, where sacrifices of justice, perfect in every way, are offered. Theodoretus and Euthymius explain the text as a referece to the building of the Christian Church which is set up on earth; they add that the verses may be understood as being about the rebuilding of Jerusalem which was carried out in the days of Nehemiah: David, his sin laid aside and having obtained forgiveness, foresaw in spirit the common sin of the entire people, on account of which Jerusalem was to be destroyed; and he prayed at the same time for the forgiveness of his own sin and the restoration of the city.

[1] And do not forget to do good, and to impart; for by such sacrifices God's favour is obtained. Beneficentiae autem et communionis nolite oblivisci : talibus enim hostiis promeretur Deus. [Hebr, xiii. 16]
[2] Be you also as living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. et ipsi tamquam lapides vivi superaedificamini, domus spiritualis, sacerdotium sanctum, offerre spirituales hostias, acceptabiles Deo per Jesum Christum. [I Pet. ii. 5]

[3] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service. Obsecro itaque vos fratres per misericordiam Dei, ut exhibeatis corpora vestra hostiam viventem, sanctam, Deo placentem, rationabile obsequium vestrum. [Rom. Xii. 1]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and Baptismal Anniversary

Sixty-seven years of my life were to pass by before I discovered for the first time the date and place of my Baptism: Friday the 27th of November 1953, which is the Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. My mother took me, a baby born three weeks previously, to be baptised in the Church of St Teresa of the Child Jesus in Perry Barr, Birmingham.

La Rosée divine is the first poem that Saint Thérèse wrote.[dated 2nd February 1893]. I have translated the poem into English and present it here:

    • to offer thanks to Almighty God for all His gifts to me, but especially for my Baptism; 

    • to offer high veneration and thanks to Our Blessed Mother on this her feast day; and 

    • to offer my filial love and prayers for my beloved mother who departed this life on the 30th November, 1977; for my Godmother, Winifred Hartley; and for the priest who baptised me: Fr Gerard Jackson. 

Mary with Baby Jesus. By Emily B. 

In her poem, Saint Thérèse writes of a Baby and a Mother’s milk, elaborating this sublime image in a number of moving meditations. The image calls to mind that time in my life when I was myself utterly dependent on my mother’s loving sustenance. 

Now in my seventh decade, I can only muse on how blessed we are who have in Heaven our Blessed Mother Mary to sustain us with her love and to help us on our journey here below.

La Rosée Divine

Ou

le Lait Virginal de Marie

By Ste Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1893)

The Divine Dew

or

The Maidenly Milk of Mary

1.

Mon Doux Jésus, sur le sein de ta Mère
Tu m'apparais, tout rayonnant d'Amour.
L'Amour, voilà l'ineffable mystère
Qui t'exila du Céleste Séjour...
Ah ! laisse-moi me cacher sous le voile
Qui te dérobe à tout regard mortel
Et près de toi, ô Matinale Etoile !
Je trouverai un avant-goût du Ciel.

My Gentle Jesus, on Thy Mother’s breast,
I see Thee radiating tender Love,
The Love which can’t be easily expressed,
And exiled Thee from home in Heaven above…
If only next to Thee I could but hide
Beneath the veil, concealed from mortal sight,
To be, O Morning Star, close by Thy side!
‘T would be a Heav’nly foretaste of delight.

2.

Dès le réveil d'une nouvelle aurore
Quand du soleil on voit les premiers feux
La tendre fleur qui commence d'éclore
Attend d'en haut un baume précieux
C'est du matin la rosée bienfaisante
Toute remplie d'une douce fraîcheur
Qui produisant une sève abondante
Du frais bouton fait entrouvrir la fleur.

When sunrise, just to show that dawn is nigh,
Reveals the first of little, golden beams,
The tender flower openeth its eye
And waits to taste the balm of which it dreams:
Behold, the morning dew upon the ground,
All freshly fragrant at this early hour;
The rising sap it maketh to abound
And open up the little bud in flower.

3.

C'est toi, Jésus la Fleur à peine éclose,
Je te contemple à ton premier réveil,
C'est toi, Jésus, la ravissante Rose,
Le frais bouton, gracieux et vermeil.
Les bras si purs de ta Mère chérie
Forment pour toi berceau, trône royal
Ton doux soleil, c'est le sein de Marie
Et ta Rosée, c'est le Lait Virginal !...

 Oh Jesus —Thou the tiny flower Who grows
And opens up before my wond’ring sight;
Oh Jesus — Thou the crimson, scented rose,
Whose fresh and fragrant bud is sweet delight.
In Mother’s purest arms Thou taketh rest,
All cradled as within a royal pew;
Thy gentle sun forsooth is Mary’s breast,
Her Virgin milk for Thee celestial dew!

4.

Mon Bien-Aimé, mon divin petit Frère
Dans ton regard je vois tout l'avenir
Bientôt pour moi tu quitteras ta Mère
Déjà l'Amour te presse de souffrir
Mais sur la croix, ô Fleur Epanouie !
Je reconnais ton parfum matinal,
Je reconnais la Rosée de Marie.
Ton sang divin, c'est le Lait Virginal !...

Beloved little brother, yet divine,
I see Thy future hidden in Thy gaze;
For me Thou leavest mother by design,
Love’s call to suffer soon Thy heart obeys
But on the Cross, in fullest bloom out-splayed!
I recognise in Thee the morning scent,
The dew of Thy dear mother, Mary maid:
Her milk Thy blood divine from Heaven sent!

5.

Cette rosée se cache au sanctuaire,
L'ange des Cieux la contemple ravi,
Offrant à Dieu sa sublime prière
Comme Saint Jean, il redit : «Le voici»
Oui, le voici, ce Verbe fait Hostie,
Prêtre éternel, Agneau sacerdotal,
Le Fils de Dieu, c'est le Fils de Marie,
Le pain de l'Ange est le Lait Virginal.

The sanctuary hides this living dew
Where Heaven’s angel offers in delight
A prayer to God on high, sublime and true:
Like John who cried “Behold!”when catching sight
Of Him, the Word made flesh, who’s now the Host,
High-Priest for ever, Lamb who aye was slain, 
The Son of Mary, by the Holy Ghost,
Angelic bread, sweet Virgin’s milk remains.

6.

Le séraphin se nourrit de la gloire,
Au Paradis son bonheur est parfait
Moi faible enfant, je ne vois au ciboire
Que la couleur, la figure du Lait
Mais c'est le Lait qui convient à l'enfance
Et de Jésus l'Amour est sans égal
O tendre Amour ! Insondable puissance
Ma blanche Hostie, c'est le Lait Virginal !..

With glory Seraphs feed contentedly,
Their joy in Heaven scales the highest height;
But, lowly babe and suckling, all I see
In this ciborium is milky white;
To nourish little ones, this milk’s just right,
And Jesus’ Love is here, beyond compare;
O tenderest of Love! Undreamed of might,
This Host so white is Virgin’s milk so rare!

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

Bellarmine on Psalm 50: Verses 15 and 16

1542-1641. Rijksmuseum, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

We continue with the commentary on Psalm 50 written by the great polymath, Scripture scholar and apologist, St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1641).

“One of Bellarmine’s confreres in the College of Cardinals called him ‘the most learned churchman since St. Augustine’and I’d agree with that,” Fr. Baker[1] said. “His knowledge of Scripture and Theology — he seemed to know the entire Bible by heart, plus the teachings not only of nearly every pope, but of many bishops, too! — it’s just astonishing. Bellarmine was truly a polymath.” [From an interview published in the National Catholic Register in September 2017]
[1] Author of a translation of Bellarmine’s Controversies of the Christian Faith, published by Keep the Faith Books (2016)

The Latin is reproduced courtesy of the Digital Collection site  - UANL and is accompanied by my fairly literal translation. The Scripture excerpts (Douay Rheims/Vulgate) are taken from the DRBO site but the verse numbering follows that of Bellarmine’s Latin text.

Verse 15

Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice.

Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus salutis meae, et exsultabit lingua mea justitiam tuam.

David prayed a little before for the washing away of sin and promised he would teach sinners the ways of the Lord; now hwe prays for freedom from the punishment or vengeance, which the blood of Urias, unjustly spilled, call for, and he promises he will give praise to the Lord. But why does he say 

“from bloods” and not rather “from blood” as required in Latin? St Augustine gives as the reason that he wanted to preserve the number he found in the Hebrew text; in Hebrew, the number used is of a multitude, middanim, ti signify a great effusion of blood; so in Genesis iv it says: “the voice of thy brother's blood crieth to me from the earth;” in Hebrew this is “the voice of...bloods,” that is, of much blood shed.Thus in this place is said: “Deliver me from bloods,” that is, deliver me fro the voice of much blood shed by Urias, who, unjustly killed by me, calls unto Thee and exposes me to vengeance against me. He says “deliver me” for he saw that blood of Urias standing before him like an armed soldier. Properly, he adds: “O God, thou God of my salvation:” for it is proper for the Saviour te deliver from imminent danger. And this is the reason he adds: “O God, thou God of my salvation:” for true liberation and salvation was accomplished through the merit of Christ then still prospective but which are now accomplished through Christ’s merits as shown forth. Now the merit of Christ contains justice in an exquisite degree and is such that it deserves to be praised with the greatest effort. And this is what is meant by the Hebrew word therannen for which we have he exalted, that is, he he gave praise by crying out in exultation. St Augustine and other writers understand the word bloods to indicate sins. But, as Euthymius wisely notes, the literal sense must be referred to the blood of Urias. In the spiritual sense, however, blood may be understood to refer to sins, since sins arise from a depraved concupiscence and truly it is in concupiscence that blood chiefly predominates.

Verse 16

O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise.

Domine, labia mea aperies, et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam.

Now this follows from perfect justification and deliverance from sin, that lips accustomed to praise God, which had been closed up through sin, are opened up again through forgiveness so as to give thanks and praise to the Redeemer. He says, therefore: “O Lord, thou wilt open my lips,” that is, by your kindness and forgiveness of sins, and by restoring faith and joy, “thou wilt open my lips,” and then “my mouth shall declare thy praise,” in preaching mercy and justice, not only to those at the present time  but also to men in times to come.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

Bellarmine on Psalm 50: Verses 13 and 14

 

1542-1641. Rijksmuseum, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

We continue with the commentary on Psalm 50 written by the great polymath, Scripture scholar and apologist, St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1641).

“One of Bellarmine’s confreres in the College of Cardinals called him ‘the most learned churchman since St. Augustine’and I’d agree with that,” Fr. Baker[1] said. “His knowledge of Scripture and Theology — he seemed to know the entire Bible by heart, plus the teachings not only of nearly every pope, but of many bishops, too! — it’s just astonishing. Bellarmine was truly a polymath.” [From an interview published in the National Catholic Register in September 2017]
[1] Author of a translation of Bellarmine’s Controversies of the Christian Faith, published by Keep the Faith Books (2016)

The Latin is reproduced courtesy of the Digital Collection site  - UANL and is followed by my fairly literal translation. The Scripture excerpts (Douay Rheims/Vulgate) are taken from the DRBO site but the verse numbering follows that of Bellarmine’s Latin text.

Verse 13

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.

Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui, et spiritu principali confirma me.

This verse corresponds to these words: “To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness;” for just as he foretold, after true and perfect justification there follows an inner joy within man, from the testimony of the spirit speaking inwardly; so now after he sought forgiveness of his sin and an infusion of grace with the gift of perseverance, he asks for a sign and the effect of justification, saying: “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation,” that is, through my sin I lost grace and the joy flowing therefrom, and so just as I asked for the lost grace to be restored to me, so consequently I ask for the joy of your salvation, that is,the joy which is born from the salvation given to me by you. 

And lest perhaps he overly extols joy and endangers his safety, he adds: “and strengthen me with a perfect spirit;” that is, I ask that you strengthen and confirm me in goodness through the perfect spirit inspired by you in me. In Hebrew the word used is nedibah, which means chief and voluntary or liberal; these could refer either to the Holy Spirit. who is truly the chief of all the spirits, and most liberal and most generous because He is the fountainhead of all gifts; or to the spirit, that is, to the affection of David himself who asks of God just what befits the best prince who ought to be quick to do God’s will and liberal towards his people. St Augutinem Sr Jerome in his Commentario, and St Bernard in serm. 3 De Pentecoste, write: by spiritum principalem may be understood God the Father; by Spiritum rectum, God the Son; by Spiritum sanctum, God the Holy Spirit. But this seems to be a pious rather than a literal explanation.

spirit from me” as meaning not “take not...if I shall sin” but rather “take not...that I may not sin.”

Verse 14

I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee.

Docebo iniquos vias tuas, et impii ad te convertentur.

He expounds the fruit of his justification which redounds to the glory of God and as useful to many. “I,” he says, taken back by Thee into grace, after so many grave sins, “will teach,” both by words and by example, “thy ways,” which is to say thy mercy and thy justice: “ for all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth;”1 and hence it follows that the unjust, instructed by my example, may be converted to thee. Now David was for all who came after him a signal example of the divine mercy and justice; of mercy, indeed, for after such grave crimes, as soon as he said from his heart “I have sinned against the Lord,” his sin was forgiven him; and of justice, since the Lord heaped on him such grave temporal punishments that not only did the son born of his adultery immediately die, but also shortly after he was expelled from the throne of his kingdom, his wives were publicly violated by his own son, and two of his sons, Amon and Absalon, were killed. This example availed not only the men of that age but all other men even unto the consummation of the world; for this Psal composed by him about this matter is and will continue to be widely used for as long as the Church Militant endures. And so David fulfilled what he promised when he put forth this Psalm: for he taught the unjust the ways of the Lord, many sinners have been converted to God, and others too will doubtless be converted. It is probable that after making reparation, David preached on the divine mercy and that, by his exhortation, not a few sinners were converted to God.  

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

Bellarmine on Psalm 50: Verses 11 and 12

1542-1641. Rijksmuseum, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

We continue with the commentary on Psalm 50 written by the great polymath, Scripture scholar and apologist, St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1641).

“One of Bellarmine’s confreres in the College of Cardinals called him ‘the most learned churchman since St. Augustine’and I’d agree with that,” Fr. Baker[1] said. “His knowledge of Scripture and Theology — he seemed to know the entire Bible by heart, plus the teachings not only of nearly every pope, but of many bishops, too! — it’s just astonishing. Bellarmine was truly a polymath.” [From an interview published in the National Catholic Register in September 2017]
[1] Author of a translation of Bellarmine’s Controversies of the Christian Faith, published by Keep the Faith Books (2016)

The Latin is reproduced courtesy of the Digital Collection site  - UANL and is followed by my fairly literal translation. The Scripture excerpts (Douay Rheims/Vulgate) are taken from the DRBO site but the verse numbering follows that of Bellarmine’s Latin text.

Verse 11

Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels.

Cor mundum crea in me, Deus, et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis.

He responds to these words with: “Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow:” for he asks not only that God may blot out his sins but that He may also pour forth His justice which will renew his soul and nake it again beautiful and full of light; and this is contrary to the heretics who consider justification is in the forgiveness of sins alone. Now he says: “Create a clean heart in me, O God;” this is understood, according to the Schools, as concerning a creation of cleanliness and not of a (new) heart; for the it is not the substance of the heart which perishes through sin but its cleanliness. And so the meaning is: Create cleanliness in my heart; and he says, properly enough, “create” (as from nothing) since God will have found nothing in the sinner’s heart from which He might make cleanliness but rather from His great mercy he justifies men without any of their merits. For even if sinners are disposed to justification through faith and penitence, yet this faith, penitence and other similar gifts are of God. “And renew a right spirit within my bowels,” not “renew my bowels.” By “bowels” are understood the interior things of the soul, that is, the will  itself, which was a little earlier called the heart. By “ a right spirit” is understood a right affection, which

is nothing else than charity; for through cupidity the heart’s affection is made twisted as it is turned towards lower things, and chiefly towards the self; but through charity, as it is turned to higher things, it is directed to Almighty God. And so a right spirit is renewed in the bowels when, the heart being cleansed by grace, there is renewed in the soul a pious affection for God, which had been lost through sin and in place of which a twisted cupidity had been substituted.

Verse 12

Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Ne projicias me a facie tua, et spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me.

Here he now asks for perseverance, mindful of his own weakness, lest perhaps having been raised up through grace, he should fall once again. In Scripture, “cast away from the face of God” is said of one who who is abandoned and forsaken, never to be accepted in grace: see I Kings xvi: “ And the Lord said to Samuel: How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, whom I have rejected?” 1 and II Kings vii: “ But my mercy I will not take away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before my face.” 2 and IV Kings xxiv: “For the Lord was angry against Jerusalem and against Juda, till he cast them out from his face:” 3 He therefore says: “Cast me not away from thy face;” that is, do not allow me to fall into sin, lest perhaps you remove me forever from your grace; for it avails me little to be washed, made whiter than snow and to have a right spirit renewed within me if in the end I am cast away from thy face in the company of sinners. So that Thou cast me not away from thy face, “take not thy holy Spirit from me,” that is, grant me the spirit of perseverance, through Thy grace making it so that Thy holy Spirit, remaining in me always, may preserve a right spirit within my bowels. It should be noted at this point that it is indeed a Church dogma4 that no-one is forsaken by God unless he himself first abandons God; that is, the Holy Spirit is not taken away from the just unless they themselves  through sinning extinguish the Spirit within them. But it pertains to the gift of perseverance that a man may not sin (again) and that he may not extinguish the spirit; the Apostle says of this: “ Now we pray God, that you may do no evil.” 5  Concerning this gift, we understand this part of the Psalm “ take not thy holy spirit from me” as meaning not “take not...if I shall sin” but rather “take not...that I may not sin.”

[1] And the Lord said to Samuel: How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, whom I have rejected from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and come, that I may send thee to Isai the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.  Dixitque Dominus ad Samuelem : Usquequo tu luges Saul, cum ego projecerim eum ne regnet super Israel? Imple cornu tuum oleo, et veni, ut mittam te ad Isai Bethlehemitem : providi enim in filiis ejus mihi regem. [I Reg. xvi. 1]
[2] But my mercy I will not take away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before my face. Misericordiam autem meam non auferam ab eo, sicut abstuli a Saul, quem amovi a facie mea. [II Reg. vii. 15]
[3] For the Lord was angry against Jerusalem and against Juda, till he cast them out from his face: and Sedecias revolted from the king of Babylon. Irascebatur enim Dominus contra Jerusalem et contra Judam, donec projiceret eos a facie sua : recessitque Sedecias a rege Babylonis. [IV Reg. xxiv. 20]
[4] See Concilii Tridentini, sess. VI, cap. xiii, S. Augustini tract. 2 in Joannem, et S.Prosperi resp. 7 ad objectiones Vincentianas. 

[5] Now we pray God, that you may do no evil, not that we may appear approved, but that you may do that which is good, and that we may be as reprobates. Oramus autem Deum ut nihil mali faciatis, non ut nos probati appareamus, sed ut vos quod bonum est faciatis : nos autem ut reprobi simus. [II Cor. Xiii. 7]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

Bellarmine on Psalm 50: Verses 9 and 10

1542-1641. Rijksmuseum, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

We continue with the commentary on Psalm 50 written by the great polymath, Scripture scholar and apologist, St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1641).

“One of Bellarmine’s confreres in the College of Cardinals called him ‘the most learned churchman since St. Augustine’and I’d agree with that,” Fr. Baker[1] said. “His knowledge of Scripture and Theology — he seemed to know the entire Bible by heart, plus the teachings not only of nearly every pope, but of many bishops, too! — it’s just astonishing. Bellarmine was truly a polymath.” [From an interview published in the National Catholic Register in September 2017]
[1] Author of a translation of Bellarmine’s Controversies of the Christian Faith, published by Keep the Faith Books (2016)

The Latin is reproduced courtesy of the Digital Collection site  - UANL and is followed by my fairly literal translation. The Scripture excerpts (Douay Rheims/Vulgate) are taken from the DRBO site but the verse numbering follows that of Bellarmine’s Latin text.

Verse 9

To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.

Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam, et exsultabunt ossa humiliata.

The effect and sign of perfect justification is when “the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God.”[1] The Prophet, having experienced this testimony in himself, asks for it again, saying: “To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness,” that is, when you have washed me completely you will add this gift, so that you may wonderfully fill me with an inner joy  in a sign that my sin has been forgiven. For joy will be a messenger of good news, whom I will perceive with a delighted ear in my heart. In the Hebrew text there is one word to represent what we have: “To my hearing thou shalt give,” and it means “thou shalt make me to hear.” And so the meaning is, Thou wilt make me to hear the internal voice of the Holy Spirit, who will pour over me joy and gladness. “And the bones that have been crushed shall rejoice.” From which we understand that spirit of fear to be from God, by which the heart is broken and humbled; and that it can dispose unto the spirit of love, by which the soul is justified. By “bones” should be understood the powers of the soul, not the the bones of the body; for a little later he says: “A contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

[1] For the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God. Ipse enim Spiritus testimonium reddit spiritui nostro quod sumus filii Dei.[Rom. Viii. 16]

Verse 10

Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis, et omnes iniquitates meas dele.

What he predicted for the future he now requests for himself in the present: “Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow; to my hearing thou shalt give joy,” etc. He now asks for them at once. He seeks first for his sins to be forgiven, as he had said before: “Turn away,” he says, “thy face from my sins,” that is, do not consider my sins that you may punish them: just as another of the Saints said in Tob, iii: “ do not remember my offences.”[1] These expressions, however, are all figurative; for it is not possible that God, from Whom nothing is hidden, could turn away His face from sins or forget them; but someone is said to turn away his face, or to forget, when he does that which people do who do not think about and remember something; and those who do not think about or remember do not punish. But he adds: “And blot out all my iniquities,” so that God will not only not punish him in the present but never at all in the future; for he who turns away his face from something written can turn his gaze back again and consider what was written; but someone who blots out what was written can no longer read what was there. He does this against heretics who teach that sin may not be imputed in justification but remains, as if God might turn away His face from sins but might never blot them out totally.

[1] And now, O Lord, think of me, and take not revenge of my sins, neither remember my offences, nor those of my parents. Et nunc Domine, memor esto mei, et ne vindictam sumas de peccatis meis, neque reminiscaris delicta mea, vel parentum meorum. [Tob. iii.3]

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.