Praises of the Virgin Mother by St Bernard : Homily IV : §10/11

St Bernard, by Juan Correa de Vivar,
c. 1540-45. Museo del Prado.
(Public domain)

The following posts present the text of four homilies by St Bernard (1090-1153) frequently given the title of Missus est but which he himself called Praises of the Virgin Mother.

 

He was the first Cistercian monk to be placed on the calendar of saints and was canonized by Alexander III on the 18th January 1174. Pope Pius VIII bestowed on him the title of Doctor of the Church, “Doctor mellifluus,” on the 20th of August 1830. 

I offer this annotated presentation of St Bernard’s Homilies as a small gift to our gentle Queen and Mother in gratitude for her multitudinous graces and favours, requesting her continued help and protection for the author and his family.

The Latin text and references are based upon De laudibus Virginis Matris (Patrologia latina, vol. 183. J. P. Migne). The English text is based upon the version compiled and translated at St. Mary's Convent, York, and published by Washbourne in 1909.

Homily IV : §10/11

 §10.   I sometimes see – and this I lament all the more – that after spurning the world’s vainglory and entering the school of humility, some people become infected with even greater pride. Under the wings of a gentle and humble master, they actually grow more arrogant and they become more impatient within the cloister than they had been in the world. What is even more perverse, many who would have been held in low regard when in their own homes refuse to be thus regarded in the house of God; for since they failed to secure a position of honour in the world where honours are sought by the many, they seek the appearance of honour where honours are actually spurned by all.

I see others, too – something which cannot be viewed without sadness – who after enlisting in the service of Christ, become entangled once more in the affairs of the world and submerged again in earthly desires: taking great pains in their schemes, yet neglecting their own morals; peddling words to the wealthy and greetings to rich ladies under the pretext of the common good; and (contrary to the edict of their Emperor) coveting what belongs to others and launching civil claims for property. In this they turn a deaf ear to the Apostle's warning which he signalled at the King’s command[1]: 

“Already indeed there is plainly a fault among you, that you have lawsuits one with another. Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?” 

The Madonna of Humility, by Fra Angelico (c. 1430).
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Public domain.

Did these men so crucify the world to themselves and themselves to the world[2] that, although they were once scarcely known even in their own village or town, they have now – by travelling through provinces and frequenting the royal court – gained the acquaintance of kings and the friendship of princes? What shall I say of people who focus on their clothes and appearance, in which it is no longer warmth or serviceability that is sought but a colourful look, and where greater emphasis is placed on personal elegance than on the cultivation of virtues? It is shameful to say that when monks value costly garments more than those suited to their needs, they go further even than women in their own sphere of interest. They fail to preserve even the outward form of religion and, when it comes to their attire, these soldiers of Christ prefer adornment to armour. When they ought to have been preparing for battle and displaying the badge of poverty as a shield against the powers of the air (for that is a weapon the adversary greatly fears), these men have instead preferred soft and elegant clothing. This signals peace rather than war and they voluntarily surrender themselves unarmed to the enemy without a fight. All these evils arise from no other cause than our abandonment of that humility with which we once renounced the world; for by forsaking humility, and being thereby compelled to pursue once more the foolish interests of worldly people, we become like dogs returning to their own vomit[3].

Footnotes

[1] 1 Cor. vi. 7..

[2] Cf. Gal. vi. 14.

[3] As a dog that returneth to his vomit, so is the fool that repeateth his folly: Proverbs xxvi.11.

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The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen. 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.30-31.