In Praise of the Virgin Mother: Homily I, Part 3 of 9

From 13th c MS. Public Domain.

'To this warm love of Jesus Christ was joined a most sweet and tender devotion towards His glorious Mother, whose motherly love he repaid with the affection of a child, and whom he jealously honoured. (from Pope Pius XII's Encyclical 'Dr Mellifluus', on St Bernard, the 'last of the Fathers' - 1953)

This is the third instalment of our series on St Bernard's homilies in praise of the Virgin Mother. The Latin text is followed by references, notes and an English translation.

Homilia I

3. Missus est ergo angelus Gabriel a Deo. Quo? In civitatem Galilaeae, cui nomen Nazareth. Videamus si, ut ait Nathanael, a Nazareth potest aliquid boni esse [1].  Nazareth interpretatur flos. Videntur autem mihi quoddam semen fuisse divinae cognitionis, tanquam e coelo jactatum in terras, allocutiones et promissiones factae coelitus ad patres, Abraham scilicet, Isaac et Jacob; de quo semine scriptum est: Nisi Dominus Sabaoth reliquisset nobis semen, sicut Sodoma fuissemus; et quasi Gomorrha  similes essemus [2] (Isa. I, 9)

Floruit autem hoc semen in mirabilibus, quae ostensa sunt in exitu Israel de Aegypto, in figuris et aenigmatibus per totum iter in deserto usque in terram promissionis, et deinceps in visionibus et vaticiniis prophetarum, in ordinatione quoque regni ac sacerdotii usque ad Christum.

Christus autem hujus seminis et horum florum non immerito fructus esse intelligitur, dicente David: Dominus dabit benignitatem. et terra nostra dabit fructum suum [3] ; et iterum: De fructu ventris tui ponam super sedem tuam [4]. In Nazareth ergo nuntiatur Christus nasciturus; quia in flore speratur fructus processurus. Sed prodeunte fructu, flos decidit, quia veritate apparente in carne, figura pertransiit.

Unde et Nazareth civitas Galilaeae dicitur, id est transmigrationis: quia nascente Christo, omnia illa transierunt quae superius enumeravi, quae, ut ait Apostolus, in figura contingebant illis [5].

Hos ergo flores et nos qui jam fructum tenemus, pertransisse videmus: et dum adhuc florere videbantur, transituri praevidebantur. Unde David: Mane sicut herba transeat, mane floreat et transeat: vespere decidat, induret et arescat  [6]. Vespere etenim, id est, quando venit plenitudo temporis, in quo misit Deus Unigenitum suum, factum ex muliere, factum sub lege [7], dicente ipso: Ecce nova facio omnia [8]; vetera transierunt et disparuerunt, quomodo in novitate succrescentis fructus flores decidunt et arescunt.

Unde rursus scriptum est: Fenum aruit, et flos decidit; verbum autem Domini manet in aeternum [9]. Credo, non ambigis quin verbum fructus sit; Verbum autem Christus est.

References

[1] [46] Et dixit ei Nathanael : A Nazareth potest aliquid boni esse? Dicit ei Philippus : Veni et vide.[John 1]
[46] And Nathanael said to him: Can any thing of good come from Nazareth? Philip saith to him: Come and see.

[2] [9] Nisi Dominus exercituum reliquisset nobis semen, quasi Sodoma fuissemus, et quasi Gomorrha similes essemus. [10] Audite verbum Domini, principes Sodomorum; percipite auribus legem Dei nostri, populus Gomorrhae.[Is 1]
[9] Except the Lord of hosts had left us seed, we had been as Sodom, and we should have been like to Gomorrha. [10] Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom, give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrha.

[3] [13] Etenim Dominus dabit benignitatem, et terra nostra dabit fructum suum.[Ps 84]
[13] For the Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit.

[4] [11] Juravit Dominus David veritatem, et non frustrabitur eam : De fructu ventris tui ponam super sedem tuam. [Ps 131]
[11] The Lord hath sworn truth to David, and he will not make it void: of the fruit of thy womb I will set upon thy throne. 

[5] [11] Haec autem omnia in figura contingebant illis : scripta sunt autem ad correptionem nostram, in quos fines saeculorum devenerunt. [1 Cor 10]
[11] Now all these things happened to them in figure: and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

[6] [6] Mane sicut herba transeat; mane floreat, et transeat; vespere decidat, induret, et arescat. [Ps 89]
[6] In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away: in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither.

[7] [4] At ubi venit plenitudo temporis, misit Deus Filium suum factum ex muliere, factum sub lege, [5] ut eos, qui sub lege erant, redimeret, ut adoptionem filiorum reciperemus. [Gal 4]
[4] But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law: [5] That he might redeem them who were under the law: that we might receive the adoption of sons.

[8] [5] Et dixit qui sedebat in throno : Ecce nova facio omnia. Et dixit mihi : Scribe, quia haec verba fidelissima sunt, et vera. [Apoc 21]
[5] And he that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me: Write, for these words are most faithful and true.
  
[9][6] Vox dicentis : Clama. Et dixi : Quid clamabo? Omnis caro foenum, et omnis gloria ejus quasi flos agri. [7] Exsiccatum est foenum, et cecidit flos, quia spiritus Domini sufflavit in eo. Vere foenum est populus; [8] exsiccatum est foenum, et cecidit flos; verbum autem Domini nostri manet in aeternum.[Is. 40]
[6] The voice of one, saying: Cry. And I said: What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the field. [7] The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen, because the spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it. Indeed the people is grass: [8] The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen: but the word of our Lord endureth for ever.  


Latin notes

quoddam: after a certain manner.
caelitus: adv , from the sky, from heaven, by divine authority
dĕin-ceps: adv., in a constant series, one after another, successively, in turn
quīn: (conj.), why not, wherefore not? nay but
sacerdōtium ī, n sacerdos, the priesthood, office of a priest, sacerdotal office
vātĭcĭnus, a, um, adj. id., prophetical, vaticinal (poet. and rare; cf. vaticinius)

Homily I

3. 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 words spoken and promises made from heaven to our fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), seem to me, after a certain manner, to be the seed of divine knowledge planted on earth.  Of this seed, it is written: [9] Except the Lord of hosts had left us seed, we had been as Sodom, and we should have been like to Gomorrha. [Is 1]

This seed flowered in:

• the miracles displayed in the going forth of Israel from Egypt
• the signs and figures that marked the whole journey of the Israelites through the wilderness to the Promised Land
• the series of visions and utterances  of the Prophets
• the establishment of the kingdom and priesthood unto the coming of Christ.

But Christ is not without reason understood to be the fruit of this seed and flower. For David says, The Lord will give goodness, the earth shall yield her fruit.  And again : Of the fruit of thy womb, I will set one upon thy throne. In Nazareth, therefore, it is announced that Christ will be born.  Because from the flower it is hoped that fruit will follow. But, with the fruit coming forth, the flower falls away; so with the Truth appearing in the flesh, the figure passes away.

Hence Nazareth is called a city of Galilee, that is, change, or passage. But with Christ being born, all those things I enumerated above passed away which, as the Apostle says, happened to them in figure.

So we see the passing away of these flowers, and [we who now hold the fruit]. Even while they seemed to flourish, it was foretold that they would pass away. For David says: In the morning, man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away: in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither. In the evening that is, in the fullness of time, when God sent his only Son made of a woman, made under the law, saying, Behold, I make all things new. The old things have passed away and disappeared, in the way that flowers die and wither as fruit pushes forth.

Hence it is again written, The grass is withered and the flower is fallen : but the word of the Lord remaineth for ever. I think there is no doubt that the fruit is a word, but this Word is Christ.