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| Ave Maria. [JJ Tissot, Brooklyn Museum] |
*SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD ON ADVENT & CHRISTMAS
Compiled and translated at St. Mary s Convent, from the Edition (1508), in black-letter of St. Bernard s Sermons and Letters. R. & T. WASHBOURNE, LTD., 2 & 4 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON MANCHESTER : 74 BRIDGE ST. GLASGOW : 248 BUCHANAN ST. BENZIGER BROS. \ NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO 1909
Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt. Tecum tutus semper sum.
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
She was troubled at this saying
“And when she had heard, she was troubled at this saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this might be.” Virgins who deserve the name are ever timid; they never think themselves 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 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 persuaded 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, 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, O 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.”[2] 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[3]; the other led forth his people from the captivity of Babylon.[4] 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.
[1] [5] My eyes prevented the watches: I was troubled, and I spoke not.
Anticipaverunt vigilias oculi mei; turbatus sum, et non sum locutus.
[6] I thought upon the days of old: and I had in my mind the eternal years.
Cogitavi dies antiquos, et annos aeternos in mente habui.
[7] And I meditated in the night with my own heart: and I was exercised and I swept my spirit.
Et meditatus sum nocte cum corde meo, et exercitabar, et scopebam spiritum meum. [Psalm 76]
[2] [21] And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name JESUS. For he shall save his people from their sins.
Pariet autem filium : et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum : ipse enim salvum faciet populum suum a peccatis eorum.
[22] Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying:
Hoc autem totum factum est, ut adimpleretur quod dictum est a Domino per prophetam dicentem
[23] Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Ecce virgo in utero habebit, et pariet filium : et vocabunt nomen ejus Emmanuel, quod est interpretatum Nobiscum Deus. [Matt 1]
[3] Josue, Joshua. (First called Osee; Septuagint 'Iesoûs, first Aúsé) Josue commanded the army of Israel, after the Exodus, (Exodus 17:9-13), was called the minister of Moses (xxiv, 13), accompanied the great lawgiver to and from Mount Sinai (xxxi, 17) and into the tabernacle of the covenant (xxxiii, 11), and acted as one of twelve spies whom Moses sent to view the land of Chanaan (Numbers 13:9). The name most likely means "Jahweh is salvation". Josue was chosen by God to succeed Moses. Later this soldier was proposed by Moses to the people to lead them into the land beyond the Jordan (Deuteronomy 31:3), and was ordered by the Lord to do so (xxxi, 23). [For more see: Catholic Encyclopedia]
[4] Josue, Joshua: ('Iesoûs), the high-priest who returned with Zorobabel from the Babylonian Captivity to Jerusalem (Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 7:7; 21:1). In I and II Esd. the Vulgate calls him Josue; in Agg. and Zach., Jesus. He assisted Zorobabel in rebuilding the Temple (Ezra 3:2, 8; 4:3; 5:2). The angel of the Lord proclaimed the high-priest the type of the coming Messias (Zechariah 3).
[For more see: Catholic Encyclopedia]
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