Praises of the Virgin Mother by St Bernard : Homily II : §3-4/17

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 II : §3-4/17

 §3.   

The Rebuke of Adam and Eve, by Domenichino (1626). 
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (public domain)

Rejoice, O father Adam, but exult yet more, O mother Eve – you who, though the parents of all, were their destroyers; and, what is more tragic, you were destroyers even before you became their parents. May you both be consoled now in your daughter, and in such a singular daughter – but more especially Eve, that woman from whom the evil first originated and whose reproach was transmitted to all women. For the time is at hand when the reproach is to be removed, and a man shall no longer have grounds to bring a charge against a woman – as Adam did who, while imprudently attempting to make excuses for himself, did not hesitate to accuse Eve somewhat cruelly, saying to the Lord God[1]: 

“The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” 

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 offer satisfaction to her father Adam for her mother; for if he fell by a woman, he is now raised up again by a woman. What were you saying, Adam? “The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” These are words of malice, by which you increase rather than erase your guilt. Wisdom, however, overcame malice when it found in the treasury of its unfailing mercy the opportunity for pardon which God had tried to elicit from you by questioning but could not.

Indeed, a woman is given in place of a woman – a wise one for a foolish one, a humble one for a proud one and one who, instead of the fruit of the tree of death, shall give you to eat of the tree of life and who, in place of the poisoned food of bitterness, will bring forth the fruit of everlasting sweetness. Change now, O Adam, your wicked words of excuse into words of thanksgiving, and say: 

“The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree of life, and I did eat; 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 Virgin, most worthy of all honour! O woman singularly venerable! O woman most admirable among all women! Thou hast made amends for our parents’ fall and restored life to their posterity!

 

Footnotes

[1] Gen. iii. 12.

§4. 

Altarpiece of the Virgin of Guadalupe, by Miguel Cabrera
(1695–1768). Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico.[4]

  

The Angel was sent to the Virgin – a virgin in body, a virgin in mind, a virgin by profession, a virgin finally such as the Apostle describes[1]: “holy both in body and in spirit.” Not newly discovered, nor found by chance, but chosen from eternity, foreknown and prepared for Himself by the Most High, guarded by Angels, foretold by the Patriarchs, and promised by the Prophets. Search the Scriptures, and prove the truth of my words. Do you want me to provide evidence here from the Scriptures? 

To give a few testimonies out of many, of what other woman could God have been speaking when He said to the serpent[2]: 

“I will place enmities between thee and the woman”?

And if you still doubt whether Mary is that woman, listen to what follows[3]: 

“She shall crush thy head.” 

To whom but Mary was such a victory reserved? She it was undoubtedly who was to crush the venomous head of the serpent by bringing to nothing every suggestion of the Evil One – whether arising from allurements of the flesh or from pride of the mind.

Footnotes

[1] 1 Cor. vii. 34.

[2] Gen. iii. 15.

[3] Ibid.

[4] In some porraits of the Blessed Virgin, a serpent is shown as crushed under her feet, but here she is portrayed with the moon beneath her feet (on which see Apoc. xii. 1). It may not be a coincidence that in Aztec culture, the moon was used to represent Quetzalcoatl, an Aztec 'god' whose name is commonly understood to mean “feathered” or “precious serpent,” a striking pointer to the words of Gen. iii. 15.

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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.