Praises of the Virgin Mother by St Bernard : Homily III : §1/14

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 III : §1/14

Colloquy of the Blessed Virgin and the Angel

And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. Luke i. 28-32.

 §1.   I gladly adopt the words of the saints where I see they suit my purpose, so that whatever I present to the reader in them may become more pleasing through the beauty of the vessels. 

Isaias by Balestra (1666-1740);Castelvecchio Museum,
Verona. The Hebrew contains words from Isaias vi. 6. [3]

To begin with, here are the words of the Prophet Isaias[1]: 

“Woe is me,” he says, “because I have held my peace, because I am a man of unclean lips.” 

I too will say “Woe is me,” not because I have held my peace, but because I have spoken; for I, too, “am a man of unclean lips.” How many vain, erroneous, and disgraceful words have spewed forth from my shameful mouth which now presumes to speak of the things of heaven! I greatly fear that I shall at any moment hear it said to me[2]: 

“Why dost thou declare my justices, and take my covenant in thy mouth?” 

Would that there were brought to me from the altar above, not one “live coal” only, but a great ball of fire to touch and cleanse my unworthy lips, so that I might be made worthy to recount the chaste and beautiful colloquies between the Angel and the Virgin.

The Evangelist says[4]: 

“And the Angel being come in to her” (that is, to Mary), “said, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.”

The Annunciation, by Murillo (1660). Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Where did he come in to her? I think it was into the secret privacy of Mary’s virginal chamber where, perhaps having shut the door, she was praying to her Father in secret[5]. Angels are accustomed to stand beside those who pray and to take delight in those whom they see lifting up pure hands in prayer; they rejoice in offering up to God the whole burnt offering of holy devotion like a sweet-smelling fragrance. When he entered and greeted Mary with such reverence, the Angel revealed how pleasing Mary’s prayers were in the sight of the Most High. Nor was it difficult for the Angel to penetrate through the closed door into the Virgin’s inner sanctuary; for, by the very subtlety of his nature[6], he possesses the quality that his entry cannot be barred by iron bolts, no matter where his impetus leads him. Walls do not obstruct angelic Spirits but rather all visible things yield to them, and they can pass through all bodies alike, however solid or dense. We cannot suppose that he found her little door open, for she studiously avoided the company and conversation of men, lest her recollection should be disturbed or her virtue endangered. 

Closed, therefore, at that hour was the dwelling of this Virgin most prudent, but closed to men only and not to Angels. Hence, although the Angel was able to come into to her, access was not readily possible for any man.

 

Footnotes

[1] Isaias vi. 5.

[2] Psalm xlix. 16.

[3] And one of the seraphims flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar. Isaias vi. 6: 

[4] Luke i. 28.

[5] But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee. Matt. vi. 6.

[6] “Subtlety takes its name from the power to penetrate:” Aquinas, S.T., Suppl., Q83.A1. Obj. 3.

+       +        +

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.