Praises of the Virgin Mother by St Bernard : Homily IV : §3/11

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 : §3/11

 §3.   “And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?”[1] 

“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee.” The Annunciation by Rubens
1609-10. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

At first she had kept a prudent silence, since she was still in doubt as to what manner of salutation this might be, preferring in humility to give no answer rather than risk speaking about what she did not understand. Now, however, she was strengthened and well prepared, for while the Angel spoke externally God disposed her heart internally, since the Lord was with her from the moment the Angel said, “The Lord is with thee.” This gave her reassurance and – her faith dispelling her fear and her joy overcoming her shyness – she said to the Angel: “How shall this be done, for I know not man?” She doubts not the fact, but only inquires about the manner of its accomplishment. She asks not whether this shall be done but “How shall this be done?” As if she would say: “Since my Lord knows and my conscience bears witness that His handmaid has made a vow that she shall know not man, by what law and in what manner shall it please Him to work this wonder? If I must break my vow in order that I may bring forth such a Son, then I rejoice on account of the Son but I grieve because of my broken vow. Nevertheless, may His will be done. But if I conceive as a virgin and give birth as a virgin – which  will certainly not be impossible if He so wills it – then I shall know truly that He has regarded the humility of His handmaid.”[2]

“How, then, shall this be done, for I know not man? And the angel, answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee.”[3] 

It was said before that she was full of grace; how then can it now be said: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee”? Could she be filled with grace and not possess the Holy Spirit, when He is the giver of all grace? And if the Holy Spirit was already in her, why is it promised that He shall come upon her in some new way? Was it not to explain this to us that the Angel did not say simply that the Holy Ghost shall come “into thee,” but that he shall come “upon thee”? For the Holy Spirit was already in her by abundant grace, and now it is announced that He will come upon her with the fullness of more abundant grace which He will pour out upon her. But if she is already full of grace, how will she be able to receive more? Was it that the earlier grace had only filled her mind and soul, whereas the subsequent grace was to perfuse her womb, so that the plenitude of the Divinity which had hitherto dwelt in her spiritually – as in the case of many of the saints – might begin to dwell in her corporeally as He has never dwelt in any other saint?

Footnotes

[1] Luke i. 34.

[2] Luke i. 48.

[3] Luke i. 34-35.

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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.