Praises of the Virgin Mother by St Bernard : Homily III : §7/14

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 : §7/14

 §7.   “Blessed,” then, “is the fruit of thy womb” whom God has blessed for ever, and by whom thou thyself, O Mary, art blessed amongst women, because an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit[1].

The Virgin in Prayer, by Salvi (c1640-1650).
National Gallery, London. Public domain.

Blessed art thou amongst women, I am saying, for you escaped that universal curse[2], “In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children”; and that which is referred to later[3]: “Cursed is the barren in Israel.” You obtained the singular blessing of neither remaining barren, nor bringing forth in sorrow – that harsh exigency and heavy yoke upon all the daughters of Eve! For if they give birth, they suffer pain and if they do not give birth, they are cursed. Pain prevents obedience, and a curse forbids disobedience. What will you do, O Virgin, when you hear this and read this? If you bear children, you suffer pain; if you remain barren, you are cursed. What will you choose, prudent Virgin? 

“I am hemmed in on all sides,” she said; “yet it is better for me to incur a curse and remain chaste than to conceive through lust that which I would later deservedly bring forth in pain. For on the one hand. although I see a curse I do not see sin; but on the other, I see both sin and torment. In the end, what else is this curse but a reproach from men? Indeed, the barren woman is called accursed for no other reason than that she is to be held in reproach and contempt, as useless and unfruitful, and this only in Israel. To me, however, it matters little that I displease men, provided I can present myself to Christ as a chaste virgin.”

Footnotes

[1] Matt. vii. 18.

[2] Gen. iii. 16.

[3] Exod. xxiii. 26 & Deut. vii. 14.

 §7.  (continued) O prudent Virgin, O devout Virgin: who taught you that virginity is pleasing to God? What law, what justice, what page of the Old Testament either commands, counsels, or exhorts anyone to live in the flesh without living carnally, and to lead an angelic life on earth? Where, O blessed Virgin, did you read that “the wisdom of the flesh is death;”[1]  and “make not provision for the flesh in its concupiscences”?[2] Where did you read of virgins that they sing “a new canticle” no other can sing[3], and that “they follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth”?[4]  Where did you read that they are praised “who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven”?[5]  Where did you read that “though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh”?[6]  and that “he that giveth his virgin in marriage doth well; but he that giveth her not, doth better”?[7]  Where did you hear, “I would that all men were as myself,”[8]  and “it is good for a man, if he so remain according to my counsel”?[9]  “Now concerning virgins,” the Apostle says[10], “I have no commandment of the Lord; but I give counsel.”

I will not speak here of precept, nor even of counsel or example – except for the fact that the unction of the Holy Spirit taught you concerning all these things; and the living and effective Word of God became your teacher before He became your Son, instructing your mind before He put on flesh. You vow yourself to Christ as a virgin, yet you do not know you are to be at the same time His mother. You choose to be held in low esteem in Israel; and, to please the One to whom you have commended yourself, you incur the curse of barrenness. Yet behold, the curse is transformed into a blessing, and barrenness is rewarded with fruitfulness.

Footnotes

[1] Rom. viii. 6.

[2] Rom. xiii. 14..

[3] Apoc. xiv. 3.

[4] Ibid. 4.

[5] Matt. xix. 12.

[6] 2 Cor. x. 3.

[7] 1 Cor. vii. 38.

[8] Ibid. 7.

[9] Ibid. 40. But more blessed shall she be, if she so remain, according to my counsel;

[10] Ibid. 25.

+       +        +

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.

Praises of the Virgin Mother by St Bernard : Homily III : §5-6/14

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 : §5-6/14

 §5.   “Blessed art thou amongst women.” 

“Blessed art thou among women and blessed is 
the fruit of thy womb.” The Visitation, by Rogier
 van der Weyden (1436-40). Museum of Fine Arts,
Leipzig. Public domain.

These are the words of Elizabeth and it is worth adding what she said next: 

“Blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”[1] 

It is not because you are blessed that the fruit of your womb is therefore blessed; it is because of His prevenient blessings of sweetness that you are blessed. 

Truly blessed is the fruit of your womb, in whom all nations are blessed and from whose fullness you too received[2], along with the rest, though in a different way than others. For this reason, therefore, blessed art thou,  but blessed “amongst women.” He is called blessed not amongst men, nor amongst angels, but “over all,” as the Apostle says[3]: 

“Christ . . . is over all things, God blessed for ever.”  

It is possible to speak of a man as blessed, bread as blessed, a woman as blessed, the earth as blessed – or anything else among created things as blessed; but the fruit of your womb is blessed in a unique way, since He is God, “over all things, God blessed for ever.”

 

Footnotes

[1] Luke i. 42.

[2] And of his fulness we all have received, and grace for grace: John i. 16.

[3] Rom. ix. 5.

 §6.   “Blessed,” therefore, “is the fruit of thy womb.” Blessed in fragrance, blessed in sweet savour and blessed in beauty. The fragrance of this odoriferous fruit was perceived by him who said[1]: 

“The smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord hath blessed”; 

Is not he truly blessed who is blest by the Lord? 

King David in prayerful meditation. Willem
Vrelant (early 1460's). Getty Museum, L.A. 

Of the sweet relish of this fruit, someone who had tasted of it exclaimed, saying[2]: “O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet;” and elsewhere[3]: “O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee!” Again, it is written[4]: “If so be you have tasted that the Lord is sweet.” And the Fruit says of Himself while inviting us all to Him[5]: 

“They that eat me, shall yet hunger: and they that drink me, shall yet thirst.” 

He said this because the sweet savour of this fruit, when once tasted, excites a greater appetite. 

Blessed is this fruit which is the food and drink of those who hunger and thirst after justice. You have heard of its fragrance and you have heard of its savour; hear now of its beauty. For if the fruit which brought death into the world was not only sweet to the taste, but fair to the eyes and delightful to behold, as the Scripture testifies[6], how much more ought we to seek out the life-giving beauty of this life-sustaining fruit – “upon whom,” as another verse in Scripture testifies[7], “the Angels long to gaze”? His beauty was seen in the spirit, and desired to be seen in the flesh by the royal Prophet who said[8]: 

“Out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty.” 

And, lest you should think lightly of the beauty here commended, remember what is said in another Psalm[9]: 

“Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad in thy lips; therefore hath God blessed thee for ever.” 

Footnotes

[1] Gen. xxvii. 27.

[2] Psalm. xxxiii. 9.

[3] Psalm. xxx. 20.

[4] 1 Pet. ii. 3.

[5] Ecclesiasticus xxiv. 29.

[6] Gen. iii. 6.

[7] 1 Pet. i. 12.

[8] Psalm. xlix. 2.

[9] Psalm. xliv. 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.

Praises of the Virgin Mother by St Bernard : Homily III : §2-4/14

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 : §2-4/14

 §2.   The Angel being come in, he said to her: 

“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” 

“Hail, full of grace.” The Coronation of the Virgin,
by Velázquez (c1636). Museo del Prado. Public domain.

In the Acts of the Apostles we read that Stephen was full of grace[1], and that the Apostles were filled with the Holy Ghost[2], but their measure of grace was very different from Mary’s. In Stephen was not found dwelling all the fulness of the Godhead corporeally[3] as it was in Mary; and the Apostles did not conceive of the Holy Spirit as Mary did. “Hail,” the Angel says to her, “full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” What wonder that she was full of grace when the Lord was with her? It is in fact wonderful that He who had sent the Angel was already found by him with the Virgin? Had, then, God been swifter than the Angel, so that He reached the earth more quickly than His hastening messenger? Is it not a cause for wonder that, while the King was at his repose, the Virgin’s spikenard sent forth the odour thereof,[4] the smoke of the aromatic offering rose in the sight of His glory and she found favour in the eyes of the Lord, while His ministers around exclaimed[5]: 

“Who is she that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of myrrh, and frankincense?” 

And straightaway the King, going forth from His holy place, “rejoiced as a giant to run his way”[6]; and though “His going out is from the height of heaven,”[7] yet flying ahead with an overwhelming desire He outstripped His messenger and came first to the Virgin, her whom He had loved, whom He had chosen for Himself and whose beauty He had desired. At the sight of Him coming from afar, the Church exclaims with joy and exultation[8]: 

“Behold, He cometh leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills.”

 

Footnotes

[1] A man full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost: Acts vi. 5.

[2] Acts. ii. 4.

[3] Coloss. ii. 9.

[4] Cant. i. 11.

[5] Cant. iii. 6.

[6] Psalm. xviii. 6.

[7] Psalm. xviii. 7.

[8] Cant. ii. 8.

 §3.   Rightly had the King been desirous of the Virgin’s beauty, for she had long before attended to the words of her father David[1]: 

“Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear: and forget thy people and thy father’s house,” and if you do this “the king shall desire thy beauty.” 

She indeed heard and saw – but not as those who seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand[2], for she heard and believed, she saw and understood. She inclined her ear to obedience and her heart to discipline, and forgot her people and her father’s house. She took no thought to increase her people through the succession of offspring, nor to leave an heir to her father’s house; but whatever honour among the people and whatever worldly possessions she might have derived from her father’s house – she counted it all as dross, so that she might gain Christ. Nor was her intention disappointed, since she claimed Christ as her Son without violating her vow of chastity. Truly, then, is she full of grace who held fast to the grace of virginity and also obtained the glory of fecundity.

Footnotes

[1] Psalm. xliv. 11-12.

[2] Matt. xiii. 13.

 §4.   “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” He says not the Lord is in thee, but the Lord is with thee. For God, who is everywhere equally and wholly present through His simple substance, is nevertheless present in rational creatures in a different way than He is in other things. Within those rational creatures themselves, moreover, He is present differently in the good than in the bad through His efficacy. This is indeed the case too in irrational creatures, yet He is beyond their grasp. He can be grasped by all rational beings through knowledge, but by the good He is grasped also through love. With the good alone He is present by love as well as by knowledge, so that He is with them by agreement of wills. While their wills are subject to justice, God does not disdain to will what they will, for their wills being conformed to His, they in a special manner unite God to themselves. 

Annunciation with the Trinity, c. 1480, artist unknown.
National Museum Warsaw. Public domain.

If God is thus present with all the saints, He is especially so with Mary, with whom He was so closely united that He joined to Himself not only her will but also her flesh, for from His own Divine nature and from her virginal substance He fashioned one Christ or rather one Christ who – although He was neither wholly of God nor wholly of the Virgin – He might nevertheless be made wholly of God and wholly of the Virgin. He was not two sons, but one Son of both. The Angel therefore says: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” 

Not only is there with thee God the Son, whom thou dost clothe with thy flesh, but also with thee is God the Holy Ghost, of whom thou dost conceive, and also with thee is God the Father, who begot Him who is to be thy Son. The Father is with thee who makes His Son to be thine; the Son is with thee who institutes with thee a wondrous Sacrament, and yet preserves the seal of thy virginity; and The Holy Spirit is with thee, and with the Father and the Son He sanctifies thy pure womb. “The Lord,” therefore, “is with thee.”

+       +        +

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.

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.

Praises of the Virgin Mother by St Bernard : Homily II : §16-17/17

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 : §16-17/17

 §16.    We can learn how from this calling Joseph earned though God’s dispensation the honour of being both called and believed to be the father of the divine Saviour; we can also learn how from his own name (of which the root is accepted as meaning “increase”) who and what kind of man this Joseph was. 

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, by Guido Reni (ca. 1630).
Getty Museum, L.A. (Open Content Programme).

At the same time, we should remember that great Patriarch of old who was sold into Egypt[1] and understand how Joseph not only received the Patriarch’s name but also attained chastity, as well as obtaining innocence and grace. That Joseph of old, sold out of fraternal envy and taken to Egypt, prefigured what happened to Christ; St Joseph, fleeing the envy of Herod, carried Christ into Egypt[2]. The first Joseph remained faithful to his master Putiphar, and would not consent to the wicked suggestion proposed by his mistress (Putiphar’s wife)[3]; St. Joseph, recognizing in Mary his wife the Virgin Mother of his Lord, guarded her with the utmost fidelity and chastity. To the Joseph of old was given insight into the interpretation of dreams[4], to the new Joseph an insight and a share in heavenly mysteries. His predecessor kept a store of corn, not for himself, but for the whole nation[5]; St Joseph received the Living Bread from Heaven, that he might preserve it for his own salvation and that of all the world.

 

King David as Psalmist. From the Vespasian Psalter (8th cent.)
at opening of Psalm. xxvi:“The Lord is my light and my
salvation, whom shall I fear?” British Library (Public domain).

There is no doubt that this Joseph, to whom the Mother of the Saviour was espoused, was a good and faithful man, a faithful and prudent servant whom our Lord chose to be the solace of His Mother, the provider during His own childhood, as well as the only and most trustworthy co-operator in the Divine plan. The Evangelist adds[6] that he is said to have been “of the house of David,” and indeed this man Joseph – noble by birth and even nobler in spirit– was of the house of David, being descended from the royal line. He was in truth a son of David, in no way falling short of David his ancestor. I am saying truly a Son of David not only according to the flesh, but in faith, in devotion and in holiness of life. Like the first David, he was a man whom God found according to His own heart[7], and one to whom He could safely entrust the innermost and most sacred secret of His heart; to whom, as to David, He revealed the uncertain and hidden things of His wisdom, and to whom He revealed a mystery hidden from the great ones of the world. 

To Joseph it was given to behold Him whom many kings and prophets had desired to see and had not seen, to hear and had not heard. Not only was he allowed to behold Him and listen to His words, but he was able to bear Jesus in his arms, to guide His steps, to embrace Him, to kiss Him, to feed Him and to protect Him. It must be believed, however, that not only Joseph but also Mary was descended from the house of David; otherwise she would not have been espoused to a man of royal descent had she not herself been of the house of David. Both, then, were of the royal race; but whilst in Mary was fulfilled the truth which the Lord swore unto David[8], in Joseph we have the witness of its fulfilment. 

Footnotes

[1] Gen. xxxvii. 27-28.

[2] Matt. ii. 14.

[3] Gen. xxxix. 12.

[4] Gen. xl & xli.

[5] Gen. xli & xlvii.

[6] Luke i. 27.

[7] God . . . raised them up David to be king: to whom giving testimony, he said: I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man according to my own heart: Acts xiii. 22.

[8] 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: Psalm. cxxxi. 11.

 §17.    The verse in St Luke concludes with the words[1]: “And the virgin’s name was Mary.”

“Look to the star and call on Mary.” (The Coronation of the
Blessed Virgin, by Willem Vrelant (1460’s); Getty Museum, LA.

Let us say a few words about this name, which may be interpreted as meaning “Star of the Sea” and is therefore admirably suited to the Virgin Mother. She is justly compared to a star which, in giving forth its light, suffers no harm to itself, just as she she brought forth her Son without stain to her virginity. As when light comes from a star it suffers no lessening of its brightness, so the Son of Mary took nothing away from her integrity. She is therefore that noble star which rose out of Jacob[2], and which casts its radiance over the whole world; the star whose splendour rejoices heaven and terrifies hell. She radiates her light over the peoples of the earth as well but she warms hearts and minds more than bodies, fostering virtues and driving out vices. She herself, I say, is that brilliant and outstanding star who is perforce raised high above the great and wide oceans, shining forth through the lustre of her merits and example. 

Whoever you may be, when you find that in the turbulence of this world you are tossed about amidst storms and tempests rather than walking upon dry land, do not turn your eyes away from the radiance of this star if you do not wish to be overwhelmed by storms. If the winds of temptations rise against you, or if you are foundering among the rocks of tribulation, look up to the Star and call on Mary. If you are tossed by the waves of pride, or ambition, or slander, or envy, look to the star and call on Mary. If anger, covetousness, or other passions beat on the barque of your soul, look to Mary. If, disturbed by the enormity of your sins, confounded by the foul state of your conscience and terrified by the dread of judgment, you begin to be swallowed up by the gulf of sadness and plunge into the abyss of despair – think of Mary. In dangers, in distress, in perplexities, think of Mary and call on Mary. Let her name never leave your lips or be missing from your heart; and, so that you may win the support of her prayers, never depart from the example of her life. Following her, you will never go astray; if you implore her aid, you will never yield to despair; thinking on her, you will never err; under her patronage you will never falter; beneath her protection, you will not fear; with her as your guide, you will not weary; with her as your propitious Star, you will come safely home and experience for yourself the truth of the words: 

“And the Virgin’s name was Mary.”

But now we must pause a while, lest, as we pass by, we gaze too intently upon the brilliance of this great light. For, to use the words of the Apostle[3]: “It is good for us to be here”; and it is delightful to contemplate in silence what laborious speech struggles to explain. In the meantime, however, we shall benefit from devout contemplation of this resplendent star and be enabled to consider more fervently the points that follow.

Footnotes

[1] Luke i. 27.

[2] A star shall rise out of Jacob: Num. xxiv. 17.

[3] Matt. xvii. 4.

[End of Homily II]

+       +        +

Editor’s addendum

Here is the text of an English hymn entitled Respice Stellam (“Look to the Star”), based upon the words and ideas of St Bernard shown above. It was written by the English Roman Catholic priest and hymn writer Francis Stanfield (1835–1914) and was originally published in his collection “Catholic Hymns, Part II” in 1860. See Hymnary.org.

Respice Stellam, Voca Mariam

“Look to the Star and call upon Mary”

Drear is the nightfall,

Lonely we roam,

Wandering exiles,

Far from our home;

Borne on the billows of life’s stormy sea

Bright Star of Heaven,

Our trust is in thee.

When night falls drearily,

When life flows wearily,

Respice Stellam,

Voca Mariam.

Winds of affliction

Raise their rude blast,

Ruffling the ocean

Whereon we’re cast;

Waves of temptation

Mountain-like roll,

’Neath their dark billows

Sinking the soul,

Fear not, but gaze afar,

On the soft shining star,

Respice Stellam,

Voca Mariam.

+       +        +

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.