Tag: Bernard of Clairvaux
The Soul remains unshaken
Unlikeness means, not that the likeness has been destroyed, but that it has been concealed by something else which has been laid over it. The soul has not in fact put off her original form but has put on one foreign to her. The latter is an addition; the former has not been lost. This… Read More ›
Wisdom is more powerful than anything
There is many a consolation to relieve the torment of a guilty conscience. God is kind and does not let us be tempted beyond our strength. Especially at the beginning of our conversion, he anoints our wounds with the oil of mercy so that the acute nature of our sickness and the difficulty of the… Read More ›
St. Bernard reminds us to properly prepare for the Lord’s Coming
[Yet people] observe these days (Advent) out of stale routine, without devotion or emotion. Further—and still worse—the remembrance of this condescension is turned into a pretext for the flesh. During those days you may see them preparing splendid clothes and special foods with utmost care—as if Christ at his birth would be seeking these and… Read More ›
Prayer for Advent
Lord, I entreat, be pleased to rescue me, for I am weak, for I was stolen away out of my homeland and, being innocent, was cast here into this pit. No, not entirely innocent, yet innocent enough in comparison with the one who led me astray. I was taken in by a life, Lord. Let… Read More ›
Have before you the Image of Christ
The soul at prayer should have before her a sacred image of the God-man, in his birth or infancy or as he was teaching, or dying, or rising, or ascending. Whatever form it takes this image must bind the soul with the love of virtue and expel carnal vices, eliminate temptations and quiet desires. Bernard… Read More ›
All Saints
Why should our praise and glorification, or even the celebration of this feast day mean anything to the saints? What do they care about earthly honors when their heavenly Father honors them by fulfilling the faithful promise of the Son? What does our commendation mean to them? The saints have no need of honor from… Read More ›
St. Bernard: “a sword has truly pierced your soul!”
In another famous Sermon on the Sunday in the Octave of the Assumption the Holy Abbot described with passionate words Mary’s intimate participation in the redeeming sacrifice of her Son. “O Blessed Mother”, he exclaimed, “a sword has truly pierced your soul!… So deeply has the violence of pain pierced your soul, that we may… Read More ›
Understanding the Cistercian Fathers
This the final part of an interview with Fr. Michael Casey, OSCO January, 2010. (In studying their sermons) It seems to me, that Guerric of Igny took a lot of care about his discourses and he had long practice and he probably wrote them out in advance and delivered them pretty much as they are… Read More ›
Reading the Cistercian Fathers
This is a continuation of an interview with Fr. Michael Casey, OSCO January, 2010. Br Chris: How do you recommend reading the Cistercian Fathers? Fr Michael Casey: It depends on the individual. Some people you give them a reading list and they read it, other people you give them a reading list and they don’t… Read More ›
The one who is displeasing to himself is pleasing to God
Let the soul harken to the divine voice, and to her own amazement and wonder she will hear it say, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’. Who is poorer in spirit than the person whose spirit finds no rest and who has nowhere to lay his head? This… Read More ›