Tag: Bernard of Clairvaux
God has the words of eternal life
God has the words of eternal life, and the hour is coming —if only it were already here!—when the dead shall hear his voice, and those who hear him shall live, for life is in his will. And if you want to know, his will is our conversion. Listen to him then: ‘Is it my… Read More ›
Who 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 ›
Unlikeness . . .
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 ›
God has the words of eternal life
God has the words of eternal life, and the hour is coming — if only it were already here! — when the dead shall hear his voice, and those who hear him shall live, for life is in his will. And if you want to know, his will is our conversion. Listen to him then:… Read More ›
Lighting the Lamp and Sweeping the House
The image would have lain stained and deformed, had not the woman of the Gospel lit her lamp — had not Wisdom appeared in the flesh, in other words — swept the house — of the vices — searched carefully for her lost coin — her image — which, its original luster gone, coated over… Read More ›
Prayer requires both the right time and the right place
Anyone who wishes to pray must choose not only the right place but also the right time. A time of leisure is best and most convenient, the deep silence when others are asleep is particularly suitable, for prayer will then be freer and purer. ‘Arise at the first watch of the night, and pour out… Read More ›
Solitude of the Mind and Spirit
Christ the Lord is a spirit before your face, and he demands solitude of the spirit more than of the body, although physical withdrawal can be of benefit when the opportunity offers, especially in time of prayer. To do this is to follow the advice and example of the bridegroom, shut the door and then… Read More ›
Bind the soul with the love of virtue
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 ›
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
by M. Basil Pennington OCSO The Young Abbot Bernard, the founding abbot of Clairvaux Abbey in Burgundy, was one of the most commanding Church leaders in the first half of the twelfth century as well as one of the greatest spiritual masters of all times and the most powerful propagator of the Cistercian reform. He… Read More ›
Turning your attention to God
Therefore my advice to you, friends, is to turn aside from troubled and anxious reflection on your own progress, and escape to the easier paths of remembering the good things which God has done; in this way, instead of becoming upset by thinking about yourself, you will find relief by turning your attention to God… Read More ›