Sermons of St. Bernard on Advent and Christmas : including the famous treatise on the incarnation called "Missus est"

JOHN M. KELLY LIBRARY Donated by The ofRedemptorists the Toronto Province from the Collection ofLibrary Redeemer WindsorCollege,Holy ofUniversity St. Michael s TorontoCollege,SERMONS BERNARDOF ST. ON ADVENT ? CHRISTMAS THE TREATISEINCLUDING FAMOUS THE CALLED "MISSUS EST"ON INCARNATION at sand translated St.Compiled Mary Convent^ the Edition in black-letter^from (1508), of s and LettersSt. Bernard Sermons FOR[CHIEFLY CONVENTS] WITH INTRODUCTION BY THE RIGHT REV. C. O.S.B.J. HEDLEY, BISHOP OF NEWPORT LTD.R. & T. WASHBOURNE, 2 & PATERNOSTER LONDONi, ROW,4 : : BUCHANAN ST.MANCHESTER BRIDGE ST. GLASGOW74 248 BENZIGER BROS. \ NEW CHICAGOYORK, CINCINNATI, 1909 resented[All rights LIBRARY.REDEEMEH8LY WIJ$SORHENRICUS S.G. BOWDEN, CENSOR DEPUTATUS. Imprimatur. EDM. CAN. SURMONT, VICARIUS GENERALIS. WESTMONASTERII, die 25 OctobriS) 1909.CONTENTS ADVENT PAGE ON ITS Six CIRCUMSTANCES II. SERMON " II. ON THE WORDS TO ASK THEEACHAZ, A ETC.SIGN," II " "THEON MISSUS EST PRAISES OF THE VIRGIN-MOTHERI. 23 -II. THE MISSION OF THE ANGEL 33 THEIII. OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN ANDCOLLOQUY -ANGEL 48 THE AND THE BLESSED VIRGIN SIV. ANNUNCIATION, 60CONSENT III THE OUR LORD S NATIVITYON VIGIL OF - I. ON THE His BIRTH SHOULD INSPIREJOY 75 81II. ON THE MIRACULOUS NATURE OF THE NATIVITY IN THOSE WHOIII. ON THE DISPOSITIONS REQUIRED - -THE FEASTCELEBRATE 89iv CONTENTS IV ON OUR LORD S NATIVITY PAGE I. THE FOUNTAINS THE -OF SAVIOUR 101 II. THE THREE COMMINGLINGS - 108 III. ON THE AND OTHERPLACE, TIME, CIRCUM STANCES - 115 -IV. ON THE SHEPHERDS FINDING OUR LORD 122 " V. ON THE BLESSED BE THE GOD ANDWORDS, -ETC. .FATHER," 126 V ON - -THE CIRCUMCISION 135 VI ON THE HOLY NAME AND OTHER SCRIP- - -TURAL TITLES OF OUR LORD 141 VII ON THE EPIPHANY " I. ON THE GOODNESS AND KINDNESS OF OUR "SAVIOUR - -HATH APPEARED 151 " "II. GO YE DAUGHTERS OFFORTH, JERUSALEM 157 III. -ON THE GIFTS OF THE -WISE MEN 161INTRODUCTION of introductionto a fewwordsIT is a writepleasure of someto an admirable translation interesting " " of themade oneSermons of St. Bernard by areThe sermonsof St. York.s,MaryCommunity toof them relatedand are allnineteen in number, Of theof Advent and Christmas.the mysteries in Domseven Z)0 Adventu Domini,sermons, printed we have hereedition of the saint sMabillon s works, homilies onthe first Then follow the fourtwo. title that isthe Missus etc. This is thetext est, but theto these famous sermons,generally given be calledhimself intended them toholy preacher his letteras we read inDe laudibus Matris,Virginis for theOf the six discoursesto Peter the Deacon. thethe translator has selectedof Christmas,Vigil fivethe and the sixth. All the sermonsfirst, fourth, volume endsare Theon Christmas Day given. on theand threewith two on the Circumcision Epiphany. transare andThese sermons conscientiouslyfully madeA few omissions have beenlated. chiefly, to insheerit would seem, inability presentthroughvi INTRODUCTION an modern version all the devout andacceptable fanciful of the Doctor with the textdealings holy of the St. Bernard knew St.Scripture. Augustine and he had learnt this fashion ofwell, using Holy from him. St. Bernard s mind and heartScripture were itin the and comes naturalsteeped Scriptures, to one towhom the text is so and real to treat living it as a lesson in word and Iholding every syllable. " have used the word but rather in the fanciful," sense of than of childish orimaginative fertility mere dreaminess. The as all poetic Holy Spirit, Catholics a for in Biblehas man thebelieve, message beneath and besides the letter. In it is the general, of the saints and doctors to discourseprerogative and reveal sense. This is the reasonthis mystical the commentaries of men are sowhy holy precious. For the of a St. a St.exposition Augustine, Gregory, or a St. Bernard is the of the interiorexpression illumination of a and it would be rashfavoured soul, to doubt that such comments in a sense,are, general and the Author of theguided ""inspired" by Himself. the translator of theseIf, then,Scripture " " sermons has found some too toquaintpassages be there is a sufficient number leftreproduced, still, to make it useful to remind the reader that he is here to one of the of the contemplativelistening princes and that he should rather to follow the idealife, try than to criticize. No one can read St. Bernard with or satisfaction who does notprofit heartilyany him as a in .accept mystical expert Holy Scripture has beenIn one or two considerableplaces liberty are intaken with the text of the sermons. We in r to the sermon on the Circumcisionformed, egardINTRODUCTION vii has beenthat this sermon combined with(p. 135), in saint sone on the same thesubject commentary on the Canticle of Canticles. As the earlier discourse andtouches on the as it isName, not,Holy perhaps, one of St. Bernard s most itwasutterances,striking a not to be resisted to have recourse totemptation the well-known Fifteenth Sermon on the Canticles, and to attach to the first the famous inpassages which the Name is to etLux, Cibus,Holy compared Medicina. This Bernardine outbursttruly presents difficulties to the if the andgreat translator, spirit of the are to be It willrhythm reproduced.original be seen that the translation is notpresent unworthy of the I be tohowever,original. may, permitted in the where the miraclethat,say thrilling passage the Name on the at thewrought by Holy cripple Gate of the is I miss thedescribed, tanquamTemple the of Peter s utterfulgur egrediens comparison ance of that to a flash of The fineName lightning. oratorical which ends that thepoint passage of one contrasted with the illuminahealing cripple tion This kindof multitudes of blind is left out. of in these and isoccursshortcoming rarely pages, ofan of the excessiveonly example difficulty a vividthe exact rhetorical turn ofrendering very Latin into corresponding English. St. Bernard s were all delivered in thesermons at Clairvaux. There can be no doubtChapter-house that were in as we have themLatin,they spoken now. If the were had tolay-brothers present, they be content at the moment with whatpicking up but we learn that at other times thesecould,they discourses were to the inrepeated lay-brethrenINTRODUCTIONviii which was theor in the RomanceFrench, tongue have aof modern French. We specimenprecursor be almostof translation which must contemporary, St. Bernard in a Parisand himself,possibly by Mabillon. The versionshowsmanuscript quoted by have much ofthat even an illiterate may caught the Latin. For in thethe sense of spoken example, " thesermon for Advent, Fugitepassage beginning, fratres multummei, fugite,"superbiam, quseso, " in Por chier Friere,Romance, Deu,begins fuyez et forment lo St. Bernard s Latin orgoil, fuyez." was much admired the such asHumanists,style by of Valois and Erasmus. The latter veryHenry acute critic he was a born spirited,says preacher, and We must thatremember uppleasing, moving. to his he had an excellenttwentieth trainingyear and at Chatillon. Hisin scholarship divinity in both sacred and literature mustprofanereading have wide. He is well withbeen acquaintedvery as one can for his sermonssee, inexample,theology, on the in Sermons 80 andCanticles, especially where he discourses on the of God in81, image and in the soul of and on thethe Word man, of with a notGod, penetration unworthysimplicity of St. Anselm. His of the Canon Lawknowledge tois shown in his most able addressedtreatise, the fine book Consideratione.III., ^DeEugenius a student.It is true he never considered himself " He said that he learnt more from the oaks and " frombeeches of the Cistercian solitude than thebooks or masters. What he thus learnt was most of what he has left us. But still,precious part like Alexander III. and Irmocent III.,great Popes,