Posts

Showing posts with the label St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent, December 20, 2020, Year B

Image
Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) About 20 years ago I was asked to speak to a group of candidates in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, on the topic of “de-creation,” i.e., the fall of Adam and Eve and its negative impact of on creation and history. I began by showing them a very beautiful, truly artistic mug that had been given to me. It reflected the love of the artist, and of the one who gave it to me, just as the world created by God reflected his love. A little bit later, I “accidentally” knocked the mug off the podium and it shattered on the floor. As it began to fall, everyone in the group gasped. I concluded, “That is what creation did when Adam and Eve reached for the forbidden fruit. All creation gasped, crying out: ‘No! No! No!’” Almost 900 years ago, St. Bernard of Clairvaux delivered four homilies on today’s Gospel. Each one is easily four or five times as lo

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Reformer and Doctor of the Church

Image
August 20th, is the Memorial of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, (1090-1153) the 12th century French abbot, gifted spiritual writer, counselor to popes, and Doctor of the Church who reformed the Cistercian Order. His extensive Marian theology marks him not only as a theologian of the highest rank, but also as the "cithara of Mary," (A cithara is a stringed instrument similar to a lyre.) He is especially noted for his development of the Blessed Mother's role as mediator. Pope Pius XII’s encyclical Doctor Mellifluus , issued on the 800th anniversary of St. Bernard’s death, called him "The Last of the Fathers." The Divine Office contains numerous excerpts from his sermons. Like his other works, these are conspicuous for their genuine emotion and spiritual depth. He was born the third of seven children, to a prominent noble family, the son of Lord Tescelin de Fontaine and Alèthe de Montbard near Dijon, France. From an early age, his intellectual gifts, literary prop

St. Bernard of Clairvaux on the Holy Name of Jesus

Image
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux was the 12th century French abbot, a prolific spiritual writer, counselor to popes, and Doctor of the Church who reformed the Cistercian Order. He was especially devoted to the Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and was instrumental in the spread of this most solemn and powerful of devotions. The sweet Name of Jesus produces in us holy thoughts, fills the soul with noble sentiments, strengthens virtue, begets good works, and nourishes pure affection. All spiritual food leaves the soul dry, if it contain not that penetrating oil, the Name Jesus. — St. Bernard of Clairvaux __________________________________ Prayer to the Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ O good Jesus, according to Thy great mercy, have mercy on me. O most merciful Jesus, by that Precious Blood which You did willingly shed for sinners, I beseech You to wash away all my iniquities and to look graciously upon me, a poor and unworthy sinner, as I call upon Your Holy Name. Therefore,

Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

Image
January 3rd the Church celebrates the optional memorial of the Most Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus. The Church reveals to us the wonders of the Incarnate Word by singing the glories of His name. The name of Jesus means Savior; it had been foretold in a dream to Saint Joseph together with its significance and to the most Blessed Virgin Mary at the time of the Annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel. Devotion to the Holy Name is deeply rooted in the Sacred Scriptures, especially in the Acts of the Apostles. It was promoted in a special manner by St. Bernard, St. Bernardine of Siena, St. John Capistrano and by the Franciscan Order. It was extended to the whole Church in 1727 during the pontificate of Innocent XIII. January has traditionally been dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus Our Savior. Fr. Pius Parsch observes, "This feast marks no progress in the development of the Church year. It merely embellishes the occasion just observed when the Child received the Name Jesus as had b

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 24, 2017, Year B

Image
Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) About 20 years ago I was asked to speak to a group of candidates in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, on the topic of “de-creation,” i.e., the fall of Adam and Eve and its negative impact of on creation and history. I began by showing them a very beautiful, truly artistic mug that had been given to me. It reflected the love of the artist, and of the one who gave it to me, just as the world created by God reflected his love. A little bit later, I “accidentally” knocked the mug off the podium and it shattered on the floor. As it began to fall, everyone in the group gasped. I concluded, “That is what creation did when Adam and Eve reached for the forbidden fruit. All creation gasped, crying out: ‘No! No! No!’” Almost 900 years ago, St. Bernard of Clairvaux delivered four homilies on today’s Gospel. Each one is easil

Saint Bernard on the Most Holy Name of Mary

Image
Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary … in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her name never be far from your lips, or far from your heart … If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err. If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination. — St. Bernard ______________________________________ Prayer for the Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary Lord our God, when your Son was dying on the altar of the cross, he gave us as our mother the one he had chosen to be his own mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary; grant that we who call upon the holy name of Mary, our mother, with confidence in her protection may know solace and comfort in our needs. Amen.

These Words of Ordination Should be the Personal Credo of Every Catholic

Image
"Receive the book of the gospel whose herald you have become. Believe what you read. Teach what you believe. Practice what you teach…" These words are part of the ordination rite for the holy diaconate. The Bishop professes this solemn instruction to the newly ordained as they kneel before him, and he presents them with the Book of Gospels. These words of ordination should be the personal credo of all who call themselves Catholic and who seek to live in sincere imitation of Jesus. Truly, "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." Although often described as such, the Christian faith is not a “religion of the Book”, but of the Word of God, Jesus Christ, His Only Begotten Son, born of the Father before all ages. We do not merely subscribe to a millennia old collection of objective moral commands. We bow to a Person, a historical and ever-living “Someone”, who won our salvation by paying the ultimate ransom for man’s sins. In the words of Saint Bernard of C

We are Not a "People of the Book". We are a People of the Word — Jesus Christ

Image
Although often described as such, the Christian faith is not a “religion of the Book”, but of the Word of God, Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. We do not merely subscribe to a millennia old collection of objective moral commands. We bow to a Person, a historical and ever living “Someone”, who won our salvation by paying the ultimate ransom for man’s sins. In the words of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, our Faith is “not a written and mute word, but incarnate and living”. The fact that God would assume our humanity, even unto death, as the exemplar of love. marks Christianity apart. The Evangelist Saint John opens his unique Gospel by describing with majestic succinctness, Christ’s singular role in effecting the Divine Economy of Salvation. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be

The Month of September is Dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Mary

Image
Pietà , Pietro Perugino, c. 1490. The month of September is dedicated to commemorating the Seven Sorrows of Mary. This devotion originated in the 12th century. Thanks to the influence of Saint Anselm and Saint Bernard, it spread from monastic circles to the universal Church. Jesus is called the the King of martyrs, because He suffered more than all other martyrs. Mary is the Queen of martyrs, by virtue of suffering the most cruel martyrdom after that of her Son. According to St. Bernard, "Mary was a martyr, not by the sword of the executioner, but by bitter sorrow of heart." The Seven Sorrows of Mary 1. The Prophecy of Simeon ( Luke 2:25-35 ) 2. The Flight into Egypt ( Matthew 2:13-15 ) 3. The Loss of Jesus in the Temple ( Luke 2:41-50 ) 4. The Meeting of Mary and Jesus on the Way to Calvary ( John 19:17 ) 5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus  ( John 19:25-30 ) 6. The Piercing of Jesus' Side, and His Descent from the Cross ( John 19:31-37 ) 7. The Burial

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux on the Mother of God

Image
The Vision of St Bernard , Pietro Perugino, 1493. In danger, in distress, in uncertainty, think of Mary, call upon Mary. She never leaves your lips, she never departs from your heart; and so that you may obtain the help of her prayers, never forget the example of her life. If you follow her, you cannot falter; if you pray to her, you cannot despair; if you think of her, you cannot err. If she sustains you, you will not stumble; if she protects you, you have nothing to fear; if she guides you, you will never flag; if she is favourable to you, you will attain your goal... (Hom. II super Missus est , 17: PL 183, 70-71). — St. Bernard of Clairvaux from his homily on the Incarnation of Christ.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot, Reformer and Doctor of the Church

Image
August 20th, is the Memorial of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, (1090-1153) the 12th century French abbot, gifted spiritual writer, counselor to popes, and Doctor of the Church who reformed the Cistercian Order. His extensive Marian theology marks him not only as a theologian of the highest rank, but also as the "cithara of Mary," (A cithara is a stringed instrument similar to a lyre.) He is especially noted for his development of the Blessed Mother's role as mediator. Pope Pius XII’s encyclical Doctor Mellifluus , issued on the 800th anniversary of St. Bernard’s death, called him "The Last of the Fathers." The Divine Office contains numerous excerpts from his sermons. Like his other works, these are conspicuous for their genuine emotion and spiritual depth. He was born the third of seven children, to a prominent noble family, the son of Lord Tescelin de Fontaine and Alèthe de Montbard near Dijon, France. From an early age, his intellectual gifts, literary prop