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Understanding 9/11Life and works of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux: Volume 4: Cantica Canticorum Eighty-Six Sermons On The Song Of Solomon
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Life and works of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux: Volume 4: Cantica Canticorum Eighty-Six Sermons On The Song Of Solomon
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Life And Works Of Saint Bernard, Abbot Of Clairvaux, Volume 1
TABLE OF ST. BERNARD'S SERMONS ON THE SONG OF SONGS
SERMON PAGE
I. The Title (Cant. i. i) 7
II. The Incarnation of Christ expected (Cant. i. i) 12
III. What it is to kiss the Feet, the Hand, and the Lips of the Lord (Cant i. 1) 17
IV. The threefold progress of the soul, arising from the kiss of the Foot, the Hand, and the Lips of the Lord (Cant i. 1 ) 21
V. Of the Four Orders of Spirits ; viz., the Spirit of God, of the Angels, of man, and of the beast (Cant. i. 1) 24
VI. Of the Supreme and Infinite Spirit, who is God ; and of the sense in which mercy and judgment are called the Feet of God (Cant. i. 1) 29
VII. Of the ardent love of the soul for God ; and of the care and attention that ought to be given to prayer and to psalmody (Cant. i. 1) 33
VIII. That the kiss of God is the Holy Spirit ; and that the Church asks for this kiss, that she may have the knowledge of the Holy Trinity (Cant i. 1) 38
IX. Of the breasts of the Bridegroom : of which the one is patience in waiting for the conversion of sinners ; the other, benignity in receiving them (Cant i. 2) 43
X. Of the three spiritual perfumes : namely, penitence, devotion, and piety (Cant. i. 2) 49
XI. Of two principal facts in human redemption : the manner in which it is accomplished, and the benefits which we derive from it (Cant. i. 2) 55
XII. Of the perfume of piety, which is the most excellent of all ; and of the respect which those who are under authority ought to have for those set over them (Cant. i. 2) 60
XIII. That praise and glory is always to be rendered unto God, for all the good gifts which we receive of Him (Cant. i. 2) 67
XIV. Of the Church of faithful Christians ; and of the Synagogue of perfidious Jews (Cant. i. 2) 74
XV. In what manner the Name of Jesus is a salutary medicine to faithful Christians in all adversities (Cant. i. 2) 79
XVI. Of contrition of heart : and of the three kinds of true confession (Cant. i. 2) 86
XVII. That it is needful to observe with care the approach and the departure of the Holy Spirit ; and of the envy of the devil towards the human race (Cant i. 2) 95
XVIII. Of the two operations of the Holy Spirit, of which the one is called effusion, and the other infusion (Cant. i. 3) 100
XIX. Of the nature, manner, and properties of the Angelical love towards God, according to the several Orders of Angels (Cant i. 3) 104
XX. Of the three ways in which we love God (Cant i. 3) 109
XXI. In what manner the Bride, that is, the Church, asks that she may be drawn to follow after her Spouse, who is Christ (Cant. i. 3) 116
XXII. Of the four perfumes of the Bridegroom : and of the four cardinal virtues (Cant i. 3) 123
XXIII. Of three ways of contemplating God, represented under the figure of three storerooms (Cant i. 4) 130
XXIV. Principally against the detestable vice of detraction : and in what rectitude in a man chiefly consists (Cant i. 4) 143
XXV. That the Bride, namely, the Church, is black, yet comely (Cant i. 5) 149
XXVI. St. Bernard laments the death of his brother Gerard (Cant i. 5) 155
XXVII. Of the adornment of the Bride : and in what sense the holy soul is called heaven (Cant. i. 5) 167
XXVIII. Of the blackness, yet beauty, of the Bride : and in what manner hearing, rather than sight, avails in matters of faith, and to the knowledge of the truth (Cant, i . 5) 176
XXIX. Of the complaint of the Church against her persecutors ; that is to say, against those who sow division amongst brethren (Cant. i. 6) 186
XXX. That the faithful people, or the souls of the elect, are signified by the vineyards, of which the Church is called the guardian ; and that the prudence of the flesh is death (Cant. i. 6) 192
XXXI. The excellency of the Vision of God. How at the present time the delight in the Divine Presence felt by holy men varies according to the varying desires of their soul (Cant. i. 7) 201
XXXII. Christ communicates Himself to the holy soul as Bride-groom, and to the soul that is weak and imperfect as Physician. Of the moods of the soul ; how they differ from each other, and from what causes (Cant. i. 7)
XXXIII. Of those things which a devout soul ought to seek without ceasing. What is to be understood by the word 'noon? and of four classes of temptations to be sedulously avoided (Cant. i. 7)
XXXIV. Of humility and of patience (Cant. i. 8)
XXXV. Of the sharp reproof which the Bridegroom gives to the Bride: and of two kinds of ignorance which are especially to be feared and avoided (Cant. i. 8)
XXXVI. That the knowledge of literature is good for our instruction, but the knowledge of our own infirmity is more useful to salvation (Cant. i. 8)
XXXVII. Of the two kinds of knowledge and the two kinds of ignorance : the evils or injuries caused by these (Cant. i. 8)
XXXVIII. How from ignorance of God comes despair: and how the Bride is called the fairest among women (Cant. i. 8)
XXXIX. Of the chariots of Pharaoh, that is, the devil ; and of the chiefs of his army, who are malice, sensuality, and avarice (Cant. i. 9)
XL. What is meant by the face of the soul ; what constitutes its beauty or its deformity, its solitude and its modesty (Cant. i. 10)
XLI. Of the great consolation which the Bride feels from the contemplation of the Divine Glory, before she attains to the clear vision of it (Cant. i. 10)
XLII. Of two kinds of humility : the one born of truth, the other warmed by charity (Cant. i. 12)
XLIII. How meditation on the Sufferings and the Passion of Jesus Christ enables the Bride, that is, the faithful soul, to pass uninjured alike through the prosperity and the adversity of this world (Cant. i. 13)-
XLIV. That correction ought to be adapted to the character of offenders, so that those of humble and complying disposition should be gently dealt with, but the stubborn and obstinate severely chastened to oblige them to reform (Cant i. 14)
XLV. Of the twofold beauty of the soul : how the soul speaks to God the Word, and the Word to the soul, and what language they employ (Cant i. 15) -
XLVI. Of the state and composition of the whole Church. Also of the manner in which, by an active life spent under obedience, the life of contemplation may be attained (Cant. i. 16) 281
XLVII. Of the threefold flower [of holiness], namely, of virginity, of martyrdom, and of good works ; and of the devotion with which we should participate in DivineService (Cant. ii. 1) 287
XLVIII. Of the praises which the Bride and the Bridegroom address reciprocally to each other ; and how by the Shadow of Christ is to be understood His Flesh, and faith in Him (Cant. ii. 2) 292
XLIX. How charity is regulated by discretion, so that all the members of the Church, that is, the elect, are held together by mutual bonds (Cant. ii. 4) 297
L. Of two kinds of charity, namely, that of feeling and that of action : and how they are co-ordinated (Cant. ii. 4) 302
LI. How the Bride makes petition that the fruits of good works and the perfumes of faith may be made to abound with her as flowers: and also concerning hope and fear (Cant. ii. 5) 308
LII. Of that ecstasy, which is called contemplation : in which the Bridegroom causes the holy soul to attain peace and rest, being earnestly desirous of its blessedness (Cant. ii. 7) 314
LIII. By 'mountains' and * Hills * are signified the heavenly spirits, over whom and through whom the Bride- groom passes in His Coming to earth ; that is, in the Mystery of His Incarnation (Cant. ii. 8) 319
LIV. Another interpretation ; in which by mountains are signified Angels and men ; and by hills, demons. Also of the threefold fear with which everyone ought to feel anxiety, lest he should lose the grace of acting rightly, which he has received from God (Cant ii. 8) 324
LV. How it is possible, through a true penitence, to escape the judgment of God (Cant. ii. 9) 332
LVI. That sins and vices are as walls, interposing between Godand the sinner (Cant ii. 9) 335
LVII. That the visitations of the Lord are to be carefully and reverently observed : and by what signs and tokens they may be known (Cant. ii. 10) 340
LVIII. How the Bridegroom bids the Bride, that is to say, those men who are perfected, to undertake the rule and training of souls less perfect. Also of the cutting down of vices in them, that virtues may grow and increase (Cant. ii. 10) .... 347
LIX. Of the groans of the soul which sighs for its heavenly fatherland : and of the commendation of chastity and widowhood (Cant. ii. 12) 354
LX. Of the incredulity of the Jews ; and of their slaying Christ, by which they filled up the measure of their fathers (Cant. ii. 13) 360
LXI. How the Church finds the riches of Divine mercy in the hollows of Christ's open Wounds : and of the fortitude of the martyrs, which they have received of Christ (Cant. ii. 13) 366
LXII. What is meant by the abiding of the faithful soul in the clefts of the rock, and what in the secret places of the stairs. That it is needful rather to search what is the Will of God than to search into His Majesty. And that purity of intention is necessary to the preaching of the truth (Cant. ii. 14) 371
LXIII. That a man who is pious and wise ought to cultivate carefully his vineyard, that is to say, his life, his soul, and his conscience ; that there are two kinds of foxes, namely, flatterers and detractors ; and of the temptations of monks in their novitiate (Cant. ii. 15) 378
LXIV. Of the temptations of more mature monks ; by what foxes they are infested, that is, by what temptations they are most tried. Also of the taking of heretics, who are the foxes of the Church (Cant. ii. 15) 383
Letter of Eberwin, Provost of Steinfeld, to Abbot Bernard, respecting the heretics of his time 388
LXV. Of secret heretics, whose perverse doctrines and studied care to hide their mysteries St. Bernard severely censures ; also their scandalous behaviour (Cant, ii. 15) 393
LXVI. Concerning the errors of heretics with respect to marriage, to the Baptism of infants, to purgatory, to prayers for the dead, and to the invocation of the Saints (Cant. ii. 15) 399
LXVII. Of the wonderful expression of the love of the Bride, which is called forth by the affection of her Bride- groom, Christ (Cant. ii. 16) 408
LXVIII. How Christ the Bridegroom inclines unto and gives attention to His Bride, which is the Church ; and how she likewise inclines unto Him. Of the care which God has for His elect. Also of the merit, and the confidence, of the Church (Cant ii. 16) 418
LXIX. All that lifts itself up against the knowledge and service of God is to be abased. In what way the Father and the WORD come into a soul that loves, and take up their abode in it ; and of the close relation that is thus entered into between God and the soul (Cant. ii. 16) 420
LXX. Why the Bridegroom is called Beloved; and of the truth, the gentleness, the righteousness, and the other virtues, which are called lilies^ and among which He is said to feed (Cant. ii. 16) 426
LXXI. Of spiritual lilies, that is, good works : of which the fragrance is a right intention, and the colour a good reputation ; and how the Bridegroom both nourishes these, and is nourished by them. Also of the unity of God the Father with the Son, and of the holy soul with God (Cant. ii. 16) 432
LXXII. The meaning of the words 'The day breaks and the shadows flee away.' The various days in the lives of men expounded. That the righteous live in light, and that a brighter day awaits them ; but that the wicked, who are devoted to works of darkness, can look forward only to eternal night (Cant. ii. 16, 17) 441
LXXIII. How Christ shall come to judge in human form, that He may appear delightful to the elect : and how He is less than the Angels, yet loftier than they (Cant. ii. 17) 448
LXXIV. Of the visitations of the Bridegroom, the Word, to the holy soul, and the secrecy with which they are made. St. Bernard states his own experience of this, with great humility and modesty, for the edification of his hearers (Cant. ii. 17) 454
LXXV. God is to be sought in due time, place, and manner. That now is the acceptable time, in which anyone may find God for himself by good works, and may work out his salvation (Cant. iii. 1) 461
LXXVI. Of the glory of the Bridegroom, in which He sits at the Right Hand of His Father, and is coequal with Him. How careful, watchful, and discreet good Pastors ought to be in feeding the souls given into their charge (Cant. iii. 2) 468
LXXVII. Concerning the bad pastors of the Church. Also how the Blessed in Heaven, and the Angels, come to the aid of the elect, who are still pilgrims upon the earth (Cant. iii. 2) 474
LXXVIII. That the Bride, that is to say, the Church of the elect, was predestinated by God before all ages ; and prevented by His grace that she should seek Him and be converted (Cant. iii. 2) 479
LXXIX. Of the strong and indissoluble love wherewith the soul holds to its Lord ; also of the Return of the Bridegroom at the ending of the age, to save the Synagogue of the Jews (Cant. iii. 3) 483
LXXX. An acute and profound argument respecting the Image or Word of God, and the soul, which is created in that image : and concerning the error of Gilbert, Bishop of Poictiers (Cant. iii. 3) 487
LXXXI. Of the similarity and likeness of the soul to the Word, in respect of its identity of essence, its immortality of existence, and its freedom of will (Cant. iii. 3) 494
LXXXII. How the soul, while still remaining like unto God, loses by sin a portion of its likeness to Him in its simplicity, immortality, and liberty (Cant. iii. 3) 501
LXXXIII. Of the manner in which the soul, however corrupted it may be with evil habits, is still able, by a chaste and holy love, to recover its resemblance to the Bridegroom, that is, Christ (Cant. iii. 3) 507
LXXXIV. That the soul, seeking God, is anticipated by Him : and in what consists that search for God in which it is thus anticipated (Cant. iii. 1 ) 511
LXXXV. Of the seven needs of the soul, on account of which it seeks the Word. When the soul is once reformed, it draws near to contemplate Christ, and to enjoy the sweetness of His Presence (Cant. iii. 1) 516
LXXXVI. Of the caution and modesty becoming to the soul in seeking the Word, and of the praise of modesty (Cant. iii. 1) 525
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