Liber Secundus, Caput VIII. De pontificiae dignitatis et potestatis excellentia disserit.
Who You Are: The Weight of the Office
Bernard calls the pope to see himself clearly as the supreme shepherd entrusted with the whole flock and with all the other shepherds.
Come, let us look more closely at who you are — at the role you hold for now in the Church of God. Who are you? A great priest, the highest Pontiff. You are the prince of bishops, the heir of the Apostles: in primacy, Abel; in governance, Noah; in patriarchate, Abraham; in order, Melchizedek; in dignity, Aaron; in authority, Moses; in judgment, Samuel; in power, Peter; in anointing, Christ. You are the one to whom the keys have been handed over, to whom the sheep have been entrusted.1 There are, of course, other gatekeepers of heaven and shepherds of flocks — but you hold both titles far more gloriously, and in a way that sets you above all others. The others have their own assigned flocks, each one his own — but to you, all of them together have been entrusted, the one to the whole. And not only of sheep, but of shepherds too — you alone are the shepherd of them all.
The Proof from the Lord's Own Word
Bernard argues that Christ's command to Peter to feed 'my sheep' without distinction shows the commission is given to one over all.
You ask how I can prove that? It is from the word of the Lord. For to whom were all the sheep entrusted so absolutely and without distinction — I do not mean just the bishops', but even the apostles'? If you love me, Peter, feed my sheep.✦ Which ones? The people of this or that city, or region, or a particular kingdom? My sheep, he says.✦ To whom is it not clear that he did not designate some, but assigned all?
One Flock, One Shepherd
Bernard explains that unity belongs to the one shepherd, while others receive limited portions, and even James yields the whole to Peter.
Nothing is excluded where nothing is distinguished. And perhaps the other fellow disciples were present when, entrusting them to one, he commended unity to all in one flock and one shepherd, according to that text: One is my dove, my beautiful one, my perfect one. Where there is unity, there is perfection. The remaining numbers do not have perfection, but division, withdrawing from unity. That is why others, one by one, have each been allotted their own peoples, knowing the sacrament. Finally, James, who was seen as a pillar of the Church, content in Jerusalem alone, yielded the whole to Peter. Beautifully indeed was he placed there to raise up the seed of his deceased brother, where that brother was killed: for he was called the brother of the Lord. Moreover, with the Lord's brother yielding, who would thrust himself upon Peter's prerogative?
The Fullness of Power Given to You
Bernard shows that papal authority exceeds all others in scope, jurisdiction, and the power of the keys, confirmed by Peter's singular devotion at the resurrection appearance.
So then, according to your own canons, while others are called to a share of the burden, you are called to the fullness of power. The authority of others is hemmed in by fixed boundaries; yours reaches out even over those who themselves have received authority over others. If the situation demands it, can you not shut heaven against a bishop, remove him from his office, and even hand him over to Satan?✦✦ So your privilege stands unshaken — yours as much in the keys that were given as in the sheep that were entrusted to you.✦ Consider one more thing, which nonetheless confirms your special standing. The disciples were out on the water, and the Lord appeared on shore — and what was still more joyful, in his risen body.✦ Knowing it was the Lord, Peter threw himself into the sea and so came to him, while the others arrived by boat.✦ What does this mean?
One Ship for the Whole World
Bernard interprets the sea as the world and the ships as churches, concluding that Peter alone is charged with the universal Church spread throughout the whole world.
Surely this is the singular mark of Peter's pontifical office: that he was not given one ship, as each of the others received his own, but was charged with governing the whole world itself. For the sea is the world; the ships are the churches. That is why, a second time, walking upon the waters in the likeness of the Lord, he appointed himself the sole vicar of Christ — one who was meant to preside not over a single people but over all peoples, since the waters are many and the peoples are many.✦ So while each of the others has his own church, to you alone has been entrusted the greatest ship — the universal Church itself, made from all the churches, spread throughout the whole world.
Read the original Latin
Age, indagemus adhuc diligentius qui sis, quam geras videlicet pro tempore personam in Ecclesia Dei. Quis es? Sacerdos magnus, summus Pontifex. Tu princeps episcoporum, tu haeres Apostolorum, tu primatu Abel, gubernatu Noe, patriarchatu Abraham, ordine Melchisedech, dignitate Aaron, auctoritate Moyses, judicatu Samuel, potestate Petrus, unctione Christus. Tu es cui claves traditae, cui oves creditae sunt. Sunt quidem et alii coeli janitores, et gregum pastores: sed tu tanto gloriosius, quanto et differentius utrumque prae caeteris nomen haereditasti. Habent illi sibi assignatos greges, singuli singulos: tibi universi crediti, uni unus. Nec modo ovium, sed et pastorum tu unus omnium pastor.
Unde id probem quaeris? Ex verbo Domini. Cui enim, non dico episcoporum, sed etiam Apostolorum sic absolute et indiscrete totae commissae sunt oves? Si me amas, Petre, pasce oves meas. Quas? illius vel illius populos civitatis, aut regionis, aut certi regni? Oves meas, inquit. Cui non planum, non designasse aliquas, sed assignasse omnes?
Nihil excipitur, ubi distinguitur nihil. Et forte praesentes caeteri condiscipuli erant, cum committens uni, unitatem omnibus commendaret in uno grege et uno pastore, secundum illud: Una est columba mea, formosa mea, perfecta mea. Ubi unitas, ibi perfectio. Reliqui numeri perfectionem non habent, sed divisionem, recedentes ab unitate. Inde est quod alii singuli singulas sortiti sunt plebes, scientes sacramentum. Denique Jacobus, qui videbatur columna Ecclesiae, una contentus est Hierosolyma, Petro universitatem cedens. Pulchre vero ibi positus est suscitare semen defuncti fratris, ubi occisus est ille: nam dictus est frater Domini. Porro cedente Domini fratre, quis se alter ingerat Petri praerogativae?
Ergo, juxta canones tuos, alii in partem sollicitudinis, tu in plenitudinem potestatis vocatus es. Aliorum potestas certis arctatur limitibus: tua extenditur et in ipsos, qui potestatem super alios acceperunt. Nonne, si causa exstiterit, tu episcopo coelum claudere, tu ipsum ab episcopatu deponere etiam et tradere satanae potes? Stat ergo inconcussum privilegium tuum tibi tam in datis clavibus, quam in ovibus commendatis. Accipe aliud, quod nihilominus praerogativam confirmat tibi. Discipuli navigabant, et Dominus apparebat in littore; quodque jucundius erat, in corpore redivivo. Sciens Petrus quia Dominus est, in mare se misit, et sic venit ad ipsum, aliis navigio pervenientibus. Quid istud?
Nempe signum singularis pontificii Petri, per quod non navem unam, ut caeteri quique suam, sed saeculum ipsum susceperit gubernandum. Mare enim saeculum est; naves, Ecclesiae. Inde est quod altera vice instar Domini gradiens super aquas, unicum se Christi vicarium designavit, qui non uni populo, sed cunctis praeesse deberet: siquidem aquae multae, populi multi. Ita cum quisque caeterorum habeat suam, tibi una commissa est grandissima navis; facta ex omnibus ipsa universalis Ecclesia, toto orbe diffusa.
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.21.17 — He said to him the third time, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, 'Do you love me?' and he said to him, 'Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep.'
- ↩John.21.17 — He said to him the third time, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, 'Do you love me?' and he said to him, 'Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep.'
- ↩1Cor.5.5 — Hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
- ↩1Tim.1.20 — Among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.
- ↩Matt.16.19 — I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
- ↩John.21.3-John.21.7 — Simon Peter said to them, 'I am going fishing.' They said to him, 'We are coming with you.' They went out and got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. John.21.4 — Early in the morning, when day had already come, Jesus stood on the shore; however, the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. John.21.5 — So Jesus said to them, 'Children, do you have any fish?' They answered him, 'No.' John.21.6 — He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and they were no longer able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. John.21.7 — Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he was naked) and threw himself into the sea.
- ↩John.21.7 — Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he was naked) and threw himself into the sea.
- ↩Matt.14.29 — And he said, "Come." And Peter, having stepped down from the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
Notes
- 1 ↩Allusion to Matthew 16:19 (keys) and John 21:15–17 (sheep) is probable; final resolution deferred.
De consideratione (On Consideration) companion
Make consideration a daily appointment
Bernard told Eugene to set aside time every day. Chosen Portion holds that time for you, free.
Bernard's core prescription — a fixed daily time reserved for examining the soul — is exactly the habit Chosen Portion installs with its daily devotional portion.
- One 10-minute daily portion for self-examination and prayer
- Reflection prompts drawn from historic texts, not improvised journaling
- A visible streak that protects the daily interval Bernard insisted on