SR
← Sermones super Cantica Canticorum (Sermons on the Song of Songs)/Book 1 · Sermones super Cantica Canticorum
Chapter 27SermC.1.27

Sermo 27

Returning to the Bride

Bernard returns from a charitable act and resumes his exposition of the bride's blackness and beauty in the Song of Songs.

Because we have, out of the duties owed to our shared humanity, accompanied a friend as he made his way home, I'm returning, brothers, to the task of building up that I had set aside. It's out of place, after all, to weep for a long time over someone who is rejoicing, and to pour many tears into a feast — that's burdensome. But even if we do mourn our own hardships, that shouldn't go too far, lest we seem to have loved him less than we sought our own advantage in him. Let the joy of the beloved temper the sorrow of those left behind, and let what is no longer with us become more bearable — because it is with God. Relying, therefore, on your prayers, I want to bring into the light, if I can, whatever it is that I sense is hidden beneath those skins — skins that were brought forth as an image of the bride's beauty. This, if you recall, was touched on but left undiscussed — and then examined and clarified: how she is black like the tents of Kedar.✦ How, then, is she beautiful like the skins of Solomon's work — as if Solomon, in all his glory, had anything worthy of the bride's beauty and the splendor of her adornment? And indeed, if we were to look at those skins — I don't know what kind they are — not as pointing to the bride's beauty but rather to her blackness, like the tents of Kedar, perhaps that would fit, and we wouldn't lack the grounds to show why it's fitting — just as we will show.✦

Not Earthly but Heavenly Splendor

No outward earthly beauty can compare to the inner beauty of a holy soul, so the bride's beauty cannot be measured by earthly Solomon.

But if we think the beauty of any skins at all ought to be compared to the brightness of the bride, here we clearly need the help of the one you have knocked on, so that we may be able to open this mystery worthily.✦ For what of those things that shine in the face, if it is compared to the beauty of any holy soul within, would not appear cheap and foul to an upright judge? What, I say, does the passing figure of this world show in itself of such a kind that it could match the appearance of that soul which, having put off the oldness of the earthly man, puts on the beauty of the one who is from heaven, adorned with the best manners in place of necklaces, purer than he himself, just as it is also loftier than ether, more splendid than the sun?✦✦1 So don't look to this Solomon when you want to investigate what sort of thing the bride glories to be like in skins, in beauty.

The Greater Solomon

The true referent is Christ, the greater Solomon, whose creative power and wisdom are displayed in the stretched-out heaven.

So what does it mean when it says, 'I am beautiful like the skin of Solomon'? It's a great and wonderful thing, I think — if we're looking at the right Solomon here, not the earthly one but the one of whom it says, 'Behold, one greater than Solomon is here.'✦ For this Solomon of mine is so far beyond just being peaceful — which is what the name Solomon means — that he's actually called Peace itself, as Paul bears witness when he says, 'He himself is our peace.'✦ I have no doubt that in this Solomon you can find something you wouldn't hesitate to compare entirely to the beauty of the bride. And notice especially what the Psalm says about his skins: 'Stretching out heaven like a hide.'✦ It wasn't Solomon who did that — wise and powerful as he was — stretching out heaven like a hide. It was the one who is not so much wise as he is Wisdom itself, who both stretched it out and founded it. That voice belongs to this one, not to Solomon: 'When he was preparing the heavens,' there's no doubt that 'God the Father — I was there.'✦ His own power and his own wisdom were undoubtedly present to the one preparing the heavens.

Stretching Out Heaven Like a Skin

Christ himself stretches out heaven as a beautiful skin, yet even this created glory falls short of the bride's eternal beauty.

And don't think that Wisdom stood by idle, as if merely watching, because it says 'I was present' — not 'I was also preparing all things.'✦2 Look down a little below, and you'll find clearly what follows: that Wisdom was with God, arranging all things.✦3 For as it says: 'Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.'✦ And so he himself stretches out the heavens like a skin.✦ What a most beautiful skin, covering the whole face of the earth like a great tent, delighting human eyes with the wonderfully spectacular array of the sun, the moon, and the stars!✦4 What is more beautiful than this skin?5 What is more ornate than the heavens? And yet not even this creation should in any way be compared to the glory and beauty of the Bride, since this figure of hers — being bodily and subject to the senses — falls far short and passes away.✦6

The Bride's Endless Beauty

The bride possesses a rational, spiritual, and eternal beauty founded on love, justice, patience, poverty, humility, and the fear of the Lord.

Whatever can be seen is temporary; but whatever cannot be seen is eternal.✦ But the bride possesses a rational beauty and a spiritual form, and she herself is eternal, because she is an image of eternity. Her beauty, for instance, is love — and love, as you read, never fails.7 There is also justice: 'And her justice endures forever and ever.' There is also patience; and yet, as you read, the patience of the poor will not perish in the end. What is voluntary poverty? What is humility? Doesn't one of them earn an eternal kingdom, and the other equally earn eternal exaltation? To this also looks the holy fear of the Lord, enduring forever and ever.

Virtues as Heavenly Pearls

The virtues are the bride's pearls, and only through them can the soul become a seat for God's dwelling through faith.

So prudence, so temperance, so fortitude — and if there are any other virtues — what are they except certain pearls in the bride's adornment, glittering with perpetual splendor? Perpetual, I say, because the seat and foundation of perpetuity.8 For there is no place at all in the soul for the perpetual and blessed life, unless indeed virtues are interposed in between.9 Whence the Prophet says to God, who assuredly is the blessed life: Justice, he says, and judgment are the preparation of your seat.✦10 And the Apostle says that Christ dwells, not indeed in every way, but distinctly through faith in our hearts.✦11 And when the Lord was about to sit upon the donkey, the disciples spread their garments beneath him, signifying that the Savior or salvation by no means sits upon a naked soul — one not, namely, clothed with the teaching and morals of the apostles.✦12 And so the Church, having the promise of future happiness, takes care meanwhile to prepare and adorn herself beforehand in gilded garment, surrounded by a variety of graces and virtues, so that she may be found worthy and capable of the fullness of grace.

The Heaven of Heavens

Beyond the visible heaven lies the intellectual, spiritual heaven where God dwells, and the bride's devotion reaches upward to that place.

Yet for this spiritual variety, so beautiful, which she has meanwhile received from her first robe in a garment of her own sanctification, I would in no way compare the adornment of this visible and physical heaven, even though it is most beautiful in its own class with its starry variety. But there is a heaven of heavens, of which the Prophet says: 'Sing praises,' he says, 'to the Lord, who ascends above the heaven of heavens toward the east.'✦ And this heaven is intellectual and spiritual: the one who made the heavens in understanding created it and established it forever, and he himself dwells in it.✦ Don't suppose that the bride's devotion remains below that heaven, in which she knows her beloved dwells: for where her treasure is, there also is her heart.✦ She truly emulates those who stand before the face she sighs toward, and whom she can't yet join by sight; she strives to conform herself by the way she lives, crying out more through her character than through her words: 'Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house, and the place where your glory dwells.'✦

The Hide of the Blessed

That spiritual heaven is adorned with the blessed as living skins, each angelic order a star, and each holy soul a stretched-out hide of Solomon.

Overall, he doesn't think it beneath him to draw a comparison from this heaven. This heaven, stretched out like a hide, is distinguished not by the expanses of physical spaces but by the affections of souls — marked with the wondrous, varied works of the craftsman. The divisions within it are not divisions of color but of blessedness. For he placed some as angels, others as archangels, others as powers, others as dominions, others as principalities, others as authorities, others as thrones, others as cherubim, and others as seraphim. So this heaven is studded with stars; so this hide is adorned. This is one of the hides of my Solomon, and this is the preeminent one in every adornment of his manifold glory. This great hide contains within it ever so many of Solomon's hides, because each blessed and holy one who is there is assuredly a hide of Solomon. For they are kind and stretched out in love, reaching out to us, not begrudging the glory they have but desiring it for us — so much so that they are not burdened by lingering with us for the sake of this, but are zealous in caring for us, all of them ministering spirits sent into service for those who are receiving the inheritance of salvation.✦

Every Saint a Heaven

Each blessed soul is itself a heaven, so the bride rightly glories in being like the stretched-out skins of Solomon.

For this reason, just as 'the heaven of heavens' is spoken of in the singular, meaning that whole gathered multitude of the blessed, so too are 'the heavens of heavens' named on account of each individual who is assuredly a heaven, and to each individual belongs what is said: 'Stretching out heaven like a skin.' You will have seen, I believe, what those skins are, and whose they are — they are Solomon's — and whose bride's likeness he glories in.

Traced from Heaven

The bride's heavenly likeness is grounded in her origin, her angelic life, and the promise that she comes from the heavenly Jerusalem.

Now then, look closely at her glory — she who compares herself to heaven, and to that heaven which is all the more glorious the more divine it is. Nor does she claim this likeness from that source without good reason, since she traces her origin from there. For if she likens herself to the tents of Cedar because of the body she has from the earth, why should she not also boast that she is equally like heaven because of the soul, which comes from heaven — especially since her life bears witness to her origin, bears witness to the dignity of her nature and her homeland?✦ She adores and honors one God, just as the angels do; she loves Christ above all things, just as the angels do; she is chaste, just as the angels are — and that in the flesh of sin and a frail body, which the angels do not have; and finally she seeks and savors the things that are with them, not the things that are on earth. What clearer mark of heavenly origin than to keep, even in a region of unlikeness, the inborn likeness, to claim the glory of a celibate life here on earth and in exile, and finally to live as an angel in what is well-nigh a beastly body? These powers are heavenly, not earthly — and they plainly show that the soul which can do these things is truly from heaven. But hear it even more plainly: 'I saw,' he says, 'the holy city, new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.' And he added: 'And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling of God is with men, and he will dwell with them.'✦✦ For what purpose?

One Bride, One Bridegroom

Christ came for one bride and unites heavenly and earthly into a single bride, so the Church is perfected, not doubled.

I believe he acquires a bride for himself from among men. A remarkable thing! He came for a bride, and he did not come without a bride. He sought a bride, and the bride was with him. Were there two? Far be it! For there is one, he says — my dove. But just as he wanted to make one out of diverse flocks of sheep, so that there would be one flock and one shepherd, so too, when he had a bride clinging to him from the beginning — a multitude of angels — it pleased him also to call together the Church from among men, and unite to her the one from heaven, so that there might be one bride and one bridegroom.13

Conformity and Glory

This unity with Christ produces first shared devotion and then shared glory between the heavenly and earthly bride.

So through the addition of that one, the bride is made perfect — not doubled — and she acknowledges the word spoken of her: 'One is my perfect one.'✦ Furthermore, this unity produces conformity — first in a similar devotion, and then in equal glory.

He Saw Her Descending

The bridegroom emptied himself, saw the bride in the Incarnation, and made two into one flesh, ascending as bridegroom in the head and bride in the body.

So you have both from heaven — both the bridegroom, that is, Jesus, and the bride, Jerusalem. And he, to all appearances, emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men, and found in appearance as a man.✦ But as for her — in what form or appearance, or in what bearing, do you think he saw her, that is, the one who saw her descending? Was it perhaps in the multitude of angels, whom he saw descending and ascending upon the Son of Man?✦ But we do better to say that he saw the bride then, when he saw the Word in the flesh, recognizing two in one flesh.✦ For while that holy Emmanuel brought the teaching of heavenly discipline to the earth, while a certain visible image and the beauty of that heavenly Jerusalem, which is our mother, was expressed and made known through him and to us in him — what did we see in the bridegroom but the bride, admiring one and the same Lord of glory, the bridegroom crowned with a crown, and the bride adorned with her own necklaces?✦✦ He himself, therefore, who descended is the same one who ascended, so that no one may ascend into heaven except the one who descended from heaven — one and the same Lord, the bridegroom in the head, and the bride in the body.✦✦ And it was not in vain that the heavenly man was seen on earth, since from earthly people he made for himself very many who are heavenly, so that what is read comes true: 'Like the heavenly one, so too those who are heavenly.'✦

Betrothed to the Heavenly Man

The soul from the ends of the earth cleaves to Christ in chaste betrothal through faith, learning heavenly virtues and showing herself a citizen and bride.

From then on, life on earth is lived in the manner of heavenly ones, while this creature too—matching the likeness of that blessed heavenly being—who comes from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, cleaves nonetheless to a chaste love for the heavenly man, not yet joined through sight as she was, but betrothed through faith, according to God's promise spoken through the prophet: I will betroth you to myself in mercy and compassions, and I will betroth you to myself in faith.✦ That is why she strives to be conformed more and more to the form that comes from heaven, learning from it to be modest and sober, learning to be chaste and holy, learning to be patient and compassionate, and finally learning to be meek and humble in heart. And so with manners like these she strives, even while absent, to please him on whom the angels long to gaze, so that while she burns with angelic desire, she may show herself to be a citizen of the saints, a member of God's household, beloved, and a bride.✦✦

The Soul Made Heaven

A holy soul becomes heaven itself, with understanding, faith, and virtues as sun, moon, and stars, and its merit depends on love.

I think that every soul like this is not only heavenly in its origin, but can also rightly be called heaven itself because of its imitation. And then it clearly shows that its origin is truly from the heavens, since its conversation is in the heavens. Therefore a holy soul is a heaven, having the sun as understanding, the moon as faith, and the stars as virtues. Or the sun is clearly the zeal of justice or burning love, and the moon is continence. For just as the brightness of the moon, as they say, comes only from the sun, so without love or the justice of continence there is no merit at all. Hence finally the Wise One: 'O how beautiful,' he says, 'is a chaste generation with love!' Furthermore, that I said the stars are virtues does not cause me to repent, considering the appropriateness of the likeness. In just the way, namely, that stars shine in the night but lie hidden in the day, so true virtue, which often does not appear in prosperous times, stands out in adversity.

The Seat of God

God takes the soul of the just as his seat, and Christ dwells through faith in our hearts, making the soul his spiritual throne.

That distinction is a matter of caution; this one is a matter of necessity. So virtue is a star, and the person of virtues is a heaven. Unless perhaps someone, on reading that God spoke through the prophet — 'Heaven is my seat' — thinks that this visible, turning heaven is what's meant, rather than that other one which Scripture records more clearly elsewhere: 'The soul of the just person,' it says, 'is the seat of wisdom.'✦ But anyone who, from the teaching of the Savior, understands that the Spirit is God and must be worshipped in spirit, doesn't hesitate to assign a spiritual seat to him as well.✦ I myself would confidently do so — no less in the case of a just person than in an angelic spirit. What confirms me in this understanding is above all that faithful promise: 'I and the Father,' the Son says, 'will come to him — that is, to the holy person — and make our dwelling with him.'✦ I also think the prophet was speaking of no other heaven when he said: 'But you dwell in the holy one, the praise of Israel.'✦ And the Apostle says plainly that Christ dwells through faith in our hearts.✦

His Chosen Resting Place

Christ rests forever in the soul he redeemed, and the soul longs to cling to those he has chosen as his dwelling.

And it's no wonder that the Lord Jesus gladly makes his home in this heaven, since he certainly didn't say it, as he did with the rest, simply so that it might exist, but fought to gain it, and died to redeem it. And so, after his labor, obtaining what was promised, he says: This is my resting place forever and ever; here I will dwell, for I have chosen it.✦ And blessed is the one to whom it is said: Come, my chosen one, and I will place my throne in you. Why are you sad now, my soul, and why do you trouble me?✦ Do you suppose that you too can find a place for the Lord within yourself? And what place in us could be suitable for this glory, sufficient for this majesty? If only I might deserve to worship in the place where his feet stood. Would that someone might at least grant me to cling to the footsteps of some holy soul whom he chose as his dwelling place.

Stretched by Mercy

If mercy anoints and expands the soul, it can become a resting place for God, echoing the promise that he will dwell and walk within it.

Yet if he's pleased to pour out his mercy's anointing on my soul, and stretch it out like a skin that expands whenever it's anointed, then I'll be able to say: I have run the way of your commandments, when you enlarged my heart; and I myself will perhaps be able to show forth, if not a large furnished upper room where he can recline with his disciples, at least a place where he can rest his head.✦ From afar I look up to those who are surely blessed, of whom it is said: I will dwell in them, and walk among them.✦✦

Breadth of Love

The soul must be emptied of worldly cares and enlarged in love to become a dwelling for God, since its breadth is its love.

O how great is the breadth of that soul, how great the prerogative of merits, which is found worthy to receive the divine presence within itself, and sufficient to contain it! What of that soul, for whom spacious promenades are even available, for the work indeed of majesty? Surely it is not entangled with courtroom causes or worldly cares, nor devoted to belly and luxury; but not curious about spectating, nor altogether lusting after domination, nor puffed up with power. For first of all, the soul must be emptied of all these things, so that it may become heaven and the dwelling of God. Otherwise, how will it be free and see that he himself is God? But hatred, or envy, or rancor must least of all be indulged, because wisdom will not enter a malevolent soul. Then it is necessary for her to grow and be enlarged, so that she may be capable of God. Furthermore, its breadth is its love, as the Apostle says: 'Be enlarged in love.'✦

Measured by Love

The soul grows spiritually into Christ's stature and is measured by the extent of its love, from nothingness to brotherly affection.

For even though the soul, since it is a spirit, receives no bodily size, grace nevertheless supplies what nature has denied it. It does indeed grow and expand, but spiritually; it grows not in substance but in virtue; it grows also in glory; it grows even into a holy temple in the Lord; and finally it grows and advances into a perfect person, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.✦ So let the size of each soul be measured by the measure of love it has — for example, the soul that has much love is great; the one that has little is small; and the one that has nothing is nothing, as Paul says: If I have not love, I am nothing.✦ But if it begins to have however little, so that it at least takes care to love those who love it, and to greet its brothers and sisters, and those who greet it — I would say that soul is now something indeed, which in the context of giving and receiving maintains at least a social kind of love. Yet according to the Lord's own saying, what more does such a soul do?✦ I would consider neither broad nor great, but plainly narrow and small, a soul that I have recognized to possess so very little love.

The Widest Heaven

When love expands to embrace all, even enemies, the soul becomes heaven in its widest breadth, and the Most High walks within it.

But if it grows great and advances, so that, passing beyond the narrow limit and constraint of a cramped love, it seizes the broad bounds of freely given goodness with the full freedom of the spirit, in order that with the wide embrace of a good will it may stretch itself out to care for the neighbor as a whole, loving each one as itself — won't it rightly be said to it, 'What more do you do?'✦ Indeed, it makes itself so ample. It bears, I say, a broad bosom of love that embraces everyone — even those to whom it knows itself joined by no bond of flesh, enticed by no hope of gaining any advantage from anyone, liable to no obligation of a return received, bound by no debt at all, except that one debt, truly, of which it is said: 'Owe nothing to anyone, except that you love one another.'✦ But if you also add the strength to press the kingdom of love everywhere, so that as a pious invader you may prevail to occupy it even to its farthest limits — since you should think that the bowels of devotion must be closed not even to enemies; you should do good also to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute and slander you, and not only so, but strive to be at peace with those who hate peace: then, truly, the breadth of heaven is the breadth of your soul; and a height not unequal, and a beauty not unlike; and then at last is fulfilled in it what is said: 'Spreading out heaven like a skin' — in which heaven, now of wonderful breadth and height and beauty, the Most High and immense and glorious One dwells not only worthily, but walks spaciously.✦✦✦

The Church as Heaven

The pilgrim Church herself is an immense heaven, and her spiritual men are her heavens, like skins of Solomon showing forth God's law and gospel.

Do you see what kind of heavens the Church holds within itself, since she herself, in her own vast expanse, is nevertheless a kind of immense heaven, stretching from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth? See also, in consequence, whom you would liken her to in this very respect, if that example mentioned a little before concerning this matter has not escaped you — namely, the heaven of heaven, and the heavens of the heavens (above, no. 9). Therefore, by the example of the mother who is above — our mother — this Church also, which still journeys as a pilgrim, has its own heavens: spiritual men, conspicuous by their life and reputation, pure in faith, firm in hope, broad in love, suspended in contemplation. And these, raining down the saving word of God, thunder with rebukes, and flash with miracles. These men recount the glory of God; stretched out like skins over every land, they show forth the law of life and discipline written by the finger of God within themselves, for the giving of the knowledge of salvation to its people — and they show forth the Gospel of peace, because they are the skins of Solomon.

Black Yet Beautiful

The bride is both the queen at his right hand and the tent of Kedar, black yet beautiful, and the learned will shine like the stars forever.

Recognize now in these skins the image of those heavenly ones, which were described not much higher above in the Bridegroom's adornment (above, no. 3). Recognize also the queen standing at his right hand, clothed in similar ornaments, yet not equal ones. For even if this one also has no small share of brightness and beauty, in the place of her pilgrimage and on the day of her virtue, among the splendors of the saints, still the integrity and consummation of the glory of the blessed crowns her differently. And yet I would call the bride perfect and blessed — but only in part. For in part she is the tent of Kedar; beautiful nonetheless, whether in that portion of herself that already reigns blessed, or also in illustrious men, who even in this night are adorned by her own wisdom and virtues, like a sky with its own stars.✦ Whence the prophet: 'Those who are learned,' he says, 'will shine like the splendor of the firmament; and those who teach many to live justly will shine like the stars forever and ever.'✦

Humility and Loftiness

In the bride, humility and exaltation work together, so that lowliness lifts her in adversity and humility guards her in prosperity.

O humility! O loftiness! The tent of Kedar, and the sanctuary of God; an earthly dwelling, and a heavenly palace; a house of clay, and a royal court; a body of death, and a temple of light; and finally, the scorn of the proud, and the bride of Christ. Black, yet beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem: even though the labor and pain of long exile discolor her appearance, a heavenly beauty adorns, the skins of Solomon adorn.✦ If you shudder at the black, marvel also at the beautiful; if you despise the lowly, look up to the lofty. How cautious this itself is, how full of counsel, how full of discernment and of congruence, that in the bride this abasement and this loftiness, indeed according to the time, by this moderation are equally tempered to each other, so that among the varieties of this world both loftiness raises up the lowly, lest she fail in adversity, and humility restrains the lofty, lest she vanish in prosperity. Beautifully indeed both things, although they are contrary to each other, nevertheless cooperate equally for the bride's good, and subserve her salvation.

Deferred Mystery

The promised deeper meaning about the bride's blackness is deferred to the next discourse, and the whole concludes with praise to Christ the bridegroom.

And these things are because the bride seems to draw her likeness from the skins of Solomon. Yet that deeper meaning of the same chapter I mentioned and promised you at the beginning still remains to be opened up — namely, how the entire likeness refers to blackness alone — and by this promise you are certainly not being cheated. But this must be deferred to another beginning of the discourse, both because the length of what's before us now demands it, and also so that the speech may, as is customary, anticipate those things that must be referred to the praise and glory of the bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God blessed forever and ever. Amen.

Read the original Latin

Quia debitis humanitatis officiis amicum revertentem in patriam prosecuti sumus, redeo, fratres, ad propositum aedificandi quod intermiseram. Incongruum namque est diu flere laetantem; et sedenti ad epulas lacrymas multas ingerere, importunum. Sed et si nostras defleamus aerumnas, ne id quidem oportet nimis, ne non tam amasse illum, quam nostra quaesisse de illo commoda videamur. Temperet sane dilecti gaudium moestitiam desolatorum; et tolerabilius fiat nobis quod nobiscum non est, quia cum Deo est. Fretus ergo orationibus vestris, volo in lucem, si possum, prodere quidquid illud est, quod opertum illis pellibus sentio, quae in exemplum decoris sponsae productae sunt. Hoc, si recolitis, tactum fuit, sed indiscussum remansit: porro discussum et declaratum, quomodo nigra sit sicut tabernacula Cedar. Quomodo ergo sicut pelles Salomonis formosa, quasi vero Salomon in omni gloria sua quidquam habuerit condignum decore sponsae, et gloria ornatus eius? Et quidem si non ad decorem sponsae, sed ad nigredinem potius nescio quas pelles istas, sicut et tabernacula Cedar respicere diceremus, fortassis competeret, nec deesset unde id congruere monstraremus, sicut et monstrabimus.

At vero si sponsae claritati quarumcunque decorem pellium comparandum putamus, hic prorsus opus nobis est eius ad quem pulsastis auxilio, quatenus mysterium hoc digne aperire possimus. Quid namque eorum quae in facie lucent, si internae cuiuspiam sanctae animae pulchritudini comparetur, non vile ac foedum recto appareat aestimatori? Quid, inquam, tale in se ostendit ea quae praeterit figura huius mundi, quod aequare speciem animae possit illius, quae exuta terreni hominis vetustatem, eius qui de coelo est, decorem induit, ornata optimis moribus pro monilibus, ipso purior sicut et excelsior aethere, sole splendidior? Noli ergo respicere ad istum Salomonem, cum indagare cupis cuiusmodi se pellibus similem in decore sponsa glorietur.

Quid est ergo quod dicit: Formosa sum sicut pelles Salomonis? Magnum et mirabile quiddam, ut ego aestimo: si tamen non hunc, sed illum hic attendamus, de quo dicitur: Ecce plus quam Salomon hic. Nam usque adeo is meus Salomon est, ut non modo pacificus (quod quidem Salomon interpretatur), sed et pax ipsa vocetur, Paulo perhibente quia ipse est pax nostra. Apud istum Salomonem non dubito posse inveniri quod decori sponsae omnino comparare non dubitem. Et praesertim de pellibus eius adverte in Psalmo: Extendens, ait, coelum sicut pellem. Non ille profecto Salomon, etsi multum sapiens, multumque potens, extendit coelum sicut pellem; sed is potius qui non tam sapiens quam ipsa Sapientia est, ipse prorsus extendit et condidit. Istius siquidem, et non illius illa vox est: Quando praeparabat coelos, haud dubium quin Deus Pater, ego aderam. Aderat sine dubio praeparanti coelos sua virtus, suaque sapientia.

Nec putes astitisse otiosam, et quasi ad spectandum solummodo, quia dixit, aderam, non etiam, praeparabam. Respice paulisper inferius, et invenies aperte subiungentem, quia eram cum eo componens omnia. Denique ait: Quaecunque enim Pater facit, haec et Filius similiter facit. Et ipse itaque extendit coelum sicut pellem. Pulcherrima pellis, quae in modum magni cuiusdam tentorii universam operiens faciem terrae, solis, lunae atque stellarum varietate tam spectabili humanos oblectat aspectus. Quid hac pello formosius? quid ornatius coelo? Minime tamen vel ipsum ullatenus conferendum gloriae et decori sponsae, eo ipso succumbens, quod praeterit et haec figura ipsius, utpote corporea, et corporeis subiacens sensibus.

Quae enim videntur, temporalia sunt; quae autem non videntur, aeterna.

Sed est rationalis quaedam sponsae species, et spiritualis effigies; ipsaque aeterna, quia imago aeternitatis. Decor eius, verbi gratia, charitas est, et charitas, sicut legitis, nunquam excidit. Est certe et iustitia: Et iustitia eius, inquit, manet in saeculum saeculi. Est etiam patientia; et legitis nihilominus quia patientia pauperum non peribit in finem. Quid voluntaria paupertas? quid humilitas? Nonne altera regnum aeternum, altera aeque exaltationem promeretur aeternam? Eo quoque spectat et timor Domini sanctus, permanens in saeculum saeculi.

Sic prudentia, sic temperantia, sic fortitudo, et si quae sunt virtutes aliae, quid nisi margaritae sunt quaedam in sponsae ornatu, splendore perpetuo coruscantes? Perpetuo, inquam, quia sedes et fundamentum perpetuitatis. Nec enim perpetuae beataeque vitae omnino locus in anima est, nisi mediis quidem interiectisque virtutibus. Unde Propheta Deo, qui utique vita beata est: Iustitia, inquit, et iudicium praeparatio sedis tuae. Et Apostolus dicit: Christum habitare, non omni modo quidem, sed signanter per fidem in cordibus nostris. Domino quoque sessuro super asellum, vestes suas discipuli substraverunt; significantes Salvatorem seu salutem nequaquam insidere nudae animae, quam non videlicet vestitam invenerit doctrina et moribus apostolorum. Et ideo Ecclesia promissionem habens futurae felicitatis, curat interim praeparare et praeornare se in vestitu deaurato, circumdata varietate gratiarum atque virtutum, quo digna et capax plenitudinis gratiae inveniatur.

Caeterum spirituali huic tam pulchrae varietati, quam de prima interim stola in quadam veste suae sanctificationis accepit, nullo pacto ego comparaverim in decore coelum hoc visibile atque corporeum, quamvis in suo genere quidem siderea varietate pulcherrimum. Sed est coelum coeli, de quo Propheta: Psallite, inquit, Domino, qui ascendit super coelum coeli ad orientem. Et hoc coelum intellectuale ac spirituale: et qui fecit coelos in intellectu, creavit illud et statuit in sempiternum, ipsumque inhabitat. Ne vero putes sponsae devotionem citra illud remanere coelum, in quo scit habitare dilectum: ubi enim thesaurus eius, ibi et cor eius. Aemulatur sane assistentes vultui ad quem suspirat, et quibus se interim non valet videndo associare, studet conformare vivendo, moribus magis, quam vocibus clamans: Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuae, et locum habitationis gloriae tuae.

Prorsus de hoc coelo minime sibi indignum ducit ducere similitudinem. Hoc extentum sicut pellis, non spatiis tamen locorum, sed affectibus animorum; hoc miris variisque artificis distinctum operibus. Divisiones autem sunt, non colorum, sed beatitudinum. Nam alios quidem posuit angelos; alios autem, archangelos; alios vero, virtutes; alios, dominationes; alios, principatus; alios, potestates; alios, thronos; alios cherubin, atque alios seraphin. Sic stellatum coelum hoc; sic depicta haec pellis. Haec una de pellibus mei Salomonis, et haec praecipua in omni ornatu multiformis gloriae eius. Habet autem grandis ista pellis quamplurimas in se aeque Salomonis pelles, quoniam unusquisque beatus et sanctus, qui ibi est, pellis est utique Salomonis. Benigni siquidem sunt atque extenti in charitate, pertingentes usque ad nos, quibus gloriam, quam habent, non invident, sed optant; ita ut ex ipsis huius rei gratia demorari apud nos non graventur, seduli circa nos, et curam gerentes nostri, omnes administratorii spiritus, missi in ministerium propter eos qui haereditatem capiunt salutis.

Quamobrem sicut coelum coeli singulariter dicitur universa illa multitudo collecta beatorum; sic et coeli coelorum propter singulos, qui utique coeli sunt, nominantur, et ad singulos spectat quod dicitur: Extendens coelum sicut pellem. Viderie, credo, quaenam illae pelles, et cuius sint Salomonis, de quarum sponsa similitudine gloriatur.

Nunc iam intueamini eius gloriam, quae et coelo se comparat, et illi coelo, quod tanto est gloriosius, quanto divinius. Nec immerito usurpat inde similitudinem, unde originem ducit. Nam si propter corpus, quod de terra habet, tabernaculis Cedar se assimilat, cur non et propter animam, quae de coelo est, coelo aeque similem se esse glorietur, praesertim cum vita testetur originem, testetur naturae dignitatem et patriae? Unum Deum adorat et colit, quo modo angeli, Christum super omnia amat, quo modo angeli, casta est, quo modo angeli, idque in carne peccati et fragili corpore, quod non angeli, quaerit postremo, et sapit quae apud illos sunt, non quae super terram. Quod evidentius coelestis insigne originis, quam ingenitam, et in regione dissimilitudinis, retinere similitudinem, gloriam vitae caelibis in terra, et ab exsule, usurpari, in corpore denique pene bestiali vivere angelum? Coelestis sunt ista potentiae, non terrenae, et quod vere de coelo sit anima quae haec potest, aperte indicant. Audi tamen apertius: Vidi, inquit, civitatem sanctam Ierusalem novam, descendentem de coelo, a Deo paratam, tanquam sponsam ornatam viro suo; et addidit: Et audivi vocem magnam de throno dicentem: Ecce tubernaculum Dei cum hominibus, et habitabit cum eis. Ad quid?

Credo ut sibi acquirat sponsam de hominibus. Mira res! Ad sponsam veniebat, et absque sponsa non veniebat. Quaerebat sponsam, et sponsa cum ipso erat. An duae erant? Absit! Una est enim, ait, columba mea. Sed sicut de diversis ovium gregibus unum facere voluit, ut sit unum ovile, et unus pastor, ita cum haberet sponsam inhaerentem sibi a principio multitudinem angelorum, placuit ei et de hominibus convocare Ecclesiam, atque unire illi quae de coelo est, ut sit una sponsa, et sponsus unus.

Ergo ex adiecta ista, perfecta est illa, non duplicata, et agnoscit de se dictum: Una est perfecta mea. Porro unam conformitas facit, nunc quidem in simili devotione, postea vero et in pari gloria.

Habes itaque utrumque de coelo, et sponsum, scilicet Iesum, et sponsam, Ierusalem. Et ille quidem ut videretur, semetipsum exinanivit formam servi accipiens, in similitudinem hominum factus, et habitu inventus ut homo. At illam in quanam, putamus, forma seu specie, aut in quo habitu videlicet descendentem vidit ille qui vidit? An forte in frequentia angelorum, quos vidit descendentes et ascendentes super Filium hominis? Sed melius dicimus quod sponsam tunc viderit, cum Verbum in carne vidit, agnoscens duos in carne una. Dum enim sanctus ille Emmanuel terris intulit magisterium disciplinae coelestis, dum supernae illius Ierusalem, quae est mater nostra, visibilis quaedam imago et species decoris eius per ipsum nobis et in ipso expressa innotuit: quid nisi in sponso sponsam perspeximus, unum eumdemque Dominum gloriae admirantes, et sponsum decoratum corona, et sponsam ornatam monilibus suis? Ipse igitur qui descendit, ipse est et qui ascendit, ut nemo ascendat in coelum, nisi qui de coelo descendit, unus idemque Dominus, et sponsus in capite, et sponsa in corpore. Nec frustra in terris visus est homo coelestis, cum de terrenis coelestes quamplurimos fecerit sibi similes, ut sit quod legitur: Qualis coelestis, tales et coelestes.

Extunc igitur in terra vivitur more coelestium, dum instar supernae illius beataeque creaturae, haec quoque, quae a finibus terrae venit audire sapientiam Salomonis, coelesti viro nihilominus casto inhaeret amore, etsi necdum quomodo illa iuncta per speciem, tamen sponsata per fidem, iuxta promissum Dei dicentis per prophetam: Sponsabo te mihi in misericordia et miserationibus, et sponsabo te mihi in fide. Unde magis magisque conformari satagit formae, quae de coelo venit, discens ab ea verecunda esse et sobria, discens pudica et sancta, discens patiens atque compatiens, postremo discens mitis et humilis corde. Et ideo moribus huiuscemodi contendit et absens placere ei, in quem angeli prospicere concupiscunt, ut dum desiderio fervet angelico, probet se proinde civem sanctorum, et domesticam Dei, probet dilectam, probet sponsam.

Ego puto omnem animam talem non modo coelestem esse propter originem, sed et coelum ipsum posse non immerito appellari propter imitationem. Et tunc liquido ostendit quia vere origo ipsius de coelis est, cum conversatio eius in coelis est. Est ergo coelum sancta aliqua anima, habens solem intellectum, lunam fidem, astra virtutes. Vel certo sol, iustitiae zelus aut fervens charitas; et luna continentia. Quomodo enim claritas, ut aiunt, lunae nonnisi a sole est, sic absque charitate seu iustitia continentiae meritum nullum est. Hinc denique Sapiens: O quam pulchra est, inquit, casta generatio cum charitate! Porro stellas dixisse virtutes non me poenitet, considerantem congruentiam similitudinis. Quo modo nempe stellae in nocte lucent, in die latent, sic vera virtus, quae saepe in prosperis non apparet, eminet in adversis.

Illud sane cautelae est, hoc necessitatis. Ergo virtus est sidus, et homo virtutum, coelum. Nisi quis forte cum Deum, per prophetam dixisse legit: Coelum mihi sedes est; coelum hoc volubile visibileque intelligendum existimet, et non potius illud, de quo alibi apertius Scriptura commemorat: Anima, inquiens, iusti sedes est sapientiae. Qui autem ex doctrina Salvatoris sapit spiritum esse Deum, atque in spiritu adorandum; etiam sedem ei non ambigit assignare spiritualem. Ego vero fidenter id fecerim, non minus in hominis iusti, quam in angelico spiritu. Confirmat me in hoc sensu maxime illa fidelis promissio: Ego et Pater, ait Filius, ad eum, id est ad sanctum hominem, veniemus et mansionem apud eum faciemus. Prophetam quoque non de alio dixisse coelo arbitror: Tu autem in sancto habitas, laus Israel. Manifeste autem Apostolus dicit habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus nostris.

Nec mirum, si libenter inhabitat coelum hoc Dominus Iesus, quod utique, non quomodo caeteros, dixit tantum ut fieret, sed pugnavit ut acquireret, occubuit ut redimeret. Ideo et post laborem voto potitus, ait: Haec requies mea in saeculum saeculi; hic habitabo, quoniam elegi eam. Et beata cui dicitur: Veni, electa mea, et ponam in te thronum meum. Quid tu tristis es nunc, o anima mea, et quare conturbas me? Putasne et tu penes te invenias locum Domino? Et quis nobis locus in nobis huic idoneus gloriae, sufficiens maiestati? Utinam vel merear adorare in loco ubi steterunt pedes eius. Quis dabit mihi saltem vestigiis adhaerere sanctae cuiuspiam animae, quam elegit in habitationem sibi?

Tamen, si dignetur infundere et meam animam unctione misericordiae suae, atque ita extendere sicut pellem, quae utique cum ungitur dilatatur, quatenus et ego dicere valeam: Viam mandatorum tuorum cucurri, cum dilatasti cor meum; potero etiam ipse fortassis ostendere in me ipso, etsi non coenaculum grande stratum, ubi possit recumbere cum discipulis suis; attamen ubi saltem reclinet caput. A longe suspicio illos certe beatos, de quibus dicitur: Et inhabitabo in eis, et deambulabo in illis.

O quanta illi animae latitudo, quanta et meritorum praerogativa, quae divinam in se praesentiam, et digna invenitur suscipere, et sufficiens capere! Quid illa, cui et spatiosa suppetunt deambulatoria, ad opus quidem maiestatis? Non est profecto intricata forensibus causis curisve saecularibus, nec certe ventri et luxuriae dedita; sed nec curiosa spectandi, seu cupida omnino dominandi, vel etiam tumida dominatu. Oportet namque primo quidem his omnibus vacuam esse animam, ut coelum fiat atque habitatio Dei. Alioquin quomodo poterit vacare, et videre quoniam ipse est Deus? Sed et odio sive invidiae aut rancori minime prorsus indulgendum, quoniam in malevolam animam non introibit sapientia. Deinde necesse est eam crescere ac dilatari, ut sit capax Dei. Porro latitudo eius, dilectio eius, sicut dicit Apostolus: Dilatamini in charitate.

Nam etsi anima minime, cum sit spiritus, quantitatem corpoream recipit; tamen confert illi gratia quod negatum est a natura. Crescit quidem et extenditur, sed spiritualiter; crescit non in substantia, sed in virtute; crescit et in gloria; crescit etiam in templum sanctum in Domino; crescit denique et proficit in virum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi. Ergo quantitas cuiusque animae aestimetur de mensura charitatis quam habet, ut verbi gratia, quae multum habet charitatis, magna sit; quae parum, parva; quae vero nihil, nihil, dicente Paulo; Si charitatem non habuero, nihil sum. Quod si quantulamcunque habere coeperit, ut saltem diligentes se diligere curet, ac salutare vel fratres suos, et eos qui se salutant; iam nonnihil quidem illam animam dixerim, quae in ratione dati et accepti socialem saltem retinet charitatem. Verumtamen iuxta sermonem Domini, quid amplius facit? Nec amplam proinde, nec magnam, sed plane angustam modicamque censuerim animam, quam adeo modicae charitatis esse cognoverim.

At si grandescat et proficiat, ita ut transiens limitem angusti obnoxiique amoris huius, latos fines bonitatis gratuitae tota libertate spiritus apprehendat, quatenus largo quodam gremio bonae voluntatis ad omnem seipsam curet extendere proximum, diligendo unumquemque tanquam seipsam; nunquid iam illi recte dicetur: Quid amplius facis? quippe quae seipsam tam amplam facit. Amplum, inquam, gerit charitatis sinum, quae complectitur universos, etiam quibus nulla se novit carnis necessitudine iunctam, nulla spe percipiendi commodi cuiusquam illectam, nulla percepti redhibitione obnoxiam, nullo denique omnino astrictam debito, nisi illo sane, de quo dicitur: Nemini quidquam debeatis, nisi ut invicem diligatis. Verum si adiicias etiam usquequaque vim facere regno charitatis, ut usque ad ultimos eius terminos occupare illud pius invasor praevaleas, dum ne inimicis quidem claudenda viscera pietatis existimes; benefacias his quoque qui te oderunt, ores et pro persequentibus ac calumniantibus te, nec non et cum his qui oderunt pacem esse pacificus studeas: tunc prorsus latitudo coeli, latitudo tuae animae; et altitudo non dispar, sed nec dissimilis pulchritudo; impleturque tunc demum in ea quod dicitur: Extendens coelum sicut pellem : in quo iam mirae latitudinis, altitudinis, ac pulchritudinis coelo summus et immensus atque gloriosus, non modo dignanter habitat, sed et spatiose deambulat.

Videsne quales in se habeat Ecclesia coelos, cum sit nihilominus ipsa, in sua quidem universitate, ingens quoddam coelum, extentum a mari usque ad mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos orbis terrarum? Vide etiam consequenter, cui et in hoc ipso assimiles eam, si tamen non tibi excidit illud quod paulo ante memoratum est huius rei exemplar, de coelo videlicet coeli, et coelis coelorum (Supra num. 9). Ergo exemplo illius quae sursum est mater nostra, haec quoque quae adhuc peregrinatur, habet coelos suos, homines spirituales, vita et opinione conspicuos, fide puros, spe firmos, latos charitate, contemplatione suspensos. Et hi pluentes pluviam verbi salutarem, tonant increpationibus, coruscant miraculis. Hi enarrant gloriam Dei, hi extenti sicut pelles super omnem terram, legem vitae et disciplinae digito quidem Dei scriptam in semetipsis ostendunt, ad dandam scientiam salutis plebi eius: ostendunt et Evangelium pacis, quoniam Salomonis sunt pelles.

Agnosce iam in his pellibus supernarum illarum imaginem, quae in sponsi ornatu non longe superius describebantur (Supra num. 3). Agnosce similiter et reginam astantem a dextris eius, circumamictam similibus ornamentis, non tamen paribus. Nam etsi huic etiam in loco peregrinationis suae, et in die virtutis suae, in splendoribus sanctorum, non minima claritatis atque decoris est portio; differenter tamen illum coronat integritas et consummatio gloriae beatorum. Quanquam et sponsam dixerim perfectam atque beatam, sed ex parte. Nam ex parte tabernaculum Cedar; formosa tamen, sive in illa portione sui, quae iam beata regnat; sive etiam in illustribus viris, quorum, etiam in hac nocte, sua sapientia atque virtutibus, tanquam coelum suis sideribus, adornatur. Unde propheta: Qui docti, inquit, fuerint, fulgebunt quasi splendor firmamenti; et qui ad iustitiam erudiunt multos, quasi stellae in perpetuas aeternitates.

O humilitas! o sublimitas! Et tabernaculum Cedar, et sanctuarium Dei; et terrenum habitaculum, et coeleste palatium; et domus lutea, et aula regia; et corpus mortis, et templum lucis; et despectio denique superbis, et sponsa Christi. Nigra est, sed formosa, filiae Ierusalem: quam etsi labor et dolor longi exsilii decolorat, species tamen coelestis exornat, exornant pelles Salomonis. Si horretis nigram, miremini et formosam; si despicitis humilem, sublimem suspicite. Hoc ipsum quam cautum, quam plenum consilii, plenum discretionis et congruentiae est, quod in sponsa deiectio ista, et ista celsitudo, secundum tempus quidem, eo moderamine sibi pariter contemperantur, ut inter mundi huius varietates et sublimitas erigat humilem, ne deficiat in adversis; et sublimem humilitas reprimat, ne evanescat in prosperis? Pulchre omnino ambae res, cum ad invicem contrariae sint, sponsae tamen pariter cooperantur in bonum, subserviunt in salutem.

Et haec pro eo quod sponsa videtur de pellibus Salomonis inducere similitudinem. Restat tamen aperiendus ille super eodem capitulo sensus, quem in principio commemoravi et promisi, qualiter videlicet tota ad solam nigredinem similitudo referatur: qua quidem non estis promissione fraudandi. Caeterum id differendum in aliud sermonis principium; tum quia hoc iam huius flagitat longitudo; tum etiam ut praeveniat ex more oratio ea, quae in laudem et gloriam sunt referenda sponsi Ecclesiae Iesu Christi Domini nostri, qui est Deus benedictus in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Song.1.5 — I am dark and lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
  2. ↩Song.1.5 — I am dark and lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
  3. ↩Song.1.5 — I am dark and lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
  4. ↩Col.3.9 — Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices,
  5. ↩1Cor.15.47-1Cor.15.49 — The first human was from the earth, made of dust; the second human is from heaven." This harmonizes with v.21 while preserving Adam-Christ representation. 1Cor.15.48 — As was the one made of dust, so also are those made of dust; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those who are heavenly. 1Cor.15.49 — And just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we will also bear the image of the heavenly one.
  6. ↩Matt.12.42;Luke.11.31 — The queen of the south will rise at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. Luke.11.31 — The queen of the South will be raised at the judgment with the men of this generation and will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
  7. ↩Eph.2.14 — For he himself is our peace, who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of hostility
  8. ↩Ps.103.2 — Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
  9. ↩Prov.8.27 — When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
  10. ↩Prov.8.27 — When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
  11. ↩Prov.8.27-Prov.8.30 — When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, Prov.8.28 — when he made the skies firm from above, when he strengthened the fountains of the deep Prov.8.29 — When he set the sea its boundary, so that the waters would not pass his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, Prov.8.30 — Then I was beside him, a master craftsman; I was his delight day after day, playing before him at all times,
  12. ↩John.5.19 — So Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing on his own, unless he sees the Father doing something. For whatever that one does, the Son also does in the same way.
  13. ↩Ps.103.2;Ps.105.2 — Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Ps.105.2 — Sing to him, sing praises to him; speak of all his wondrous works.
  14. ↩Isa.40.22 — He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
  15. ↩2Cor.4.18 — So we do not focus on the things that are seen, but on the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
  16. ↩2Cor.4.18 — So we do not focus on the things that are seen, but on the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
  17. ↩Ps.88.14 — But I cry out to you, O LORD, and in the morning my prayer comes before you.
  18. ↩Eph.3.17 — that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith
  19. ↩Matt.21.7 — They brought the donkey and the colt, and they laid their garments on them, and he sat on them.
  20. ↩Ps.148.1 — Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights.
  21. ↩Ps.148.1-Ps.148.5 — Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights. Ps.148.2 — Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host. Ps.148.3 — Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you stars of light. Ps.148.4 — Praise him, O highest heavens, and the waters above the heavens. Ps.148.5 — Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded, and they were created.
  22. ↩Matt.6.21 — For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
  23. ↩Ps.26.8 — LORD, I love the dwelling place of your house, and the place where your glory dwells.
  24. ↩Heb.1.14 — Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to serve for the sake of those who are about to inherit salvation?
  25. ↩Ps.120.5 — Woe is me, for I have sojourned in Meshech; I have dwelt among the tents of Kedar.
  26. ↩Rev.21.2 — And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
  27. ↩Rev.21.3 — And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them [as their God].'
  28. ↩Song.6.9 — She is the only one, my dove, my perfect one; she is the only one of her mother, the pure one to her who bore her. The daughters saw her and called her blessed; queens and concubines—they praised her.
  29. ↩Phil.2.7 — but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and appearing as a human being.
  30. ↩John.1.51 — And he said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.'
  31. ↩Eph.5.31-Eph.5.32 — For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Eph.5.32 — This mystery is profound—and I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
  32. ↩Gal.4.26 — But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
  33. ↩Rev.21.2 — And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
  34. ↩Eph.4.9-Eph.4.10 — Now "he ascended"—what does it mean except that he also descended into the lower regions, the earth? Eph.4.10 — The one who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.
  35. ↩John.3.13 — And no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
  36. ↩1Cor.15.48 — As was the one made of dust, so also are those made of dust; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those who are heavenly.
  37. ↩Hos.2.19-Hos.2.20 — And I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned by their name. Hos.2.20 — And I will make a covenant for them on that day with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the sky, and with the creeping things of the ground; and I will break the bow and the sword and war from the land, and I will make them lie down in safety.
  38. ↩Eph.2.19 — So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
  39. ↩1Pet.1.8 — Though you have not seen him, you love him; and though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy.
  40. ↩Ps.15.1 — A Psalm of David. LORD, who may sojourn in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?
  41. ↩John.4.24 — God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
  42. ↩John.14.23 — Jesus answered him, 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.'
  43. ↩Ps.22.3 — Yet you are holy, enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
  44. ↩Eph.3.17 — that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith
  45. ↩Ps.132.14 — This is my resting place forever; here I will sit, for I have desired it.
  46. ↩Ps.43.5 — Why are you cast down, my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, the salvation of my countenance and my God.
  47. ↩Luke.22.12 — And he will show you a large upper room furnished; there prepare it.
  48. ↩2Cor.6.16 — What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.'
  49. ↩Lev.26.12 — And I will walk among you, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people.
  50. ↩Eph.4.16;2Cor.6.13 — from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each individual part is working properly, causes the growth of the body for building itself up in love. 2Cor.6.13 — Now in return — I speak as to children — open wide your hearts also.
  51. ↩Eph.4.13 — until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ
  52. ↩1Cor.13.2 — And if I have prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
  53. ↩Matt.5.47 — And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing that is special? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
  54. ↩Luke.17.7-Luke.17.10 — But which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? Luke.17.8 — But will he say to him, 'Prepare what I will eat, and get yourself ready and serve me until I have eaten and drunk, and after that you will eat and drink'? Luke.17.9 — Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? Luke.17.10 — So also you, when you have done all that was commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what we were obligated to do.'
  55. ↩Rom.13.8 — Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves the other has fulfilled the law.
  56. ↩Ps.103.2 — Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
  57. ↩Matt.5.44 — But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
  58. ↩Rom.12.18 — If possible, so far as it depends on you, live at peace with all people.
  59. ↩Song.1.5;Ps.120.5 — I am dark and lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Ps.120.5 — Woe is me, for I have sojourned in Meshech; I have dwelt among the tents of Kedar.
  60. ↩Dan.12.3 — And those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
  61. ↩Song.1.5 — I am dark and lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The phrase 'terreni hominis vetustatem' and 'eius qui de coelo est' echo Pauline language of the old and new man (Col 3:9; 1 Cor 15:47), but the exact scriptural anchor is unresolved.
  2. 2 ↩The Latin astitisse is a perfect infinitive (candidate form) of adsto; spectandum is ambiguous between gerund and gerundive ('watching' vs. 'to be watched'). The sense is that Wisdom was not a passive onlooker but actively present in creation.
  3. 3 ↩The imperative respice inferius ('look below') is an exegetical invitation to read further in the scriptural text. Subiungentem ('subjoining' / 'what follows') refers to the next clause of the biblical passage being expounded.
  4. 4 ↩The Latin varietate...spectabili is rendered as 'wonderfully spectacular array' to capture the sense of spectabilis as both 'visible/remarkable' and 'worth beholding.' The tent imagery (tentorii) evokes the tabernacle and the stretched-out heavens as God's dwelling.
  5. 5 ↩The Latin reads pello (ablative) where classical Latin would expect pelle. This is treated as a variant or manuscript reading for pellis ('skin'). The translation follows the intended sense.
  6. 6 ↩The phrase 'eo ipso succumbens, quod praeterit' conveys that the created image yields and gives way precisely because it is transient. The Bride (sponsa) here refers to the Church or the soul united to Christ; the point is that no material image, however glorious, can match her spiritual beauty.
  7. 7 ↩charitas rendered as love (theological virtue); verbi gratia rendered 'for instance'.
  8. 8 ↩Perpetuo as adverbial ablative; compressed Latin rendered with natural English cadence
  9. 9 ↩Nec enim rendered as explanatory negative; nisi introduces exception
  10. 10 ↩Psalm 88:14 (Vulgate); candidate allusion awaiting Moses resolution
  11. 11 ↩Ephesians 3:17; candidate allusion awaiting Moses resolution
  12. 12 ↩Matthew 21:7; candidate allusion awaiting Moses resolution
  13. 13 ↩The sicut ... ita correlative ('just as ... so too') governs the whole sentence; the first ut ('so that there would be one flock') expresses purpose after voluit, while the final ut ('so that there might be one bride') expresses purpose after placuit ei. The cum clause ('when he had a bride clinging to him') is temporal, setting the scene for the second half of the comparison.

Sermones super Cantica Canticorum (Sermons on the Song of Songs) companion

Practice Bernard's method every morning

The free course teaches the method; the Chosen Portion app gives you a fresh historic portion to practice it on each day.

Bernard built his monks' devotion around a short daily portion of one text taken slowly; Chosen Portion serves the same daily-portion practice on your phone.

  • Learn Bernard's one-verse meditation method in 7 daily emails, about 5 minutes each
  • Get 7 curated excerpts from the actual sermons, in readable modern English
  • Finish with a repeatable 10-minute daily meditation routine you can run in the free app
Chosen Portion — Daily Prayer (free iOS app) →