SR
← Sermones super Cantica Canticorum (Sermons on the Song of Songs)/Book 1 · Sermones super Cantica Canticorum
Chapter 48SermC.1.48

Sermo 48

The Lily Among Thorns

The soul, like a tender lily among thorns, must live in fearful vigilance amid the temptations and tribulations of the flesh.

As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters.✦ They are not good daughters who pierce. Mark what a cursed seed it is, to which our land is condemned. When, it says, you cultivate it, it will sprout thorns and thistles for you.✦ So while the soul is in the flesh, it surely dwells among thorns, and it must endure the stings of temptations, trials, and tribulations. If it is indeed the lily, let it see, by the Bridegroom's word, how watchful and anxious it must be over its own protection, hedged about on every side by thorns, with prickles threatening from every direction. For the tender bloom of the flower cannot bear even the slightest prick of a thorn at all, but as soon as it is even a little pressed, it is pierced through. Do you see how rightly and how necessarily the prophet urges us to serve the Lord in fear, and likewise the Apostle, to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling?✦✦

The Thorn That Pierces and Converts

The friends of the Bridegroom experience piercing affliction as a means of conversion, and the catalog of thorns shows the many sources of spiritual harm.

They grasped the truth of this saying from their own experience, as friends of the Bridegroom, who wouldn't waver in the least, and that what is said pertains to their own souls: As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters.✦ At last one of them says: I am turned in my affliction, while the thorn pierces me. Well pierced, the one who was converted from there. You are pierced rightly, if you are pierced with compunction. Many, when they feel punishment, correct their fault; and such a one can say: I am turned in my affliction, while the thorn pierces me. The thorn is fault, the thorn is punishment, the thorn is a false brother, the thorn is a vicious companion.

Walking Unharmed Among Thorns

To move among the world's thorns unharmed is a work of divine grace, and the soul can take heart because Christ has overcome the world and tribulation produces hope.

Like a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters.✦ O burning, bright lily! O tender and delicate flower! Unbelievers and subverters are all around you: see how carefully you must walk among thorns. The world is full of thorns: they're on the earth, they're in the air, they're in your own flesh. To move among them and remain unharmed is a work of divine power, not of your own strength. But take heart, he says, for I have overcome the world.✦ So even if you see tribulations pressing in on you from every side, like the stings of thorns, don't let your heart be troubled or afraid, knowing that tribulation produces patience, patience produces proven character, proven character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint.✦

The Lily's Radiance Among the Wicked

The lily of the field clothes itself by God's care, and the soul that shines among the wicked with innocence and love fulfills the Gospel command to pray for persecutors.

Look at the lilies of the field, how they thrive and shine among thorns.✦ If God so clothes the grass, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he watch over his own dear friend and bride?✦ In fact, the Lord watches over all who love him.✦ As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters.✦ It's no small mark of virtue to live a good life among the wicked, and among the malicious to keep the brightness of innocence and the gentleness of character — but even more so if you show yourself peaceful and friendly toward those very enemies who hate peace. This much the lily, given to you as an image, will rightly claim as its own special gift: that it never stops brightening and beautifying even the very thorns that prick it with its own radiance. Doesn't the lily seem to you, in its own way, to fulfill the perfection of the Gospel, by which we are commanded to pray for those who slander and persecute us, and to do good to those who hate us?✦ Then you do the same, and your soul will be a friend of the Lord, and he will praise you for who you are, saying, 'As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters.'✦

The Apple Tree Among the Forest

The bride compares her beloved to an apple tree among the trees of the forest, and the preacher reflects on why a seemingly lesser tree is chosen to image the Bridegroom.

It follows: As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons.✦ The bride returns the office of proclamation, commending herself to the bridegroom from whom to be praised is to become praiseworthy, and to praise, understand, and admire the one who is praiseworthy. And as from an eminent flower the praise of the bridegroom is figured by him, so from that region and from an excellent tree she herself shows his singular glory and eminence. Yet I am moved by this tree, because it does not seem to be of such great excellence as some of the others, and therefore it is less worthily taken up into the work of likeness, since it does not suffice to fill the office of praise. As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my chosen one among the sons.✦ Indeed, the bride does not seem to have thought much of it, since she took care to raise this tree alone among the trees of the forest—barren ones, to be sure—bearing fruits not suited for human sustenance. Why then, having passed over better and more noble trees, is the middling quality of this tree brought forward into the open to shape the bridegroom's proclamation? Should someone receive praise in measure who did not receive the Spirit in measure?✦

The Small Lord Lovable Beyond Measure

The apple tree comparison exalts not majesty but humility, commending the little one born for us rather than the Lord of unapproachable glory.

The comparison drawn from that tree makes it seem to have a superior — one without equal. What do we say to this? I admit, it's a small praise, because the praise is of something small. For in this passage it is not the great Lord, worthy beyond all praise, who is proclaimed, but the small Lord, lovable beyond measure — the little one, indeed, who was born for us.✦1

Christ the Fruitful Tree Among the Barren

Christ stands among the fruitless trees of the forest as the one fruitful tree, made lower than the angels yet marveled at by them, and the bride delights in his condescension.

So it isn't majesty that's exalted here, but humility that's commended; and it's fitting and reasonable that what is weak and foolish in God is preferred to human strength and wisdom.✦ They are indeed the wild and fruitless trees of the forest, because, as the Prophet says, all have turned away, together they have become useless; there is no one who does good, not even one.✦ Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons.✦ One among the trees of the forest is the Lord Jesus, a tree bearing fruit—according to his humanity, certainly, even if exalted above human beings, yet made lower than the angels.✦ In a wonderful way, indeed, he made himself flesh and submitted to the angels, and yet, remaining God, he kept the angels subject to himself. Finally: 'You will see,' he says, 'the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man'—because in one and the same man, Christ Jesus, they both cherish his weakness and marvel at his majesty.✦ Because, therefore, what diminishes itself tastes sweeter to the bride, she more gladly exalts his grace, prefers his mercy, and marvels at his condescension. And so it pleased him to be admired as a human among humans, not as God among angels, just as the apple tree stands out among the trees of the forest, and not plainly among the cultivated plants of the orchards.✦

Praise Through Weakness, Not Before Angels

The bride exalts Christ's condescension rather than his status, setting Man-God above the grace of men but not above the excellence of angels.

And yet it doesn't think praise is diminished where the goodness of devotion is exalted through reflecting on weakness. For by the same measure that it moderates praise in one respect by drawing from them, by that same measure it also praises all the more in another respect — pursuing the glory of status less, so that the grace of his condescension might stand out. So just as the Apostle says that what is foolish and weak of God is wiser and stronger to men, but not to angels; and just as the Prophet proclaims him beautiful in form before the sons of men, and not before angels — so she too, certainly speaking in the same spirit, under the figure of the fruit-bearing tree and of the forest woods, wished in this passage to set Man God above all the grace of men, but not above the excellence of angels.

The Firstborn Among Many Brothers

Christ is the apple tree of life, the true bread from heaven, who calls believers brothers and stands alone as the source of life among all other helpers.

As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons.✦ And 'among the sons' is well said: because when he was the only Son of his Father, he was eager to gain many sons for him as well, and without envy — those he is not ashamed to call brothers, so that he himself might be the firstborn among many brothers.✦ And with good reason he is placed before all those adopted through grace, he who is the Son by nature. As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons.✦ Rightly is he like an apple tree, which, like a fruit-bearing tree, has both the shade of cooling refreshment and bears the finest fruit. Isn't it truly a fruit-bearing tree, whose flowers are the fruit of honor and uprightness? In short, he is the tree of life to those who lay hold of him.✦ None of the forest trees can be compared to him, because even if they are beautiful and great trees that seem to bear help through prayer, ministry, teaching, and good works, yet only Christ, the Wisdom of God, is the tree of life — the only living bread that came down from heaven and gives life to the world.✦

In the Shadow of the Beloved

The bride sat in the shadow of the one she longed for, finding in Christ alone both cooling refreshment from vice and the delight of virtues.

So it says: I sat down in the shadow of the one I longed for, and his fruit is sweet to my throat.✦ Rightly she longed for his shadow, from which she would find both cooling refreshment and receive restoration as well. For the other trees of the forests, while they may offer the shadow of comfort, do not offer the restoration of life or the lasting fruits of salvation. For there is one author of life, one mediator between God and humanity—Christ Jesus, the man—who says to his bride: I am your salvation.✦ Moses, he says, did not give you this bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.✦ Therefore she had especially longed for Christ's shadow, because he alone is the one who not only cools the heat of our vices but also fills us with the delight of virtues. I sat down in the shadow of the one I longed for.✦ His shadow is his flesh; his shadow is faith.

The Shadow of Faith and the Light to Come

Faith is the shadow in which believers live and walk, and understanding is the light that follows, with David as the model who asked for understanding after faith.

For Mary, the flesh of her own Son cast its shadow; for me, the faith of the Lord. And yet, how does the flesh not also cast its shadow for me, too, when I eat it in the mystery? And the holy Virgin herself also experienced the shadow of faith, to whom it was said: 'Blessed is she who believed.'✦ I sat down under the shadow of the one I longed for. And the prophet says: 'The Spirit before our face is Christ the Lord; in his shadow we will live among the nations.'✦ In the shadow among the nations, in the light with the angels. We are in the shadow as long as we walk by faith and not by sight, and so the one who lives by faith is in the shadow.✦✦ But the one who lives by understanding is blessed, because they are no longer in the shadow, but in the light.

The Shadow of Death and the Shadow of Life

Faith precedes understanding, and the shadow of worldly pleasure is death, while the shadow of fleshly living draws the soul near to the second death.

David was just and lived by faith when he said to God: Give me understanding, so that I may learn your commandments and live — knowing that understanding would follow upon faith, and that to understanding the light of life would be revealed, and the life of light.✦✦ You must first come to the shadow, and so pass through to the reality it is the shadow of, because, unless you have believed, he says, you will not understand.✦ You see that faith and life exist, and the shadow of life. Right alongside it, a life spent in pleasures—since it doesn't come from faith—is both death and the shadow of death. As it's written: 'A widow who lives for pleasure is dead while she's still alive.'✦ In short, the wisdom of the flesh is death.✦ . But it's also the shadow of death—that death, namely, which torments eternally. We too sometimes sit in darkness and the shadow of death, living according to the flesh and not according to faith; already dead to justice, and only barely short of being swallowed up by the second death.✦✦ For just as a shadow clings closely to the body it belongs to, so we can be certain that our life has drawn near to hell.

Carried from Death into the Shadow of Christ

Believers have crossed from the shadow of death into the shadow of life in Christ, who through the flesh is the shadow of faith and through the Spirit is the light of understanding.

In the end: 'Unless the Lord had helped me,' he says, 'my soul would have all but made its home in hell.'✦ But now we've crossed over from the shadow of death into the shadow of life; or rather, we've been carried over from death into life, living in the shadow of Christ — if indeed we are living, and not dead. I don't think that, as soon as anyone has been in his shadow, he lives in it, because not everyone who has faith lives from faith. Faith without works is dead, and it can't give a life it hasn't itself possessed in the least.✦ So when the prophet had said, 'The Spirit before our face is Christ the Lord,' he wasn't satisfied to follow on and say, 'In his shadow we are,' but — 'In his shadow,' he says, 'we live among the nations.'✦✦ And so, you: see to it that you live by the example of the prophet in his shadow, so that in time you may also reign in his light. He doesn't only have a shadow; he has light as well. He himself, through the flesh, is the shadow of faith; he himself, through the Spirit, is the light of understanding.

Flesh and Spirit, Shadow and Substance

The flesh serves those still in the flesh, but the spirit is before our face as the future reward, and those not yet raptured must be fed on Christ's flesh in the shadow.

And there is flesh, and there is spirit. The flesh is for those still living in the flesh; the spirit is before our face—that is, in the future—if, however, forgetting what lies behind, we stretch ourselves out toward what lies ahead, so that when we arrive we may experience the word that spoke: 'Flesh profits nothing; it is the spirit that gives life.' Nor am I unaware that someone still living in the flesh said: 'Even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, we no longer know him that way.' But he said that; we, however, who haven't yet been caught up into paradise, not yet to the third heaven—meanwhile let's be fed on the flesh of Christ, revere his mysteries, follow his examples, keep the faith, and so we truly live in the shadow.

The Bride's Singular Rest

The bride boasts that she has not merely lived in Christ's shadow as the prophet did, but has sat in it with singular rest, while those who serve in fear toil.

I sat in the shadow of the one I had longed for. Perhaps this woman, having tested something more, prides herself on the fact that she says she doesn't live in the shadow, as the prophet does, but has sat in it. To sit is to rest. Resting in the shadow is more than merely living in it, just as living is more than simply existing in it. So when the prophet claims what is common to many as his own: 'We live in its shadow,' he says; but the bride, having a special claim, prides herself that she has sat under it in a singular way. For where he said, plurally, 'We live,' she likewise said, 'We sat,' but then adds, singularly, 'I sat,' so that you may recognize her special claim. So where we live with toil — we who, conscious of our sins, serve in fear — there this devoted and loving woman rests sweetly. In the end, fear has its punishment; love has its sweetness.

Sweet Fruit and the Feast of Contemplation

The bride's fruit is sweet to her throat in contemplation through a mirror, but a fuller satisfaction awaits when shadows vanish in perpetual light, and the sermon closes with doxology.

Hence she says: "And his fruit is sweet to my throat," signifying the taste of contemplation, which she had obtained, sweetly uplifted through love. But that is in the shade, because it is through a mirror and in a riddle.✦2 That will happen when the shadows decline as the light increases—or rather, vanish completely—and a vision as clear as it is perpetual enters in; and there will be not only sweetness for the throat, but also satisfaction for the belly, yet without disgust.✦ Under the shade of him whom I had desired I sat, and his fruit was sweet to my throat. Where the bride rests, let us rest too, glorifying the master of the house for the taste we have received—he who invited us to such feasts—Jesus Christ, the bridegroom of the Church, our Lord, who is God over all, blessed forever.✦ Amen.

Read the original Latin

Sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias. Non bonae filiae quae pungunt. Attende pessimum germen eius cui maledictum est, terrae nostrae. Cum, inquit, colueris eam, spinas et tribulos germinabit tibi. Donec ergo in carne est anima, inter spinas profecto versatur; et necesse est ut patiatur inquietudines tentationum tribulationumque aculeos. Quod si lilium est ipsa iuxta sponsi verbum, videat quam vigilem sollicitamque esse oporteat super custodia sui, septa undique spinis, hinc inde aculeos intendentibus. Nec enim vel levissimam spinae sustinet ullatenus punctionem floris teneritudo, sed mox ut modice premitur, perforatur. Sentis quam merito necessarieque hortetur nos propheta servire Domino in timore; et item Apostolus, cum timore nihilominus et tremore nostram ipsorum operari salutem?

Tenebant nimirum proprio experimento huius sententiae veritatem, utpote amici sponsi, qui minime prorsus ambigerent, et ad suas animas pertinere quod dicitur: Sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias. Denique unus eorum: Conversus sum, ait, in aerumna mea, dum configitur spina. Bene confixus, qui conversus exinde est. Bene pungeris, si compungeris. Multi cum sentiunt poenam, corrigunt culpam; et talis dicere potest: Conversus sum in aerumna mea, dum configitur spina. Spina culpa est, spina poena est, spina falsus frater, spina vicimus est malus.

Sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias. O candens lilium! o tener et delicate flos! increduli et subversores sunt tecum: vide quomodo caute ambules inter spinas. Plenus est mundus spinis: in terra sunt, in aere sunt, in carne tua sunt. Versari in his et minime laedi, divinae potentiae est, non virtutis tuae. Sed confidite, inquit, quia ego vici mundum. Etsi igitur undique tibi intendi prospicias tribulationum, tanquam tribulorum, aculeos; non turbetur cor tuum neque formidet, sciens quia tribulatio operatur patientiam, patientia probationem, probatio spem, spes autem non confundit.

Considera lilia agri, quomodo inter spinas vigent et nitent. Si fenum quod hodie est et cras in clibanum mittitur, Deus sic custodit, quanto magis amicam et sponsam suam charissimam? Denique custodit Dominus omnes diligentes se. Sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias. Non mediocris titulus profecto virtutis inter pravos vivere bonum, et inter malignantes innocentiae retinere candorem et morum lenitatem: magis autem si his qui oderunt pacem pacificum et amicum ipsis te exhibeas inimicis. Id plane tibi similitudinem datam de lilio iure quodam proprietatis specialiter vindicabit, quod ipsas utique pungentes se spinas candore proprio illustrare et venustare non cessat. An non proinde lilium tibi videtur implere quodam modo Evangelii perfectionem, qua orare iubemur pro calumniantibus et persequentibus nos, benefacere his qui oderunt nos? Ergo et tu fac similiter, et erit anima tua amica Domini, et laudabit te de te, dicens quia sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias.

Sequitur: Sicut malus inter ligna silvarum, sic dilectus meus inter filios. Reddit sponsa praeconii vicem commendanti se sponso, a quo laudari est laudabilem fieri, et quem laudare intelligere et admirari laudabilem. Et sicut ex eminenti flore figurata a sponso laus eius est, ita e regione et ex excellenti ligno ipsa illius singularem gloriam eminentiamque demonstrat. Movet tamen me de ligno hoc, quod non tantae esse excellentiae videatur, quantae aliqua caeterorum: et ideo minus digne assumi in opus similitudinis, utpote quod non sufficiat laudis vicem implere. Sicut malus inter ligna silvarum, sic delectus meus inter filios. Denique nec sponsa magni aestimasse videtur, quae hoc in lignis silvarum tantum efferre curavit, nimirum sterilibus, nec fructus humano victui aptos ferentibus. Cur ergo omissis melioribus et nobilioribus lignis, huius mediocritas arboris adducta in medium est ad formandum sponsi praeconium? Itane ad mensuram laudem recipere debuit, qui ad mensuram Spiritum non accepit?

Hoc nempe data de illa arbore similitudo facit, ut videatur habere superiorem, qui parem non habet. Quid dicemus ad haec? Fateor, parva laus, quoniam parvi laus. Non enim hoc loco praedicatur magnus Dominus et laudabilis nimis, sed parvus Dominus et amabilis nimis, parvulus utique, qui natus est nobis.

Ergo non maiestas attollitur hic, sed commendatur humilitas; digneque ac rationabiliter quod infirmum et stultum est Dei, hominum fortitudini et sapientiae antefertur. Ipsi sunt namque ligna silvestria et infructuosa, quoniam, secundum Prophetam, omnes declinaverunt, simul inutiles facti sunt; non est qui faciat bonum, non est usque ad unum. Sicut malus inter ligna silvarum, sic dilectus meus inter filios. Una inter ligna silvarum Dominus Iesus arbor faciens fructum, secundum hominem sane, etsi praelatus hominibus, sed ab angelis minoratus. Miro etenim modo et angelis sese factus caro subiecit, et angelos sibi manens Deus subiecto retinuit. Denique: Videbitis, inquit, angelos ascendentes et descendentes super Filium hominis : quod in uno eodemque homine Christo Iesu et infirmitatem foveant, et stupeant maiestatem. Quia ergo sponsae id dulcius, quod se imminuit, sapit; libentius attollit gratiam, praefert misericordiam, stupet dignationem. Libuit proinde hominem inter homines admirari, non inter angelos Deum, tanquam malus inter ligna excellit silvarum, et non plane inter hortorum plantaria.

Nec putat minui laudes, ubi de consideratione infirmitatis pietatis bonitas exaltatur. Quo enim iuxta aliquid a laudibus temperat, eo item iuxta aliquid magis laudat, minus prosequens gloriam dignitatis, ut gratia dignationis emineat. Sicut ergo Apostolus quod stultum et infirmum est Dei sapientius fortiusque dicit esse hominibus, sed non angelis; et sicut Propheta speciosum praedicat forma prae filiis hominum, et non prae angelis; sic ista certe in eodem spiritu loquens, sub typo fructiferae arboris silvestriumque lignorum hoc loco efferre voluit Hominem Deum super omnem gratiam hominum, non autem super excellentiam angelorum.

Sicut malus inter ligna silvarum, sic dilectus meus inter filios. Et bene inter filios; quia cum esset unicus Patris sui, multos illi et absque invidia filios acquirere studuit, quos non confunditur vocare fratres, ut sit ipse primogenitus in multis fratribus. Iure autem praeponitur universis adoptatis per gratiam is qui per naturam filius est. Sicut malus inter ligna silvarum, sic dilectus meus inter filios. Merito sicut malus, qui instar fructiferae arboris et umbram refrigerii habet, et fert fructum optimum. An non vere fructiferum lignum, cuius flores fructus honoris et honestatis? Denique lignum vitae est apprehendentibus eum. Non comparabuntur huic omnia ligna silvarum, quia, etsi sint arbores pulchrae et magnae, quae opem ferre videantur orando, ministrando, docendo, exemplis iuvando, solus tamen Dei Sapientia Christus lignum est vitae, solus panis vivus qui de coelo descendit, et dat vitam mundo.

Ideo ait: Sub umbra eius quem desideraveram sedi, et fructus eius dulcis gutturi meo. Merito eius desideraverat umbram, de quo et refrigerium esset et refectionem pariter acceptura. Nam caetera quidem silvarum ligna, etsi umbram solatii habent, sed non vitae refectionem, non fructus perpetuos salutis. Unus est enim vitae auctor, unus mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus Iesus, qui dicit sponsae suae: Salus tua ego sum. Non Moyses, inquit, dedit vobis panem hunc de coelo, sed Pater meus dat vobis panem de coelo verum. Propterea ergo Christi potissimum desideraverat umbram, quod solus sit qui non solum ab aestu refrigerat vitiorum, sed et replet delectatione virtutum. Sub umbra eius quem desideraveram sedi. Umbra eius, caro eius; umbra eius, fides.

Mariae obumbravit proprii Filii caro; mihi, Domini fides. Quanquam et mihi quoque quomodo non obumbrat caro, qui in mysterio manduco eam? Et sancta nihilominus Virgo fidei et ipsa experta est umbram, cui dictum est: Et beata quae credidisti. Sub umbra eius quem desideraveram sedi. Et propheta: Spiritus, inquit, ante faciem nostram Christus Dominus; in umbra eius vivemus inter gentes. In umbra in gentibus, in luce cum angelis. In umbra sumus, quandiu per fidem ambulamus, et non per speciem; et ideo iustus in umbra, qui ex fide vivit. At qui vivit ex intellectu, beatus est; quia non in umbra iam, sed in lumine.

Iustus erat David, et ex fide vivebat, cum dicebat Deo: Da mihi intellectum, ut discam mandata tua, et vivam; sciens successurum fidei intellectum, intellectui revelandum lumen vitae, et luminis vitam. Prius est venire ad umbram, et ita ad id cuius umbra est pertransire, quoniam, nisi credideritis, ait, non intelligetis.

Vides fidem et vitam esse, et vitae umbram. Nam e regione vita in deliciis agens, quoniam non est ex fide, et mors est, et umbra mortis. Quae enim, inquit, vidua in deliciis est, vivens mortua est. Denique sapientia carnis mors est. . Sed et mortis est umbra, illius scilicet quae cruciat in aeternum. Sedimus et nos aliquando in tenebrosis et umbra mortis, carnaliter conversantes, et non ex fide viventes; mortui iam quidem iustitiae, a morte vero secunda paulo minus absorbendi. Quantum etenim umbra prope est corpori cuius est umbra, tantum pro certo vita illa nostra inferno appropinquavit.

Denique: Nisi quia Dominus adiuvit me, inquit, paulo minus habitasset in inferno anima mea. Nunc autem de umbra mortis ad vitae transivimus umbram; magis autem translati sumus de morte ad vitam, in Christi umbra viventes, si tamen viventes, et non mortui. Nec enim, reor, continuo, ut quis in umbra eius fuerit, quod vivat in ea, quia non plane omnis qui fidem habet ex fide vivit. Nam fides sine operibus mortua est; nec potest dare vitam, quam minime ipsa habuerit. Ideo propheta cum dixisset: Spiritus ante faciem nostram Christus Dominus, non contentus fuit sequi et dicere: In umbra eius sumus; sed; in umbra, inquit, eius vivimus inter gentes. Et tu ergo vide ut vivas exemplo prophetae in umbra eius, ut quandoque et regnes in lumine eius. Nec enim tantum umbram habet, habet et lucem. Ipse per carnem umbra est fidei, ipse intelligentiae lumen per Spiritum.

Et caro est enim, et spiritus. Caro, in carne manentibus; spiritus, ante faciem nostram, id est in futuro; si tamen quae retro sunt obliviscentes, ad ea quae ante sunt nosmetipsos extendimus, quo pervenientes experiamur de verbo quod dixit: Caro non prodest quidquam, spiritus est qui vivificat. Nec ignoro quod in carne adhuc manens quis dixerit: Et si cognovimus Christum secundum carnem, sed nunc iam non novimus. At hoc ille: nos vero qui nondum in paradisum, nondum ad tertium coelum rapui meruimus, Christi interim carne pascamur, mysteria veneremur, exempla sectemur, fidem servemus; et vivimus profecto in umbra.

In umbra eius quem desideraveram sedi. Fortassis felicius aliquid ista expertam se gloriatur in eo, quod se in umbra dicit: non, ut propheta, vivere, sed sedisse. Sedere enim quiescere est. Plus est autem quiescere in umbra quam vivere, sicut vivere plus est quam tantummodo esse in ea. Igitur quod est commune multorum propheta assumens sibi: In umbra eius vivimus, inquit; sponsa vero habens praerogativam, etiam quod sub ea singulariter sederit, gloriatur. Non enim ut ille pluraliter: Vivimus; ita et haec: Sedimus dixit; sed singulariter, sedi, ut agnoscas praerogativam. Ubi itaque nos cum labore vivimus, qui conscii peccatorum sub timore servimus, ibi haec devota et amans suaviter requiescit. Denique timor poenam habet, amor suavitatem.

Unde ait: Et fructus eius dulcis gutturi meo; gustum contemplationis significans, quem obtinuerat per amorem suaviter sublevata. At istud in umbra, quia per speculum et in aenigmate. Erit cum declinaverint umbrae crescente lumine, imo penitus disparuerint, et subintrabit sicut perspicua, ita et perpetua visio; eritque non modo suavitas gutturi, sed et satietas ventri; sine fastidio tamen. Sub umbra eius quem desideraveram sedi, et fructus eius dulcis gutturi meo. Nos quoque ubi sponsa pausat, pausemus pariter, de sumpto gustu patremfamilias glorificantes, qui nos ad tales epulas invitavit, sponsum Ecclesiae Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum, qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula. Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Song.2.2 — As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters.
  2. ↩Gen.3.17-Gen.3.18 — And to Adam he said, "Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat from it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Gen.3.18 — And thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field.
  3. ↩Ps.2.11 — Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
  4. ↩Phil.2.12 — Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
  5. ↩Song.2.2 — As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters.
  6. ↩Song.2.2 — As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters.
  7. ↩John.16.33 — I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart — I have overcome the world.
  8. ↩Rom.5.3-Rom.5.5 — And not only that, but we also boast in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces endurance. Rom.5.4 — and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, Rom.5.5 — And hope does not put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
  9. ↩Matt.6.28 — And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they do not toil, nor do they spin.
  10. ↩Matt.6.30 — If God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
  11. ↩Ps.145.20 — The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
  12. ↩Song.2.2 — As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters.
  13. ↩Matt.5.44 — But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
  14. ↩Song.2.2 — As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters.
  15. ↩Song.2.3 — Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shadow I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my palate.
  16. ↩Song.2.3 — Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shadow I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my palate.
  17. ↩John.3.34 — For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
  18. ↩Isa.9.6 — For the increase of his government and for peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
  19. ↩1Cor.1.25 — For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
  20. ↩Ps.14.3 — Everyone has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
  21. ↩Song.2.3 — Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shadow I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my palate.
  22. ↩Heb.2.7 — You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor.
  23. ↩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.'
  24. ↩Song.2.3 — Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shadow I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my palate.
  25. ↩Song.2.3 — Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shadow I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my palate.
  26. ↩Rom.8.29 — For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
  27. ↩Song.2.3 — Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shadow I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my palate.
  28. ↩Prov.3.18 — She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and those who hold her fast are called blessed.
  29. ↩John.6.51 — I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
  30. ↩Song.2.3 — Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shadow I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my palate.
  31. ↩Luke.1.77 — to give knowledge of salvation to his people through the forgiveness of their sins,
  32. ↩John.6.32 — Jesus then said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.'
  33. ↩Song.2.3 — Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shadow I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my palate.
  34. ↩Luke.1.45 — And blessed is she who believed that there will be a fulfillment of the things spoken to her from the Lord.
  35. ↩Lam.4.20 — The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was caught in their pits — the one of whom we said, 'In his shadow we shall live among the nations.'
  36. ↩2Cor.5.7 — for we walk by faith, not by sight
  37. ↩Rom.1.17;Hab.2.4 — For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, 'The righteous one shall live by faith.' Hab.2.4 — Behold, his soul is puffed up—it is not upright within him; but the righteous one shall live by his faithfulness.
  38. ↩Ps.119.34 — Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and observe it with all my heart.
  39. ↩Ps.119.144 — Your testimonies are righteousness forever; give me understanding, and I shall live.
  40. ↩Isa.7.9 — And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not believe, surely you will not be established.
  41. ↩1Tim.5.6 — but the one who lives in self-indulgence is dead even while she lives.
  42. ↩Rom.8.6 — For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.
  43. ↩Ps.23.4;Ps.22.4 — Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me. Ps.22.4 — But you are holy, enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
  44. ↩Rev.20.6 — Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for the thousand years.
  45. ↩Ps.115.1;Ps.117.1 — Not to us, LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, because of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. Ps.117.1 — Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.
  46. ↩Jas.2.17 — So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
  47. ↩Ps.38.3 — Because your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has pressed down on me.
  48. ↩Ps.26.4-Ps.26.5 — I have not sat with worthless men, and with hypocrites I will not enter in. Ps.26.5 — I hate the assembly of evildoers, and with the wicked I will not sit.
  49. ↩1Cor.13.12 — For now we see in a mirror, dimly; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
  50. ↩1Cor.13.12 — For now we see in a mirror, dimly; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
  51. ↩Rom.9.5 — whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The closing phrase 'qui natus est nobis' echoes Isaiah 9:6 (Vulgate), 'parvulus... qui natus est nobis'.
  2. 2 ↩Translates 'in aenigmate' as 'in a riddle' to capture the Vulgate rendering of 1 Cor 13:12, where the Greek 'ainigmati' implies an obscure or indirect vision of God.

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) →