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Chapter 57SermC.1.57

Sermo 57

The Bridegroom Comes

Bernard introduces the bridegroom's advent through salvation history and the soul's attentive love, describing how Christ comes, is present, speaks, and brings overflowing blessings.

Here, my beloved speaks to me.✦ Look at the advances of grace, and pay attention to the steps of divine favor.1 Give your attention to the bride's devotion and watchfulness, which the bridegroom's watchful eye surely observes as he comes, and thereafter beholds everything about her all the more closely.✦2 He comes, he hurries, he draws near, he is present, he looks upon her, he speaks — and none of these moments escapes the bride's attentive care, [which] anticipates its knowledge of each one.3 He comes in the angels, he hastens in the patriarchs, he draws near in the prophets, he is present in the flesh, he looks upon us in miracles, he speaks in the apostles.4 Or take it this way: he comes with affection and the desire to show mercy, he hastens with the zeal to help, he draws near by humbling himself, he is present to those before him, he looks ahead to those yet to come, he speaks while teaching and persuading about the kingdom of God. So then, this is the coming of the bridegroom. With him come blessings and the riches of salvation, and everything that flows from him abounds with delights — an overflow, surely, of pleasant and life-giving sacraments.5

The Watching Bride

The bride who loves watches attentively, and blessed is the one the Lord finds watching, for the beloved speaks words of love, not reproof.

Furthermore, the one who loves watches and pays attention. And blessed is the one the Lord will find watching. It won't pass by her or go past her, but it will stand and speak to her — yes, speak words of love — for it will speak as a beloved one does.6 So you see, this is what was said before: Listen — my beloved speaks to me.✦7 Well said, beloved — you who come to speak words of love, and not words of reproof.

The Lord's Gaze and Its Effects

Bernard reflects on how the same divine gaze produces different effects—sorrow for Peter, joy for the bride, and blessing for Mary—according to the soul's merits.

And this is not about those who are rightly reproved by the Lord because they had known the face of heaven to judge, but had barely recognized the time of his coming. She, then, so keen and so wise, so watchful, looked ahead to him coming from far off; she noticed him springing forward in haste; she watched most attentively as he leaped over the proud so that the humble one might draw near to him through humility; and finally, when he was now standing and hiding himself behind the wall, she recognized him nonetheless as present, and also perceived him as he peered through the windows and lattice-work; and now, as a reward for such great devotion and religious care, she hears him speaking. For certainly, if she had looked back and had not spoken at all, that looking back could have been suspect, lest perhaps it might have been more a sign of indignation than of love. In the end, he looked at Peter and said nothing to him; and so perhaps he wept because, though he looked at him, he kept silent. She, however, since after that look she also deserved to address him, not only does not weep but even rejoices with joy, crying out, 'Behold, my beloved speaks to me.' You see how the Lord's gaze, though it always remains the same in itself, does not always have the same effect; but it is shaped by the merits of each one he looks at, and indeed to some it strikes fear, but to others it brings greater consolation and security. Finally, he looks at the earth and makes it tremble, when from that quarter he has looked upon Mary and poured out grace. He has looked, he says, at the humility of his handmaid; for behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.

Joy, Not Trembling

The bride does not tremble or weep as Peter did, because the Lord looked upon her with affection and gave joy to her heart.

These aren't the words of someone weeping or trembling, but of someone rejoicing. Here too he looked upon the bride, and she didn't tremble, she didn't weep as Peter did, because she had no understanding of the earth as he did; but he gave joy in her heart, bearing witness by the affection with which he had looked upon her.89

The Bridegroom's Loving Words

The bride hears words of love inviting her to rise and make haste, and all are called to share in the inheritance of divine testimonies as co-heirs with Christ.

So listen to the words being spoken: how they are not those of someone indignant, but of someone who loves. What follows: Rise up, hurry, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one.✦ Happy the conscience that deserves to hear these things about itself! Who among us, do you think, is so watchful and attentive to the time of his visitation, carefully watching for the Bridegroom's approach moment by moment, that when he comes and knocks, we would open to him right away?✦ For these things are not reported about the Church in such a way that we individually — who together are the Church — ought not to share in her blessings. For in this we are all, without distinction, called to possess blessings as an inheritance. Therefore she even dared to say to the Lord: 'I have acquired your testimonies as an inheritance forever, for they are the joy of my heart' — by that inheritance, I believe, by which she presumed to be the Father's own son, who is in heaven. Furthermore, if a son, then also an heir — an heir of God, but a co-heir with Christ.✦

The Inheritance of Divine Testimony

Bernard exalts the great blessing of possessing the Lord's testimonies as an inheritance and warns that only the one whom God commends is approved.

It's truly a great thing to boast that one has acquired this inheritance — the testimonies of the Lord. If only I myself — or even one of us — might have deserved to hold the testimony of the Lord concerning me!10 Because that person exults not in one testimony, but in many. And so he says again: 'I have delighted in the way of your testimonies as in all riches.'✦11 Indeed, what are the riches of salvation, what are the delights of the heart, what is the soul's true and secure safety, except the attestations of the Lord?12 For it is not, he says, the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom God commends.✦13

The Witness of the Spirit

The Spirit bears witness that we are children of God, and those who watch at dawn will find the Lord who comes secretly as a modest lover.

Why, then, are we still being cheated, even now, of these divine commendations or attestations, and robbed of our Father's inheritance? As if it were nothing that he willingly begot us through the word of truth, we don't remember that we were commended by him in this way, nor that we have obtained any testimonies about ourselves from him. Where is what the Apostle says, that the Spirit of God himself bears witness to our spirit that we are children of God?✦ How can we be children if we are destitute of the inheritance? Our very poverty accuses us, surely, of negligence and carelessness. For if any one of us were to surrender his heart completely and perfectly, as the word of the Wise One says, to watching out at dawn for the Lord who made him, and were to entreat him in the sight of the Most High, and at the same time were to strive with all his vows, according to Isaiah the prophet, to prepare the ways of the Lord and make straight the paths of his God — to whom the Prophet may say: My eyes are always toward the Lord; and because I have always kept the Lord in my sight: will this one not receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Savior?✦✦ He will truly be visited often, and yet he will never ignore the time of his visitation, however secretly the one who visits in spirit may come and steal in, as a modest lover would. Therefore, for the soul that is still living far off, watching well with a sober mind will perceive this clearly, and thereafter will discover all the things that, as we have shown, the bride has noticed both skillfully and distinctly at the coming of the Beloved — because he himself says: Those who watch for me early will find me.✦

The Soul's Interior Perception

The soul that hastens forward recognizes its beloved's approach and, looking deep within, discerns him like light through windows and hears voices of joy and love.

For the soul that presses forward will recognize its own longing, and it will know at once when he is near and when he is already close at hand; but the eye that looks deep within itself will also catch sight of him — like a ray of sunlight slipping through windows and cracks in a wall — and it will discern him with a blessed eye, and at last it will hear the voices of joy and love, once it has been called beloved, dove, and beautiful.

Discerning the Signs of Christ's Coming

Bernard speaks of his duty to share spiritual experience and teaches that virtues, justice, humility, and purity of heart are signs of the Lord's imminent visitation.

Who is wise enough to understand these things, to distinguish them properly from one another, to identify each one individually, and to define them so that others can understand? If that's expected of me, I'd rather hear it from someone experienced, someone who's practiced and familiar with such matters. But someone like that would more reverently choose to hide in silence what they received through silence, keeping their own secret to themselves, judging that safer for them. I, on the other hand, for whom speaking is a duty and remaining silent isn't allowed, must share whatever I hold from experience of such matters—whether my own or another's—and that many others can easily verify. I'll leave the higher things, of course, for the strong to grasp. So if I'm admonished—whether outwardly by a person or inwardly by the Spirit—about guarding justice and preserving equity, this kind of salutary exhortation will truly be for me a foretelling of the Bridegroom's imminent coming, and a certain preparation for worthily receiving the heavenly visitor. The Prophet indicates this to me, saying that justice will walk before him; and likewise speaking to God in this way: "Justice and judgment," he says, "are the preparation of your throne." Nevertheless, the same hope will smile upon me if the discourse resounds about humility or patience, or even about brotherly love and obedience to be shown to superiors, but especially about pursuing holiness and peace and seeking purity of heart—since indeed Scripture says: "Holiness befits the house of the Lord"; and: "His place was made in peace"; and: "The pure in heart will see God."✦ Whatever, then, is suggested to the mind from these or from any other virtues whatsoever, it will be, as I said, a sign to me that the visitation of the Lord—of virtues—is imminent for my soul.

Signs of the Bridegroom's Approach

Correction from the just, edifying discourse, burning eloquence, and the Lord's nearness to the troubled in heart all reveal that the bridegroom is near.

But even if a just person rebukes me with mercy and corrects me, I'll welcome it as such, knowing that the zeal of the just and their goodwill pave the way for the one who rises over the setting.✦ It's a good setting when a person stands firm under the just one's correction, and vice falls away, and the Lord rises over it, trampling it with his feet and crushing it so it can't rise again. So the rebuke of the just isn't to be despised, for it's the ruin of sin and the health of the heart, and indeed God's way to the soul. But no discourse at all that builds up piety, virtue, and the best morals should be heard carelessly, because there too is the path by which God's saving word is shown. If a discourse comes that's pleasing and welcome, so that once reluctance is driven away it's heard with longing, then you should believe that the Bridegroom isn't only coming but hastening — that is, coming with longing. For his desire creates your own, and the fact that you hasten to welcome his discourse is why he hastens to enter — not that we loved him first, but he himself, it says, loved us first.✦ Now if you also feel a burning eloquence and your conscience is seared by the remembrance of sin, then recall what Scripture says: 'Fire will go before him,' and you won't doubt that he's near.✦ Finally, the Lord is near to those who are troubled in heart.✦

The Fire of God's Presence

The fire that goes before the Lord rouses and prepares, but the fire that is God himself burns sweetly, consuming faults and anointing the soul with love.

But if you're not only pierced with compunction by that word, but turn wholly to the Lord, vowing and resolving to keep his righteous judgments, you'll even come to know that he is present — especially if you feel yourself burning with love for him. For you read of both things about him: namely that fire goes before him, and yet that he himself is fire. Moses indeed says of him that he is a consuming fire. They differ, however, in this: the fire that goes before him has burning heat but no love — it melts but does not refine away, it stirs but does not advance. It is sent ahead only to rouse and prepare, and at the same time to bring home to you what you are made of — so that what you'll soon receive from God may taste all the sweeter afterward. But the fire that is God consumes, yet does not torment; it burns sweetly, and lays waste with happiness. For it is truly a desolating coal, yet one that wields the force of fire against your faults so that it may offer the soul the role of anointing in their place. Therefore, in the power by which you are changed and in the love by which you burn, understand that the Lord is present.

The Right Hand of the Lord

The right hand of the Lord wields power, and the change it brings happens only in the fervor of the Spirit and genuine love, as the heart grows warm and fire burns.

For the right hand of the Lord wields power. But this change in the right hand of the Most High doesn't happen except in the fervor of the Spirit and in genuine love, so that someone who has experienced it can say: My heart has grown warm within me, and in my meditation a fire burns up.

Light in the Meantime

When the fire of purification has cleansed the conscience, a flood of light illuminates the understanding, yet contemplation remains limited through this life, seen only through a mirror.

Furthermore, when this fire has consumed every stain of sin and the rust of vices, if — once a conscience has been cleansed and refined — there follows a certain sudden and unusual expansiveness of mind, and a flood of light illuminating the understanding, either toward knowledge of the Scriptures or toward the knowledge of mysteries (one of these given, I think, for our delight, and the other for building up those around us), without a doubt the eye that gazes into the distance is the one that brings forth, as it were, a light: your justice and your judgment like midday brightness, in keeping with that word of the prophet Isaiah: "Your light will rise," he says, "like the sun," and so on.✦ But truly, that ray of such great brightness does not pour itself in through open doors — only through narrow openings, with this ruined wall of the body still standing in the way. You're mistaken if you hope otherwise — no matter how far you advance in purity of heart — since that foremost contemplator says: "We see now through a mirror and in an enigma, but then face to face."✦

Contemplation and Preaching

God's will as love stirs the soul to rise for the gaining of souls, and true contemplation alternates with preaching, though the mind is tossed between the two until prayer shows God's will.

After this display of such great dignity and compassion, a voice follows, gently and softly insinuating God's will, which is nothing other than love itself — love that cannot be idle, stirring and urging the soul toward the things that belong to God. Then the bride hears the call to rise and make haste — with no doubt at all that it is for the gaining of souls. Now this is what true and chaste contemplation does: the mind that divine fire has powerfully kindled sometimes fills with such zeal and desire to win others to God who would love him in the same way, that it willingly sets aside the leisure of contemplation for the work of preaching. And then, having had its fill of prayer, it returns to that same contemplation all the more ardently, the more fruitfully it remembers having interrupted itself. And likewise, once it has tasted contemplation again, it goes back to winning souls with its usual eagerness, but with greater strength. But in the midst of these shifts, the mind is generally tossed about, afraid and deeply agitated, lest while it is pulled this way and its own affections, it might cling to one of these more than is right. And so, on either side, it may stray even a little from God's will. And perhaps holy Job was experiencing something like this when he said, 'If I sleep, I ask, When shall I rise?'✦ And again, 'I will wait for evening' — that is: 'Even when I am at rest, I accuse myself of neglecting the work; and even when I am busy, I still reproach myself for the disturbance of my peace.'✦ You see the holy man deeply agitated between the fruit of work and the sleep of contemplation: though he is always engaged in good things, he is always as it were doing penance for evils, and with groaning he inquires of God's will at every moment. The only remedy or refuge in a situation like this is prayer and frequent groaning toward God, so that he would deign to show us continually what he wants us to do, when he wants it, and how far.

Friend, Dove, and Beautiful One

The bride is called a friend through zealous preaching, a dove through prayer and compunction, and beautiful through heavenly desire and contemplation at fitting times.

You have, I think, these three things — preaching, prayer, and contemplation — commended and marked out in three words. And indeed she is rightly called a friend who zealously and faithfully gains the Bridegroom's rewards by preaching, counseling, and ministering. Rightly a dove, who nonetheless groans and pleads in prayer for her own faults, and never stops winning over divine mercy for herself. Rightly also beautiful, who shines with heavenly desire and clothes herself with the beauty of heavenly contemplation — but only at those hours when it's fitting and timely to do so.

Martha, Mary, and Lazarus

The threefold pattern of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus illustrates the soul's perfection in service, contemplation, and compunction, and Bernard wishes these gifts may long endure in the community.

But see also whether this can be fitted to that threefold good of a single soul — namely, from those three persons who live together in one house, assuredly friends of the Savior and very intimate with him. I mean Martha, who was ministering; and Mary, who was resting at his feet; and Lazarus, as it were groaning under the stone, urgently pleading for the grace of resurrection. These things have been said because the bride is described as so keen and so watchful in observing the bridegroom's paths that he can never escape her notice — when and with what haste he comes to her, but also when he is far off, and when he is near, and when he is present — so that she cannot be caught off guard by any suddenness and fail to know it. And because she has therefore deserved not only to be looked on mercifully, but also to be graciously gladdened by words of love and to rejoice with joy at the voice of the bridegroom. We too have added these things — boldly, I admit — that any soul among us, if it likewise keeps watch, will in like manner be greeted as a friend, will be comforted as a dove, and will be embraced as something beautiful. Everyone will be considered perfect in whose soul these three things are seen to come together fittingly and at the right time: that it knows how to groan on its own behalf and to exult in God, and at the same time is powerful enough to come to the aid of neighbors' needs — pleasing to God, careful for itself, and useful to its own. But who is equal to these things? Would that these very things, even if not all of them in each one of us, at least each one in different people — just as today they seem to be held — might be kept for long years to come! We do indeed have Martha, as a friend of the Savior, in those who faithfully manage outward affairs.

The Threefold Fulfillment

Novices groan under the fear of judgment, contemplatives behold the bridegroom's glory unveiled, and the bridegroom of the Church is asked to open the meaning of this sacrament.

We also have Lazarus, groaning like a dove — clearly novices, recently dead from their sins, still suffering from fresh wounds, groaning under the fear of judgment; and like wounded people sleeping in tombs, whom no one remembers any longer, they refuse to think well of themselves, until at Christ's command the weight of fear, heavy as a pressing stone, is lifted, and they can breathe again in the hope of pardon.✦ We also have Mary contemplating among those who, through a longer passage of time, with the grace of God cooperating, have been able to advance toward something better and more joyful; now trusting in God's pardon, they are no longer so anxiously occupied with the sorrowful image of their sins, but instead take insatiable delight in meditating on the law of God day and night; at times, with face unveiled, they behold the bridegroom's glory with ineffable joy, and are transformed from clarity into clarity into that same image, as if by the Spirit of the Lord.✦✦ We will see in another discourse for what purpose the bride urges the bridegroom to rise and make haste — the one who a little earlier seemed to protect her, so that she, sleeping, might not be awakened. May he himself be present, so that he may graciously deign to open to us the meaning of this Sacrament as well — Jesus Christ, our Lord, the bridegroom of the Church, who is God over all, blessed forever.✦ Amen.

Read the original Latin

En dilectus meus loquitur mihi. Videte processus gratiae, et dignationis divinae advertite gradus. Attendite sponsae devotionem atque solertiam, quam vigili utique oculo sponsi observat adventum, ct deinceps ipsius omnia diligentius intuetur. Venit ille, accelerat, appropiat, adest, respicit, alloquitur; et nihil horum momentorum sponsae industriam effugit, anticipative notitiam. Venit in angelis, accelerat in patriarchis, appropiat in prophetis, adest in carne, respicit in miraculis, alloquitur in apostolis. Vel sic: Venit affectu et studio miserendi, accelerat subveniendi zelo, appropiat humiliando semetipsum, adest praesentibus, prospicit in futuros, loquitur docens et suadens de regno Dei. Sic ergo est adventus sponsi. Benedictiones et divitiae salutis cum eo, et universa quae de ipso sunt affluunt deliciis, redundantia certe iucundis ac salutaribus sacramentis.

Porro quae amat, vigilat et observat. Et beata, quam Dominus invenerit vigilantem. Non transibit illam, nec praeteribit ab ea, sed stabit et loquetur ei, loqueturque amatoria: loquetur siquidem ut dilectus. Sic quippe habes: En dilectus meus loquitur mihi. Bene dilectus, qui venit amatoria locuturus, non autem increpatoria.

Neque enim de illis est, qui a Domino merito arguuntur, quod faciem coeli diiudicare nossent, tempus vero adventus eius minime cognovissent. Haec namque tam solers, et prudens, ac bene vigilans, et venientem a longe prospexit, et salientem pro festinatione advertit, et transilientem superbos, ut humili sibi per humilitatem propinquaret, vigilantissime observavit; et demum cum iam staret, et occultaret se post parietem, nihilominus praesentem agnovit, sed et respicientem per fenestras cancellosque persensit; et nunc pro remuneratione tantae devotionis et religiosae sollicitudinis loquentem audit. Sane enim si respexisset, et minime locutus fuisset, suspectus poterat esse ille respectus, ne forte magis indignationis foret, quam dilectionis. Denique respexit Petrum, et non fecit ei verbum: et ideo fortassis flevit ille, quod respiciens se, tacuerit. Haec autem, quoniam post aspectum meruit et affatum, non modo non flet, sed et gloriatur prae laetitia clamans, En dilectus meus loquitur mihi. Vides intuitum Domini, cum in se semper maneat idem, non tamen eiusdem semper efficaciae esse; sed conformari meritis singulorum quos respicit, et aliis quidem incutere metum, aliis vero magis consolationem et securitatem afferre. Denique respicit terram, et facit eam tremere, cum e regione respexerit Mariam, et infuderit gratiam. Respexit, ait, humilitatem ancillae suae; ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.

Non sunt haec verba plorantis aut trepidantis, sed gaudentis. Respexit similiter hoc loco sponsam, et nec tremuit illa, nec flevit ad instar Petri, quia non sapiebat terram, sicut ille; dedit vero laetitiam in corde eius, affatu testificans, quo eam respexerit affectu.

Denique verba quae loquitur, audi quam non indignantis sint, sed amantis. Sequitur: Surge, propera, amica mea, columba mea, formosa mea. Felix conscientia, quae de se ista meretur audire! Quis, putas, in nobis est adeo vigilans et observans tempus visitationis suae, sponsumque adventantem ita per singula eius momenta diligenter explorans, ut cum venerit et pulsaverit, confestim aperiat ei? Non enim sic ista de Ecclesia referuntur, ut non singuli nos, qui simul Ecclesia sumus, participare his eius benedictionibus debeamus. Etenim in hoc generaliter omnes atque indifferenter vocati sumus, ut benedictiones haereditate possideamus. Unde et audebat dicere ad Dominum quidem: Haereditate acquisivi testimonia tua in aeternum, quia exsultatio cordis mei sunt; illa, puto, haereditate, qua se esse praesumebat filium patris sui, qui est in coelis. Porro si filium, et haeredem; haeredem Dei, cohaeredem autem Christi.

Magnam vero rem gloriatur se acquisivisse haereditate ista, testimonia Domini. Utinam ego de me vel unum meruerim tenere testimonium Domini! quia is non in uno, sed in multis exsultat testimoniis. Denique ait iterum: In via testimoniorum tuorum delectatus sum, sicut in omnibus divitiis. Et revera quid divitiae salutis, quid deliciae cordis, quid animae vera et cauta securitas, nisi Domini attestationes? Non enim, inquit, qui se ipsum commendat, ille probatus est, sed quem Deus commendat.

Utquid nos hactenus adhuc fraudamur commendationibus seu attestationibus his divinis, et paterna haereditate privamur? Quasi minime et nos voluntarie genuerit verbo veritatis, sic in nullo nos meminimus ab illo taliter commendatos, nec ulla de nobis assecutos testimonia eius. Ubi est quod Apostolus dicit, quia ipse Spiritus Dei testimonium perhibet spiritui nostro, quod filii Dei sumus. Quomodo filii, si expertes haereditatis? Arguit nos pro certo negligentiae et incuriae ipsa inopia nostra. Nam si quis nostrum integre et perfecte, iuxta verbum Sapientis, cor suum tradat ad vigilandum diluculo ad Dominum qui fecit illum, et in conspectu Altissimi deprecetur, simulque votis omnibus studeat secundum Isaiam prophetam parare vias Domini, rectas facere semitas Dei sui, cui cum Propheta sit dicere: Oculi mei semper ad Dominum; et quia providebam Dominum in conspectu meo semper : nonne hic accipiet benedictionem a Domino, et misericordiam a Deo salutari suo? Visitabitur profecto frequenter, nec unquam ignorabit tempus visitationis suae, quantumlibet is qui in spiritu visitat, clandestinus veniat et furtivus, utpote verecundus amator. Adhuc ergo longe agentem bene vigilans anima sobria mente prospiciet, et deinceps universa comperiet, quae in dilecti adventu sponsam tam solerter, quam signanter advertisse monstravimus quia ipse ait: Qui mane vigilaverint ad me, invenient me.

Nam et desiderium festinantis agnoscet: et quando prope, et quando praesto iam erit, continuo sentiet; sed et respicientis se oculum, quasi solis radium per fenestras et rimas parietis subeuntem, beato oculo cernet: et demum audiet voces exsultationis et amoris, appellata amica, columba, formosa.

Quis sapiens et intelliget haec, ita ut ea etiam digne ab invicem distinguere, et designare singula queat, ac definire ad intelligentiam aliorum? Si a me illud speratur, ego ea mallem ab experto audire, et qui assuetus sit et exercitatus in talibus. At quoniam quisque qui huiusmodi est, verecunde magis silentio abscondere eligit quod silentio percipit, et servare secretum suum sibi, id sibi tutius arbitratur: dico ego, cui ex officio loqui est, nec tacere licet, quidquid illud est quod de huiusmodi vel proprio, vel alieno teneo experimento, et quod facile experiri plures queunt, sane altiora relinquens apprehendere illa valentibus. Si igitur admonitus fuero, vel foris ab homine vel intus a Spiritu, de tuenda iustitia et servanda aequitate; istiusmodi salutaris suasio erit mihi profecto praenuntia imminentis adventus sponsi, et praeparatio quaedam ad digne suscipiendum supernum visitatorem, Propheta id mihi indicante, dicendo quia iustitia ante eum ambulabit; et item loquitur Deo sic: Iustitia et iudicium, inquit, praeparatio sedis tuae Nihilominus vero spes eadem arridebit, si sermo insonuerit de humilitate vel patientia, seu etiam de fraterna charitate et obedientia deferenda praelatis; maxime autem de sectanda sanctimonia et pace, et cordis puritate quaerenda, quoniam quidem Scriptura ait: Domum Domini decet sanctitudo; et: Factus est in pace locus eius; et: Mundi corde Deum videbunt. Quidquid itaque sive de his, sive de aliis quibuslibet virtutibus suggestum animo fuerit, significatio, ut dixi, erit mihi, visitationem Domini virtutum imminere animae meae.

Sed et si corripuerit me iustus in misericordia, et increpaverit me, idipsum sentiam, sciens quia aemulatio iusti et benevolentia iter faciunt ei qui ascendit super occasum. Bonus occasus, cum ad correptionem iusti stat homo, et corruit vitium, et Dominus ascendit super illud, conculcans hoc pedibus, et conterens ne resurgat. Non ergo contemnenda increpatio iusti, quae ruina peccati, cordis sanitas est, nec non et Dei via ad animam. Sed nec ullus omnino sermo, qui aedificet ad pietatem, ad virtutes, ad mores optimos, negligenter est audiendus; quoniam et illic iter quo ostenditur salutare Dei. Quod si sermo gratus venit et placitus, quatenus pulso fastidio cum desiderio audiatur, iam non modo venire Sponsus, sed et accelerare, id est cum desiderio venire, credendus est. Illius namque desiderium tuum creat; et quod tu eius properas sermonem admittere, inde est quod ipse festinat intrare; non enim nos eum, sed ipse, inquit, prior dilexit nos. Iam si etiam ignitum eloquium sentis, atque ex eo conscientiam uri in recordatione peccati; recordare tunc de quo Scriptura dicit, quia ignis ante ipsum praecedet, et ipsum prope esse non dubites. Denique iuxta est Dominus his qui tribulato sunt corde.

Si vero non solum compungeris in sermone illo, sed et converteris totus ad Dominum, iurans et statuens custodire iudicia iustitiae eius, etiam adesse ipsum iam noveris, praesertim si te inardescere sentias amore eius. Etenim utrumque de illo legis, et ignem videlicet ante ipsum praecedere, et ipsum nihilominus ignem esse. Moyses siquidem de illo dicit quia ignis consumens est. Differunt autem, quod is qui praemittitur ignis ardorem habet, sed non amorem: coquens, sed non excoquens, movens, nec promovens. Tantum ad excitandum praemittitur et praeparandum, simulque ad commonendum quid ex te sis, quo dulcius sapiat postmodum quod ex Deo mox eris. At vero ignis qui Deus est, consumit quidem, sed non affligit, ardet suaviter, desolatur feliciter. Est enim vere carbo desolatorius, sed qui sic in vitia exerceat vim ignis, ut in anima vicem exhibeat unctionis. Ergo in virtute qua immutaris, et in amore quo inflammaris, Dominum praesentem intellige.

Nam dextera Domini facit virtutem. Non autem fit haec mutatio dexterae Excelsi, nisi in fervore spiritus, et in charitate non ficta, ita ut dicat qui huiusmodi est: Concaluit cor meum intra me, et in meditatione mea exardescit ignis.

Porro hoc igne consumpta omni labe peccati, et rubigine vitiorum, si iam emundata ac senerata conscientia sequatur subita quaedam atque insolita latitudo mentis, et infusio luminis illumiuantis intellectum vel ad scientiam Scripturarum, vel ad mysteriorum notitiam, quorum alterum propter nos oblectandos, alterum propter aedificandos proximos reor dari; oculus respicientis procul dubio est iste, educens quasi lumen iustitiam tuam, et iudicium tuum tanquam meridiem, iuxta illud prophetae Isaiae: Orietur, inquit, tanquam sol lux tua, etc. Sed sane non per ostia aperta, sed per angusta foramina is tantae claritatis radius se infundet, stante adhuc duntaxat hoc ruinoso pariete corporis. Erras si aliter speras, ad quantamcunque cordis proficias puritatem, cum ille praecipuus contemplator dicat: Videmus nunc per speculum et in aenigmate, tunc autem facie ad faciem.

Post hunc tantae dignationis ac miserationis respectum, sequitur vox blande et leniter divinam insinuans voluntatem, quae non est aliud quam ipse amor, qui otiosus esse non potest, de his quae Dei sunt sollicitans et suadens. Denique audit sponsa, ut surgat et properet, haud dubium quin ad animarum lucra. Hoc siquidem vera et casta contemplatio habet, ut mentem quam divino igne vehementer succenderit, tanto interdum repleat zelo et desiderio acquirendi Deo qui eum similiter diligant, ut otium contemplationis pro studio praedicationis libentissime intermittat: et rursum potita votis, aliquatenus in hac parte tanto ardentius redeat in idipsum, quanto se fructuosius intermisisse meminerit; et item sumpto contemplationis gustu, valentius ad conquirenda lucra solita alacritate recurrat. Caeterum inter has vicissitudines plerumque mens fluctuat, metuens, et vehementer exaestuans, ne forte alteri horum, dum suis affectionibus hinc inde distrahitur, plus iusto inhaereat; et sic in utrolibet vel ad modicum a divina deviet voluntate. Et fortasse tale aliquid sanctus Iob patiebatur, cum diceret: Si dormiero, dico, quando consurgam? et rursum exspectabo vesperam : hoc est: Et quietus, neglecti operis; et occupatus, perturbatae nihilominus quietis me arguo. Vides virum sanctum inter fructum operis, et somnum contemplationis graviter aestuare: et in bonis licet semper versantem, semper tamen quasi de malis poenitentiam agere, et Dei cum gemitu momentis singulis inquirere voluntatem. Unicum quippe in huiusmodi remedium seu refugium oratio est, et frequens gemitus ad Deum; ut quid, quando, et quatenus nos facere velit, assidue nobis demonstrare dignetur.

Habes, ut ego opinor, tria haec, id est praedicationem, orationem, contemplationem, in tribus commendata et designata vocabulis. Etenim merito amica dicitur, quae sponsi lucra studiose ac fideliter praedicando, consulendo, ministrando conquirit. Merito columba, quae nihilominus pro suis delictis in oratione gemens et supplicans, divinam sibi non cessat conciliare misericordiam. Merito quoque formosa, quae coelesti desiderio fulgens, supernae contemplationis decorem se induit, horis duntaxat, quibus commode et opportune id potest.

Sed et illud vide, si valeat coaptari huic triplici unius animae bono; de tribus videlicet personis illis in domo una commanentibus, amicis utique Salvatoris, et admodum familiaribus ei. Martham loquor ministrantem, et Mariam vacantem, et Lazarum quasi gementem sub lapide, et resurrectionis gratiam flagitantem . Haec dicta sunt pro eo quod sponsa describitur adeo solers et pervigil in observando semitas sponsi, ut minime eam latere possit, quando, et in quanta festinatione ad se veniat sed et quando longe, et quando prope, et quando praesens sit, nulla subitatione praeoccupari valeat ut ignoret: et quia proinde meruerit, non solum respici misericorditer, sed et dignanter laetificari amoris vocibus, et gaudere gaudio propter vocem sponsi. 11, Nos quoque ad haec, quamvis audacter, adiecimus, quod quaevis etiam de nobis anima, si similiter vigilet, simliter et salutabitur ut amica, consolabitur ut columba, amplexabitur ut formosa. Perfectus omnis reputabitur, in cuius anima tria haec congruenter atque opportune concurrere videbuntur, ut et gemere pro se, et exsultare in Deo noverit, simul et proximorum utilitatibus potens sit subvenire; placens Deo, cautus sibi, utilis suis. Sed ad haec quis idoneus? Utinam ipsa in universis nobis, etsi non tota in singulis, saltem singula in diversis, sicut hodie haberi videntur, longis reserventur temporibus! Habemus siquidem Martham, tanquam Salvatoris amicam, in his qui exteriora fideliter administrant.

Habemus et Lazarum, tanquam columbam gementem, novitios utique, qui nuper peccatis mortui, pro recentibus adhuc plagis laborant in gemitu suo sub timore iudicii; et sicut vulnerati dormientes in sepulchris, quorum nemo est memor amplius, sic se non putant reputari, donec ad Christi iussionem sublato pondere timoris, tanquam prementis lapidis mole, respirare in spem veniae possint. Habemus quoque Mariam contemplantem in illis, qui processu longioris temporis, cooperante gratia Dei, in aliquid melius et laetius proficere potuerunt; quando iam de indulgentia praesumentes, non tam versare intra se solliciti sunt tristem imaginem peccatorum, quam certe in lege Dei meditari die ac nocte insatiabiliter delectantur; interdum etiam revelata facie gloriam sponsi cum ineffabili gaudio speculantes, in eamdem imaginem transformantur de claritate in claritatem, tanquam a Domini Spiritu. Iam ad quid sponsam surgere et properare hortetur is, qui paulo ante defensare visus est eam, ne dormiens suscitaretur, alio sermone videbimus. Adsit ipse, ut et huius nobis sacramenti rationem aperire dignetur, sponsus Ecclesiae Iesus Christus Dominus noster, qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula. Amen.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Song.2.8-Song.2.10 — The voice of my beloved! Look, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. Song.2.9 — My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice. Song.2.10 — My beloved answered and said to me, 'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come away.'
  2. ↩Matt.25.6 — But at midnight a cry has gone out: 'Look! The bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'
  3. ↩Song.2.10 — My beloved answered and said to me, 'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come away.'
  4. ↩Song.2.10 — My beloved answered and said to me, 'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come away.'
  5. ↩Rev.3.20 — Look, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to them and eat with them, and they with me.
  6. ↩Rom.8.17 — And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
  7. ↩Ps.119.14 — I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches.
  8. ↩2Cor.10.18 — For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
  9. ↩Rom.8.16 — The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
  10. ↩Prov.8.17 — I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
  11. ↩Ps.24.5 — He will receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
  12. ↩Prov.8.17 — I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
  13. ↩Matt.5.8 — Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
  14. ↩Ps.109.7 — When he is judged, let him be found guilty, and let his prayer become sin.
  15. ↩1John.4.10 — In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
  16. ↩Mal.3.2;Ps.97.3 — But who can endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. Ps.97.3 — Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries on every side.
  17. ↩Ps.33.19;Ps.145.18 — to deliver their souls from death, and to keep them alive in famine Ps.145.18 — The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
  18. ↩Isa.60.1 — Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
  19. ↩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.
  20. ↩Job.7.4 — When I lie down, I say, 'When shall I rise?' But the evening drags on, and I am filled with tossing until dawn." "Drags on" is clearer and more oral than "stretches on.
  21. ↩Job.7.4 — When I lie down, I say, 'When shall I rise?' But the evening drags on, and I am filled with tossing until dawn." "Drags on" is clearer and more oral than "stretches on.
  22. ↩John.11.43-John.11.44 — And after he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' John.11.44 — The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, and let him go.'
  23. ↩2Cor.3.18 — And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
  24. ↩2Cor.3.18 — And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
  25. ↩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 ↩processus gratiae carries the sense of grace 'making its way forward' or 'unfolding'; rendered 'advances' to capture both progress and outward movement.
  2. 2 ↩The manuscript reads 'ct' at token_index 12, a copyist error for 'et'; the translation supplies the missing 'and' on that basis.
  3. 3 ↩anticipative notitiam is a striking phrase: the bride's attentive diligence is portrayed as somehow 'getting ahead of' each moment of the bridegroom's coming in knowledge of it. The rendering tries to preserve that sense without over-explaining.
  4. 4 ↩The repeated 'in' phrases trace the bridegroom's progressive self-manifestation through salvation history — from the angelic visits of Genesis, through the patriarchs and prophets, to the Incarnation ('in the flesh'), the miracles, and the apostolic preaching.
  5. 5 ↩redundantia is a rare word in this author; the sense is of an 'overflowing abundance.' The translation renders it as 'an overflow' to capture the superabundant quality without overstating certainty.
  6. 6 ↩The subject of the third-person verbs is the Bridegroom (Christ); the feminine illam/ea refers to the soul (sponsa). The repeated loquetur with amatoria and the explanatory ut dilectus make clear that the speech is tender, intimate address, not reproof.
  7. 7 ↩The Latin 'En dilectus meus loquitur mihi' is the Song of Songs 2:10b (Vulg. dilectus meus loquitur mihi). The clause 'habes' points back to the preceding section (SermC.1.57.1), where the same line appeared as the opening.
  8. 8 ↩sapiebat: the lemma sapio can mean 'taste' or 'be wise/have understanding.' Here rendered 'had understanding of' (i.e., she was not wise in earthly things), but the eucharistic resonance of sapere (tasting/knowing divine things) may be present and is left open.
  9. 9 ↩affectu: ablative of affection/manner; rendered 'affection' as the interior disposition with which Christ looked upon the bride. The term carries both emotional and theological weight in this mystical context.
  10. 10 ↩The utinam + subjunctive expresses an ardent wish; 'vel unum' intensifies the longing by scaling down the hope to even one such testimony.
  11. 11 ↩Quotation from Psalm 118:14 (Vulgate 117:14). Candidate allusion; final resolution deferred.
  12. 12 ↩Rhetorical questions with 'quid… nisi' structure; 'attestationes' is a near-synonym for 'testimonia', reinforcing the theme of divine witness.
  13. 13 ↩Echoes 2 Corinthians 10:18: 'Not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.' Candidate allusion; final resolution deferred.

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