Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 08-20-15, M, St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 08-20-15 | Revised New American Bible

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Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 22
1.	AND Jesus answering, spoke again in parables to them, saying:	Et respondens Jesus, dixit iterum in parabolis eis, dicens :	και αποκριθεις ο ιησους παλιν ειπεν αυτοις εν παραβολαις λεγων
2.	The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who made a marriage for his son.	Simile factum est regnum cælorum homini regi, qui fecit nuptias filio suo.	ωμοιωθη η βασιλεια των ουρανων ανθρωπω βασιλει οστις εποιησεν γαμους τω υιω αυτου
3.	And he sent his servants, to call them that were invited to the marriage; and they would not come.	Et misit servos suos vocare invitatos ad nuptias, et nolebant venire.	και απεστειλεν τους δουλους αυτου καλεσαι τους κεκλημενους εις τους γαμους και ουκ ηθελον ελθειν
4.	Again he sent other servants, saying: Tell them that were invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my beeves and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come ye to the marriage.	Iterum misit alios servos, dicens : Dicite invitatis : Ecce prandium meum paravi, tauri mei et altilia occisa sunt, et omnia parata : venite ad nuptias.	παλιν απεστειλεν αλλους δουλους λεγων ειπατε τοις κεκλημενοις ιδου το αριστον μου ητοιμασα οι ταυροι μου και τα σιτιστα τεθυμενα και παντα ετοιμα δευτε εις τους γαμους
5.	But they neglected, and went their own ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise.	Illi autem neglexerunt : et abierunt, alius in villam suam, alius vero ad negotiationem suam :	οι δε αμελησαντες απηλθον ο μεν εις τον ιδιον αγρον ο δε εις την εμποριαν αυτου
6.	And the rest laid hands on his servants, and having treated them contumeliously, put them to death.	reliqui vero tenuerunt servos ejus, et contumeliis affectos occiderunt.	οι δε λοιποι κρατησαντες τους δουλους αυτου υβρισαν και απεκτειναν
7.	But when the king had heard of it, he was angry, and sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers, and burnt their city.	Rex autem cum audisset, iratus est : et missis exercitibus suis, perdidit homicidas illos, et civitatem illorum succendit.	και ακουσας ο βασιλευς εκεινος ωργισθη και πεμψας τα στρατευματα αυτου απωλεσεν τους φονεις εκεινους και την πολιν αυτων ενεπρησεν
8.	Then he saith to his servants: The marriage indeed is ready; but they that were invited were not worthy.	Tunc ait servis suis : Nuptiæ quidem paratæ sunt, sed qui invitati erant, non fuerunt digni :	τοτε λεγει τοις δουλοις αυτου ο μεν γαμος ετοιμος εστιν οι δε κεκλημενοι ουκ ησαν αξιοι
9.	Go ye therefore into the highways; and as many as you shall find, call to the marriage.	ite ergo ad exitus viarum, et quoscumque inveneritis, vocate ad nuptias.	πορευεσθε ουν επι τας διεξοδους των οδων και οσους αν ευρητε καλεσατε εις τους γαμους
10.	And his servants going forth into the ways, gathered together all that they found, both bad and good: and the marriage was filled with guests.	Et egressi servi ejus in vias, congregaverunt omnes quos invenerunt, malos et bonos : et impletæ sunt nuptiæ discumbentium.	και εξελθοντες οι δουλοι εκεινοι εις τας οδους συνηγαγον παντας οσους ευρον πονηρους τε και αγαθους και επλησθη ο γαμος ανακειμενων
11.	And the king went in to see the guests: and he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment.	Intravit autem rex ut viderent discumbentes, et vidit ibi hominem non vestitum veste nuptiali.	εισελθων δε ο βασιλευς θεασασθαι τους ανακειμενους ειδεν εκει ανθρωπον ουκ ενδεδυμενον ενδυμα γαμου
12.	And he saith to him: Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? But he was silent.	Et ait illi : Amice, quomodo huc intrasti non habens vestem nuptialem ? At ille obmutavit.	και λεγει αυτω εταιρε πως εισηλθες ωδε μη εχων ενδυμα γαμου ο δε εφιμωθη
13.	Then the king said to the waiters: Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.	Tunc dicit rex ministris : Ligatis manibus et pedibus ejus, mittite eum in tenebras exteriores : ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium.	τοτε ειπεν ο βασιλευς τοις διακονοις δησαντες αυτου ποδας και χειρας αρατε αυτον και εκβαλετε εις το σκοτος το εξωτερον εκει εσται ο κλαυθμος και ο βρυγμος των οδοντων
14.	For many are called, but few are chosen.	Multi enim sunt vocati, pauci vero electi.	πολλοι γαρ εισιν κλητοι ολιγοι δε εκλεκτοι

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1. And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables, and said,
2. The kingdom of heaven is like to a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
3. And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
4. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage.
5. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
6. And the remnant took his servants, treated them spitefully, and slew them.
7. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
8. Then said he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
9. Go you therefore into the highways, and as many as you shall find, bid to the marriage.
10. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
11. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12. And he said to him, Friend, how came you in here not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
13. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
14. For many are called, but few are chosen.

CHRYS. Forasmuch as He had said, And it shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof, He now proceeds to show what nation that is.

GLOSS. Answered, that is, meeting their evil thoughts of putting Him to death.

AUG. This parable is related only by Matthew. Luke gives one like it, but it is not the same, as the order shows.

GREG. Here, by the wedding-feast is denoted the present Church; there, by the supper, the last and eternal feast. For into this enter some who shall perish; into that whosoever has once entered in shall never be put forth. But if any should maintain that these are the same lessons, we may perhaps explain that that part concerning the guest who had come in without a wedding garment, which Luke has not mentioned, Matthew has related. That the one calls it supper, the other dinner, makes no difference; for with the ancients the dinner w as at the ninth hour, and was therefore often called supper.

ORIGEN; The kingdom of heaven, in respect of Him who reigns there, is like a king; in respect of Him who shares the kingdom, it is like a king's son; in respect of those things which are in the kingdom, it is like servants and guests, and among them the king's armies. It is specified, A man that is a king, that what is spoken may be as by a man to men, and that a man may regulate men unwilling to be regulated by God. But the kingdom of heaven will then cease to be like a man, when zeal and contention and all other passions and sins having ceased, we shall cease to walk after men, and shall see Him as He is. For now we see Him not as He is, but as He has been made for us in our dispensation.

GREG. God the Father made a marriage feast for God the Son, when He joined Him to human nature in the womb of the Virgin. But far be it from us to conclude, that because marriage takes place between two separate persons, that therefore the person of our Redeemer was made up of two separate persons. We say indeed that He exists of two natures, and in two natures, but we hold it unlawful to believe that He was compounded of two persons. It is safer therefore to say, that the marriage feast was made by the King the Father for the King the Son when He joined to Him the Holy Church in the mystery of His incarnation. The womb of the Virgin Mother was the bride chamber of this Bridegroom.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Otherwise; When the resurrection of the saints shall be, then the life, which is Christ, shall revive man, swallowing up his mortality in its own immortality. For now we receive the Holy Spirit as a pledge of the future union, but then we shall have Christ Himself more fully in us.

ORIGEN; Or, by the marriage of Bridegroom with Bride, that is, of Christ with the soul, understand the Assumption of the Word, the produce whereof is good works.

HILARY; Rightly has the Father already made this wedding, because this eternal union and espousal} of the new body is already perfect in Christ.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. When the servants were sent to call them, they must have been invited before. Men have been invited from the time of Abraham, to whom was promised Christ's incarnation.

JEROME; He sent his servant, without doubt Moses, by whom He gave the Law, to those who had been invited. But if you read servants as most copies have, it must be referred to the Prophets, by whom they were invited, but neglected to come. By the servants who were sent the second time, we may better understand the Prophets than the Apostles; that is to say, if servant is read in the first place; but if 'servants,' then by the second servants are to be understood the Apostles;

PSEUDO-CHRYS. whom He sent when He said to them, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

ORIGEN; Or; The servants who were first sent to call them that were bidden to the wedding, are to be taken as the Prophets converting the people by their prophecy to the festival of the restoration of the Church to Christ. They who would not come at the first message are they who refused to hear the words of the Prophets. The others who were sent a second time were another assembly of Prophets.

HILARY; Or; The servants who were first sent to call them that were bidden, are the Apostles; they who, being before bidden, are now invited to come in, are the people of Israel, who had before been bidden through the Law to the glories of eternity. To the Apostles therefore it belonged to remind those whom the Prophets had invited.

Those sent with the second injunction are the Apostolic men their successors.

GREG. But because these who were first invited would not come to the feast, the second summons says, Behold, I have prepared my dinner.

JEROME; The dinner that is prepared, the oxen and the fatlings that are killed, is either a description of regal magnificence by the way of metaphor, that by carnal things spiritual may be understood; or the greatness of the doctrines, and the manifold teaching of God in His law, may be understood.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. When therefore the Lord bade the Apostles, Go you and preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand, it was the same message as is here given, I have prepared my dinner; i.e. I have set out the table of Scripture out of the Law and the Prophets.

GREG. By the oxen are signified the Fathers of the Old Testament; who by sufferance of the Law gored their enemies with the horn of bodily strength. By fatlings are meant fatted animals, for from 'alere', comes 'altilia,' as it were 'alitilia' or 'alita.' By the fatlings are intended the Fathers of the New Testament; who while they receive sweet grace of inward fattening, are raised by the wing of contemplation from earthly desires to things above. He says therefore, My oxen and my fatlings are killed; as much as to say, Look to the deaths of the Fathers who have been before you, and desire some amendment of your lives.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Otherwise; He says oxen and fatlings, not as though the oxen were not fatted, but because all the oxen were not fat. Therefore the fatlings denote the Prophets who were filled with the Holy Spirit; the oxen those who were both Priests and Prophets, as Jeremiah and Ezekiel; for as the oxen are the leaders of the herd, so also the Priests are leaders of the people.

HILARY; Or otherwise; The oxen are the glorious army of Martyrs, offered, like choice victims, for the confession of God; the fatlings are spiritual men, as birds fed for flight upon heavenly food, that they may fill others with the abundance of the food they have eaten.

GREG. It is to be observed, that in the first invitation nothing was said of the oxen or fatlings, but in the second it is announced that they are already killed, because Almighty God when we will not hear His words gives examples, that what we suppose impossible may become easy to us to surmount, when we hear that others have passed through it before us.

ORIGEN; Or; The dinner which is prepared is the oracle of God; and so the more mighty of the oracles of God are the oxen; the sweet and pleasant are the fatlings. For if any one bring forward feeble words, without power, and not having strong force of reason, these are the lean things; the fatlings are when to the establishment of each proposition many examples are brought forward backed by reasonable proofs. For example, supposing one holding discourse of chastity, it might well be represented by the turtle-dove; but should he bring forward the same holy discourse full of reasonable proof out of Scripture, so as to delight and strengthen the mind of his hearer, then he brings the dove fatted.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. That He says, And all things are now ready, means, that all that is required to salvation is already filled up in the Scriptures; there the ignorant may find instruction; the self-willed may read of terrors; he who is in difficulty may there find promises to rouse him to activity.

GLOSS. Or, All things are now ready, i.e. The entrance into the kingdom, which had been hitherto closed, is now ready through faith in My incarnation.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or He says, All things are now ready which belong to the mystery of the Lord's Passion and our redemption. He says, Come to the marriage, not with your feet, but with faith, and good conduct. But they made light of it; why they did so He shows when He adds, And they went their way, one to his farm, another to his merchandise.

CHRYS. These occupations seem to be entirely reasonable; but we learn hence, that however necessary the things that take up our time, we ought to prefer spiritual things to every thing beside. But it seems to me that they only pretended these engagements as a cloak for their disregard of the invitation.

HILARY; For men are taken up with worldly ambition as with a farm; and many through covetousness are engrossed with trafficking.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or otherwise; When we work with the labor of our hands, for example, cultivating our field or our vineyard, or any manufacture of wood or iron, we seem to be occupied with our farm; any other mode of getting money unattended with manual labor is here called merchandise. O most miserable world! and miserable you that follow it! The pursuits of this world have ever shut men out of life.

GREG. Whosoever then intent upon earthly business, or devoted to the actions of this world, feigns to be meditating upon the mystery of the Lord's Passion, and to be living accordingly, is he that refuses to come to the King's wedding on pretext of going to his farm or his merchandise. Nay often, which is worse, some who are called not only reject the grace, but become persecutors, And the remnant took his servants, treated them spitefully, and slew them.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or, by the business of a farm, He denotes the Jewish populace, whom the delights of this world separated from Christ; by the excuse of merchandise, the Priests and other ministers of the Temple, who, coming to the service of the Law and the Temple through greediness of gain, have been shut out of the faith by covetousness. Of these He said not, 'They were filled with envy,' but They made light of it. For they who through hate and spite crucified Christ, are they who were filled with envy; but they who being entangled in business did not believe on Him, are not said to have been filled with envy, but to have made light of it. The Lord is silent respecting His own death, because He had spoken of it in the foregoing parable, but He shows forth the death of His disciples, whom after His ascension the Jews put to death, stoning Stephen and executing James the son of Alphaeus, for which things Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. And it is to be observed, that anger is attributed to God figuratively and not properly; He is then said to be angry when He punishes.

JEROME; When He was doing works of mercy, and bidding to His marriage-feast, He was called a man; now when He comes to vengeance, the man is dropped, and He is called only a King.

ORIGEN; Let those who sin against the God of the Law, and the Prophets, and the whole creation, declare whether He who is here called man, and is said to be angry, is indeed the Father Himself. If they allow this, they will be forced to own that many things are said of Him applicable to the passable nature of man; not for that He has passions, but because He is represented to us after the manner of passable human nature. In this way we take God's anger, repentance, and the other things of the like sort in the Prophets.

JEROME; By His armies we understand the Romans under Vespasian and Titus, who having slaughtered the inhabitants of Judea, laid in ashes the faithless city.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. The Roman army is called God's army; because The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; nor would the Romans have come to Jerusalem, had not the Lord stirred them thither.

GREG. Or, The armies of our King are the legions of His Angels He is said therefore to have sent His armies, and to have destroyed those murderers, because all judgment is executed upon men by the Angels. He destroys those murderers, when He cuts off persecutors; and burns up their city, because not only their souls, but the body of flesh they had tenanted, is tormented in the everlasting fire of hell.

ORIGEN; Or, the city of those wicked men is in each doctrine the assembly of those who meet in the wisdom of the rulers of this world; which the King sets fire to and destroys, as consisting of evil buildings.

GREG. But when He sees that His invitation is spurned at, He will not have His Son's marriage-feast empty; the word of God will find where it may stay itself.

ORIGEN; He said to His servants, that is, to the Apostles; or to the Angels, who were set over the calling of the Gentiles, The wedding is ready.

REMIG. That is, the whole sacrament of the human dispensation is completed and closed. But they which were bidden, that is, the Jews, were not worthy, because, ignorant of the righteousness of God, and going about to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. The Jewish nation then being rejected, the Gentile people were taken in to the marriage-feast; whence it follows, Go you out into the crossings of the streets, and as many as you shall find, bid to the wedding.

JEROME; For the Gentile nation was not in the streets, but in the crossings of the streets.

REMIG. These are the errors of the Gentiles.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or; The streets are all the professions of this world, as philosophy, soldiery, and the like. And therefore He says, Go out into the crossings of the streets, that they may call to the faith men of every condition. Moreover, as chastity is the way that leads to God, so fornication is the way that leads to the Devil; and so it is in the other virtues and vices. Thus He bids them invite to the faith men of every profession or condition.

HILARY; By the street also is to be understood the time of this world, and they are therefore bid to go to the crossings of the streets, because the past is remitted to all.

GREG. Or otherwise; In holy Scripture, way is taken to mean actions; so that, the crossings of the ways we understand as failure in action, for they usually come to God readily, who have had little prosperity in worldly actions.

ORIGEN; Or otherwise; I suppose this first bidding to the wedding to have been a bidding of some of the more noble minds. For God would have those before all come to the feast of the divine oracles who are of the more ready wit to understand them; and forasmuch as they who are such are slow to come to that kind of summons, other servants are sent to move them to come, and to promise that they shall find the dinner prepared. For as in the things of the body, one is the bride, others the inviters to the feast, and they that are bidden are others again; so God knows the various ranks of souls, and their powers, and the reasons why these are taken into the condition of the Bride, others in the rank of the servants that call, and others among the number of those that are bidden as guests.

But they who had been thus especially invited contemned the first inviters as poor in understanding, and went their way, following their own devices, as more delighting in them than in those things which the King by his servants promised. Yet are these more venial than they who ill-treat and put to death the servants sent to them; those, that is, who daringly assail with weapons of contentious words the servants sent, who are unequal to solve their subtle difficulties, and those are ill-treated or put to death by them.

The servants going forth are either Christ's Apostles going from Judea and Jerusalem, or the Holy Angels from the inner worlds, and going to the various ways of various manners, gathered together whomsoever they found, not caring whether before their calling they had been good or bad. By the good here we may understand simply the more humble end upright of those who come to the worship of God, to whom agreed what the Apostle says, When the Gentiles which have not the Law do by nature the things contained in the Law, they are a law to themselves.

JEROME; For there is an infinite difference among the Gentiles themselves; some are more prone to vice, others are endowed with more incorrupt and virtuous manners.

GREG. Or; He means that in this present Church there cannot be bad without good, nor good without bad. He is not good who refuses to endure the bad.

ORIGEN; The marriage-feast of Christ and the Church is filled, when they who were found by the Apostles, being restored to God, sat down to the feast. But since it was necessary that both bad and good should be called, not that the bad should continue bad, but that they should put off the garments unsuitable for the wedding, and should put on the marriage garments, to wit, bowels of mercy and kindness, for this cause the King goes out, that He may see them set down before the supper is set before them, that they may be detained who have the wedding garment in which He is delighted, and that he may condemn the opposite.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. The King came in to see the guests; not as though there was any place where He is not; but where He will look to give judgment, there He is said to be present; where He will not, there He seems to be absent. The day of His coming to behold is the day of judgment, when He will visit Christians seated at the board of the Scriptures.

ORIGEN; But when He was come in, He found there one who had not put off his old behavior; He saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment. He speaks of one only, because all, who after faith continue to serve that wickedness which they had before the faith, are but of one kind.

GREG. What ought we to understand by the wedding garment, but charity? For this the Lord had upon Him, when He came to espouse the Church to Himself. He then enters in to the wedding feast, but without the wedding garment, who has faith in the Church, but not charity.

AUG. Or, he goes to the feast without a garment, who goes seeking his own, and not the Bridegroom's honor.

HILARY; Or; The wedding garment is the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the purity of that heavenly temper, which taken up on the confession of a good inquiry is to be preserved pure and unspotted for the company of the Kingdom of heaven.

JEROME; Or; the marriage garment is the commandments of the Lord, and the works which are done under the Law and the Gospel, and form the clothing of the new man. Whoever among the Christian body shall be found in the day of judgment not to have these, is straightway condemned. He said to him, Friend, how came you in here, not having a wedding garment? He calls him friend, because he was invited to the wedding as being a friend by faith; but He charges him with want of manners in polluting by his filthy dress the elegance of the wedding entertainment.

ORIGEN; And forasmuch as he who is in sin, and puts not on the Lord Jesus Christ, has no excuse, it follows, But he was speechless.

JEROME; For in that day there will be no room for blustering manner, nor power of denial, when all the Angels and the world itself are witnesses against the sinner.

ORIGEN; He who has thus insulted the marriage feast is not only cast out therefrom, but besides by the King's officers, who are set over his prisons, is chained up from that power of walking which he employed not to walk to any good thing, and that power of reaching forth his hand, wherewith he had fulfilled no work for any good; and is sentenced to a place whence all light is banished, which is called outer darkness.

GREG. The hands and feet are then bound by a severe sentence of judgment, which before refused to be bound from wicked actions by amendment of life. Or punishment binds them, whom sin had before bound from good works.

AUG. The bonds of wicked and depraved desires are the chains which bind him who deserves to be cast out into outer darkness.

GREG. By inward darkness we express blindness, of heart; outer darkness signifies the everlasting night of damnation.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or, it points to the difference of punishment inflicted on sinners. Outer darkness being the deepest, inward darkness the lesser, as it were the outskirts of the place.

JEROME; By a metaphor taken from the body, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, is shown the greatness of the torments. The binding of the hands and feet also, and the weeping of eyes, and the gnashing of teeth, understand as proving the truth of the resurrection of the body.

GREG. There shall gnash those teeth which here delighted in gluttony; there shall weep those eyes which here roamed in illicit desire; every member shall there have its peculiar punishment, which here was a slave to its peculiar vice.

JEROME; And because in the marriage and supper the chief thing is the end and not the beginning, therefore He adds, For many are called, but few chosen.

HILARY; For to invite all without exception is a courtesy of public benevolence; but out of the invited or called, the election will be of worth, by distinction of merit.

GREG. For some never begin a good course, and some never continue in that good course which they have begun. Let each one's care about himself be in proportion to his ignorance of what is yet to come.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Or otherwise; Whenever God will try His Church, He enters into it that He may see the guests; and if He finds any one not having on the wedding garment, He inquires of him, How then were you made a Christian, if you neglect these works? Such a one Christ gives over to His ministers, that is, to seducing leaders, who bind his hands, that is, his works, and his feet, that is, the motions of his mind, and cast him into darkness, that is, into the errors of the Gentiles or the Jews, or into heresy. The inner darkness is that of the Gentiles, for they have never heard the truth which they despise; the outer darkness is that of the Jews, who have heard but do not believe; the outermost is that of the heretics, who have heard and have learned.

Catena Aurea Matthew 22

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Parable of the Guests at the Wedding

Dionisiy

14c

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The Parable of the Guests at the Wedding of the King's Son (cropped)

Francisco de Goya

1796-97
Cadiz, Spain

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The Crowning of the Virgin (Oddi Altarpiece)

Raffaello

1502-03
Oil on canvas, transferred from panel, 267 x 163 cm
Pinacoteca, Vatican

[Salvation]

Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

Saint Bernard,
Abbot and Doctor of the Church
Memorial
August 20th

Girolamo Pesce (Pesci)
Saint Bernard before Mary
1725-Oil on canvas, 330 x 205 cm
Hétkápolna, Vác

(1090-1153) Born in France, Bernard was a Cistercian abbot and legendary speaker who fought for the peace and unity of the Church against schism. He wrote many treatises on the Blessed Virgin and Jesus Christ, as well as many works of theology and ascetism. His life manifested a profound recognition of the importance of obedience in one's spiritual life.

Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003

 

Collect:
O God, who made of the Abbot Saint Bernard
a man consumed with zeal for your house
and a light shining and burning in your Church,
grant, through his intercession,
that we may be on fire with the same spirit
and walk always as children of light.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: Ecclesiasticus 15:1-6
The man who fears the Lord will do this, and he who holds to the law will obtain wisdom. She will come to meet him like a mother, and like the wife of his youth she will welcome him. She will feed him with the bread of understanding, and give him the water of wisdom to drink. He will lean on her and will not fall, and he will rely on her and will not be put to shame. She will exalt him above his neighbors,
and will open his mouth in the midst of the assembly. He will find gladness and a crown of rejoicing, and will acquire an everlasting name.

Gospel Reading: John 17:20-26
Jesus raised His eyes to heaven and said: "Father, I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. The glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one, I in them and Thou in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me and hast loved them even as Thou hast loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, may be with Me where I am, to behold My glory which Thou hast given Me in Thy love for Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not known Thee, but I have known thee; and these know that Thou hast sent Me. I made known to them Thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

---

Related Links on the Vatican Website:

Doctor Mellifluus, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII on St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the Last of the Fathers, May 24, 1953

Benedict XVI, General Audience, Saint Peter's Square. Wednesday, 21 October 2009, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

[Salvation]

The Search for Wisdom by St. Bernard
Why I Am Catholic: For All the Saints: Bernard of Clairvaux
On St. Bernard of Clairvaux
St. Bernard on the Most Holy Name of Jesus [Ecumenical]
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Angelus, August 20, 2006
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Abbot, Doctor of the Church

[Salvation]

Information: St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Feast Day: August 20

Born: 1090, Fontaines, France

Died: August 20, 1153, Clairvaux, France

Canonized: January 18, 1174, Rome by Pope Alexander III

Major Shrine: Ville-sous-la-Ferté

Patron of: Cistercians, Burgundy, beekeepers, candlemakers, climbers

[Salvation]

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

St. Bernard

Feast Day: August 20
Born: 1090 :: Died: 1153

Bernard was born in Dijon, in France. He had six brothers and sisters and they were very well educated. He was only 17 years old when his mother died and his heart was broken.

His lively sister Humbeline did not let him remain sad and she did whatever she could to cheer him up. Soon Bernard became a very popular man. He was handsome and intelligent, full of fun and good humor and people enjoyed being with him.

Then one day, Bernard surprised all his friends by telling them he was going to join the very strict Cistercian order and become a Priest. They did all they could to make him give up the idea. But in the end, Bernard convinced his brothers, an uncle and twenty-six friends to join him.

As Bernard and his brothers left their home, they said to their little brother Nivard, who was playing with other children: "Good-bye, little Nivard. You will now have all the lands and property for yourself." But the boy answered: "What! How can all of you go to heaven and leave me here on earth? Do you call that fair?"

And when Nivard was older he too joined his brothers in the monastery. St. Bernard became a very good monk. After three years, he was sent to start a new Cistercian monastery and to be its abbot (like a parish priest).

The new monastery was in the Valley of Light which in French is called "Clairvaux" and Bernard was the abbot there for the rest of his life.

Although he would have liked to stay working and praying in his monastery, he was called out sometimes for special work. He preached, made peace between rulers, and went to advise the Pope.

He also wrote beautiful spiritual books. He became very famous and people everywhere had great respect for him. But he did not want fame. More than anything else Bernard wanted to be a monk and be close to God.

This saint had a great devotion to the Blessed Mother. It is said that when he passed her statue, he often greeted her with a "Hail Mary." One day, the Blessed Mother returned his greeting: "Hail, Bernard!" And, Our Lady showed how much his love and devotion pleased her.

When St. Bernard died in 1153, people were sad because they would miss his wonderful presence in their life.

[Salvation]

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Thursday, August 20

Liturgical Color: White

Pope Pius VII died on this day in 1823. As
pope he showed great compassion towards
Napoleon who had persecuted him and the
Church while in power. While Napoleon was
in exile, the pope sent a priest to aid in his
conversion.

[Salvation]

Day 232 - The Death of Jesus // The Burial of Jesus

Today’s Reading: Luke 23:44-56
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the multitudes who assembled to see the sight, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance and saw these things.

50 Now there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathe a. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their purpose and deed, and he was looking for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud, and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb, where no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. 55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid; 56 then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Today’s Commentary:
Father, into your hands: Jesus is in full possession of himself as he entrusts even his death to the Father’s care. His Crucifixion is thus a willing sacrifice, not a tragic accident beyond his control (Jn 10:17-18; Eph 5:2).

Jesus makes the cry of Ps 31:5 his own. The entire psalm moves from lamentation to praise, expressing both the agony and the confidence of an innocent sufferer. It is because the sufferer trusts in the Lord’s goodness that he anticipates his final deliverance and vindication in the end.

[Salvation]

Ordinary Time: August 20th

Memorial of St. Bernard, abbot and doctor

Daily Readings for: August 20, 2015
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who made the Abbot Saint Bernard a man consumed with zeal for your house and a light shining and burning in your Church, grant, through his intercession, that we may be on fire with the same spirit and walk always as children of light. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

• Caramel Icing
• Chocolate Filling
• Dobos Torta
• Dobosh Torta (Easy)
• Gesztenye Krém
• Honey Chiffon Pie
• Honey Pie

ACTIVITIES

• Elementary Parent Pedagogy: Two Homes, Heaven and Earth — Building up Family Unity and Security
• Humility and Detachment
• Our Lady's Thirty Days

PRAYERS

• The Immaculate Heart
• Litany of St. Bernard of Clairvaux

LIBRARY

• St. Bernard of Clairvaux | Pope Benedict XVI

Old Calendar: St. Bernard

St. Bernard (1090-1153) was born near Dijon and died in Clairvaux, France. He was of a noble family and received a careful education in his youth. With his father, brother and thirty noblemen he entered the Benedictine monastery of Citeaux. Two years later he led a group of monks to establish a house at Clairvaux, and became its abbot. The monastic rule which he perfected at Clairvaux became the model for 163 monasteries of the Cistercian reform. He was a theologian, poet, orator, and writer. He is sometimes considered as a Father of the Church.

---

St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard, the second founder of the Cistercians, the Mellifluous Doctor, the apostle of the Crusades, the miracle-worker, the reconciler of kings, the leader of peoples, the counselor of popes! His sermons, from which there are many excerpts in the Breviary, are conspicuous for genuine emotion and spiritual unction. The celebrated Memorare is ascribed to him.

Bernard was born in 1090, the third son of an illustrious Burgundian family. At the age of twenty-two he entered the monastery of Citeaux (where the Cistercian Order had its beginning) and persuaded thirty other youths of noble rank to follow his example. Made abbot of Clairvaux (1115), he erected numerous abbeys where his spirit flourished. To his disciple, Bernard of Pisa, who later became Pope Eugene III, he dedicated his work De Consideratione. Bernard's influence upon the princes, the clergy, and the people of his age was most remarkable. By penitential practices he so exhausted his body that it could hardly sustain his soul, ever eager to praise and honor God.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: beekeepers; bees; candlemakers; chandlers; wax-melters; wax refiners; Gibraltar; Queens College, Cambridge.

Symbols: beehive; bees; three mitres on a book; white dog; inkhorn and pen; Passion implements; fettered demon; book.
Often Portrayed As: Cistercian having a vision of Mary; Cistercian with a beehive; Cistercian with a chained demon; Cistercian with a mitre on the ground beside him; Cistercian with a swarm of bees nearby; Cistercian with a white dog; Cistercian writing and watching Mary.

Things to Do:

• Though of a rich and noble family St. Bernard continually asked the question: "For what purpose are you on earth?" Spend some time today in front of the Blessed Sacrament and ask yourself this question.

• Because St. Bernard is the patron of candlemakers, a great project would be to learn how to make candles. Candles 101 discusses in brief about making homemade candles, rolled, dipped and molded. Practicing making candles now will help in preparing to make a family Christ Candle for Advent and Paschal Candle for Easter.

• Read more about the life of St. Bernard.

• This site — complete with words and midi files — features hymns written by St. Bernard.

• Learn more about the Cistercian Order founded by St. Bernard.

• From the Catholic Culture library: Preaching Conversion Through The Beatitudes: Bernard Of Clairvaux's Ad Clericos De Conversione and Pope Pius XII On St. Bernard Of Clairvaux, The Last Of The Fathers.

[Salvation]

Doctors of the Catholic Church

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Also known as

• Mellifluous Doctor of the Church
• Last of the Fathers of the Holy Church

Memorial

• 20 August

Profile

Born to the French nobility; brother of Saint Humbeline. At age 22, fearing the ways of the world, he, four of his brothers, and 25 friends joined the abbey of Citeaux; his father and another brother joined soon after. Benedictine. Founded and led the monastery of Clairvaux which soon had over 700 monks and eventually 160 daughter houses. Revised and reformed the Cistercians. Advisor to, and admonisher of, King Louis the Fat and King Louis the Young. Attended the Second Lateran Council. Fought Albigensianism. Helped end the schism of anti-Pope Anacletus II. Preached in France, Italy, and Germany. Helped organize the Second Crusade. Friend and biographer of Saint Malachy O’More. Spritual advisor to Pope Eugene III, who had originally been one of his monks. First Cistercian monk placed on the calendar of saints. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius VIII.

Every morning Bernard would ask himself, “Why have I come here?”, and then remind himself of his main duty – to lead a holy life.

Born

• 1090 at Fontaines-les-Dijon, Burgundy, France

Died

• 20 August 1153 at Clairvaux Abbey, Ville-sous-la-Ferté, Aube, France

Canonized

• 1170 by Pope Alexander III

Patronage

• beekeepers
• bees
• Burgundy, France
• candlemakers
• chandlers
• Cistercian Order
• Cistercians
• Gibraltar
• Knights Templar
• Queens College, Cambridge, England
• Speyer Cathedral
• wax-melters
• wax refiners

Representation

• beehive
• bees
• book
• Cistercian having a vision of Mary
• Cistercian with a beehive
• Cistercian with a chained demon
• Cistercian with a mitre on the ground beside him
• Cistercian with a swarm of bees nearby
• Cistercian with a white dog
• Cistercian writing and watching Mary
• instruments of the Passion
• pen
• white dog
• with Saint Humbeline

Additional Information

• Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
• Catholic Encyclopedia, by M Gildas
• Doctor Mellifluus, by Pope Pius XII
• Encyclopedia Britannica
• Golden Legend
• The Holy Guardian Angels, by Saint Bernard
• Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler
• New Catholic Dictionary
• Pictorial Lives of the Saints, by John Dawson Gilmary Shea
• Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 21 October 2009
• On Loving God, by Saint Bernard
  • read online
  • download EPub
  • download for Kindle
• Life of Saint Malachy of Armagh, by Saint Bernard
  • read online
  • download EPub
  • download for Kindle

• books
  • 15 Days of Prayer With Saint Bernard, by Pierre-Yves Emery
  • A Saint’s Life in Word and Image, by M. Basil Pennington, Yael Katzir
  • Bells of Conquest: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, by the Daughters of Saint Paul
  • Bernard of Clairvaux (Great Medieval Thinkers), by Gillian R. Evans
  • Bernard of Clairvaux and the Shape of Monastic Thought – Broken Dreams, by M. B. B. Pranger
  • Bernard of Clairvaux: Lover Teaching the Way of Love, by M. Basil Pennington
  • Bernard of Clairvaux, by Gillian R Evans
  • Dante and the Mystical Tradition: Bernard of Clairvaux in the Commedia, by Steven Botterill
  • Five Books on Consideration – Advice to a Pope, by Saint Bernard
  • Homilies in Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Saint Bernard
  • On the Song of Songs I, by Saint Bernard
  • On the Song of Songs II, by Saint Bernard
  • On the Song of Songs IV, by Saint Bernard
  • Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
  • Pathway of Peace : Cistercian Wisdom according to Saint Bernard, by Charles Dumont
  • Saint Bernard of Clairvaux: Oracle of the 12th Century, by Theodore Ratisbonne
  • Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, by Leon Cristiani
  • Selected Works, by G. Rosemary Evans
  • Sermons for the Summer Seasons, Liturgical Sermons, by Saint Bernard
  • Spiritual Teaching of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, by John R. Sommerfeldt
  • The Difficult Saint: Bernard of Clairvaux and His Tradition, by Brian Patrick McGuire
  • The Family That Overtook Christ: The Amazing Story of the Family of Bernard of Clairvaux, by Raymond Buckminster Fuller
  • The Last of the Fathers, by Thomas Merton
  • Women and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, by Jean Leclercq

• other sites in english
  • 1001 Patron Saints and Their Feast Days, Australian Catholic Truth Society
  • Catholic Exchange
  • Catholic Fire
  • Catholic Herald
  • Catholic Ireland
  • Catholic News Agency
  • Christian Biographies, by James Keifer
  • Christian Classics Ethereal Library
  • Christian Iconography
  • Cradio
  • Lives of the Saints, by John J Crawley
  • M Basil Pennington, OCSO
  • Passionist Nuns
  • Pope Benedict XVI: General Audience, 21 October 2009
  • Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercian, by Abbot M Basil Pennington, OCSO
  • Saints Alive, by Father Robert McNamara
  • Saints Alive, by Father Robert McNamara
  • Saints Stories for All Ages
  • uCatholic
  • Wikipedia
  • William of Saint Thierry

• images
  • Local Gallery
  • Wikimedia Commons

• audio
  • American Catholic
  • Doctors of the Church #26, by Dr Matthew Bunson
  • On Loving God, by Saint Bernard
  • Alleluia Audio Books: Saint Bernard the Wonder-Worker

• e-books
  • On the Love of God, by Saint Bernard
  • On the Song of Songs, by Saint Bernard
  • On Grace and Free Will, by Saint Bernard
  • On Consideration, by Saint Bernard
  • Twelve Degrees of Humility and Pride, by Saint Bernard
  • On Advent and Christmas, by Saint Bernard
  • —
  • Bernard of Claivaux: The Times, The Man and His Work, by Richard Salter Storrs
  • Life and Time of Saint Bernard, by Dr Augustus Neader
  • Life and Times of Saint Bernard, by James Cotter Morison
  • Life and Times of Saint Bernard, by Father Theodore Ratisbonne
  • Life and Works of Saint Bernard, v1, by Father John Mabillon
  • Life and Works of Saint Bernard, v2, by Father John Mabillon
  • Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, by Samuel John Eales
  • Some letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

• sites en français
  • Abbé Christian-Philippe Chanut
  • Auteurs Anciens
  • Benoît XVI, Audience Générale, 21 octobre 2009
  • Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse
  • Fête des prénoms
  • Oeuvres Complètes de Saint Bernard
  • Wikipedia

• siti in italiano
  • Dizionario historico della Svizzera
  • Marco Binetti
  • Popa Pio XII: Doctor Mellifluus
  • San Bernardo di Chiaravalle, L’ultimo padre del Medio evo
  • San Bernardo di Chiaravalle e i normanni
  • Santi e Beati
  • Sermoni di Sann Bernardo
  • Wikipedia

Readings

In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let not her name depart from your lips, never suffer it to leave your heart. And that you may obtain the assistance of her prayer, neglect not to walk in her footsteps. With her for guide, you shall never go astray; while invoking her, you shall never lose heart; so long as she is in your mind, you are safe from deception; while she holds your hand, you cannot fall; under her protection you have nothing to fear; if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary; if she shows you favor, you shall reach the goal. – Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Love is sufficient of itself; it gives pleasure by itself and because of itself. It is its own merit, its own reward. Love looks for no cause outside itself, no effect beyond itself. Its profit lies in the practice. Of all the movements, sensations and feelings of the soul, love is the only one in which the creature can respond to the Creator and make some sort of similar return however unequal though it be. For when God loves, all he desires is to be loved in return. The sole purpose of his love is to be loved, int he knowledge that those who love him are made happy by their love of him. – from a sermon by Saint Bernard

Look at that clever calumniator! He begins by fetching a deep sigh, he affects to be humble, and puts on a modest look, and with a voice choking with sobs tries to gloss over the slander which is on the tip of his tongue One would fancy that he expressly assumed a calm and easy demeanor; for when he speaks against his brother, it is in a tender and compassionate tone. I am really hurt, says he, to find that our brother has fallen into such a sin; you all know how much I love him, and how often I have tried to correct him. It is not today that I have noticed his failing; for I should always be on my guard to speak of others, but others have spoken of it too. It would be in vain to disguise the fact; it is only too true, and with tears in my eyes I tell it to you. This poor unfortunate brother has talent, but it must be confessed that he is very guilty, and however great may be our friendship for him, it is impossible to excuse him. – Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, 24th sermon on the Canticles

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 22:1-14

Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Memorial)

How is it that you came in here without a wedding garment? (Matthew 22:12)

Have you ever had a dream that you arrived somewhere in the wrong clothes? Maybe you showed up at school in your pajamas, or you went to a formal party in sweatpants. It’s a common enough dream, based on the fear of sticking out in the crowd or not belonging.

The parable in today’s Gospel reading can speak to us about this fear in our spiritual lives. We can sometimes wonder, “Am I going to have a place in God’s kingdom? Am I good enough?” But this parable reminds us that we are welcomed into God’s feast because he has freely invited us, not because of what we have done. “Bad and good alike,” we have all been gathered up and invited to the banquet hall (Matthew 22:10).

This has some big implications for us. First, it means we have no pride of place in God’s kingdom. Even as we can sometimes doubt our own worth, we can just as quickly doubt other people’s worth, especially if they are younger or newer followers of God. But Jesus tells us we are all equal in his kingdom. We belong only because of his gracious invitation.

Second, it means that we need to be dressed appropriately for this great feast. Our host knows where we are coming from, and he is ready to supply us with the proper wedding garments at his expense. But we need to wear these garments. We need to choose to clothe ourselves in Jesus Christ by adopting his way of life. It can be tempting to stick with our own “clothing” by choosing self-reliance over faith. But that would be like showing up to a posh dinner dressed in blue jeans and a wrinkled T-shirt!

Think for a minute about the magnitude of this invitation that you have received. Don’t allow the busyness of life to distract you, as it did the invited guests in the parable. Tell God that you want to accept his gracious invitation, and ask him to build anticipation in your heart for his banquet. Then put on Jesus Christ as your wedding garment, and prepare to celebrate the wedding feast of the Lamb!

“Lord, clothe me in your wedding garment, and bring me to the feast!”

Judges 11:29-39
Psalm 40:5, 7-10

[Salvation]

A Christian Pilgrim

[Salvation]

Marriage = One Man amd One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for August 20, 2015:

Is life overwhelming right now? Take a deep breath, and remind yourself of your blessings, especially your faith and your marriage. This too shall pass!

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

Wearing the Right Clothes

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

August 20, 2015. Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

By Father José LaBoy, LC

Matthew 22: 1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ´Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.´ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ´The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.´ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ´Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?´ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ´Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.´ For many are called, but few are chosen."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you because you have created me to be with you. I hope in you because you always give me what I need to be with you. I love you because you continue to invite me, in spite of my reticence and sinfulness.

Petition: Lord, grant me the grace to value heaven and to live in such a way that I can get there.

1. How Dare You Not Accept! God invites us to accept freely the gift of union with him to which he calls us. But, lo and behold, we can use our freedom badly and not accept the only thing that can truly make us happy. This occurs when we forget about God, no longer giving him the adoration and love he deserves as our Creator and Father, putting ourselves in first place, and becoming the sole criteria for our decisions and actions. This passage helps us to remember what type of freedom we have. We do not have absolute freedom. We can’t choose what our end should be. Only God is our end. Our freedom is limited and consists in being free to choose the means that most efficaciously help us to reach that end.
   

2. An Undeserved Invitation: Our possibility of getting to heaven is truly a gift from God. He invites us even though we are sinners, even though we don’t take his Son’s death and resurrection seriously, even though we continue to fall in spite of having all the grace and strength we need to overcome temptation. St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, states how hard it is for a man to give his life for another person (see Romans 4:7). Maybe he would do it for a very good person. Christ didn’t give his life for good persons; he gave it for sinners. We should be moved to respond to this amazing manifestation of love for us: Total adherence to God is the only worthy response.
   

3. Dressing for the Occasion: God is good, but he is not naïve. He won’t let us in to full communion with him if we do not value it properly. The robe mentioned in the Gospel passage is an image of the soul. The soul that has been purified and is prepared to enter into heaven wears a wedding robe. The soul that is full of selfishness and sin is improperly dressed. It is not a matter of God not having mercy on us. It’s a matter of the use of our freedom. When we encounter something that has value and know that it will make us better, we have to appropriate that value through conscious effort. We have to live up to it. We can’t be indifferent or superficial regarding heaven. We shouldn’t regard it as just something possible; it should be an existential need.
   

Conversation with Christ: Dear Lord, so many times I give more importance to my own satisfaction than to centering my attention and efforts on achieving true communion with you. Help me to value your invitation to reach heaven through a truly Christian life that prefers virtue to sin, disinterested love to selfishness, humility to pride.

Resolution: Today I will try to work on a virtue that I need so as to respond to God’s love for me.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 31, Issue 5

<< Thursday, August 20, 2015 >>

St. Bernard

Judges 11:29-39
View Readings

Psalm 40:5, 7-10

Matthew 22:1-14
Similar Reflections

THE ULTIMATE POWER OF HUMAN SACRIFICE

"Whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites shall belong to the Lord. I shall offer him up as a holocaust." —Judges 11:31

In our secular humanistic society, we are rather ignorant concerning spiritual power. Many ancient peoples were in some ways more advanced than we are in regard to spiritual realities. Jephthah knew what few people in our society realize: that there was exceptional power in taking a vow to offer a human sacrifice (see Jgs 11:30-31). When he took this vow, he defeated the Ammonites in war. Moreover, when the king of Moab sacrificed his first-born son, he was spared a certain defeat in war (2 Kgs 3:27). Abraham could understand much better than we do the rationale behind God's command to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham's son (see Gn 22:2). The prophet Micah indicated his awareness of the power of human sacrifice when he prophesies: "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my crime, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" (Mi 6:7) Satanists and abortionists also recognize the power of human sacrifice. However, to offer human sacrifice is a grave sin, an abomination. Does this mean that we are condemned to either powerlessness or sinfulness? No, the Lord has done the impossible when He sacrificed Himself on Calvary in perfect sinlessness to expiate the sins of all people throughout all time.

Praise Jesus, God and Man, Priest and Sacrifice, Savior and Lord!

Prayer: Father, may I center my life on the Eucharist, where the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary is made present.

Promise: "Happy the man who makes the Lord his trust." —Ps 40:5

Praise: St. Bernard, even at an early age, was exceptional in his piety, thanks to the example of his pious parents.

[Salvation]