The post dated November 20, 2021 presented an excerpt from the introduction to volume 3 of St. Bernard's Sermons on the Song of Songs which gave good reason for reading St. Bernard's sermons.
On occasion I reconsider the reasons for my reading of St. Bernard and why I post some of his thoughts on this blog and even why I post on this blog at all. With very few followers it is obvious that my persistence in maintaining the blog is for my own edification. Ronald Rolheiser in his book "The Holy Longing" states the fundamental reason underlying all contemplation of the transcendent. "We are infinite beings in a finite world." As such we will always be just a little bit dissatisfied with what this world offers. I ascribe my persistent blogging then to a restlessness. St. Augustine describes this restlessness and the solution to its satisfaction in his Confessions. Enough name dropping.
St Bernard is really the only writer that I've read and studied in such a sustained manner. Through my twenty odd posts since June of 2021 I've tried to distill the essence of his preaching on the Song of Songs. Now, I'm beginning to experience, in an unexpected way, the effects of presenting the posts . My feelings are the result of a sustained preoccupation with St. Bernard's religious and spiritual principles. By placing myself in his presence, so to speak, I am confronted with a frequent reminder of the meaning of charity and God as the essence of love. St. Bernard's exposition of the Christian Spirit is sometimes eloquent, sometimes condemnatory and frequently demands penance from himself and his monks. This traditional message is not popular in the culture of our times. However, St. Bernard conveys a profound faith in mankind's ability to experience God's love here on earth. Through a habitual focus on Christian charity we can prevent our relatively unimportant earthly concerns from consuming all our mental, and especially spiritual, energies.
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