I am black but beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the curtains of Solomon

 

I am black but beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Song 1:4 Vulgate (Song 1:5 RNAB)

From Sermon 27.2

“What does she mean then by saying: ‘I am beautiful like the curtains of Solomon’?” I feel here we have a great and wonderful mystery, provided we apply the words, not to the Solomon of this Song, but to him who said of himself: ‘What is here is greater than Solomon.’ Mt 12:42 This Solomon to whom I refer is so great a Solomon that he is called not only Peaceful … but Peace itself: for Paul proclaims that ‘He is our Peace.’ Eph 2:14 … It was he, and not the former Solomon, who spoke these words of God his Father: ‘When he set the heavens in their place, I was there.’ Prov 8:27 His power and his wisdom were undoubtedly present at the establishing of the heavens. 1 Cor 1:24”

Sermon 27.3

3. The bride's form must be understood in a spiritual sense, her beauty as something that is grasped by the intellect; it is eternal because it is an image of eternity. Her gracefulness consists of love, and you have read that "love never ends."1 Cor 13:8 It consists of justice, for "her justice endures forever.” Ps 112:3 It consists of patience, and Scripture tells you ' 'the patience of the poor shall not perish forever." Ps10:19 … Therefore the Church, possessing the promise of happiness to come 1 Tim 4:8, now prepares for it by adorning herself with a variety of graces and virtues Ps 45:10, in order to be found worthy and capable of the fulness of grace.

 Sermon 27.7

7. These two then have their origin in heaven – Jesus the Bridegroom and Jerusalem the Bride. He, in order to be seen by men, “emptied himself taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”⁴⁴ But the bride—in what form or exterior loveliness, in what guise did St John see her coming down? ⁴⁵ Was it perhaps in the company of the angels whom he saw ascending and descending upon the Son of Man? ⁴⁶ It is more accurate to say that he saw the bride when he looked on the Word made flesh, and acknowledged two natures in the one flesh. ⁴⁷ For when that holy Emmanuel introduced to earth the curriculum of heavenly teaching, when we came to know the visible image and radiant comeliness of that supernal Jerusalem,⁴⁸ our mother, revealed to us in Christ and by his means, what did we behold if not the bride in the Bridegroom? What did we admire but that same person who is the Lord of glory,⁴⁹ the Bridegroom decked with a garland, the bride adorned with her jewels? ^so "He who descended is he also who ascended,' '⁵¹ since "no one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven,” ⁵² the one and same Lord who as head of the Church is the Bridegroom, as body is the bride. This heaven-formed man did not appear on earth in vain, ⁵³ since he endowed a multitude of earthly followers with his own heavenly image.⁵⁴ As Scripture says: "the heavenly Man is the pattern of all the heavenly."⁵⁵ From that time the lives of many on earth have been like the lives of heaven's citizens, as when, after the example of that exalted and blessed bride, she who came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon,⁵⁶ embraced the heavenly Bridegroom with a chaste love. Though, unlike the blessed bride, not yet united to him by vision, she is still espoused to him by faith, as God promised through the Prophet's words: "I will betroth you to me in steadfast love and mercy, I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. "⁵⁷ Hence she strives more and more to resemble her who came from heaven, learning from her to be modest and prudent, learning to be chaste and holy, to be patient and compassionate, and ultimately to be meek and humble of heart. By these virtues she endeavors, even while absent,⁵⁹ to be pleasing to him on whom the angels long to look. ⁶⁰ With a love angelic in its fervor she shows herself to be a fellow-citizen with the saints and a domestic of God, ⁶¹ she shows that she is beloved, that she is a bride.

 44. Phil 2:7    45. Rev 21:2    46. Jn 1:51    47. Gen 2:24    48. Gal 4:26; Ps 49:2    49. 1 Cor     50. Is 61:10   51. Eph 4:10    52. Jn 3.13   53. Bar 3:38   54. 1 Cor 15:47   55. 1 Cor 15:48   56. 1 Kings 10:1-10   57. Hos 2:19-20   58. Mt 11:29   59. 2 Cor 5:9

60. 1 Pet 1:12   61. Eph 2:19

Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you shepherd, where you give rest at midday. Song 1:7

 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you shepherd, where you give rest at midday. Song 1:7 (RNAB)

Shew me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou liest in the midday …. Song 1:6 (Vulgate)

 I will say to God: Do not put me in the wrong! Let me know why you oppose me. Job 10:2 (RNAB)

Make known to me your ways, Lord; teach me your paths. Ps 25:4

He guides me along right paths for the sake of his name. Ps 23:3

Lord, I love the refuge of your house, the site of the dwelling-place of your glory. Ps 26:8

Citing these scriptural passages St. Bernard begins to weave a homily on verse seven (vs. 6 in the Vulgate), chapter one, of the Song of Songs.

“Therefore the man who longs for God does not cease to seek these three things, righteousness, judgement, and the place where the Bridegroom dwells in glory.” Ser.33.1

 “But take note in the first place how exquisitely she [the bride] distinguishes spiritual love from carnal desire, when, in her wish to draw her Beloved’s attention by her affection rather than by his name, she does not say simply, ‘whom I love,’ but ‘O you whom my soul loves.’ Thereby indicating that her love is spiritual.” Ser 33.2

On display is St. Bernard’s gift for exegetical nuance. The phrase he interprets could easily be read as ‘whom I love’ in a casual reading.

“Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you shepherd, where you give rest at midday.”

Bernard now with the same exegetical skills hones in on, “where you shepherd, where you give rest at midday.” 

“II. Consider carefully then, what it is that gives her so much pleasure in the place of pasture. Nor must you ignore the reference to the hour of noon, nor above all that she looks for a place where he who feeds the flock, also lies down, a sign of great security. … in this place there is no need to stand and keep watch for the safety of the flock, since the flock freely wanders in the meadows while the shepherd lies down and rests in the shade. Happy the place in which the sheep move to and fro at will, [Jn 10:9] and no one to frighten them! … What can the bride do but yearn for that place of rest, of security, of exultation, of wonder, of overwhelming joy. But alas! Unhappy me, far from it as I am, saluting it from afar, the very memory of it causes me to weep with the affection expressed by those exiles: ‘By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion! (Ps 137:1) Let me cry out both with the bride and with the prophet: ‘Praise your God. O Zion! For he strengthened the bars of your gates; he blesses your sons within you.’ (Ps 148:1-2) Who would not be filled with vehement longing to be fed in that place, on account of its peace, on account of its richness, on account of its super-abundance? There one experiences neither fear not distaste, nor any want. Paradise is a safe dwelling-place, the Word is sweet nourishment, eternity is wealth beyond calculation.” Ser 33:2

St. Bernard was preaching to 12^th century monks. His rhetoric, encompassing the sweeping history of the people of God, from the melancholy Israel in exile to paradise where “the Word is sweet nourishment”, from the God of Abraham to the Son of God, evokes a passion in St. Bernard that we modern Catholics may find difficult to evoke in ourselves.

He continues to entreat his fellow monks:

“Let us make sure then my sons, let us make haste to a place that is safer, to a pasture that is sweeter, to a land that is richer and more fertile. Let us make haste to a place where we may dwell without fear, where we may abound and never want, where we may feast and never weary. For while passing judgement tranquilly on all things, (Wis 12:18) O Lord of hosts, you feed in security and with fairness all who dwell in that place, you who are at the same time the Lord of armies and the shepherd of sheep.” Ser 33.4

CISTERCIAN FATHERS SERIES: NUMBER SEVEN - BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX - Song of Songs II

SEEING THROUGH THE EYES OF FAITH

 

St. Bernard by El Greco  

from Sermon 28

IV. Faith cannot be deceived. With the power to understand invisible truths, faith does not know the poverty of the senses; it transcends even the limits of human reason, the capacity of nature, the bounds of experience. Why do you ask the eye to do what it is not equipped to do? And why does the hand endeavor to examine things beyond its reach? What you may learn from these senses is of limited value. But faith will tell you of me without detracting from my greatness. Learn to receive with greater confidence, to follow with greater security, whatever faith commends to you. "Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father.”⁷⁴ As if after he had ascended he wished to be or could be touched by her! And yet he could be touched, but by the heart, not by the hand; by desire, not by the eye; by faith, not by the senses. "Why do you want to touch me now," he says, "would you measure the glory of the resurrection by a physical touch? Do you not remember that, while was still mortal, the eyes of the disciples could not endure for a short space the glory of my transfigured body that was destined to die?⁷⁵ I still accommodate myself to your senses by bearing this form of a servant which you are accustomed to seeing. But this glory of mine is too wonderful for you, so high that you cannot reach it.⁷⁶  Defer your judgment therefore, refrain from expressing an opinion, do not entrust the defining of so great a matter to the senses, it is for faith to pronounce on it. With its fuller comprehension, faith will define it more worthily and more surely. In its deep and mystical breast it can grasp what is the length and breath and height and depth.⁷⁷ 'What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived '⁷⁸ is borne within itself by faith, as if wrapped in a covering and kept under seal.

74. Jn 20:17    75. Mt 17:6    76. Ps 139:6    77. Eph 3:18    78. 1 Cor 2:9

CISTERCIAN FATHERS SERIES: NUMBER SEVEN - BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX - Song of Songs II

THE RIGHTEOUS WHO LOVE YOU

 

The first thought that came to mind when I began to read St. Bernard's sermons on the Song of Songs is how eighty-six sermons could be created for a text that is only eight chapters long. Here I am in Sermon 24 and St. Bernard is still expounding on verse 1:3.

The king hath brought me into his storerooms: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, remembering thy breasts more than wine: the righteous love thee. Song 1:3 (Vulgate)

The fact is that St. Bernard digresses often. Sermon 24 consists of two themes. Entitled “DETRACTION AND MAN’S RIGHTEOUSNESS”, the sermon speaks of those who are critical of the bride.

… for in almost any group of young maidens I find some who watch the bride’s actions, not to imitate but to disparage them. Ser 24.3

After four paragraphs of describing the disparagement he cites, he begins to describe what the righteous are like. 

ll. 5. … let me return to the theme I set out to explain, and show who are to be understood here as the "righteous." I am sure that nobody here with a right understanding would hold that those who love the bride [the Church?] are being spoken of in regard to physical perfection. It is spiritual righteousness, that of the soul, that must be explained. It is the Spirit who teaches, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit.²⁷ Therefore God made man righteous in his soul,²⁸ not in the body made of earthly slime. He created him according to his own image and likeness.²⁹ He is the one of whom you sing: "The Lord our God is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him."³⁰ God in his righteousness made man righteous like himself, without iniquity, since there is no iniquity in him. Iniquity is a fault in the heart, not in the flesh, and so you should realize that the likeness of God is to be preserved or restored in your spirit, not in the body of gross clay. For "God is a spirit,”³¹ and those who wish to persevere in or attain to his likeness must enter into their hearts, and apply themselves spiritually to that work, until "with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord," they "become transfigured into the same likeness, borrowing glory from that glory, as the Spirit of the Lord enables them.”³²

 27.1 Cor  2:13    28.Ecles 7:29    29. Gen 1:26    30. Ps 91:16    31. Jn 4:24 32. 32 Cor 3:18

CISTERCIAN FATHERS SERIES: NUMBER SEVEN - BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX - Song of Songs II

St. Bernard Describes the Qualities of the Bride

St. Bernard's command of Scripture is amazingly displayed as he draws from a wide range of scriptural quotes to make the point of his sermon.

from Sermon 27.2-4 On the Song of Songs

His [Christ’s] power and his wisdom were undoubtedly present at the establishing of the heavens.[12] And do not imagine that he stood by idle, as merely a spectator, because he said "I was there," and not "I was cooperating." Search further on in this text and you will find that he clearly states he was with him arranging all things.[13] Therefore he said: "Whatever the Father does, the Son does too."[14] He it was who spread out the heavens like a curtain, a curtain of superlative beauty that covers the whole face of the earth like a huge tent,and charms our human eyes with the variegated spectacle of sun and moon and stars. Is there anything more lovely than this curtain? Anything more bejewelled than the heavens? Yet even this can in no way be compared to the splendor and comeliness of the bride. It fails because it is a physical thing, the object of our physical senses; its form will pass away.[15] “For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."[16]

Il. 3. The bride's form must be understood in a spiritual sense, her beauty as something that is grasped by the intellect; it is eternal because it is an image of eternity. Her gracefulness consists of love, and you have read that "love never ends."[17] It consists of justice, for "her justice endures forever.”[18] It consists of patience, and Scripture tells you ' 'the patience of the poor shall not perish forever."[19] What shall I say of voluntary poverty? Of humility? To the former an eternal kingdom is promised,[20] to the latter an eternal exaltation.[21] To these must be added the holy fear of the Lord that endures for ever and ever;[22] prudence too, and temperance and fortitude and all other virtues; what are they but pearls in the jewelled raiment of the bride, shining with unceasing radiance? I say unceasing, because they are the basis, the very foundation of immortality. For there is no place for immortal and blissful life in the soul except by means and mediation of the virtues. Hence the Prophet, speaking to God who is eternal happiness, says: "Justice and judgment are the foundation of your throne.”[23] And the Apostle says that Christ dwells in our hearts, not in any and every way, but particularly by faith.²⁴ When Christ, too, was about to ride on the ass, the disciples spread their cloaks underneath him,[25] to signify that our Savior, or his salvation, will not rest in the naked soul until it is clothed with the teaching and discipline of the apostles. [26] Therefore the Church, possessing the promise of happiness to come,^[27] now prepares for it by adorning herself in cloth of gold, girding herself with a variety of graces and virtues,[28] in order to be found worthy and capable of the fulness of grace.

4. Though this visible, material heaven, with its great variety of stars is unsurpassingly beautiful within the bounds of the material creation, I should not dare to compare its beauty with the spiritual and varied loveliness she received with her first robe when being arrayed in the garments of holiness. But there is a heaven of heavens to which the Prophet refers. "Sing to the Lord who mounts above the heaven of heavens, to the east. "[29] This heaven is in the world of the intellect and the spirit; and he who made the heavens by his wisdom,[30] created it to be his eternal dwelling-place. ³¹ You must not suppose that the bride's affections can find rest outside of this heaven, where she knows her Beloved dwells: for where her treasure is, there her heart is too. ³² She so yearns for him that she is jealous of those who live in his presence; and since she may not yet participate in the vision that is theirs, she strives to resemble them in the way she lives. By deeds rather than words she proclaims: “Lord, I love the beauty of your house, the place where your glory dwells.[33]

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[12] 1 Cor 1:24   [13] Prov 8:30    [14] Jn 5:19      [15] 1 Cor 7:31   [16] 2 Cor 4:18   [17] 1Cor 13:8  [18] Ps 112:3    [19] Ps 10:19   [20] Mt 5:3   [21] Lk 14:11  [22] Ps19:10    [23] Ps 89:15    [24] Eph 3:17    [25] Mt 21:7    [26] 2 Cor 5:4    [27] 1 Tim 4:8    [28] Ps 45:10    [29] Ps 68:33-34    [30] Ps 136:5    [31] Is 40:22   [32] Mt 6:21    [33] Ps 26:8   One has been added to the references to Psalms in order to match the Psalms from the NAB. St. Bernard used the Vulgate.

text is from CISTERCIAN FATHERS SERIES: NUMBER SEVEN - BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX - Song of Songs II

                  

                              

Song of Songs Chapters 1 and 2– Love of God Emanating from Nature

This is a personal reflection on the importance of nature and the love of God.

She asks: “Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon ….”

He responds: “I compare you my love, to a mare of Pharaoh’s chariots.”

She: “While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance. My beloved is to me a bag of myrrh, that lies between my breasts. … a cluster of henna blossoms ….”

He: “Behold, you are beautiful, my love; … your eyes are like doves.”

She: “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.”

He: “As a lily among brambles, so is my love among maidens.”

She: “As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among young men. …. Sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples; for I am sick with love. ….  I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the hinds of the field, that you stir not up nor awaken love until it please. ….  My beloved is like a gazelle, or a young stag. …. My beloved speaks and says to me:

He:  "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance.”

She: “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.  My beloved is mine and I am his, he pastures his flock among the lilies. Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle, or a young stag upon rugged mountains.”[1]

How closely this dialogue between lovers is permeated by an appreciation of those things created by God. Love’s passion is excited by the sights and smells of nature unfolding; an unfolding that takes place without the intervention of men. Man’s gaze is directed heavenward.

“What is man that thou are mindful of him ….”[2]

“Thou hast given him dominion over the works of his hands; thou hast put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea ….”[2]

But now, in the comparatively short span of time man’s gaze has shifted. That expression of appreciation of mankind for the gift and its creator, i.e. mankind’s gaze heavenward, , has turned inward. We are now enamored of our ability to exercise dominion over nature. The natural world is no longer looked on as a beautiful creation of  God. Rather nature is seen as a haphazard circumstance to be dominated and improved upon by man's intelligence alone. No longer appreciative of nature and its orderly progressions, man has fallen in love with his ability to transform nature and create his own gifts.

Glass and steel buildings, advanced modes of communication, genetic engineering and manipulation of climate are all within man’s power. Given enough time there is nothing man cannot accomplish. We even seek to control time itself.

Lord, help us to return our look heavenward in appreciation of the beauty and order of the gifts you have created. Give us the ability to see the perfection inherent in your creation.  

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[1] Various verses from Song of Songs, Ch. 1 & 2, New American Bible Revised Edition - Donald Senior; John Collins; Mary Ann Getty. The Catholic Study Bible, Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition. The text in this version of the Song of Songs is annotated indicating who is the speaker of each verse.

[2] ibid, Ps 8:6-8

ON FORGIVENESS

          
Sermon 23.15                        

Inability to sin is God’s righteousness; God’s forgiveness constitutes man’s…. Happy is the man whose fault is forgiven, whose sin is blotted out. Ps 32:1   When I say these words I am suddenly inspired with so great a confidence, filled with such joy,  that it surpasses the fear I experienced in the place of horror ,,,  Deut 32:10

                                              CISTERCIAN FATHERS SERIES: NUMBER SEVEN - BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX - Song of Songs II