Letters488 Letter CDLXXXVIII. To N

To his dear brother in Christ, N., Brother Bernard wishes that he may wholly put off in the Lord any remains of the old man; that he may die to the world, and live to Christ.

Since, my dear brother in the Lord, you have very earnestly besought me, while I was still in retreat, that I should visit you from time to time with some letters of spiritual exhortation, I recognize, brother, that in saying this, you heap coals of fire upon my head. For in affectionately pressing upon my reluctance, you overcame with your suppliant humility every feeling of pride that I had, insomuch that I promised this to you, which you desired;

1 [From Eugenius de Levis, Presbyter, Anecdota sacra, sive Collectio omnis generis opusculorum veterum, S. S. Patrum, etc. Augustae Taurinorum [Turin 178... 4to. p. 50. (Migne Tom. i. Col. 653]. Who was this brother N. to whom S. Bernard wrote this letter, does not appear; nor is there any indication to what place or monastery he belonged. The few words in praise of solitude contained in par. 11, are insufficient to sustain the inference that he was a solitary. (E.)]

although it would be more fitting for me to receive such exhortation from you, than to address it to you. Yet the eagerness of your devotion has compelled me to become a fool in this respect, so that I shall try to do in some fashion, and according as I shall be able, what you request. Not indeed as writing unto you any other truths of the spiritual life, than those, however simple and elementary they will be found to be, which I had it in my mind to draw together.

But in the meantime I address myself to your affection, since no one, as you know well, is able to serve God perfectly, unless he shall separate himself wholly from the world. It behoves us, if we wish to follow God our Saviour, to hear the voice of the prophet, that we should untie the knots, and loose the bonds, of impiety, and thus follow our Redeemer, according to the testimony of the Apostle: No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life (2 Tim. ii. 4): Never therefore let us permit our heart to be anxious on account of any created thing, unless insomuch as our affections are swayed and determined by the Divine love. For the vast variety of things which are perishing, if made more than needful, the subject of thought, give a fresh impulse to the body of death, not only by distracting the peaceful and welcome quiet of mind and soul, but also by generating troublesome and disturbing images or phantasms of things. But let us rather, after the burdensome weight of desires for all things earthly has been laid down, run, without grudging reflection upon the sacrifice of such things, towards Him who invites us, in whom is rich refreshment for souls, and peace supreme which passeth all understanding. Come unto Me, saith Jesus, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. O admirable condescension of our God! O loving gentleness, and ineffable charity! Who among men has done actions like these? Who has ever heard or seen the like? Behold, He invites His enemies, He speaks kindly and encouragingly to offenders, He attracts to Him those who are ungrateful! Come, He says, take my yoke upon you and ye shall find rest (S. Matt. xi. 29). O sweetest words, and full of harmony! words of Godlike quality, and more penetrating than any two-edged sword, discovering the thoughts and intents of the heart, filled with exceeding sweetness, and extending to the dividing asunder of the soul. Arouse thyself therefore, Christian soul, to the love of goodness so great, to the fragrance and savour of sweetness so exquisite. Assuredly I do not feel, that even when I draw near to death, I shall be insensible to such words as these. Kindle and glow, O my soul; I pray thee, grow strong and fat in the mercy of thy God. Kindle and glow, grow strong in its fatness and revel in its savour. Let none hinder thee from drawing it to thee, from holding it fast, and making proof of its taste. What more do we ask for? What do we await? What do we even desire beyond this? For in this alone we possess all good things. But, alas, our astonishing folly our miserable weakness! our wicked madness! We are called to. rest, and we pursue labour; to blessedness, and we follow after grief; joy is promised to us, yet we are ensnared by sorrow. Pitiable is our weakness, most miserable our perversity! For we are become, as it were, insensible, worse even than dead images, having eyes, and seeing not: ears, and hearing not; reason, and yet are without discernment; putting bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. O God how shall perversity so great in us find correction? Whence a satisfaction for so grave an offence? Assuredly none such can be found in us, unless it be conferred upon us by Thy mere goodness; Thou alone art able to make satisfaction for our offences who alone knowest the clay whereof we are made, Thou art our redemption and salvation; Thou who doest this in those alone, who seeing that they are miserable and unhappy to their inmost hearts, yet have faith that they can be raised up again by Thee; but by Thee alone. Let us then lift up the eyes of our mind straight to God, and let us realize in what condition of prostration and helpfulness we are; for he who knows not the need of his own condition, will surely not be cured. Recognizing it therefore with fortitude, let us cry unto God out of the depths, that He may stretch out to us the helping hand of his mercy, which is never shortened that it cannot save. Let us not, I pray, lose the confidence which has so great a reward. Let us present ourselves with full assurance at the throne of His grace, receiving the end of our faith, which is the salvation of our souls. Let there be in us no delaying, for now salvation invites us, and tribulation awaits us, so that we are compelled to enter in. Why do we hesitate? Why delay? Let us hasten to enter into that rest of eternal joy, of supreme felicity, of inward refreshment, of which the causes are great, wonderful, without number and beyond understanding. Let our heart ascend into Jerusalem above. Let us sigh for our own country, which is the mother of us all; and entering into the kingdom of our Lord, let us behold our King, who is kindness itself, ruling over all, and let our hearts grow tender with His mercies. Let us thank Him with our whole heart, who considering our weakness, has not withdrawn from us His kind and merciful help; imparting to us His own desire to run in the way of righteousness, which is not to be accounted as a matter of debt, but reputed as of grace.

delectis (Migne), but read delictis (E.)

Since he who was the chief of the prophets asserts that he earnestly desires this: My soul longed earnestly to desire Thy righteous judgments at all times! (Ps. cxix. 20 Vulg.), and without this our want of zeal neglects this desire itself, and permits it, by a certain excessive tepidity to grow weary and fail. 1 have bethought me of noting down a few motives for this virtue, in a memorial form; in which are stated both what should be followed, and what' avoided. Let us then practise these daily and with willing zeal; let us gird up the loins of our soul and give unwearied labour to these virtues; let us rise by grace to divine charity. Let a desire for the everlasting hills be perfected in us. These virtues then are many in number, and form, as it were, a ladder of salvation, by which those who are influenced by earnest faith, and sacred modesty, in all their words and actions, are able, without doubt, to reach the summit, and attain the perfection of virtues. Slowness in speaking, promptitude in obeying, frequency in prayer, the avoidance of inactivity, the confessing our weaknesses, sincerely and often, the giving of service willingly, prevent a community being without fruit. These are, as it were, shining pearls, which make their possessor to be in favour both with angels and men: and when it shall be according to His good pleasure who separated thee from thy mother’s womb (Gal. i. 15) and called thee by His grace, to reveal in thee the image of His Son, to transfer thee from the miserable bondage of Egypt into the glorious liberty of the children of God; when thou shalt have begun to use thy feet, as it were, upon the path of the new man, upon the footpath which is fixed between fear and the love of humility, you may 1 Concupivit anima me a desiderare justificationes tuas; and S. Jerome is even more emphatic in the same sense: “Desideravit anima mea desiderare(E.)

be able to obtain greater heights (of virtue), and to move freely upon loftier eminences.

From which principles other precepts follow.

It is needful then:

1. Before all things to desire to follow the footsteps of the Saviour; that your entire hope should be fixed on the Lord, and that it should be wholly removed from all the things of this life.

2. That you should study to root out entirely from yourself, in so far as our human state will endure, all vices and evil concupiscences, to purge out the old leaven of malice and wickedness, and to walk in newness of life (1 Cor. v. 7) after Christ; because unless you shall have first broken through the chains of this unrighteousness, your soul, burdened and weighed down in the darkness, will be unable to rise upwards to heaven.

3. That you disembarrass yourself of every outward bond, that you may be united to the Lord in mind and soul.

4. That for the love of the Most High you should bear calmly all persecutions of the world, if it be possible; undergoing them as it were a vow, and filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ (Col. i. 24); shrinking from earthly gladness, but rejoicing in tribulations themselves; regarding them as prepared for you, for the purgation of your sins, and grief as for the benefit of your soul.

5. That since you feel yourself as guilty before your Creator, you do not demand reason to be rendered to you for the things that are created.

6. That having disdain for your own self, and earnestly desiring that all should have it, preferring also a sacred poverty in all things, you should have in all things which concern you, hardness, commonness, and sparingness, to the utmost of your power. Yet you are not to require this in others; but rather gladly and joyfully render to them every brotherly consolation, benefit and service, that may be needful, regarding them as worthy of all; not permitting in yourself any feeling of dislike or hatred of any, which would be without excuse, but grieving with, and compassionating them, from your inmost heart, to the utmost of your power.

7- That passing all your time in fear, you avoid altogether the flatteries, honours, glories and favours of the present world, and the breath of its vain glory, which are as poisoned draughts; standing always detached, as far as you are able, and holding yourself constantly in suspicion. For if you shall have attained this glory, no enemy within or without shall injure you.

8. That for the love of Him, who being the Lord of all things in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth, took for our sakes the form of the humblest servant, and subjected Himself voluntarily for the sins of men, you humiliate your own self; regarding every man as your superior, and you yourself as the vilest servant of men; and that in all things, and with regard to all persons, you regard yourself as a servant. Thus obtaining quietness and peace with all men, you shall not even know what it is to give scandal.

9. That of all those things, which do not conduce at all to spiritual improvement, you touch none whatever; that is to say, take no care for them, nor allow them to form a part of your life either inward or outward, in any manner, where you do not find benefit derived to your mind; nor allow yourself to be habituated to anything of this kind.

10. That you by every means enforce abstinence on your powers of sight and speech, and your other bodily senses; so as to make it your study not to see, to hear, or to touch, anything that is not helpful to your soul: that you hold your tongue under perfect control, so as to speak nothing whatever, unless obliged by a question, or by necessity, or evident usefulness; and then to speak briefly, with reverence, fear, gentleness, and in a low voice; taking care also to avoid, if you can, prolixity of words, and cutting off every occasion for this beforehand.

11. That you hold fast all times, a grateful and sacred solitude; and that you hold it especially precious during your vigils; that you offer your prayers to God always with careful attention to the words, with fervent devotion and deep humility.

12. That when it is your duty to celebrate the Divine Office, you so do this as to retain no consciousness of earthly things, but to have your mind fixed and steady in the contemplation of things celestial; and that you discharge your ministry with such a degree of reverence, devotion, and fear, as becomes one who is set in the Divine Presence among the Choirs of Angels, and who offers like them a service pre-eminently of praise.

13- That holding at all times the highest feeling of veneration for the glorious Queen, the Mother of our Lord, you turn to her in the pressure of all difficulties and necessities; as to the one only and very safe refuge; entreating confidently the guard of her protection, and taking her, with the highest devotion, for your advocate: that you commit your, cause to her securely, who is the mother of mercy, and daily study to please her, and to show to her extreme reverence of spirit; and may your devotion to her be accepted, your reverence pleasing to her perfect purity; may every virtue both for mind and body, be poured upon you; and may you strive with all your powers, to follow the footsteps of her humility and gentleness.

14. That you should at all times avoid all women and even youths, without there be a cause of some great and manifest utility; and everywhere that you may be, choosing for yourself one father; a man discreet, holy, gentle and pious; learned in his experience of work, and who has attained the high faculty of pastoral discourse; to instruct you by words, as also by inspiring and efficacious examples, in the Love of God, to whom you may be able to have recourse in all your necessities, for spiritual consolation.

15. That you always repel from you inwardly with the greatest earnestness, all frigidity of melancholy, and bitter weariness, 1 in which lurks the way of confusion, which leads to death; arid that you always maintain a peaceful outward demeanour.

16. That you conform all your feelings and desires to the Divine Will; that the grace of God bountifully bestowed upon you may build you up in purity and innocence in all respects; and that you be not ever perturbed, more than is meet, by the defects of others, nor pollute yourself with others’ uncleanness, adding iniquity to iniquity; lest while you desire to deliver others from the deep, you fall yourself instead into a deeper abyss. Therefore leave those whom you are not able to benefit without doing harm, to that supreme wisdom, which knows how to bring good out of any evils whatsoever. So also equally in all good things as in evil, you will be able, with the permission of God, to find spiritual progress.

17. That you may keep your heart in complete 1 Acedia-, that is an ‘‘immoderate weariness and bitterness of mind, which extinguishes spiritual joy, turns the mind in upon itself, and presents to it a sort of precipice of mental despair. It is called acedia, quasi acida, inasmuch as it renders all spiritual works sour and distasteful.” Ccesarius. (E.)

control, let it be given to spiritual exercises only, nor let the image of any visible things be impressed upon (your mind) by the processes of reflection; that being free from all created things, you may be able to be wholly filled by the Creator of all.

18. That being mindful of the Divine image and similitude in all men, you feel a love for all, and especially for the sick; and this with the deepest feeling of charity; and that of those who are poor and in need you charge yourself with the care, provided that it do not become to you hurtful and destructive, as regards spiritual things; as a good mother loves and cares for an only and favourite child.

19. That you so keep your mind constantly in relation with God, that the entire time of your spiritual exercises, be a continuous prayer as well of mind as of body; and that you perform all those exercises, and all those services and duties and especially those which are of a more mean and common character, with such a fervour of charity, as if you were rendering them to Christ present in the body, as indeed you may and ought, to consider it the. case; and in this you will think truly, for Christ says in the Gospel: That which ye have done unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done unto Me (S. Matt. xxv. 40.)

20. That you show honour and devoted reverence to all to whom it is due, and study to keep unimpaired as the apple of your eye the most holy rule of obedience, not only in great and difficult matters, but also in the smallest details; that you be obedient, not only to elders and those set in authority over you, but also that you render yourself subject unto all persons whatsoever, deny-ing your own self for Christ’s sake in all things; and studying earnestly to do His will, even when it differs from your own. In no respect must you render yourself burdensome to others; but rather as having affection for all in the charity of Christ, render yourself agreeable to all in common. Take heed to avoid individual friendships, courtesies, familiarities; and above all things beware that you never, in your own person or in regard to another, give cause or occasion to any, by word, action, or gesture, for rancour, hatred, clamour, abuse, riot, murmuring, scandalous detraction, or on the other hand, for flattery and similar things.

21. That you study to conceal as far as you can, from all, the virtues and spiritual graces, which by the Divine bounty have been worked in you, or by your means; as also your tribulations, spiritual conflicts, and similar experiences; those only being excepted, which ought to be disclosed to your own priest for your own accusation: unless perhaps you should make them known to a proved and spiritual friend of your own, whose advice and teaching you may suppose it wise to obtain with respect to them, and for the sake of spiritual usefulness. Be also everywhere careful to steal fragments of time, that you may be able to find leisure for solitary prayer, and while sitting solitary and silent, be raised in thought and desire to the heavens above.

22. Make it your desire to be free of all things, and to hold fast to nothing; nay, to hold in contempt all things which were dear to you; that so great may be the fervour of your mind, so earnest the effort, with which you direct your will towards the Creator of all, that you become forgetful of all lower things; where you may be standing, what you may be doing, or with what affairs you maybe occupied day and night, because you have God so entirely in all your consciousness at every hour and every moment. Believe also, and reflect upon the fact, that you are most truly in His Presence, and that He beholds you with all your surroundings. Reflect upon it with the deepest reverence and circumspection, with fear and trembling. Prostrate yourself at one moment before the Feet of His incomprehensible Majesty, and entreat with bitter penitence pardon for your sins; at another, beholding the Son of God in His most sacred Passion, be pierced by the blade of His love and sorrow for us; be wounded with Him before His Cross, be full of tears and of mourning. At another, compare the straight line of righteousness with the downward oblique tendency of your whole life; at another, enumerate in your mind the great and numberless benefits bestowed upon you, and follow them with acts of thanksgiving; and again behold with stirrings of most ardent love, His mark upon all creatures. Now you will direct your attention to His power, now to His wisdom, now to His goodness and clemency; and you will give Him praise in all His works. Now you will be attracted by the desire of the heavenly country; and with sighs and groans, will pant to be there; now considering with joy and surpassing admiration the tenderness of His inestimable love towards us, heart and mind fail in Christ. Now (you behold Him) holding you fast in your headlong flight from Him; now you consider how ungrateful throughout all, you are found to be, and then the tenderness of the Divine mercies thus made manifest, which brings you to dissolve into floods of tears from mere depth of love towards him. Now there dawn upon your rapt gaze the deepest and the most secret, the loftiest and most wonderful of the hidden and awful mysteries of His justice upon all the wicked; while you constantly fall before Him in deep love and humble fear,, venerating Him before all, and bearing in loving and constant memory His most sacred Passion.

23. That you may be watchful in guarding yourself at all times against the deceits o'f your ancient enemy, who changing himself into the similitude of an angel of light, is frequently setting nets and snares in every path of men, that he may succeed in taking captive our souls; avoid as a sparrow with careful watchfulness the snares of the hunters; be thou of such extreme and holy humility in thine own eyes, that not even his most subtle and finely woven nets may be able to confine thee; and from these thou shalt surely then be able to escape unharmed. Keep before the eyes of thy mind the sight of God, and thou shalt become as Israel, whose guardian will neither slumber nor sleep.

24. That you may maintain unwearied the rigour of your holy Rule, and strive with holy ardour to attain heavenly desires, preserve undiminished the fairness of mental and bodily cleanness, the purity of innocence, and rectitude of conscience; and hold fast an earnest care, never to recede from a resolve. To this end, that you hold fast that which is good the more diligently and purely, examine your life with daily scrutiny, and even seven times in a day, and always after each of the canonical hours, whether you have walked before God, in righteousness and holiness worthy of Him. And because there is no one, who can so far keep righteousness and holiness, as never to neglect or omit anything; and therefore it is necessary that resorting very often to the laver of penitence, you should accuse yourself with grief and lamentation; in this accusation let your confession be wholly truthful and pure, without any screen or excuse or concealment. Recount all your defects in their turn unto the priest as unto God; relate the faults of omission of which you have been guilty in those things which relate to God, and especially as regards the mental act in prayer, and the faults of utterance in the observance of righteousness.

Then in the next place the faults of which you have been guilty, through ill custody of the senses, and the allied powers of thought and feeling. Which confession indeed ought to be accompanied with contrition and satisfaction. Strive to efface, not great offences only, but those which are less than great; and in lamenting a fault forbear to repeat it. Study always to cut off the causes and occasions of evil, in whatever degree they may appear to be joined to you by self-love. According to the just and holy saying of the Saviour, a right eye which causes to offend is to be plucked out: much more then the occasions of sin, though they may appear to us never so delightful, and even if the process be altogether repugnant to our feelings: and therefore it is that the struggle to do this is the most severe in the battle of this life. 1 2