Sermons for the Autumn Season: Volume 54

by Bernard of Clairvaux, Irene Edmonds (Translator), Mark A Scott (Editor), Wim Verbaal (Introduction)

Overview

On the anniversary of the dedication of the monastery church at Clairvaux, Saint Bernard spoke to the community to explain the meaning of the feast: “What sanctity can these stones have that we should celebrate their festival? They do indeed have sanctity, but it is because of your bodies. . . . Your bodies are holy because of your souls, and this house is holy because of your bodies.”
The thirty-eight sermons in this volume carry forth this theme, revealing the holiness of the monastic life as monks alternate through the rhythm of the day and the year between the opus Dei and manual labor, journeying faithfully through life to death and the transitus to glory. 
The twelfth-century Ecclesiastica Officia of the Cistercian Order required abbots to speak formally to their communities in chapter on seventeen fixed days, mostly liturgical feasts. This volume witnesses to Bernard’s fulfillment of this requirement and includes sermons for the Assumption and Nativity of the Virgin and the Feast of All Saints, sermons devoted to the feasts of particular saints celebrated during the autumn months, sermons for the time of harvest, and funeral sermons that look forward to the eternal joy in the communion of saints.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780879074548
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	03/29/2016
Series:	Cistercian Fathers , #54
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	456
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Mark A. Scott, OCSO, is a monk of the Trappist-Cistercian Abbey of New Clairvaux, Vina, California, which he entered in 1978. From 2000 to 2008 he served as appointed superior and then abbot of Assumption Abbey, Ava, Missouri.

Table of Contents

General Introduction ix

Editor's Note and Acknowledgments lxvii

Table of Abbreviations lxix

The Sermons

On the Time of Harvest (In lab mess) 1

Sermon 1 How a Twofold Evil Works for Good 1

Sermon 2 Of the Two Tables 4

Sermon 3 This is the generation of those who seek the Lord, of those who seek the face of the God of Jacob (Ps 23:6) 7

On the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Asspt) 14

Sermon 1 Of the Double Assumption 14

Sermon 2 Of Cleaning, Adorning, and Furnishing the House 18

Sermon 3 Of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus 26

Sermon 4 Of the Four Days of Lazarus and the Celebration of the Virgin 33

Sermon 5 On the Same as Before 41

Sermon 6 To Establish "full of grace" in Mary in Three Ways 53

Sunday within the Octave of the Assumption (OAsspt) 55

Of the words of the Apocalypse: A great wonder appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under herjeet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars (Rev 12:1) 55

On the Nativity of Blessed Mary (NatBVM) 70

Of the Bringing of Water 70

A Sermon to the Abbots (Abb) 85

How Noah, Daniel, and job Crossed the Sea, Each in His own Way: on a Ship, by a Bridge, by the Shallows 85

On the Feast of Saint Michael (Mich) 91

Sermon 1 Of the Threefold Reasons that the-Angels Care for Us 91

Sermon 3 Of the Words of the Lord, If anyone offends one of these little ones (Matt 18:6) 97

Sunday of the First Week of November (1 Nov) 101

Sermon 1 Of the Vision of Isaiah 101

Sermon 2 104

Sermon 3 109

Sermon 4 114

Sermon 5 118

On the Feast of All Saints (OS) 130

Sermon 1 Of the Gospel Reading: Jesus Seeing the Crowds 130

Sermon 2 Of the State of the Saints before their Resurrection 146

Sermon 3 In What Way Shall They Be without Blemish or Wrinkle? (Eph 5:27) 154

Sermon 4 Of Abraham's bosom, and of the altar beneath which Blessed John heard the voices of such souls of the saints, and of the seven loaves from which we read that the same number of baskets remained 159

Sermon 5 Of the Advantage of Their Memory 167

For the Dedication of a Church (Ded) 178

Sermon 1 Of the Five Sacramento of the Dedication 178

Sermon 2 How We Should Cling to Ourselves and Others 184

Sermon 3 Of Three Sorts of Equipment We Possess for Godly Vigilance 188

Sermon 4 Of the Threefold Dwelling-Place 193

Sermon 5 Of the Twofold Consideration of Oneself 200

Sermon 6 Concerning the word of Jacob: Truly the Lord is in this place (Gen 28:16) 210

On the Feast of Saint Martin, Bishop (Mart) 213

Of Examples of Obedience 213

On the Feast of Saint Clement (Clem) 229

Of the Three Waters 229

Sermon on the Passing of Saint Malachy the Bishop (Mai) 235

On the Vigil of Saint Andrew the Apostle (VAnd) 244

How We Should Prepare for the Solemnities of the Saints with Fasting 244

On the Feast of Saint Andrew (And) 249

Sermon One: Concerning Clean Fish 249

Sermon Two: Of the Four Arms of the Cross 258

On the Death of Master Humbert (Humb) 266

Index of Scriptural References in Bernard's Liturgical Sermons (CF 51-54) 275

Index of Subjects in Bernard's Liturgical Sermons (CF 51-54) 334

Editorial Reviews

"For those not familiar with the allegorical interpretation of Scripture that Bernard and most of his Christian predecessors and contemporaries used, reading these sermons will be a shock. They are like a quilt made up of many small pieces, sewn into a very complex pattern. If the pieces and patterns are studied and savored, they invite the reader/listener to meet the Word, presented by one of the great wordsmiths of Christian literature. Bernard's intent is to fashion the reader into a dwelling place for the Word."
Hugh Feiss, O.S.B., Ascension Monastery, Jerome, ID, American Benedictine Review


"Bernard is not easy. This translation, thanks to its clear English and superb introduction, will make it possible to follow Bernard through the liturgical year."
The Journal of Medieval Monastic Studies

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