Readings for the Feast of St. Bernard

Readings for the Feast of St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Abbot and Doctor of the Church
"Last of the Fathers"
August 20

Entrance Song
The mouth of the just man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is right; the law of God is in his heart. - Ps 36:30-31

Opening Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Saint Bernard was filled with zeal for your house
and was a radiant light in your Church.
By his prayers
may we be filled with this spirit of zeal
and walk always as children of light.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading
Sirach 15:1-6

He who fears the LORD will do this;
   he who is practiced in the law will come to wisdom.
Motherlike she will meet him,
   like a young bride she will embrace him,
Nourish him with the bread of understanding,
   and give him the water of learning to drink.
He will lean upon her and not fall,
   he will trust in her and not be put to shame.
She will exalt him above his fellows;
   in the assembly she will make him eloquent.
Joy and gladness he will find,
   an everlasting name inherit.

Psalm Response:
Lord, teach me your statutes. -Psalm 119:12

Gospel Reading
John 17:21-26

Jesus prayed, "I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.

And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.

Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them."

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS

Lord our God,
may the Eucharist we offer
be a sign of unity and peace
as we celebrate the memory of Saint Bernard,
who strove in word and deed
to bring harmony to your Church.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon:
The Lord has put his faithful servant in charge of his household, to give them their share of bread at the proper time. (Lk 12:42).

Prayer after Communion
Father,
may the holy food we have received
at this celebration on the feast of Saint Bernard
continue your work of salvation in us.
By his example give us courage,
by his teachings make us wise,
so that we too may burn with love for your Word,
Jesus Christ,
who is Lord for ever and ever. Amen.

The Liturgy of the Hours
Bernard of Clairvaux

From the Common of Doctors or of Holy Men: religious, except for the following:

Morning Prayer

BENEDICTUS (Canticle of Zechariah)
Antiphon: Blessed Bernard, your life, flooded by the splendor of the divine Word, illumines the church with the light of true faith and doctrine.

Evening Prayer

MAGNIFICAT (Canticle of Mary)
Antiphon: Bernard, eloquent doctor of the church, friend of Christ the Bridegroom, eminent preacher of the Virgin Mother's glory, at Clairvaux you become the illustrious shepherd of your followers.

Office of Readings

SECOND READING

From a sermon by St. Bernard, abbot
(Sermo.83:4-6; Opera omnia, Edit. Cisterc. 2 (1958), 300-302)

I love because I love, I love that I may love

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 its practice. I love because I love, I love that I may love. Love is a great thing so long as it continually returns to its fountainhead, flows back to its source, always drawing from there the water which constantly replenishes it. 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, in the knowledge that those who love him are made happy by their love of him.

The Bridegroom’s love, or rather the love which is the Bridegroom, asks in return nothing but faithful love. Let the beloved, then, love in return. Should not a bride love, and above all, Love’s bride? Could it be that Love not be loved?

Rightly then does she give up all other feelings and give herself wholly to love alone; in giving love back, all she can do is to respond to love. And when she has poured out her whole being in love, what is that in comparison with the unceasing torrent of that original source? Clearly, lover and Love, soul and Word, bride and Bridegroom, creature and Creator do not flow with the same volume; one might as well equate a thirsty man with the fountain.

What then of the bride’s hope, her aching desire, her passionate love, her confident assurance? Is all this to wilt just because she cannot match stride for stride with her giant, any more than she can vie with honey for sweetness, rival the lamb for gentleness, show herself as white as the lily, burn as bright as the sun, be equal in love with him who is Love? No. It is true that the creature loves less because she is less. But if she loves with her whole being, nothing is lacking where everything is given. To love so ardently then is to share the marriage bond; she cannot love so much and not be totally loved, and it is in the perfect union of two hearts that complete and total marriage consists. Or are we to doubt that the soul is loved by the Word first and with a greater love?

RESPONSORY Psalm 31:20; 38:9
Lord, how great are the hidden treasures of your goodness,
- which you have stored up for those who have feared you.

They are filled with the bounty of your house;
and you give them to drink from the stream of your delights.
- Which you have stored up for those who have feared you.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father,
Saint Bernard was filled with zeal for your house
and was a radiant light in your Church.
By his prayers
may we be filled with this spirit of zeal
and walk always as children of light.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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