Bernard of Clairvaux was the abbot of Clairvaux monastery (which he built and named) which is located in what is now Northeastern France. Bernard’s writings, sermons and letters proved to be pivotal in the twelfth century. His particular devotional penchant for expounding the love of God invigorated monastic communities in his time, and provided a template for others to come, who would look back on this great Christian mystic. Bernard, like other great minds in the history of the church, was intent on dissecting the components of the human soul. In his work you can see broad areas of focus, such as: understanding our own humanity, explaining our penchant for sin, an exceptional treatise of love, and finally expressing a practical model for personal development when dealing with the aforementioned. Like Gregory before him, much of his writing about our conscience, and internal conflicts led to a fairly comprehensive articulation of the soul and human psychological state.
Bernard focuses an extended amount of time and ink to the book of Song of Songs, where he expounds nearly all of his theories on the relationship of Christ (the Bridegroom) with the Church (his bride). He is especially enamored with the concept and passage declaring “Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth”. He says:
But he, he of whom they speak, let him speak to me. Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. Let him not speak to me in them or through them, for they are "a watery darkness, a dense cloud" (Ps 17: 12). But let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, whose gracious presence and eloquence of wonderful teaching causes a "spring of living . Water" to well up in me to eternal life an 4: 14). Shall I not find that a richer grace is poured out upon me from him whom the Father has anointed with the oil of gladness more than all his companions, if he will deign to kiss me with the kiss of his mouth (Ps 44:8)? His living . and effective word (Heb 4: 12) is a kiss; not a meeting of lips, which can sometimes be deceptive about the state of the heart, but a full infusion of joys, a revelation of secrets, a wonderful and inseparable mingling ) of the light from above and the mind on which it is shed, which, when it is joined with God, is one spirit with him (l Cor 6: I 7)..[1]
Perhaps Bernard’s most well-known work is a summarized teaching called the Four Levels of Love. It explained his deep understanding of our souls and their progress to full union with God. One of my favorite things about Bernard, however, was his perception of how sin is always looking for a way to corrupt love. He argues for clarity at every level of the person. He says:
I am suspicious of love which seems to be prompted by hope of gain. It is weak if when hope is gone it either vanishes or diminishes. It is impure when it desires something else, other than the beloved. Pure love does not hope for gain. Pure love does not draw its strength from hope; nor is it weakened by mistrust.[2]
Bernard is not without his issues, however. Though love was that the center of his message, he will forever be remembered for being the outspoken voice to rally support for a crusade, the second Holy War, in the mid 1100’s. He will be later credited, as well, with being one the strong initiators of the veneration of Mary.
Product Link: Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected Works (The Classics of Western Spirituality)
Review by Kim Gentes
[1]Gillian R. Evans, “Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected Works” in The Classics of Western Spirituality: A Libarary of the Great Spiritual Masters, translated Gillian r. Evans (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1987), Pg 216
[2]Ibid., Pg 273