Saint Bernard, Abbot, Doctor
(1090 – 1153)
White
He was born in France. In 1112 he joined the new monastery at Cîteaux. Within three years he had been sent out to found a new monastery at Clairvaux, in Champagne, where he remained abbot for the rest of his life. By the time of his death, the Cistercian Order had grown from one house to 343, of which 68 were daughter houses of Clairvaux itself.
Entrance Antiphon
Filled by the Lord with a spirit of understanding, blessed Bernard ministered streams of clear teaching to the people of God.
Collect
O God, who made of the Abbot Saint Bernard a man consumed with zeal for your house and a light shining and burning in your Church, grant, through his intercession, that we may be on fire with the same spirit and walk always as children of light. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading Ezekiel 28:1-10
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre, “The Lord says this: Being swollen with pride, you have said: I am a god; I am sitting on the throne of God, surrounded by the seas. Though you are a man and not a god, you consider yourself the equal of God. You are wiser now than Danel; there is no sage as wise as you. By your wisdom and your intelligence you have amassed great wealth; you have piles of gold and silver inside your treasure-houses. Such is your skill in trading, your wealth has continued to increase, and with this your heart has grown more arrogant. And so, the Lord says this: Since you consider yourself the equal of God, very well, I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most barbarous of the nations. They will draw sword against your fine wisdom, they will defile your glory; they will throw you down into the pit and you will die a violent death surrounded by the seas. Are you still going to say: I am a god, when your murderers confront you? No, you are a man and not a god in the clutches of your murderers! You will die like the uncircumcised
at the hand of foreigners. For I have spoken – it is the Lord who speaks.”’
Responsorial Psalm: Deuteronomy 32:26-28,30,35-36
R/ It is the Lord who deals death and life.
I should crush them to dust, said the Lord. I should wipe out their memory among men, did I not fear the boasting of the enemy. But let not their foes be mistaken!
Let them not say: Our own power wins the victory, the Lord plays no part in this. What a nation of short sight it is; in them there is no understanding.
How else could one man rout a thousand, how could two put ten thousand to flight, were it not that their Rock has sold them, that the Lord has delivered them up?
For it is close, the day of their ruin; their doom comes at speed. For the Lord will see his people righted, he will take pity on his servants.
Gospel Acclamation: Ps24:4,5
Alleluia, alleluia! Teach me your paths, my God, make me walk in your truth. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 19:23-30
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.’ When the disciples heard this they were astonished. ‘Who can be saved, then?’ they said. Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible; for God everything is possible.’ Then Peter spoke. ‘What about us?’ he said to him ‘We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have, then?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life. ‘Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.’
Prayer over the Offerings
We offer to your majesty, O Lord, the Sacrament of unity and peace, as we celebrate the Memorial of the Abbot Saint Bernard, a man outstanding in word and deed, who strove to bring order and concord to your Church. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Jn 15: 9
As the Father loves me, so I also love you; remain in my love, says the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
May the food we have received, O Lord, as we honour Saint Bernard, work its effect in us, so that, strengthened by his example and instructed by his teaching, we may be caught up in love of your incarnate Word. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Meditation
No sooner had the young man who was attached to his possessions sadly left, than Jesus dropped the bombshell: “it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven…it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” This was hard for the apostles to take; until Christ’s soothing words came. They and all those who have left everything to follow Him have been promised a future. It is a future filled with unparalleled joy, it is life in abundance. Amidst the striving to eke out a worthy living, our greatest quest remains the determination to achieve salvation. “Who will be saved?” becomes the greatest of interrogatives of human life. To accomplish God’s plan of life, detachment from the detainments of materialism and creatures that lure us out of our relationship with God must be of uttermost.