St. Bernardine of Siena, Confessor († 1444, Feast – May 20)
In that season of the Liturgical Year when we were
kneeling in love and prayer around the crib of the Infant Jesus, one day
was devoted to the celebration of the glory and sweetness of His Name.
Holy Church was full of joy when She pronounced the dear Name chosen
from all eternity by Her Heavenly Spouse; and mankind found consolation
in the thought that the great God Who might so justly have bid us call
Him the Just and the Avenger, willed us henceforth to call Him the Savior.
The devout St. Bernardine of Siena, whose feast we keep today, stood
then before us, holding in his hands this ever blessed Name, surrounded
with rays. He urged the whole earth to venerate with love and confidence
the Sacred Name which expresses the whole economy of our salvation.
The Church, ever attentive to what is for the good of Her children,
adopted the beautiful device. She encouraged them to receive it from
the Saint, as a shield that would protect them against the darts of the
evil spirit, and as an additional means of reminding ourselves of the
exceeding charity wherewith God has loved this world of ours. And
finally, when the loveliness of the Holy Name of Jesus had won all
Christian hearts, She instituted in its honor one of the most beautiful
feasts of Christmastide.
St. Bernardine, the worthy son of St. Francis of Assisi,
returns to us on this 20th day of May, and the sweet flower of the Holy
Name is, of course, in his hand. But if it is not the endearing Name,
respectfully and lovingly whispered by the Virgin-Mother over the crib;
it is the Name whose sound has gone through the whole creation, it is
the trophy of the grandest of victories, it is the fulfillment of all
that was prophesied. The Name of Jesus was a promise to mankind of a
Savior; Jesus has saved mankind, by dying and rising again; he is now Jesus
in the full sense of the word. Go where you will, and you hear this
Name – the Name that has united men into the one great family of the
Church.
The chief priests of the Synagogue strove to stifle the
Name of Jesus, for it was even then winning men's hearts. They forbade
the Apostles to teach in this Name; and it was on this occasion that St. Peter uttered the words which embody the whole energy of the Church: We ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5: 28-29).
The Synagogue might as well have tried to stay the course of the sun.
So too, when the mighty power of the Roman Empire set itself against
the triumphant progress of this Name, and would annul the decree that every knee should bow
at its sound, its attempt was a complete failure, and at the end of
three centuries the Name of Jesus was heard and loved in every city and
hamlet of the Empire.
Armed with this sacred motto, St. Bernardine traversed the
towns of Italy, which at that period (the 15th century) were at enmity
with each other, and not unfrequently torn with domestic strifes. The
Name of Jesus, which he carried in his hand, became as a rainbow of
reconciliation; and wheresoever he set it up, there every knee bowed
down, every vindictive heart was appeased, and sinners hastened to the
sacrament of pardon. The three letters I H S (a contraction of
the Greek spelling) which represent this Name, became familiar to the
faithful; they were everywhere to be seen carved, or engraven, or
painted; and the Catholic world thus gained a new form whereby to
express its adoration and love of its Savior.
St. Bernardine was a preacher of inspired eloquence. He
was also a distinguished master in the science of sacred things, as is
proved by the writings he has left us. One such regards the apparition
of Jesus to His Blessed Mother after the Resurrection:
"From the fact of there being no mention made in the
Gospel of the visit wherewith Christ consoled His Mother after His
Resurrection, we are not to conclude that this most merciful Jesus, the
source of all grace and consolation, Who was so anxious to gladden His
disciples by His presence, forgot His Mother, Who He knew had drunk so
deeply of the bitterness of His Passion. But it has pleased Divine
Providence that the Gospel should be silent on this subject; and this
for three reasons.
"In the first place, because of the firmness of Mary's
faith. The confidence which the Virgin-Mother had of Her Son's rising
again had never faltered, not even by the slightest doubt. This we can
readily believe, if we reflect on the special grace wherewith She was
filled, She the Mother of the Man-God, the Queen of the Angels, and the
Mistress of the world. To a truly enlightened mind, the silence of
Scripture on this subject says more than any affirmation could have
done. We have learned to know something of Mary by the visit She
received from the Angel, when the Holy Ghost overshadowed Her. We met
Her again at the foot of the Cross, where She, the Mother of Sorrows,
stood nigh Her dying Son. If then the Apostle could say: As ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation (2 Cor. 1: 7),
what share must not the Virgin-Mother have had in the joys of the
Resurrection? We should hold it as a certain truth that Her most sweet
Jesus, after His Resurrection, consoled Her first of all. The Holy
Roman Church would seem to express this, by celebrating at St. Mary
Major's the Station of Easter Sunday. Moreover, if from the silence of
the Evangelists you would conclude that our Risen Lord did not appear to
Her first, you must go farther, and say that He did not appear to Her
at all, inasmuch as these same Evangelists, when relating the several
apparitions, do not mention a single one as made to Her. Now, such a
conclusion as this would savor of impiety.
"In the second place, the silence of the Gospel is
explained by the incredulity of men. The object of the Holy Ghost, when
dictating the Gospels, was to describe such apparitions as would remove
all doubt from carnal-minded men with regard to the Resurrection of
Christ. The fact of Mary's being His Mother would have weakened Her
testimony, at least in their own eyes. For this reason She was not
brought forward as a witness, though most assuredly there never was or
ever will be any creature (the Humanity of Her Son alone excepted) whose
assertion better deserved the confidence of every truly pious soul.
But the text of the Gospel was not to adduce any testimonies, save such
as might be offered to the whole world. As to Jesus' apparition to His
Mother, the Holy Ghost has left it to be believed by those that are
enlightened by His light.
"In the third place, this silence is explained by the
sublime nature of the apparition itself. The Gospel says nothing
regarding the Mother of Christ after the Resurrection; and the reason
is, that Her interviews with Her Son were so sublime and ineffable that
no words could have described them. There are two sorts of visions: one
is merely corporal, and feeble in proportion; the other is mainly in
the soul, and is granted only to such as have been transformed. Say, if
you will, that St. Mary Magdalen was the first to have the merely
corporal vision, provided that you admit that the Blessed Virgin saw,
previously to Magdalen, and in a far sublimer way, Her Risen Jesus, that
She recognised Him, and enjoyed His sweet embraces in Her soul, more
even than in Her body."
Let us now read the Life of the Saint, as given in the Lessons of today's Divine Office:
Bernardine Albizeschi, whose parents were of a noble
family of Siena, gave evident marks of sanctity from his earliest years.
He was well brought up by his pious parents. When studying the first
rudiments of grammar, he despised the favorite pasttimes of children,
and applied himself to works of piety, especially fasting, prayer, and
devotion to the Blessed Virgin. His charity to the poor was
extraordinary. In order the better to practice these virtues, he later
on entered the Confraternity which gave to the Church so many saintly
men, and was attached to the hospital of Our Lady of Scala, in Siena.
It was there that, whilst leading a most mortified life himself, he took
care of the sick with incredible charity during the time when a
terrible pestilence was raging in the city. Amongst his other virtues,
he was preeminent for chastity, although he had many dangers to
encounter, owing to the beauty of his person. Such was the respect he
inspired that no one, however lost to shame, ever dared to say an
improper word in his presence.
After a serious illness of four months, which he bore
with the greatest patience, he began to think of entering the Religious
life. As a preparation for such a step, he hired, in the farthest
outskirts of the city, a little hut, in which he hid himself, leading a
most austere life, and assiduously beseeching God to make known to him
the path he was to follow. A divine inspiration led him to prefer to
all other Orders that of St. Francis. Accordingly he entered, and soon
began to excel in humility, patience, and the other virtues of a
Religious man. The Guardian of the Convent perceived this, and knowing
already that St. Bernardine was well versed in the sacred sciences, he
imposed upon him the duty of preaching. The Saint most humbly accepted
the office, though he was aware that the weakness and hoarseness of his
voice made him unfit for it; but he sought God's help, and was
miraculously freed from these impediments.
Italy was at that time overrun with vice and crime; and
in consequence of deadly factions, all laws, both divine and human, were
disregarded. It was then that St. Bernardine went through the towns
and villages, preaching the Name of Jesus, which was ever on his lips
and heart. Such was the effect of his words and example, that piety
and morals were in great measure restored. Several important cities,
that had witnessed this zeal, petitioned the Pope to allow them to have
St. Bernardine for their Bishop; but the Saint's humility was not to be
overcome, and he rejected every offer. At length, after going through
countless labors in God's service, after many and great miracles, after
writing several pious and learned books, he died a happy death, at the
age of 66, in a town of the Abruzzi, called Aquila. New miracles were
daily being wrought through his intercession, and, at length, in the
sixth year after his death, he was canonized by Pope Nicholas V.
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