Bernard of Clairvaux holds a distinguished place in the history of Christian spirituality. During the twelfth century this gentle monk from France became the primary guide for those who follow the path of selfless love as well as a spokesman for a revival in monastic life. This collection of his most important writings provides a superb introduction to a man who has greatly shaped the Western monastic and mystical traditions.

BERNARD CLAIRVAUX (HarperCollins Spiritual Classics)

History

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

World

SanFran

These two short classics of medieval monastic spirituality by Bernard of Clairvaux, the great Cistercian monk born in 1090, are published together in a modern translation. They provide a unique insight into the mind and spirituality modern in his understanding of human frailty and aspirations.

The twelve steps of humility and pride and On loving God (Hodder & Stoughton Christian classics)

HODDER STOUGHTON RELIGIOUS

Magnificat: Homilies in Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Cistercian Fathers Ser. : No. 18)

Religion & Spirituality

Cistercian Pubns

These eighty-six sermons are among the most famous and most beautiful examples of medieval scriptural exegesis. In them the modern reader can catch a glimpse of the genius an entire generation found irresistible.

Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Volume 1 (Volume 4)

Christian Books & Bibles

Liturgical Press

Only some six years had passed since the death of Gregory VII when St. Bernard was born (a. d. 1091), just two years before Anselm was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury. The echoes of the thunders of the great reforming Pope had scarce died away, and the memory of the uncompromising struggle between him and the Emperor Henry IV was still fresh in the minds of men. Under his direction the Church of Rome had taken enormous strides towards that absolutism and universal supremacy, both in things temporal and spiritual, which was to reach its climax under Innocent III (a. d. 1198–1216), when papal power was perhaps greater than ever before or ever since. It was the, age of the Crusades, and of the rise of the Military Religious Orders. The intellect of Europe was beginning to awaken. The popular story of the discovery of the original manuscript of Justinian’s famous Pandects, or digest of Roman law, in the ruins of Amalfi is discredited, but the study of civil law was vigorously pursued, and the profession was one of great honour. Canon law received no less attention. The vast materials, after twenty-four years’ labour, were formed into a ‘body’ by Gratian, and published at Rome about 1140.

On Consideration

Aeterna Press

It is a pleasure to write a few words of introduction to an admirable translation of some interesting “Sermons of St. Bernard” made by one of the Community of St. Mary’s, York. The sermons are nineteen in number, and are all of them related to the mysteries of Advent and Christmas. Of the seven sermons, De Adventu Domini, printed in Dom Mabillon’s edition of the saint’s works, we have here the first two. Then follow the four homilies on the text Missus est, etc. This is the title that is generally given to these famous sermons, but the holy preacher himself intended them to be called De laudibus Virginis Matris, as we read in his letter to Peter the Deacon. Of the six discourses for the Vigil of Christmas, the translator has selected the first, the fourth, and the sixth. All the five sermons on Christmas Day are given. The volume ends with two on the Circumcision and three on the Epiphany.

Sermons of Saint Bernard on Advent & Christmas: Including the Famous Treatise on the Incarnation Called "Missus Est"

The treatise of St. Bernard De Gratia et Libero Arbitrio was written at some time shortly previous to the year 1128, and therefore before the author had attained his thirty-eighth year. St. Bernard, in a letter addressed to Hincmar, Chancellor of the Holy See, which the Benedictine editor dates as circ. an. mcxxviii, refers to the fact that Geoffrey, Bishop of Chartres, had asked him to send Hincmar some of his “opuscula”; he had at the time, so he thought, nothing at hand worthy of Hincmar’s attention, but he adds: “Libellum tamen De Gratia et Libero Arbitrio nuper edidi; illum uobis libenter mittam, cum uos uelle cognouero” (St. Bern. Epist. LII).

Concerning Grace and Free Will

Life and Works of Saint Bernard

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

So far as I am aware, this is the first attempt on the part of a Catholic to render St. Bernard’s famous Discourses on the Canticle of Canticles available for English readers. It is passing strange that it should be so; passing strange that the most important work, perhaps, of him who has been called by excellence the Doctor of Love and the Prince of Mystics, should be so neglected. But the Sermons on the Canticle are not singular in this respect. The same neglect has been extended to practically all the writings of the Melliduous Doctor, with great loss to spirituality.

Sermons on the Canticle of Canticles

SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX SELECTION [4 BOOKS]\nBernard of Clairvaux, was a French abbot and the primary reformer for the Cistercian order. After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. "Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val d'Absinthe, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southeast of Bar-sur-Aube. According to tradition, Bernard founded the monastery on 25 June 1115, naming it Claire Vallée, which evolved into Clairvaux. There Bernard would preach an immediate faith, in which the intercessor was the Virgin Mary." In the year 1128, Bernard attended the Council of Troyes, at which he traced the outlines of the Rule of the Knights Templar, which soon became the ideal of Christian nobility. On the death of Pope Honorius II on 13 February 1130, a schism broke out in the Church. King Louis VI of France convened a national council of the French bishops at Étampes in 1130, and Bernard was chosen to judge between the rivals for pope. After the council of Étampes, Bernard spoke with King Henry I of England, also known as Henry Beauclerc, about Henry I's reservations regarding Pope Innocent II. Henry I was sceptical because most of the bishops of England supported Antipope Anacletus II; Bernard persuaded him to support Innocent. Germany had decided to support Innocent through Norbert of Xanten, who was a friend of Bernard's. However, Innocent insisted on Bernard's company when he met with Lothair II, Holy Roman Emperor.\n—BOOKS—\nON THE LOVE OF GOD 
ON CONSIDERATION 
SERMONS ON THE CANTICLE OF CANTICLES 
CONCERNING GRACE AND FREE WILL\nPUBLISHER: AETERNA PRESS

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Selection: 4 Books

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Books by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux