Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church
August 20, 2021
Readings for the Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church
Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 423
Reading I
Once in the time of the judges there was a famine in the land;
so a man from Bethlehem of Judah
departed with his wife and two sons
to reside on the plateau of Moab.
Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died,
and she was left with her two sons, who married Moabite women,
one named Orpah, the other Ruth.
When they had lived there about ten years,
both Mahlon and Chilion died also,
and the woman was left with neither her two sons nor her husband.
She then made ready to go back from the plateau of Moab
because word reached her there
that the LORD had visited his people and given them food.
Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, but Ruth stayed with her.
Naomi said, “See now!
Your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god.
Go back after your sister-in-law!”
But Ruth said, “Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you!
For wherever you go, I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge,
your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”
Thus it was that Naomi returned
with the Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth,
who accompanied her back from the plateau of Moab.
They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Responsorial Psalm
- (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
The LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
Alleluia
- Alleluia, alleluia.
Teach me your paths, my God,
guide me in your truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him,
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
Reflection: DAILY DEDICATION TO THE LORD
Bernard would ask himself daily: "Bernard, why have you come here?” and dedicate himself with greater fervour to God. Many flocked to Clairvaux and in a short time there were one hundred and thirty monks there. Before his death, sixty eight houses would be opened by his monks in Germany, Sweden, Ireland, England, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland. His influence served to revitalise the spiritual life in other monastic orders as well. Bernard refused bishoprics in order to concentrate on preaching. About three hundred of his sermons have come down to us. Famous among these are the discourses on the 'Song of Songs'. His numerous writings have earned him the title “Doctor flowing with honey”. He is the author of the beautiful prayer, “Memorare", so dear to the devotees of Our Lady. While the Albigensian heresy (human beings are spirits trapped in physical bodies that are evil) was rampant in Southern France, Bernard was asked to preach to the people and he restored orthodoxy. In 1153 he was back in Clairvaux and he was ill and died on August 20th with his monks besides him. He was canonized in 1174. Pope Pius VIII, declared him Doctor of the Church in 1830. It is said that “he governed the churches from his isolated monastery of Clairvaux and carried the 12th century on his shoulders”. He is honoured as the Last of the church Fathers. Bernard teaches us to love the church and its teachings and make them known. As Christians we need to stand by and defend the church always. As we heard in the gospel, we need to love God and love our neighbour. Mere love of God and mere love of neighbour make us reach nowhere. We need both to qualify for our eternal reward.