Cistercian Publications St. Bernard of Clairvaux Collection (21 vols.)

by Bernard of Clairvaux; Emero Stiegman

Publishers:

Cistercian Publications; Liturgical Press

, 1973–2016

Overview

Saint Bernard was born in 1090 near Dijon, France. He joined the fifteen-year-old monastery of Cîteaux in 1113. In 1115 he became the founding abbot of Clairvaux Abbey, whence his name, Bernard of Clairvaux. Saint Bernard was a gifted and prolific writer of theological treatises, scriptural commentaries, letters, and many sermons. This collection of sermons and theological reflections from Liturgical Press provide modern translations and give readers insight into the monastic life and spirituality of Bernard of Clairvaux through a variety of topics.

Key Features

• Contains sermons on the Song of Songs and the liturgical cycle
• Includes theological writings on Mary, contemplative spirituality, salvation, and more
• Explores the spiritual meaning of Scripture directly and dramatically

Product Details

• Title: Cistercian Publications St. Bernard of Clairvaux Collection (21 vols.)
• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Publisher: Cistercian Publications
• Volumes: 21
• Pages: 5,074
• Christian Group: Catholic

Five Books on Consideration: Advice to a Pope

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translators: John Anderson and Elizabeth T. Kennan
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1976
• Pages: 230

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Always a vigorous champion of papal reforms, Bernard of Clairvaux toward the end of his life saw one of his own monks raised to the papal throne as Eugene III. While acting as the new Pope’s political and spiritual counsellor, the Great Cistercian abbot was tireless in advancing Eugene’s policies and in defending his authority and prestige.

Both as a monk and as a strategist, Bernard realized that political astuteness needs the complement of sober and honest reflection. In Five Books on Consideration he defines ‘consideration’ for the Pope by examining the practical and the theological demands of the papal office.

Homilies in Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Marie-Bernard Saïd
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1993
• Pages: 96

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

The young abbot meditates on the singular role of the virgin mother of Christ ‘to satisfy my own devotion’, and in doing so bequeathes his own love of Mary and of Scripture to his Order and to the Church.

In Praise of the New Knighthood

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Conrad Greenia
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 2001
• Pages: 95

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

The monk and the knight—the two quintessentially medieval European heroes—were combined in the Knights Templar, men who took the monastic vows and defended the holy places and pilgrims. With characteristic eloquence, Bernard of Clairvaux voices the cleric’s view of the knights, warfare, and the conquest of the Holy Land in five chapters on the knight’s vocation. Then, in another eight chapters the abbot who never visited the Holy Land provides a spiritual tour of the pilgrimage sites guarded by this ‘new kind of knighthood.’

Monastic Sermons

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Daniel Griggs
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 512

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

The sermons in the collection published here, styled Sermones de diversis (sermons about various topics), lack the specific point of departure that characterizes his other sermons. That is, whereas the sermons on the Song of Songs are a verse-by-verse commentary on that biblical book and his Sermons for the Year follow the liturgical calendar, this collection of sermons deals with his various pastoral concerns. Since Scripture is always Bernard’s point of departure and inspiration, the sermons often read like a Scripture study, but what comes through equally is the voice of an understanding spiritual father who is a masterful student of Scripture, biblical language, and the needs of his monks.

This volume will be of interest to many readers, those who are interested in St. Bernard’s thought and writing, and also to monastics who wish to learn from his spiritual teaching.

—The Downside Review

On Baptism and the Office of Bishops

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Pauline Matarasso
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 184

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Two lengthy letters from the abbot of Clairvaux illuminate the transition in theological method in the mid twelfth-century. In his letter to the bishop of Sens on the responsibilities of his office, Bernard articulates his monastic conviction that authority in the Church must be accompanied by contemplative virtues, especially a deeply ingrained humility.

. . . gives us a taste of a devout and learned soul who reflected deeply upon the mysteries of faith and did so as a ‘loving listener.

—Cistercian Studies Quarterly

On Grace and Free Choice

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Daniel O’Donovan
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1988
• Pages: 114

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Bernard ponders a question dear to early Scholasticism and the Reformation: How far can the fallen human person cooperate in salvation?

Saint Bernard’s mystical theory cannot be understood apart from its dogmatic base. Hence the treatise De gratia et libero arbitrio, the most profound and influential of his dogmatic works, occupies a central place in his corpus.

—Bulletin de théologie ancienne et médiéval

On Loving God

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Robert Walton
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1995
• Pages: 219

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Perhaps Bernard’s most delightful tract, On Loving God posits that everything good in human persons is an expression of God’s love and by love the person may participate in the being of the triune God. In a new analytic commentary, Stiegman examines Bernard’s language, logic, and theology, demonstrating the vital importance of reading medieval authors on their own terms, without superimposing categories developed by later generations.

Sermons for Advent and the Christmas Season

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Editor: E. Rozanne Elder
• Translators: Irene Edmonds, Wendy Beckett, and Conrad Greenia
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 2007
• Pages: 236

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

The twelfth-century abbot and contemplative known to history as ‘The Mellifluous Teacher’ wrote sermons for the entire Christmas liturgical cycle from the first Sunday of Advent (four weeks before Christmas) to the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul (25 January). As he reflects on the wonder of the Incarnation, he reminds Christians still today that Christmas celebrates the awesome condescension of God-with-us, not a commercial carnival.

Sermons for Lent and the Easter Season

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Editors: John Leinenweber and Mark Scott
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 2013
• Pages: 256

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

This volume contains Saint Bernard’s sermons for the liturgical seasons of Lent and Easter. Included are sermons for the Purification, Septuagesima, the feast of Saint Benedict, and the feast of the Annunciation, all of which are interpreted by Bernard in light of the paschal mystery. In the sermons for Lent, especially, one gets to know a more hesitant and searching Bernard than appears in his other liturgical sermons.

Sermons for the Autumn Season

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Editor: Mark Scott
• Translator: Irene Edmonds
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 456

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

On the anniversary of the dedication of the monastery church at Clairvaux, Saint Bernard spoke to the community to explain the meaning of the feast: "What sanctity can these stones have that we should celebrate their festival? They do indeed have sanctity, but it is because of your bodies. . . .Your bodies are holy because of your souls, and this house is holy because of your bodies."

The thirty-eight sermons in this volume carry forth this theme, revealing the holiness of the monastic life as monks alternate through the rhythm of the day and the year between the opus Dei and manual labor, journeying faithfully through life to death and the transitus to glory.

The twelfth-century Ecclesiastica Officia of the Cistercian Order required abbots to speak formally to their communities in chapter on seventeen fixed days, mostly liturgical feasts. This volume witnesses to Bernard’s fulfillment of this requirement and includes sermons for the Assumption and Nativity of the Virgin and the Feast of All Saints, sermons devoted to the feasts of particular saints celebrated during the autumn months, sermons for the time of harvest, and funeral sermons that look forward to the eternal joy in the communion of saints.

Bernard is not easy. This translation, thanks to its clear English and superb introduction, will make it possible to follow Bernard through the liturgical year.

—The Journal of Medieval Monastic Studies

Sermons for the Summer Season

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Beverly Kienzle with James Jarzembowski
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1991
• Pages: 176

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

The always eloquent Bernard preaches on the joys and spiritual opportunities of summertime festivals: Rogationtide, Ascension Day, the Pentecost season, and the feasts of Saint John the Baptist and SS Peter and Paul. From a world still in touch with the seasons of nature and a lifestyle integrating prayer and physical work, he speaks to moderns with insight and calm sanity.

Sermons on Conversion

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Marie Bernard Saïd
• Series: Series Title (Series Abbreviation)
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1981
• Pages: 282

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

The burgundian reformer abbot draws a picture of the perfect frontier bishop, and holds him up as a model for bishops everywhere.

Conversion is used here not in the modern sense of transferring from on ecclesiastical body to another, but in the patristic and monastic sense of metanoia, turning one’s entire being wholly to God.

Sermons on the Song of Songs Volume 1

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Kilian Walsh
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1971
• Pages: 155

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

These 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.

No serious library of spirituality should be lacking the four-part classic gem. Bernard of Clairvaux was a brilliant preacher and polished writer, but above all a profound mystic who sought to bring all his hearers to the experience of God. The Sermons on the Song of Songs are among the most famous and beautiful examples of medieval scriptural exegesis.

—Review for Religious

Sermons on the Song of Songs Volume 2

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Kilian Walsh
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1976
• Pages: 247

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

These 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.

No serious library of spirituality should be lacking the four-part classic gem. Bernard of Clairvaux was a brilliant preacher and polished writer, but above all a profound mystic who sought to bring all his hearers to the experience of God. The Sermons on the Song of Songs are among the most famous and beautiful examples of medieval scriptural exegesis.

—Review for Religious

Sermons on the Song of Songs Volume 3

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translators: Kilian Walsh and Irene M. Edmonds
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1979
• Pages: 207

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

These 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.

No serious library of spirituality should be lacking the four-part classic gem. Bernard of Clairvaux was a brilliant preacher and polished writer, but above all a profound mystic who sought to bring all his hearers to the experience of God. The Sermons on the Song of Songs are among the most famous and beautiful examples of medieval scriptural exegesis.

—Review for Religious

Sermons on the Song of Songs Volume 4

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Irene M. Edmonds
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1980
• Pages: 261

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

These 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.

No serious library of spirituality should be lacking the four-part classic gem. Bernard of Clairvaux was a brilliant preacher and polished writer, but above all a profound mystic who sought to bring all his hearers to the experience of God. The Sermons on the Song of Songs are among the most famous and beautiful examples of medieval scriptural exegesis.

—Review for Religious

The Life and Death of Saint Malachy the Irishman

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Robert T. Meyer
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1978
• Pages: 170

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

The life of a saint by a saint. Malachy O’Morgair spent his life and considerable energies exhorting, wheedling, badgering, and praying his countrymen back to Christian faith and practice. Bernard holds him up in this Life, eulogy, and hymn as a model to bishops.

The Parables and the Sentences

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translators: Michael Casey and Francis R. Swietek
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1991
• Pages: 461

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

For over forty years Bernard of Clairvaux composed works of theology and spiritual reflection. He became the counselor of kings, nobles, popes, and scholars. He advocated a strong, reformed papacy and was the spiritual leader of the early twelfth-century European Church.

Often overlooked, these short works by Bernard may well give readers their truest insight into the saint’s sermons as his monks heard them. The Parables explore the spiritual meaning of Scripture directly and dramatically. The Sentences likely represent his sermon style before he polished his work for publication.

The Steps of Humility and Pride

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1989
• Pages: 104

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

The son of burgundian nobility, Bernard admitted after years of struggle that humility remained for him the most elusive of the virtues. Yet the uncompromising vehemence of his love for God made him strive for what monastic tradition taught is indispensable to anyone hoping to share God’s perfect love.

St. Bernard’s Apologia to Abbot William: Cistercians and Cluniacs

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Translator: Michael Casey
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 1970
• Pages: 69

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

A landmark in the ‘feud’ between Cîteaux and Cluny, the Apologia contains Saint Bernard’s opinion on the place of graphic arts in the monastery and shows his mastery of satire.

The Letters of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

• Author: Bernard of Clairvaux
• Editor: First M. Last and First M. Last
• Translator: Bruno Scott James;
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 544

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

This classic translation of the correspondence of Bernard is reprinted with a new introduction which takes into account the wealth of scholarship which has appeared in the last forty years. Professor Kienzle discusses the translation of medieval and monastic letter-writing and provides a new chronology and select bibliography.

About Bernard of Clairvaux

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) was a French abbot, confessor, saint, and Doctor of the Church. He is honored as a founder of the Cistercian order because of his role in popularizing the order in the twelfth century. He takes his name from a monastery he founded on June 25, 1115—soon after joining the Cistercians. He named the monastery Claire Vallée, which evolved into Clairvaux. St. Bernard spent 40 years in cloister, but wielded considerable influence in the Church during that time—working to end a schism, combat heresy, and start the Second Crusade. After his death, he was canonized by Pope Alexander III in 1174. His numerous theological writings are so timeless and powerful that they earned him the title of Doctor of the Church in 1830, and Pope Pius XII wrote an encyclical on him, Doctor Mellifluus, in 1953.