Chapter VIII: Departure from Ireland. Death and Burial at Clairvaux (1)

[Sidenote: 1148, May (?)]

67. (30). Being asked once, in what place, if a choice were given him, he would prefer to spend his last day--for on this subject the brothers used to ask one another what place each would select for himself--he hesitated, and made no reply. But when they insisted, he said, "If I take my departure hence[821] I shall do so nowhere more gladly than whence I may rise together with our Apostle"[822]--he referred to St. Patrick; "but if it behoves me to make a pilgrimage, and if God so permits, I have selected Clairvaux." When asked also about the time, [he named in reply] the festival of all the dead.[823] If it is regarded as a mere wish, it was fulfilled, if as a prophecy, not _a jot passed_ from it.[824] _As we have heard so have we seen_[825] alike concerning place and day. Let us relate briefly in what order and by what occasion it came to pass. Malachy took it amiss that Ireland was still without a pall; for he was zealous for the sacraments, and would not that his nation should be wholly deprived of any one of them.[826] And remembering that it had been promised to him by Pope Innocent,[827] he was the more sad that while he was still alive it had not been sent for. And taking advantage of the fact that Pope Eugenius[828] held the chief rule and was reported to have gone at that time to France,[829] he rejoiced that he had found opportunity for claiming it. He took for granted that, the Pope being such a man as he was, and having been promoted from such a religious profession--and the more because he had been a special son of his own Clairvaux--he need not fear that he should have any difficulty with him. Therefore the bishops were summoned; a council assembled.[830] Matters which were of immediate importance at the time were discussed for three days, and on the fourth the scheme of obtaining the pall was broached. Assent was given, but on condition that it should be obtained by another. However, since the journey was a comparatively short one, and on that account the pilgrimage seemed more easy to be endured, none presumed to oppose his counsel and will. And when the council was dissolved Malachy started on his way.[831] Such brothers as had come together followed him to the shore; but not many, for he doubtless restrained them. One of them, Catholicus by name, with tearful voice and face, said to him, "Alas! you are going away; and in how great, almost daily, trouble you leave me you are not ignorant, and yet you do not, of your pity, give me help. If I deserve to suffer, what sin have the brothers committed that they are scarcely allowed to have any day or night free from the labour of caring for and guarding me?" By these words and tears of his son (for he wept) the father's _heart was_ troubled,[832] and he embraced him with caresses, and making the sign of the cross on his breast said, "Be assured that you will have no such suffering till I return." Now he was an epileptic, and fell often; insomuch that at times he suffered not once but many times a day. He had been a victim to this horrible disease for six years; but at the word of Malachy he made a perfect recovery. From that hour he has suffered no such thing; no such thing, as we believe, will he suffer henceforth, for henceforth Malachy will not return.

68. When he was just about to embark there _came unto him_ two of those who _clave unto him_[833] more closely, boldly _desiring a certain thing of him_. And he said to them, _"What would ye?"_[834] And they answered, "We will not say, except you promise that you will give it." He pledged himself. And they said, "We would have you certainly promise of your condescension, that you will return in good health to Ireland." All the others also insisted upon it. Then he deliberated for a while, repenting at first that he had bound himself, and not finding any way of escape. He was _straitened on every side_,[835] while no way of safety presented itself from both dangers--of forfeiting his wish and of breaking his promise. It seemed at length that he should rather choose that which influenced him more strongly at the moment, and leave the rest to higher guidance. He assented, sadly it is true; but he was more unwilling that they should be made sad; and pledging himself as they wished, he went on board the ship. And when they had completed nearly half the voyage suddenly a contrary wind drove the ship back and brought it to the land of Ireland again. Leaving the ship he passed the night in the port itself in one of his churches. And he joyfully gave thanks for the resourcefulness of the divine providence, by which it came about that he had now satisfied his promise. But in the morning, he went on board, and the same day, after a prosperous crossing, came into Scotland. On the third day[836] he reached a place which is called Viride Stagnum;[837] which he had caused to be prepared that he might found an abbey there. And leaving there some of his sons, our brothers, as a convent of monks and abbot[838] (for he had brought them with him for that purpose) he bade them farewell and set out.

69. And as he passed on, King David met him, by whom he was received with joy and was detained as his guest for some days.[839] And having done many things pleasing to God he resumed the journey that he had begun. And passing through Scotland, at the very border of England he went aside to the Church of Gisburn, where there dwell religious men leading a canonical life,[840] familiar to him of old for their religious conversation and honourable character. At that place a woman was brought to him, suffering from a disease horrible to see, which is commonly called cancer; and he healed her. For when water which he blessed was sprinkled on the sores she ceased to feel pain. On the next day scarcely a sore was to be seen.

Departing thence he came to the sea, but was refused passage. The reason, if I am not mistaken, was that some difference had arisen between the chief pontiff and the king of England: for the king suspected in that good man I know not what evil, if he should cross the sea;[841] for neither did he allow other bishops to cross.[842] That obstacle, though contrary to the will of Malachy, was not contrary to the object of his wish. He grieved that the attainment of his desire should be postponed, not knowing that by this it would be the rather fulfilled. For if he had immediately passed over the sea he would have been obliged to pass by Clairvaux in order to follow the chief Pontiff. For by that time he had left it and was at or near Rome.[843] But now through this delay it was brought about that he crossed later, and so, as was fitting, he came to the place of his most holy death, and at the hour of its approach.

[Sidenote: 1148, Oct. 13 or 14]

[Sidenote: 1148, Oct. 18]

70. (37). And he was received by us, though he came from the west, as the true _day-spring[844] from on high visiting us_.[845] O, how greatly did that radiant sun fill our Clairvaux with added glory! How pleasant was the festal day that dawned upon us at his coming! _This was the day which the Lord had made, we rejoiced and were glad in it._[846] As for me, with what rapid and bounding step, though trembling and weak,[847] did I soon _run_ to meet him! With what joy I _kissed him_! With what joyful arms I _embraced_[848] this grace sent to me from heaven! With what eager face and mind, my father, _I brought thee into my mother's house and into the chamber of her that conceived me_![849] What festive days I spent with thee then, though few! But how did he in his turn greet us? In truth our pilgrim showed himself cheerful and kindly to all, to all incredibly gracious. _How good and how pleasant_[850] a part he played among us as our guest, whom, forsooth, _he had come from the uttermost parts of the earth_ to see, not that he should _hear_, but that he should show us, a _Solomon_! In fact we _heard_ his _wisdom_,[851] we had his presence, and we have it still. Already four or five days of this our festival had passed, when lo, on the feast day of Blessed Luke the Evangelist,[852] when he had celebrated Mass in the convent[853] with that holy devotion of his, he was taken with a fever and lay down in his bed: and all of us were [sick] with him. _The end of our mirth is sorrow_,[854] but moderate sorrow, because for a time the fever seemed to be slight. You should see the brothers running about, eager to give, or to receive. To whom was it not sweet to see him? To whom was it not sweeter to minister to him? Both were pleasant and both salutary. It was an act of kindness to do him service, and it was repaid also to each one of them, by the gift of grace. All assisted, all were busied _with much serving_,[855] searching for medicines, applying poultices, urging him often to eat. But he said to them, "These things are without avail, yet for love of you I do whatever you bid me." For he knew that _the time_ of his departure was at hand.[856]

71. And when the brothers who had come with him[857] urged him more boldly, saying that it behoved him not to despair of life, for that no signs of death appeared in him,[858] he said, "It behoves Malachy to leave the body this year."[859] And he added, "See, the day is drawing near which, as you very well know, I have always desired to be the day of _my dissolution_.[860] _I know whom I have believed and am persuaded_;[861] I shall _not be disappointed of_ the rest of _my desire_,[862] since I already have part of it. He who by his mercy has led me to the place which I sought, will not deny me the time for which I wished no less. As regards this mean body, _here is my rest_;[863] as regards my soul, the Lord will provide, _who saveth them that put their trust in Him_.[864] And _there is_ no small hope _laid up for me at that day_[865] in which so great benefits are bestowed by the living on the dead."[866] Not far away was that day when he spoke thus. Meanwhile he ordered that he should be anointed with the sacred oil. When the convent of brothers was going out that it might be done solemnly,[867] he would not permit them to come up to him; he went down to them. For he was lying in the balcony[868] of the upper house. He was anointed; and when he had received the viaticum, he commended himself to the prayers of the brothers, and the brothers to God,[869] and went back to bed. He went down from the high balcony[870] on his feet, and again, as if that were not enough, he went up on his feet; yet he said that death _was at the doors_.[871] Who should believe that this man was dying? Himself alone and God could know it. His face did not seem to have become pallid or wasted. His brow was not wrinkled, his eyes were not sunken, his nostrils were not thin, his lips were not contracted, his teeth were not brown, his neck was not gaunt and lean, his shoulders were not bowed, the flesh on the rest of his body had not failed. Such was the grace of his body, and such the _glory of his countenance which was_ not _to be done away_,[872] even in death. As he appeared in life so was he also in death, more like to one alive.

72. (38). Hitherto our story has run a rapid course; but now it stays because Malachy _has finished his course_.[873] He is still, and with him we are still. Moreover, who would willingly hasten to [tell of] death? Especially thy death, holy father, who could describe it? Who would wish to hear the story? Yet we loved _in life, in death we shall not be divided_.[874] Brothers, let us not forsake in death him with whom we companied in life. From further Scotland[875] he ran hither to death; _let us also go and die with him_.[876] I must, I must tell that which of necessity I saw. The celebration, everywhere renowned, of All Saints[877] comes, and according to the ancient saying, _Music in mourning is an unseasonable discourse_.[878] We come, we sing, even against our will. We weep while we sing and we sing while we weep. Malachy, though he sings not, yet does not lament. For why should he lament, who is drawing near to joy? For _us who remain_,[879] mourning remains. Malachy alone keeps festival. For what he cannot do with his body he does with his mind, as it is written, _The thought of man shall confess to thee, and the residue of thought shall keep the day of festival to thee._[880] When the instrument of the body fails him, and the organ of the mouth is silent, and the office of the voice ceases, it remains that with songs in his heart he keeps festival. Why should not the saint keep festival, who is being brought to the festival of the saints?[881] He presents to them what will soon be due to himself. _Yet a little while_[882] and he will be one of them.

73. Towards the dusk of night, when now somehow the celebration of the day had been finished by us, Malachy had drawn near, not to dusk but to dawn. Was it not dawn to him[883] for whom _the night is far spent and the day is at hand_?[884] So, the fever increasing, a burning sweat from within him began to break out over his whole body, that, as it were _going through fire and through water, he might be brought into a wealthy place_.[885] Now his life was despaired of, now each one condemned his own judgement, now none doubted that Malachy's word[886] was prevailing. We were called; we came. And lifting up his eyes on those who stood round him, he said, "_With desire I have desired to eat this passover_ with _you_;[887] I give thanks to the divine compassion, I have _not been disappointed of my desire_."[888] Do you see the man free from care in death, and, not yet dead, already certain of life? No wonder. Seeing that the night was come to which he had looked forward, and that in it the day was dawning for him, so to speak triumphing over the night, he seemed to scoff at the darkness and as it were to cry, "_I shall_ not _say, surely the darkness shall cover me_, because this _night shall be light about me in my pleasure_."[889] And tenderly consoling us he said, "Take care of me; if it be allowed me I shall not forget you. And it shall be allowed. _I have believed in God_,[890] and _all things are possible to him that believeth_.[891] I have loved God; I have loved you, and _charity never faileth_."[892] _And looking up to heaven_[893] he said, "O God, _keep them in Thy name_;[894] _and not these_ only _but_ all them _also who through_ my _word_[895] and ministry have given themselves to thy service." Then, laying his hands on each one severally and blessing all,[896] he bade them go to rest, _because his hour was not yet come_.[897]

[Sidenote: 1148, November 2]

74. We went. We returned about midnight, for at that hour it was announced that _the light shineth in darkness_.[898] The house filled, the whole community was present, many abbots also who had assembled. _With psalms and hymns and spiritual songs_[899] we followed our friend as he returned to his own country.[900] In the fifty-fourth year of his age,[901] at the place and time which he had chosen beforehand and predicted, Malachy, the bishop and legate of the holy Apostolic See, taken up _by the angels_,[902] as it were from our hands, happily _fell asleep in the Lord_.[903] And indeed he slept. His placid face was the sign of a placid departure. And verily _the eyes of all were_ fixed _upon him_;[904] but none could perceive when he departed. When dead he was thought to be alive, when alive, dead; so true was it that there was no difference which might distinguish death from life. The same vivacity of face, the same serenity, as commonly appears in one who sleeps. You might say that death robbed him of none of these things, but rather very greatly increased them. He was not changed; but he changed us all. In wondrous fashion the sorrow and groaning of all suddenly sank to rest, _sadness_ was changed _into joy_,[905] singing banished lamentation.[906] He is borne forth, voices are borne to heaven, he is borne into the oratory on the shoulders of the abbots. _Faith has conquered_,[907] affection triumphs, things assume their normal course. All things are carried out in order, all proceed in the way of reason.

75. And in truth what reason is there to lament Malachy immoderately, as though his _death_ was not _precious_,[908] as though it was not rather sleep than death, as though it was not the port of death and the portal of life?[909] _Our friend_ Malachy _sleepeth_;[910] and I, must I mourn? such mourning is based on custom, not on reason. If the Lord _hath given His beloved one sleep_, and such sleep, in which there is _an heritage of the Lord_, even _children, and the reward, the fruit of the womb_,[911] which of these things seems to call for weeping? Must I weep for him who has escaped from weeping? He rejoices, he triumphs, he has been brought _into the joy of his Lord_,[912] and I, must I lament for him? I desire these things for myself, I do not grudge them to him. Meanwhile the obsequies are prepared, the sacrifice is offered for him,[913] all is performed according to custom with the greatest devotion. There stood some way off a boy whose arm hung by his side dead, rather burdensome to him than useful. When I discovered him I signed to him to come near, and taking his withered hand I laid it on the hand of the bishop, and it restored it to life. For in truth _the grace of healings_[914] lived in the dead; and his hand was to the dead hand what Elisha was to the dead man.[915] The boy _had come from far_[916] and the hand which he brought hanging down, he carried back whole to his own country. Now, all things having been duly accomplished in the very oratory of Saint Mary, Mother of God, _in which he was well pleased_,[917] Malachy is carried to his burial[918] in the eleven hundred and forty-eighth year from the Incarnation of the Lord, on the fourth of the Nones of November.[919] Thine, good Jesus, is _the deposit_ which has been committed to us,[920] Thine is the treasure which is laid up with us.[921] We _keep_ it[922] to be given back at the time when Thou shalt see fit to recall it; only that he may not go forth without his comrades, but that him whom we have had as our guest we may have also as our leader, when we _shall reign_ with Thee, and with him also, _for ever and ever_.[923] Amen.

FOOTNOTES:

[821] _I.e._ "If I die in Ireland."

[822] In Armagh. See §§ 19, 65.

[823] All Souls' Day, November 2.

[824] Matt. v. 18.

[825] Ps. xlviii. 8.

[826] Note that the pall is called a sacrament.

[827] See § 38.

[828] Bernard Paganelli, a monk of Clairvaux, was sent to Rome by St. Bernard at the request of Innocent II. and was appointed abbot of the monastery of St. Anastasius. On the death of Lucius II. he was elected Pope, February 15, 1144, and assumed the title of Eugenius III. (H. K. Mann, _Lives of the Popes_, ix. 131 ff.)

[829] Eugenius left Viterbo at the beginning of 1147. He was at Lyons in March, and at Troyes on April 10 (Jaffé, p. 624 ff.; Mann, ix. 185).

[830] In accordance with the instructions of Innocent II. (§ 38): "A Synod was convened at Inis Patraic by Mael Maedoc, coarb of Patrick, at which were present fifteen bishops and two hundred priests, to establish rules and morals for all, both laity and clergy; and Mael Maedoc Ua Morgair, by the advice of the Synod, went a second time to Rome (_sic_) to confer with the comarb of Peter" (_A.F.M._ 1148). Inispatrick is a small island off Skerries, co. Dublin. For the date see _R.A.I._ xxxv. 249 f. In the same year Malachy had consecrated the monastery of Knock (_A.F.M._ See p. 67, n. 3).

[831] St. Bernard seems to have thought that St. Malachy set sail immediately after the Synod, and from a port not far from the place where it met. But this is impossible, for one day's sail brought him to Scotland (§ 68). He seems to have embarked at Bangor, which is about a hundred miles north of Inispatrick.

[832] Cp. Lam. ii. 11.

[833] Ruth i. 14.

[834] Matt. xx. 20, combined with Mark x. 35, 36.

[835] Susanna, 22.

[836] That is, the first day after his landing in Scotland.

[837] The Green Lake. It is now Soulseat, about eight miles from Cairngarroch. At this place Fergus, lord of Galloway (p. 76, n. 4), founded a famous monastery of Premonstratensian canons (Grub, _Eccl. Hist. of Scotland_, i. 269), which must not be confused with Malachy's more humble community.

[838] The abbot was Michael, who had belonged to the community at Bangor (§ 15). As this new community is called "a convent of monks" we may infer that it was of the Cistercian Order.

[839] Note the leisureliness of the journey in its earlier stages. Later on Malachy encountered difficulties, which no doubt involved further delay (Serm. i. § 1).

[840] Gisburn is a village in the West Riding of Yorkshire on the river Ribble, not far from the border of Lancashire. It is clear that on this occasion Malachy followed the line of Watling Street, which ran through Ribchester, on the Ribble, about fourteen miles from Gisburn. His road probably passed within three miles of that place between Settle and Chetburn. He seems to have avoided entering England as long as possible--supposing no doubt, and with good reason, that he was safer in the dominions of David than in those of Stephen. For details of the journey see _R.I.A._ xxxv. 239 ff., 249. The monastery of Gisburn, of which the ruins remain to the south of the parish church, was founded for Augustinian canons, in 1129, by Robert de Brus (Dugdale, vi. 1, 265 ff.).

[841] Malachy was probably suspected (not without cause) of being an emissary of the supporters of the Empress Matilda. He had just spent some days with David I., and with him and his stepson Waltheof he was on terms of intimate friendship (§§ 36, 40). King David invaded England in the following year.

[842] The reference is apparently to King Stephen's attempt to prevent Theobald of Canterbury and other bishops from attending the Council of Rheims in March 1148. But Malachy does not seem to have been summoned to the Council, and he did not reach the Channel till long after it was over (see next note).

[843] Eugenius left Clairvaux on April 27, and Lausanne on May 20 (Jaffé, p. 634). At this rate he might have been expected to reach Rome by the end of July. About that time, therefore, we may conjecture that Malachy was on the coast of Kent. Actually, the Pope was not near Rome till he reached Viterbo on November 30 (_ibid._ 636). St. Bernard, therefore, when he wrote this passage, was ignorant of his movements for a considerable time before Malachy's death.

[844] _Oriens_: literally, "east."

[845] Luke i. 78.

[846] Ps. cxviii. 24.

[847] St. Bernard's life-long and ever-increasing frailty is constantly alluded to by his biographers. It was largely due to his extreme austerity. In this incident we have an example of the way in which, on many occasions, the strength of his mind conquered the weakness of his body (_V. P._ v. 4).

[848] Gen. xxix. 13.

[849] Cant. iii. 4.

[850] Ps. cxxxiii. 1.

[851] Matt. xii. 42; Luke xi. 31.

[852] October 18. Malachy had therefore reached Clairvaux on October 13 or 14. In the interval he met St. Gilbert of Sempringham and presented him with a pastoral staff (Dugdale, vi. 2, p. xii.). In France Malachy travelled alone--having been parted from his companions in England--and probably on horseback (§ 36). He may, therefore, have left England about September 30, and traversed the 270 miles from Wissant to Clairvaux by October 14. He apparently intended to start for Rome on St. Luke's Day (Serm. i. § 1).

[853] That is, in the presence of the community.

[854] Prov. xiv. 13 (inexact quotation).

[855] Luke x. 40.

[856] Cp. 2 Tim. iv. 6, in which the phraseology of the vg. differs entirely from that of the text.

[857] Not strictly accurate. Malachy reached Clairvaux before his companions. See p. 123, n. 3.

[858] The physicians said the same (Serm. i. § 2).

[859] This saying is quoted in a slightly different form in Serm. i. § 2.

[860] 2 Tim. iv. 6.

[861] 2 Tim. i. 12.

[862] Ps. lxxviii. 30 (vg.).

[863] Ps. cxxxii. 14 (inexact quotation).

[864] Ps. xvii. 7.

[865] 2 Tim. iv. 8.

[866] All Souls' Day.

[867] For the Cistercian method of administering unction see _Usus antiquiores ordinis Cisterciensis_, iii. 94 (_P.L._ clxvi. 1471).

[868] _Solario._

[869] Cp. Letter iv. § 2, where it is added that he commended the Irish brothers to the care of St. Bernard.

[870] _Solio._

[871] Matt. xxiv. 33.

[872] 2 Cor. iii. 7.

[873] Tim. iv. 7.

[874] 2 Sam. i. 23 (inaccurate quotation).--Contrast St. Bernard's lament for his brother Gerard (_Cant._ xxvi. 4): "We loved in life, how have we been divided in death? Most bitter separation!"

[875] Ireland.

[876] John xi. 16.

[877] November 1. For the translation of relics which took place, apparently on that day, see Serm. i. § 2.

[878] Ecclus. xxii. 6.

[879] 1 Thess. iv. 17.

[880] Ps. lxxvi. 10 (vg.).

[881] _Sanctorum ... sollemnitatem._ Not the Festival of All Saints, for that had already come, but, as the next sentence shows, the festival assembly of the saints in heaven. Compare Ps. lxxiv. 4, where _congregations_ represents _solemnitatis_ in the Vulgate.

[882] John xiv. 19, etc.

[883] Cp. _Cant._ xxvi. 11, "For thee, brother, even at midnight the day dawned."

[884] Rom. xiii. 12.

[885] Ps. lxvi. 12.

[886] See § 71.

[887] Luke xxii. 51.--This saying is quoted in Serm. i. § 5.

[888] Ps. lxxviii. 30 (vg.).

[889] Ps. cxxxix. 11 (vg.).--Cp. _Cant._ xxvi. 11: "Already for thee, my brother, even at midnight the day was dawning, and _the night was shining as the day_; straightway _that night was light about thee in thy pleasure_. I was summoned to that miracle, to see a man exulting in death and mocking death."

[890] John xiv. 1.

[891] Mark ix. 23.

[892] 1 Cor. xiii. 8.

[893] Mark vii. 34.

[894] John xvii. 11.

[895] John xvii. 20.

[896] Cp. Praef. 2.

[897] John vii. 30.

[898] John i. 5.

[899] Eph. v. 19; Col. iii. 16.

[900] The meaning of the phrase is explained in _De Cons._ v. 2: "This will be a returning to our own country, when we leave the country of our bodies and reach the realm of spirits--I mean our God, the Mighty Spirit, the great abiding place of the spirits of the blest" (Lewis's translation, slightly altered). Cp. Serm. ii., § 6.

[901] _A.F.M._ say, "after the fifty-fourth year of his age." St. Bernard appears to be right. For Malachy was made bishop of Connor when he was just entering his thirtieth year (§ 16), _i.e._ about his twenty-ninth birthday. _A.F.M._ give the date as 1124. But if he was over fifty-four on November 2, 1148 (§ 75), his twenty-ninth birthday would have been before November 1123. If he was under fifty-four on that day it may have been in 1124.

[902] Luke xvi. 22.

[903] Acts vii. 60 (vg.).

[904] Luke iv. 20.

[905] Esth. xiii. 17 (vg.); xvi. 21 (vg.); cp. John xvi. 20, etc.

[906] Cp. Amos viii. 10.

[907] 1 John v. 5.

[908] Ps. cxvi. 15.

[909] Cp. Serm. ii. § 8.

[910] John xi. 11.

[911] Ps. cxxvii. 2, 3 (vg.).

[912] Matt. xxv. 21, 23.

[913] St. Bernard himself celebrated Mass, and by divine inspiration, "when the sacrifice was finished, changed the order of the prayer and introduced the collect for the commemoration of saints who were bishops instead of that which was used for the commendation of the dead," anticipating, as we may suppose, Malachy's canonization. He then devoutly kissed his feet (_V.P._ iv. 21).

[914] 1 Cor. xii. 9 (vg.).

[915] 2 Kings xiii. 21.

[916] Mark viii. 3.

[917] Matt. iii. 17.

[918] Malachy was buried on the north side of the Oratory, vested in St. Bernard's habit. Five years later St. Bernard was buried before the Altar of Saint Mary, clad in the habit in which Malachy died, and which he had worn ever since his death when he celebrated Mass (_V.P._ v. 15, 23, 24). For further particulars of St. Malachy's burial and the disposal of his relics see _R.Q.H._ lii. 43 f.

[919] November 2. From this statement (see p. 128, n. 1) we may infer that Malachy was born in 1095, before November.

[920] 2 Tim. i. 12.

[921] The biographers of St. Bernard give no detailed account of any of Malachy's visits to Clairvaux. But one of them--Geoffrey, St. Bernard's secretary--wrote a prayer for the Bright Valley, in which he placed Malachy on a par with the great Cistercian, thereby revealing to us the extraordinary impression which he made on the community (_V.P._ v. 25). I owe the following translation of it to a friend: "Grant, O Lord, thy never-failing bounty to the spiritual harvest of the Valley, which thou didst deem worthy to illumine with two stars of such surpassing brightness, so making it brighter in very truth even than in name. Do thou guard the house wherein this twofold treasure is laid up and guarded for thee. Be it also unto us according to thy word, that as thy treasure is there so may thy heart be also; there too thy grace and mercy: and may the favour of thy compassion for ever rest on all who are gathered together in the self-same place in thy Name, which is above every name, even as thou art over all, God blessed for ever.--Amen."

[922] 2 Tim. i. 12.

[923] Rev. xxii. 5.

LETTERS OF ST. BERNARD

I

To Malachy. 1141.[924]

(Epistle 341.)

To the venerable lord and most blessed father, Malachy, by the grace of God archbishop of the Irish, legate of the Apostolic See, Brother Bernard called to be abbot of Clairvaux, [desiring] to find grace with the Lord.

1. Amid the manifold _anxieties_ and _cares_ of my _heart_,[925] by the multitude of which _my soul is sore vexed_,[926] the brothers _coming from a far country_[927] that they may serve the Lord,[928] _thy_ letter, _and thy staff, they comfort me_:[929] the letter, as a proof of good will; the staff, to support my weak body; the brothers, because they serve the Lord _in a humble spirit_.[930] We have received them all, we are pleased with all, _all_ alike _work together for good_.[931] But as to the wish that you have expressed that two of the brothers[932] should be sent to look out a place for you beforehand, having taken counsel with the brothers, we have not thought it meet that they should be _separated one from another[933] until Christ be more fully formed in them_,[934] until they are wholly instructed in _the battles of the Lord_.[935] When therefore they have been taught in the school of the Holy Spirit, when they have been _endued with power from on high_,[936] then at length the sons shall return to their father that they may _sing the Lord's song_, not now _in a strange land_,[937] but in their own.

2. But do you yourselves in the mean time, according to _the wisdom given you_[938] by the Lord, look out beforehand and _prepare_ beforehand _a place for them_,[939] like the places which you have seen here, apart from the commotions of the world. _For the time is at hand_[940] when, by the operation of the grace of God, we shall bring forth for you _new men_ out of the _old_.[941] _Blessed be the Name of the Lord for ever,[942] of whose only gift it cometh that_[943] I have sons in common with you, whom your preaching _planted_ and our exhortation _watered_, but _God gave the increase_.[944] We beseech your holiness to _preach the word of the Lord_[945] so that you may _give knowledge of salvation unto His people_.[946] _For_ a double _necessity is laid upon you_,[947] both from your office as legate and your duty as bishop. Finally, since _in many things we offend all_,[948] and, being often thrown among the men of this age, we are much besmirched with the dust of the world, I commend myself to your prayers and to those of your companions, that in His fountain of mercy Jesus Christ, himself the fountain of pity, may deign to wash and cleanse us, who said to Peter, _If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me._[949] And, indeed, I not only earnestly entreat this of you, but also require it as in some sense the payment of a debt, since I cry to the Lord for you, if the prayer of a sinner can do anything. Farewell in the Lord.

II

To Malachy. 1141 _or_ 1142.[950]

(Epistle 356.)

To Malachy, by the grace of God bishop, legate of the Apostolic See, Brother Bernard, called to be abbot of Clairvaux, if the prayer of a sinner can do anything, and if the devotion of a poor man is of any advantage.

We have done what your holiness commanded, not perhaps as it was worthy to be done, yet as well as was possible considering the time in which we live. So great evil everywhere struts about among us that it was scarcely possible to do the little that has been done. We have sent only a few grains of seed,[951] as you see, to sow at least a small part of that _field_ into which the true _Isaac_ once went out _to meditate_, when _Rebekah_ was first brought to him by Abraham's _servant_, to be happily joined to him in everlasting marriage.[952] And the seed is not to be despised concerning which we find that word fulfilled at this time in your regions,[953] _Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha._[954] _I_, therefore, have sown, do you _water_, and _God shall give the increase_.[955] All the saints who are with you we salute through you, humbly commending ourselves to their holy prayers and yours. Farewell.

III

To Malachy. 1143 _or_ 1144.[956]

(Epistle 357.)

To our most loving father and most revered lord, Malachy, by the grace of God bishop, legate of the Holy and Apostolic See, the servant of his holiness, Brother Bernard, called to be abbot of Clairvaux, health and our prayers, of whatever value they may be.

1. _How sweet are thy words unto my taste_,[957] my lord and father. How pleasant is _the remembrance of thy holiness_.[958] If there is any love, any devotedness, any good will in us, without doubt the charity of your belovedness claims it all as its due. There is no need for a multitude of words where affection blossoms abundantly. For I am confident that _the Spirit which_ you have _from God_[959] bears _witness with your spirit that[960] what we are_,[961] however small it be, _is yours_.[962] You also, most loving and most longed-for father, _deliver not_ to forgetfulness _the soul of the poor man_, which cleaves _to thee_ with the bonds of charity, _and forget not the soul of thy poor man for ever_.[963] For neither, as it were anew, _do we commend ourselves unto you_[964] when now for a long time we _glory in the Lord_[965] that our littleness has been worthy _to find grace in the sight of_ your holiness;[966] but we pray that our affection, no longer new, may advance with new accessions day by day. We commend to you our sons, yea also yours, and the more earnestly because they are so far removed from us. You know that, after God, all our trust was in you, in sending them, because it seemed to us wrong not to fulfil the prayers of your holiness. See, as becomes you, that with your whole heart of love you embrace them and cherish them. In no wise for any cause let your earnest care for them grow cold, nor let that perish _which thy right hand hath planted_.[967]

2. We have now indeed learned both from your letter and from the report of our brothers[968] that the house is making good progress, [and] is being enriched both in temporal and spiritual possessions.[969] Wherefore we rejoice greatly with you and give thanks with our whole heart to God and to your fatherly care. And because there is still need of great watchfulness, because the place is new, and the land unaccustomed to the monastic life, yea, without any experience of it, _we beseech you in the Lord,[970] that you slack not your hand_,[971] but perfectly accomplish that which you have well begun. Concerning our brothers who have returned from that place,[972] it had pleased us well if they had remained. But perhaps the brothers[973] of your country, whose characters are less disciplined and who have lent a less ready ear to advice in those observances, which were new to them, have been in some measure the reason for their return.

3. We have sent back to you Christian, our very dear son, and yours. We have instructed him more fully, as far as we could, in the things which belong to the [Cistercian] Order, and henceforth, as we hope, he will be more careful concerning its obligations.[974] Do not be surprised that we have not sent any other brothers with him; for we did not find competent brothers who were ready to assent to our wishes, and it was not our plan to compel the unwilling. Our much-loved brother, Robert,[975] assented on this occasion also to our prayers, _as an obedient son_.[976] It will be your part to assist him that your house may now be set forward, both in buildings and in other necessaries. This also we suggest to your fatherhood, that you persuade religious men and those who, you hope, will be useful to the monastery, to come into their Order, for this will be of the greatest advantage to the house, and to you they will pay the greater heed. May your holiness have good health, being always mindful of us in Christ.

IV

To the Brothers in Ireland. November 1148.[977]

(Epistle 374.)

To the religious brothers who are in Ireland, and especially to those communities which Malachy the bishop, of blessed memory, founded, Brother Bernard, called to be abbot of Clairvaux, [wishing them] _the consolation of the Comforter_.[978]

1. If _here we had a continuing city_ we should rightly mourn with most abundant tears that we had lost such a fellow-citizen. But if _we_ rather _seek one to come_,[979] as befits us, it is nevertheless no small cause of grief that we are bereaved of a guide so indispensable. We ought, however, to regulate passion with knowledge and to mitigate grief with the _confidence of hope_.[980] Nor does it become any one to wonder if love compels groaning, if desolation draws forth tears: yet we must set a limit to these things, nay in no small measure be consoled while we gaze _not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal_.[981] First, indeed, we ought to rejoice with the holy soul, lest he accuse us of want of charity, saying also himself what the Lord said to the apostles, "_If ye loved me ye would rejoice because I go unto the Father._"[982] The spirit of our father has gone before us to _the Father of spirits_,[983] and we are convicted, not only as wanting in charity, but even as guilty of ingratitude for all the benefits which came to us through him, if we do not rejoice with him who has _departed_ from labour to rest, from danger to safety, from _the world unto the Father_.[984] Therefore, if it is an act of filial piety to weep for Malachy who is dead, yet more is it an act of piety to rejoice with Malachy who is alive. Is he not alive? Assuredly he is, and in bliss. _In the eyes of the foolish he seemed to have died; but he is in peace._[985]

2. Hence even the thought of our own advantage provides us with another motive for great joy and gladness, because so powerful a patron, so faithful an advocate has gone before us to the heavenly court.[986] For his most fervent charity cannot forget his sons, and his approved holiness must secure _favour with God_.[987] For who would dare to suppose that this holy Malachy can now be less profitable [than before] or less loving to his own? Assuredly, if he was loved aforetime, now he receives from God surer proofs of His love, and _having loved his own, he loved them unto the end_.[988] Far be it from us, holy soul, to esteem thy prayer now less effectual, for now thou canst make supplication with more vigour in the presence of _the Majesty_[989] and thou no longer _walkest in faith_, but reignest _in the sight_ of Him.[990] Far be it from us to count that laborious charity of thine as diminished, not to say made void, now that thou prostratest thyself at the very fountain of eternal charity, quaffing full draughts of that for the very drops of which thou didst thirst before. Charity, _strong as death_,[991] yea even stronger than death itself, could not yield to death. For even at the moment of his departure he was not unmindful of you, with exceptional affection commending you to God, and with his accustomed _meekness and lowliness_[992] praying our insignificance also that we should not _forget you for ever_.[993] Wherefore also we thought good to write to you that you may know that we are ready to bestow upon you all consolation with entire devotion, whether in spiritual things, if in them our insignificance can ever do anything by the merits of this our blessed father, or in temporal, if ever perchance opportunity should be given us.

3. And now also, dearly beloved, we are filled with heartfelt pity for this grievous bereavement of the Irish Church.[994] And we unite ourselves the more with you in suffering because we know that by this very thing we have become the more your debtors. For the _Lord did great things for us_[995] when He deigned to honour this place of ours by making it the scene of his blessed death, and to enrich it with the most costly treasure of his body.[996] But do not take it ill that he is buried among us; for God so ordered, _according to the multitude of His mercies_,[997] that you should possess him in life, and that it might be allowed to us to possess him, if only in death. And to us, indeed, in common with you, he was, and still is, father. _For_ even _in_ his _death_ this _testament was confirmed_ to us.[998] Wherefore as, for the sake of so great a father, we embrace you all as our true brothers, with the unstinted yearning of charity, so also concerning yourselves, spiritual kinship persuades us that you are like-minded.

4. But we exhort you, brothers, that you be always careful to _walk in the steps of_ this _our_ blessed _father_,[999] by so much the more zealously as by daily proofs his _holy conversation_[1000] was more certainly known to you. For in this you shall prove yourselves to be his true sons, if you manfully maintain the father's ordinances, and if, as you have seen in him, and heard _from him how you ought to walk, you so walk that you may abound more and more_:[1001] for the glory of a father is the wisdom of his sons.[1002] For even for us the example of so great perfection in our midst has begun in no slight degree both to expel our sloth and impel us to reverence. And would that he may in such wise _draw us after him_ that he may draw us to the goal, _running_ more eagerly and more quickly in _the fragrance_ which his virtues have left so fresh behind them.[1003] May Christ guard all of you _while you pray for us_.[1004]

FOOTNOTES:

[924] When this letter was written certain brothers, sent by Malachy after his return from Rome (October 1140), had arrived at Clairvaux, and had spent some time there (see notes 5, 7); and the brothers left there on his return journey had had a considerable amount of instruction (n. 7). The date is therefore not earlier than 1141. But it is evidently earlier than that of Letter ii.

[925] Cp. Hor., _Sat._ i. 2. 110.

[926] Ps. vi. 3.

[927] Josh. ix. 6.

[928] These were some of the brothers sent from Ireland (_Life_, § 39).

[929] Ps. xxiii. 4.

[930] Song of Three Children, 16.--They had evidently been a good while under St. Bernard's eye.

[931] Rom. viii. 28.

[932] No doubt the four brothers who had been left at Clairvaux (_Life_, § 39).

[933] Matt. xxv. 32.

[934] Gal. iv. 19.

[935] 1 Sam. xxv. 28.

[936] Luke xxiv. 49.

[937] Ps. cxxxvii. 4.

[938] 2 Pet. iii. 15.

[939] John xiv. 2.

[940] Rev. i. 3; xxii. 10.

[941] Cp. Rom. vi. 6; Eph. ii. 15; iv. 22, 24.

[942] Dan. ii. 20, etc.

[943] Coll. for 13th Sunday after Pentecost.

[944] 1 Cor. iii. 6.

[945] Acts xv. 36.

[946] Luke i. 77.

[947] 1 Cor. ix. 16.

[948] Jas. iii. 2.

[949] John xiii. 8 (inexact quotation).

[950] Mellifont was probably founded immediately after the brothers mentioned in the letter reached Ireland. The date is therefore in or before 1142. They would hardly have been sent till news had reached St. Bernard that the site had been chosen (Lett. i, § 2). Cp. p. 75, n. 4.

[951] The brothers sent from Clairvaux "sufficient in number for an abbey" (_Life_, § 39).

[952] Gen. xxiv. 63 ff.--Cp. _De Cons._ ii. 13, where the same passage of Genesis is referred to. It is there (§ 12) explained that the field is the world, which has been placed in charge of the Pope.

[953] Printed text _patribus_. I read _partibus_.

[954] Rom. ix. 29 (inexact quotation).

[955] 1 Cor. iii. 6.

[956] Mellifont had been founded a good while before the letter was written. Christian had returned to Clairvaux; and now after further instruction he was sent back, apparently as the bearer of the letter. The house had made good progress, but the buildings were still far from complete (§§ 2, 3).

[957] Ps. cxix. 103.

[958] Ps. xxx. 4.

[959] 1 Cor. ii. 12.

[960] Rom. viii. 16.

[961] 1 Cor xv. 10.

[962] 1 Cor. iii. 22.

[963] Ps. lxxiv. 19 (vg.); Jer. xx. 13.

[964] 2 Cor. v. 12.

[965] 2 Cor. x. 17; 1 Cor. i. 31.

[966] 1 Sam. i. 18, etc.

[967] Ps. lxxx. 15.

[968] Apparently the returned brothers mentioned below.

[969] Cp. the passage quoted p. 170.

[970] 1 Thess. iv. 1.

[971] Josh. x. 6.

[972] The monks of Clairvaux seem to have been reluctant to undertake work elsewhere, when St. Bernard desired them to do so (_V.P._ vii. 52 f.); and we have one instance of an abbot of a daughter house--Humbert of Igny--who resigned his office and returned to Clairvaux against St. Bernard's will (_Ep._ 141).

[973] Printed text, _fratrum_. Read _fratres_.

[974] Evidently Christian did not prove a satisfactory abbot. This may in part account for the return of the monks who went with him to Ireland.

[975] Of this Robert, apparently the architect of Mellifont, we know nothing; for suggestions that he should be identified with one or other of the monks of Clairvaux who bore the same name are mere guesses.

[976] 1 Pet. i. 14 (vg., inexact quotation).

[977] Clearly this letter must have been penned a few days after Malachy's death.

[978] Acts ix. 31, combined with John xiv. 26, etc.

[979] Heb. xiii. 14.

[980] Cp. Heb. iii. 6.

[981] 2 Cor. iv. 18.

[982] John xiv. 28.

[983] Heb. xii. 9.

[984] John xiii. 1.--Cp. Serm. i. § 4 f., "It is the end of labours ... and the entrance to perfect safety. Let us rejoice therefore ... with our father"; § 8, "Threefold is the rejoicing of the man, since he is delivered from all sin and from labour and from danger"; and words ascribed to St. Bernard in _V.P._ vii. 49, "Believe, my son, for now thou art about to pass from death to life, from temporal labour to eternal rest."

[985] Communio for All Saints' Day (from Wisd. iii. 2, 3).--For the last four sentences of the section cp. Serm. i. § 5, where an identical passage immediately follows the first parallel quoted in n. 3.

[986] Serm. i. § 1 (end) is somewhat similar in expression, and § 8 (end) in thought. There is a closer, but not very striking, parallel in Serm. ii. § 5 (end).

[987] Luke ii. 52.

[988] John xiii. 1 (inexact quotation).

[989] Heb. i. 3.

[990] 2 Cor. v. 7 (inexact quotation).

[991] Cant. viii. 6.

[992] Cp. Eph. iv. 2.

[993] Ps. lxxiv, 19.

[994] Cp. Serm. i. § 3 (beginning).

[995] Ps. cxxvi. 3.

[996] Cp. Serm. i. § 2, "Therefore we render thanks," etc.

[997] Ps. cvi. 45.

[998] Heb. ix. 17 (vg., inexact quotation).

[999] Rom. iv. 12.

[1000] 2 Pet. iii. 11.

[1001] 1 Thess. iv. 1 (vg.).

[1002] Cp. Prov. x. 1.

[1003] Cant. i. 3, 4.--Cp. Serm. i. § 8 (end).

[1004] Col. iv. 3.

SERMONS OF ST. BERNARD ON THE PASSING OF MALACHY

Sermon I

(November 2, 1148.)[1005]