In the fullness of time
From a Sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot (1090-1153)
In the fullness of time the fullness of divinity appeared
The goodness and humanity of God our Savior have appeared in our midst. We thank God for the many consolations he has given us during this sad exile of our pilgrimage here on earth. Before the Son of God became man his goodness was hidden, for God’s mercy is eternal, but how could such goodness be recognized? It was promised, but it was not experienced, and as a result few have believed in it. Often and in many ways the Lord used to speak through the prophets. Among other things, God said: I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. But what did men respond, thinking thoughts of affliction an knowing nothing of peace? They said: Peace, peace, there is no peace. This response made the angels of peace weep bitterly, saying: Lord, who has believed our message? But now men believe because they see with their own eyes, and because God’s testimony has now become even more credible. He has gone so far as to pitch his tent in the sun so even the dimmest eyes see him.
Notice that peace is not promised but sent to us; it is no longer deferred, it is given; peace is not prophesied but achieved. It is as if God the Father sent upon the earth a purse full of his mercy. This purse was burst open during the Lord’s passion to pour forth its hidden contents – the price of our redemption. It was only a small purse, but it was very full. As the Scriptures tell us: A little child has been given to us, but in him dwells all the fullness of the divine nature. The fullness of time brought with it the fullness of divinity. God’s Son came in the flesh so that mortal men could see and recognize God’s kindness. When God reveals his humanity, his goodness cannot possibly remain hidden. To show his kindness what more could he do beyond taking my human form? My humanity, I say, not Adam’s – that is, not such as he had before his fall.
How could he have shown his mercy more clearly than by taking on himself our condition For our sake the Word of God became as grass. What better proof could he have given of his love? Scripture says: Lord, what is man that you are mindful of him; why does your heart go out to him? The incarnation teaches us how much God cares for us and what he thinks and feels about us. We should stop thinking of our own sufferings and remember what he has suffered. Let us think of all the Lord has done for us, and then we shall realize how his goodness appears through his humanity. The lesser he became through his human nature the greater was his goodness; the more he lowered himself for me, the dearer he is to me. The goodness and humanity of God our Savior have appeared, says the Apostle.
Truly great and manifest are the goodness and humanity of God. He has given us a most wonderful proof of his goodness by adding humanity to his own divine nature.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings
Saint Bernard was born in 1090 near Dijon in France to devout parents of the highest nobility of Burgundy. After a religious upbringing, he joined the Cistercian monks in 1111 and later was chosen abbot of the monastery of Clairvaux. St. Bernard is acclaimed as one of the most commanding Church leaders in the first half of the twelfth century and is considered one of the greatest spiritual masters of all time. He was sought out as an advisor and mediator by the ruling powers of his age. The cloistered monastic community endured the voluntary austerities of poverty, prayer and fasting all for the salvation of souls. Bernard personally saw to the establishment of sixty-five of the three hundred Cistercian monasteries founded during his thirty-eight years as abbot, yet he found time to compose many and varied spiritual works still studied by theologians and spiritual writers today. He directed his companions in the practice of virtue by his own good example.
Because of various schisms which had arisen in the Church, Bernard traveled throughout Europe restoring peace and unity. He also had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and it was said of him that no one spoke more sublimely of the Queen of Heaven. He developed close friendships with contemporaries and even popes. The passing of Pope Eugenius was one whom he considered his greatest friend and consoler. Bernard died in 1153 at the age of sixty-thee, after forty years spent in the cloister. He was the first Cistercian monk placed on the calendar of saints and was canonized by Pope Alexander III in 1174 and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius VIII.