Abbot and Doctor of the Church · Feast day August 20
St. Bernard of Clairvaux
The feast day of St. Bernard of Clairvaux is August 20, a memorial in the US Catholic calendar. Below: a short life and 4 sourced quotations in their own words.
| Feast day | August 20 |
|---|---|
| In the US calendar | Memorial |
| Title | Abbot and Doctor of the Church |
| Died | c. 1153 |
| In their own words | 4 sourced quotations |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | None left in the published calendar (through December 31, 2028) |
Life
He entered Cîteaux at twenty-two with thirty kinsmen and friends in tow, and three years later was sent to found Clairvaux, which mothered hundreds of monasteries in his lifetime. Popes and kings could not move without his counsel.
His sermons on the Song of Songs are the high-water mark of monastic theology, and his tenderness toward the Virgin Mary earned him the title ‘the Marian Doctor,’ Dante’s guide at the summit of Paradise.
In their own words
Each quotation names the work it comes from. Bless quotes these in the comments beside the verses listed under In Scripture.
The reason for loving God is God Himself; the measure of loving God is to love Him without measure.
In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Following her, you will not go astray.
Love seeks no cause beyond itself and no fruit; it is its own fruit, its own enjoyment. I love because I love; I love in order that I may love.
Jesus is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, jubilation in the heart.
In Scripture
In Bless, St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s words appear in the comments beside these verses. This page’s labels say how each is linked: “on this verse” means the saint wrote about that very verse; “on this theme” means the quotation shares its theme. Scripture is quoted from the Catholic Public Domain Version.
On this verse
Set me like a seal upon your heart, like a seal upon your arm. For love is strong, like death, and envy is enduring, like hell: their lamps are made of fire and flames.
Song of Songs 8:7 · CPDV Beside their words: “Love seeks no cause beyond itself and no fruit; it is its own fruit, its own enjoyment.…”
On this theme
The Angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear him, and he will rescue them.
Psalm 33:8 · CPDV Beside their words: “Jesus is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, jubilation in the heart.”
On this theme
How sweet is your eloquence to my palate, more so than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 118:103 · CPDV Beside their words: “Jesus is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, jubilation in the heart.”
On this theme
Jesus said to him: “‘You shall love the Lord your God from all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
Matthew 22:37 · CPDV Beside their words: “The reason for loving God is God Himself; the measure of loving God is to love Him…”
On this theme
For he has looked with favor on the humility of his handmaid. For behold, from this time, all generations shall call me blessed.
Luke 1:48 · CPDV Beside their words: “In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Following her…”
On this theme
Next, he said to the disciple, “Behold your mother.” And from that hour, the disciple accepted her as his own.
John 19:27 · CPDV Beside their words: “In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Following her…”
On this theme
Charity is never torn away, even if prophecies pass away, or languages cease, or knowledge is destroyed.
1 Corinthians 13:8 · CPDV Beside their words: “Love seeks no cause beyond itself and no fruit; it is its own fruit, its own enjoyment.…”
On this theme
Therefore, let us love God, for God first loved us.
1 John 4:19 · CPDV Beside their words: “The reason for loving God is God Himself; the measure of loving God is to love Him…”
In the calendar
The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.
Readings
No dates are left in Bless’s published calendar, which runs through December 31, 2028. St. Bernard of Clairvaux keeps August 20 in Bless’s calendar of saints: see the saints of August.
All the saints of August Born on August 20? A saint for every day
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