Sermon for the Octave of the Feast of Circumcision: On the Eight Mystical Days of the Soul’s Progress

“And after eight days were accomplished that the Child should be circumcised, His name was called Jesus, which was called by the angel before He was conceived in the womb,’’—Luke UZ

In the circumcision of the Lord, my brethren, there is something that claims our love, something that excites our wonder, and something too that calls for our imitation. Manifest in that mystery is the unspeakable grace of the divine condescension ; and for this we give thanks; but there is also something concealed in’ it which we are expected to fulfil in ourselves. For the Lord Jesus came not only to redeem us by shedding His most precious Blood, but also to instruct us by word and example. As it would be of little use for us to know the way home, if we were kept chained in prison, so likewise redemption from bondage would have availed us nothing, were we left in ignorance of the. way, and liable to beled back to captivity by the first person who chanced to meet us. At a riper age the Saviour will give us manifest examples of patience, humility, and of the various other virtues, but, above all, of charity ; the same virtues are now exhibited in His infancy, although veiled as yet under figures and types.

But before entering upon a discussion of these, it will be well to say something on the great and visible condescension whereby the Lord of glory became man and suffered for us. The angels have a glory pure and perfect, but neither are we ourselves left altogether without glory. For even now “we see His glory, the glory, as it were, of the Only-Begotten of the Father,’ the glory of mercy and of an affection truly paternal, the glory of Him Who, proceeding from the Bosom of the Father, reveals to us what is indeed a fatherly Heart. “For all have sinned,” as the Apostle says, “ and do need the glory of God.” And in another place he exclaims, “ God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” For what could be a greater glory to us than the fact that God has esteemed us so highly as to endure the cross for our salvation? Or what greater glory can He have Himself than the glory of this condescension, of this loving-kindness, which is all the more sweet because so entirely gratuitous ? For He “ died for the ungodly,” as St. Paul bears witness. Consider, then, my brethren, how much He has suffered, and for whom He has suffered. Consider for whom He has suffered that you may not become proud; and how much He has suffered that you may not despair. And in order that we may be found to “‘ have received, not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit That is of God, that we may know the things that are given us from God,” let us “ not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding,” but rather like beasts in the pious sense, after the example of him who says, “ I am become as a beast before Thee, and I am always with Thee.” For beasts of this kind know their “ Owner ” and their ‘‘ Master’s crib,” in which He

Himself, Who is the Bread of angels, is offered them for their food as sweetest hay. He is the Living Bread. on Which man ought to live. But since man is ‘‘ compared to senseless beasts and made like to them,” the Bread has become Hay, so that even thus he might live thereon.

The mystery of this change is celebrated on the day of the nativity, because it was then the Word was made flesh, and we know that “ all flesh is grass.” On that day, consequently, “ He was made a little less than the angels ” and was “in habit found as a man.” But to-day I hear of something still more marvellous. I hear now that He has been made,not a little, but a great deal less than the angels, by assuming not only the form of a man, but even the form of a sinner, and by allowing Himself to be branded as a criminal. For what is circumcision save an indication of superfluity and sin? But, O Lord Jesus, what can be superfluous in Thee and needing to becut away? Art not Thou true God of God the Father, and true Man, born immaculate of a Virgin Mother? And you who circumcise Him, what are you about? Do you suppose that this Child falls under the law commanding that “ the male who shall not be circumcised, that soul shall be destroyed out of his people’’? Can the Father forget the Son of His own Bosom? Or shall He be unable to recognise Him unless He bears the mark of circumcision? But surely, if there could be anything that might conceivably prevent Him from recognising the Son in Whom He is always well pleased, it would be the fact of finding in Him this sign of circumcision, which He has prescribed for transgressors as a remedy for sin. Nevertheless it is nothing wonderful that the

Head receives for the members the medicine which It does not need for Itself. Even with regard to our own bodies, does it not sometimes happen that when the ailing part is too tender the medicament is applied to another? Thus, the head is sick, and the poultice is put on the arm; the reins are distempered, and it is the leg that is doctored. In the same manner here, the remedy for the corruption of the whole mystical body is applied to the Head.

And what wonder that the Lord should condescend to be circumcised for us for whom He refused not to die ? He has given Himself to me wholly and is wholly expended for my profit. For I was a captive. And hearing that the Son of the Great King was passing before my prison-house, I raised my voice in groans and lamentations, piteously calling out, “ Son of God, have mercy on me.” He, in accordance with His native benignity, stopped and inquired the meaning of the sobbing and weeping which he heard. His companions made answer, saying to Him, “ This is the traitor Adam whom Thy Father has ordered to be kept in close confinement until He decides by what torments he is to be put to death.” What now will the Prince do, Whose nature is goodness, and “to Whom it is proper to have pity always and to spare” ? He descends into my dungeon, He comes down in order to lead forth the poor thrall from the place of his captivity. But the Jews, ever mindful of the hatred wherewith they hate His Father, take this opportunity to vent it on the Son. Hence He says of them Himself, “They have hated both Me and My Father.” What then will these wicked men do to Him, the mere sight of Whom they cannot bear? “ This is the Heir,” they whisper to each other, “let us kill Him and we shall have His inheritance.” Accordingly they slew the Lamb of God, to their own destruction, but to our salvation. For they indeed shed the Blood of the Lamb, yet used It not for their own profit, whilst we hastened forward and drank It. We took the “chalice of salvation,” that “ chalice which inebriateth, how goodly it is!” This is the cause of our thanksgiving. Not many days ago ‘we celebrated the descent of the Son of God into the prison of this world, I refer to the feast of the nativity ; and to-day is kept holy in honour of the mystery of humiliation whereby He took upon Himself our fetters and chains. For on this day He Who “ did no sin ” put His own Hands in manacles in order to deliver the guilty : the Lawgiver Himself was “ made under the law.”

But I have next to explain to you how in this circumcision there is mystically indicated something which we must do ourselves, and what that something is. For not without reason was it prescribed in the law that the ceremony of circumcision should be performed on the eighth day, and not without reason was this law fulfilled in the incarnate Word. But “ who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counsellor? ” May the Holy Spirit Who “searcheth the deep things of God,” invoked by your prayers, be propitious to our desires, and vouchsafe to reveal to us the mystery of this eighth day. We are not unaware that “‘ unless a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,” since it was in order to render this new birth possible for us that the Only-Begotten of the Father willed to be born a second time. For we have all been born in sin, and consequently require to be re-born in grace. This gift of divine grace we received at our baptism, but alas! we lost all its benefit during our life in the world. Now for the first time, through the mercy of God, the power of grace is operating in us in such a manner as to enable us to “ walk in newness of life.” Therefore I may say that then a man is spiritually born, when the Divine Sun of Justice, rising in his soul, illuminates the darkness of his sins, manifests to his interior eye the terrors of God’s judgment, and, to establish him securely in holy fear, reveals to him the shortness of the present life and the uncertainty of its ending. This is manifestly the “ evening ” in which according to the Psalmist, “ weeping shall have place.” But it must be followed by the gladness of that morning whereof the same Prophet says to God, “ Cause me to hear Thy mercy in the morning.” Thus “there is evening and morning one day.” Now this is the day of justice, when to everyone is attributed that which belongs to him ; mercy to God, and misery to man. It is the day in which, as I have said, the child of grace is brought forth spiritually, whilst in the manner and by the means just mentioned our hearts are moved to a love of penance and a hatred of sin.

But we are in danger of relapsing if we desire perchance to do penance amidst the distractions of the world, where some will endeavour to entice us to sin by evil counsels, others by worse examples ; some by their flattery will tempt us to vainglory, and others by their slanders will provoke us to impatience. It is necessary, therefore, that the light of prudence should shine upon us. By the illumination of this virtue, we shall perceive how many and how perilous are the opportunities and occasions of evil which the world provides, particularly in the present generation; and how weak are our souls for resisting the same, above all, if we have been living hitherto in habits of sin. Accordingly, my brethren, we should determine in this day of prudence to flee away out of the world and its wickedness, saying with the Psalmist, “ I have hated the assembly of the malignant, and with the wicked I will not sit.” But not even now are we entirely secure from self-deception. For perhaps we shall feel inclined to choose a desert solitude, not weighing sufficiently our own infirmity and the risk of engaging the devil in single combat. For what can be so full of peril as to attempt to fight alone against the craft of the ancient enemy, to whom we are visible, whereas he is invisible to us? Hence we have need of another day, the day of fortitude, in the light of which we shall perceive that it is «unto God our fortitude must beguarded” and that it must besought in the company of many who are fighting side by side. For there we shall have as many helpers as comrades, who can say with St. Paul, “ We are not ignorant of his—namely, Satan’s—devices.””’ A community like this is in its fortitude “terrible as an army set in battle array.” But “ woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth he hath none to lift him up.” We read, it is true, of some of the ancient fathers, how they received the call and the grace to live in solitude. Nevertheless, no one ought to expose himself rashly to the many dangers incident to this manner of life, no one ought to tempt God. Hence our master, St. Benedict, describes the anchorites as men, “who, not in the first fervour of the religious life, but after long probation in the monastery, have learned by the help and experience of others to fight against the devil.” * Consequently, in this day of fortitude we may add to what we said in the preceding day of prudence, namely, “ I have hated the assembly of the malignant, and with the wicked I will not sit,” these other words which follow in the same psalm, “I will wash my hands among the innocent.”

But when one elects to live in the society of many brethren, surely he who has not yet been a disciple does not wish to be at once made a master, and to teach what he has never learned. For being untrained in the ways of the spirit, how should he be able to curb the irrational movements of his own mind or of the minds of others? As the Apostle says, “ No man ever hateth his own flesh.” If then such a one becomes his own master, how can you doubt that he will sometimes indulge himself too easily, and that the more because he is able to do it unobserved? The day of temperance, therefore, must dawn for him, so that he may study how to bridle and restrain the irregular motions of carnal concupiscence, the purposeless motions of unreasonable curiosity, and the rebellious motions of stiff-necked pride. He must, like David, “‘ choose to be an abject in the house of the Lord,” and to be subject to a master, by whom his will shall be broken and his wantonness checked by the curb of obedience. Then shall he be able to say to God with the same Prophet, “ Thou hast placed men over our heads.” Nor ought he to consider as unworthy of him such submission of which the Lord has given us an example in His own

Person, because “‘ the disciple is not above his Master.”

For when Jesus had advanced “in wisdom and age and grace with God and man,” being now twelve years old, He remained behind in Jerusalem; but having been found by the holy Virgin and His reputed father,

St. Joseph, “in the midst of the doctors, hearing them and asking them questions,” “ He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them.’’ Therefore, do thou also, my brother, be subject to thy superiors for His sake.

But perhaps even now, when thou art in the way of obedience, thou shalt meet with trials that are painful and hard to endure. Thou shalt sometimes perhaps have commands laid upon thee, which, although they are good and salutary, may nevertheless seem harsh. Now if thou beginnest to submit to these with an ill-humour, to criticise thy superior, to murmur in the secret of thy heart, even though thou shouldst outwardly fulfil what is enjoined, that is not true obedience, but rather a cloak for malice.* Consequently, thou art still in want of the day of patience, which shall enable thee to embrace with a tranquil mind everything hard and disagreeable, condemning and sharply reproving thyself because of thy disrelish for things so salutary, and in thy thoughts always taking the side of the superior against thyself, endeavouring always and in all things —so far as it may be possible—to excuse him and to blame thyself.

But at this stage thou shalt need, as I think, to be on thy guard against pride. For to have thus overcome thyself is certainly no small achievement. “The patient man,” says Solomon, “is better than the valiant; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh cities.” Observe how manifestly the Royal Prophet teaches us that humility is necessary after patience, when he says, “ But be thou, O my soul, subject to God, for from Him is my patience.” Does it not seem from this that his very patience became for him an occasion of temptation to pride? It is therefore necessary that the day of humility should enlighten thy heart and show thee plainly what thou art of thyself and what thou owest to the grace of God, so that thou mayest not be high-minded. For, as St. James bears witness, “God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.”

And when thou hast been long exercised in these virtues, pray now that the light of devotion may be granted thee, that most serene day, that sabbath of the soul, in which, like a soldier honourably discharged thou mayest live without labour in the midst of all labour, and deserve to have applied to thee the words of the Psalmist, “ I have run the way of Thy commandments when Thou didst enlarge my heart.” Then thou shalt discover an ineffable sweetness and delight in those very practices which in the beginning thou wert wont to go through with bitterness and repugnance of mind.* This, unless I mistake, is the grace David is pleading for where he cries out, ‘‘Oh, forgive me that I may be refreshed.” As if he should say, “ How long shall I be afflicted with this labour and sorrow? Until when shall death pursue me all the day long? Oh, forgive me that I may be refreshed!” But it seems to me that only a few attain during the present life to this degree of perfection. And even if one sometimes discovers in himself probable signs of his having arrived thus far, he must not be too ready to believe it, particularly if he is a novice and has not yet passed through all the preceding degrees. For Jesus Christ, our most loving-kind Lord, is wont to attract such beginners with graces of peace and consolation similar to those enjoyed by the perfect. But persons thus favoured should know that these graces are rather lent to them than given, in order that “in the day of good things (they) may not be unmindful of evils, and in the day of evils (they) may not be unmindful of good things.” Far different is the manner according to which souls well practised in virtue are allowed to enjoy the sweetness of heavenly consolation. But, as I have said, there are many who never in their whole lives attain to this happy state. Such as these may rest assured that if they continue their efforts with all devotion and perseverance, they shall obtain, at least in the moment after death, that which during life was withheld from them for their good. For then the grace of God alone, without any co-operation on their part, will advance them in an instant to that point, which with the assistance of the same grace they have been so long and so vainly struggling to reach. Thus “ made perfect in a short space,” they shall “ fulfil a long time.”

Now, as for those who have attained to this grace of devotion, there is, as I think, one more danger lying in their way. They have need to be on their guard against the ‘“‘noon-day devil.” ‘‘ For Satan himself,” as the Apostle tells us, “ transformeth himself into an angel of light.” This, then, is a danger to be feared by such as discharge all their duties with sensible devotion: following their attraction, they may injure their health by indiscreet austerities, and thus be obliged—not without much spiritual loss—to occupy themselves with the care of a weakened body. Consequently he who would run without danger of falling must be enlightened by the day of discretion, which is the mother of virtues, and the crown of perfection. By discretion we are taught to avoid excess in everything: and this is the eighth day in which the child is circumcised. For discretion truly circumcises, by keeping us between the extremes of too much and too little. He who exceeds rather cuts off than circumcises the fruit of a good work ; and the same is true of him who through sloth is deficient. In this eighth day, accordingly, the name is imposed, and it is the name of salvation, viz., Jesus. Nor have I any hesitation in saying that whoso lives in the practice of the above-mentioned virtues is indeed a Jesus, a saviour, and is working out the salvation of his own soul. Until this day of discretion none but the angels, the confidants of God’s secrets, have been able to call him by this saving name, which I now give him for the first time, yet with all security. Nevertheless, since such perfection is a very rare bird on earth * let obedience stand to you, my brethren, in place of discretion,f so that you shall do nothing more, nothing less, nothing otherwise than has been commanded.

i It was a saying of St. Ignatius of Loyola that “ discretion is for superiors, obedience for inferiors.” —(Translator.)

ST. BERNARD’S HYMN TO THE NAME OF JESUS.

“ JuBILUs RHYTHMICUS SANCTI BERNARDI.”

The very thought of Jesus thrills

With transports sweet this heart of mine, But oh! what joy, what rapture fills

The soul that sees His Face divine!

No sweeter sound can soothe the ear, The voice no sweeter song can sing, No sweeter thought the soul can cheer, Than Jesus, Son of heaven’s King.

Jesus, the sinner’s hope of grace, To all who ask how loving kind !

How good to all who seek Thy Face! But what, oh, what to them that find !

IV

O Jesus, sweetness of my heart,

The Fount of life, and light, and love, To me the joy of joys Thou art,

A joy all hope and thought above.

448 HYMN TO THE NAME OF JESUS

Vv

Nor tongue nor pen can ever tell, How eloquent soe’er they be,

’Tis only he that loves Thee well Can know the joy of loving Thee.

VI

I’ll seek Him where He loves to hide, Within the cloister of my breast,

TPI seek at home, I’ll seek outside, I’ll seek with love that cannot rest. j

Vil

With Mary, at the dawn of day, I'll seek the tomb where Jesus lies, In spirit, not with eyes of clay, Lamenting with love’s plaintive cries.

Se PT a ee

VIII

My tears upon the stone shall beat,

My sobs and groans shall fill the place, Pll cast me down at Jesus’ Feet

And clasp them close in fond embrace.

IX

How good a King our Jesus is! How great a Conqueror of hell! All beautiful whate’er is His And sweet beyond my power to tell.

a Ne 0 ae ns a RP E E E ea, er

HYMN TO THE NAME OF JESUS x

Stay with us still, Lord Jesus, stay,

To guide our steps life’s desert through ; Drive from our souls all mists away,

And let Thy love the world subdue.

XI

The sun of truth shines bright and clear Within the soul where Thou art guest ; How vile the things of earth appear When Thy sweet love inflames the breast !

XII

The love of Jesus brings delight And ravishment exceeding great, Its tenderness no man aright, Though thousand-tongued, can celebrate.

XIII

His Passion is a proof of this,

His streaming Wounds attest the same, Whereby He bought us heaven’s bliss

And saved us from the vengeful flame.

XIV

Acknowledge Jesus, mortals all, The grace to love Him boldly claim, With fervour seek Him, great and small, And let the search your hearts inflame. 2F

450 HYMN TO THE NAME OF JESUS

XV

Yea, love Him Who so loveth you, Let love’s debt liquidated be,

Give love for love and so pursue The odour of His charity.

XVI

O Jesus, Source of clemency, Our only joy and hope Thou art ;

All grace and sweetness flows from Thee, The true delight of every heart.

XVII

Jesus, my Treasure, let me feel The fullest force of love divine, Oh, let me in Thy presence kneel And see the glory that is Thine!

XVIII

I cannot speak in worthy wise Of Thee, yet shall not silent be ;

The will and daring love supplies, For all my soul is set on Thee.

XIX

Thy love, O Lord, is mystic meat,

Which brings no weariness to the mind; It fills us with refreshment sweet,

Yet leaves the hunger still behind.

HYMN TO THE NAME OF JESUS x

For he that eats Thee hungers still, Who drinks Thee feels intenser thirst, One only good attracts his will: With him ’tis Jesus last and first.

XXI

How Jesus savours none can tell But he whom love possesses whole ; How blest who Jesus loves so well That all things else disgust his soul !

XXII

O Jesus, name to angels dear,

As honey in the mouth Thou art, As sweetest music in the ear,

As heavenly nectar in the heart.

XXIII

I’m weary waiting, Jesus mine, Thy coming ; when, when shall it be ? When shall Thy Face upon me shine ?

When shall my soul be filled with Thee ?

XXIV

Thy love which ever in me lives,

With languor constant grieves the mind,

But joyous is the pledge it gives Of life, by limits none confined.

HYMN TO THE NAME OF JESUS

XXV

O Jesus, boundlessly benign ! O Goodness inexpressible !

Let love my heart unite with Thine Who canst alone its hunger still.

XXVI

How good to love and seek Thee, yea, And for Thy sake all else disown ! To die to self, that so I may, Sweet Jesus, live for Thee alone!

XXVII

O Jesus, sweetness over all, The love-sick’s soul one remedy, These tears of love upon Thee call, My inmost heart cries out for Thee.

XXVIII

For Thee I pine in every place, And languish for Thy presence sweet. What bliss whene’er I see Thy Face ! What joy when I may clasp Thy Feet!

XXIX

Then such caresses, such delights As make all other savours sour ! For Jesus then Himself unites To me for one too short-lived hour.

HYMN TO THE NAME OF JESUS

XXX

What long I’ve sought I now can see, I’ve reached the goal of my desire ;

I languish, Lord, with love of Thee, And all my soul seems set on fire.

XXXI

When love divine to this attains, No passion can oppose its sway, It never dies, it never wanes, But stronger grows from day to day.

XXXII

Thy love, O Jesus, ne’er can lose Its heat, but burns for ever bright ; Its savour, wondrous sweet, imbues And fills the soul with pure delight.

XXXIII

This love, descending from the pole, Abides in me, a welcome guest,

It sets on fire my very soul, And makes a heaven in my breast.

XXXIV

O happy flame of charity ! O blissful ardour of desire !

O love of God’s sweet Son! In thee Is shelter safe from passion’s fire.

HYMN TO THE NAME OF JESUS

454 XXXV

O Virgin’s Offspring, Jesus mine ! My sole delight and dearest love !

To Thee bepraise and power divine, Be Thine the kingdom bright above !

XXXVI

Come, come, Lord Jesus, best of kings, A brighter radiance on me cast ;

Come, Source whence light eternal springs,

So long desired, come, come at last.

XXXVII

Thy brightness, Jesus, shames the sun, No fragrance can with Thine compete,

Thy loveliness the palm hath won,

Than sweetness’ self Thou art more sweet.

XXXVIII

Thy savour, Lord, gives such delight, Thy perfume is so sweet withal,

My love-sick soul longs for the sight Of Thee, Who art her all in all.

XXXIX

For Thou love’s consummation art, The bliss and sunshine of my mind,

The pride and glory of my heart, O Jesus, Saviour of mankind.

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HYMN TO THE NAME OF JESUS

XL

Reseat Thee at the Father’s Right, Beloved Lord, Thy work is done ;

Thy foes Thou hast subdued with might, And now enjoy the kingdom won.

XLI Yet we can never parted be, For Thou hast stolen away my heart :

Go where Thou wilt, I'll follow Thee, Sweet Lord, who ail my glory art.

XLII

Lift up your gates and run to meet, Ye angels all, your King and mine;

And thus the glorious Victor greet : “Hail Jesus, hail our King divine.”

XLIII

Great King of glory, Lord of might, Immortal Congueror of hell,

Sole Splendour of the land of light, And Giver of all grace as well ;

XLIV

Yea, mercy’s never-failing source, Eternal Brightness of the blest :

Drive clouds and sadness from our course And let Thy light upon us rest.

HYMN TO THE NAME OF JESUS

XLV

The angels with unwearying voice Shall sing Thy praises evermore, For that Thou didst the world rejoice And peace ’twixt God and man restore.

XLVI

The Prince of peace is Jesus mine,

Of peace no mind can comprehend; For this my soul shall ever pine,

To this do all her strivings tend.

XLVII

Our Jesus has the skies resought, To rule as King o’er friends and foes, And my poor heart has with Him brought, Which follows Him where’er He goes.

XLVIII

Oh, let us honour Him with prayer,

With praise, and vows, and hymns of love, That through His mercy we may share

His glory in the realms above.

Printed by Browne and Nolan, Ltd., Dublin.

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