Sermons on the Song of Songs

“Smelling sweet of the best ointments.”

My brethren, I cannot pretend to such profundity of understanding or to such perspicacity of genius as would enable me to discover anything new for myself. But in the mouth of St. Paul, which is always open to us, I find a full and ever-flowing fountain. As very often on other occasions, so now also in explaining the breasts of the Spouse, I shall draw on its resources. “Rejoice with those who rejoice,” says the great Apostle, “weep with those who weep.” In these few words he expresses all the affections of a mother’s heart. For little children know not how to be ill or well without their sickness or health being, through sympathy, shared in by her who brought them into the world. She cannot help being conformed in all things to her own flesh and blood. Wherefore, agreeably to the mind of St. Paul, I will take the two breasts of the Spouse to signify these two maternal affections, naming one Compassion and the other Congratulation or Sympathy with joy. For if the Spouse does not as yet possess such feelings, does not as yet exhibit these breasts, is not as yet conscious of a readiness to “rejoice with those that rejoice” and to “weep with those that weep,” she is still but “a little one” and immature. Should a soul so defective be appointed to the government of others, or to the office of preaching, she will do no good to her neighbour, but infinite evil to herself. But how recklessly bold and lost to shame should one of this kind be to thrust herself uncalled into such functions!

But let us return to the breasts of the Spouse, and to each let us assign its own peculiar kind of milk. I say, then, that Congratulation yields the milk of encouragement, Compassion that of consolation. Both species the spiritual mother feels flowing abundantly into her loving heart from the heavenly source whenever she obtains the kiss of divine contemplation. You may see her immediately afterwards with full breasts giving suck to her children, distilling from the one breast a wealth of consolation, and from the other a plenteous stream of salutary exhortation, according as the various needs of the little ones may appear to demand. For example, should she notice that one of those whom she has begotten in Christ, is agitated by some violent temptation, and reduced thereby to such a state of perturbation, sadness, and pusillanimity as to be no longer capable of withstanding the enemy’s onslaught, how she sympathises with him! how she soothes him! how she weeps over him! how she consoles him! how many arguments of piety does she not presently discover with which to lift him up out of his depression! But if, on the contrary, she observes him to be full of zeal and alacrity, and making good progress towards perfection, oh, then she is jubilant! she approaches him with salutary admonitions; she fans his zeal to brighter flame; she provides him as well as she can with the means of perseverance; she exhorts him to be ever striving towards higher sanctity. In this way does she accommodate herself to all. She transfers to herself the dispositions of all. And she shows herself to be the mother of the Weak no less than of the fervent.

How many do we behold to-day actuated by feelings and dispositions very far from motherly!—I speak of those who have undertaken the government of souls. Rather it must be confessed, although with groans of misery, that they melt down in the furnace of their avarice, and fashion into things of traffic, and barter away for filthy lucre the reproaches of Christ, the spittings, the scourges, the nails, the lance, His cross, and His death,—all. And the price of this all, the world’s ransom, they hasten to place in their purses! The only difference between prelates of this character and the Iscariot is that, whereas he equated the value of all this merchandise with thirty (silver) pieces, they, on the contrary, influenced by a more griping greed of gain, endeavour to drive a better bargain by demanding an immeasurably higher price. After these profits they hunger with an insatiable appetite. When possessed, they are in fear lest they lose them, and they grieve for them when lost. In the love of them they rest, in so far, at least, as their anxiety to preserve and increase them is consistent with any rest. But for the loss or the salvation of souls, they have no concern. Most certainly, these are not true mothers, who, though they are “grown fat and thick and gross” out of the patrimony of the Crucified, yet feel no compassion for “the affliction of Joseph.” The real mother makes herself known by her conduct. She has breasts and she keeps them full. She knows well how to “rejoice with those that rejoice and to weep with those that weep.” Nor does she cease to extract the milk of exhortation from the breast of Congratulation, or the milk of consolation from the breast of Compassion. Concerning this milk and these breasts of the Spouse, I have now said enough.

I shall next endeavour to explain what these ointments are of which the breasts smell so sweetly, but only on condition that you, my brethren, by your prayers, shall obtain for me the double grace of conceiving worthy sentiments and of clothing them in suitable language, for the benefit of my hearers, that is, of yourselves. Of these ointments, some belong to the Bridegroom, others to the Bride, just as there are breasts also proper to each. I indicated, in the preceding discourse, the place where an exposition of the Bridegroom’s ointments will be most properly given. Let us here, consider those of the Bride, and that the more attentively on account of the high eulogium which Holy Scripture passes upon them, declaring them to be, not merely good, but the very best. And, first of all, I will set forth the various species of ointments, that out of all we may select those which most especially belong to the breasts of the Spouse. There is, then, the ointment of Contrition, there is the ointment of Devotion, and the ointment of Piety. The first is pungent, causing pain. The second is soothing, and tempers pain. The third is remedial, and banishes pain. I now proceed to discuss these separately.