We, the New Testament People have the Incarnate One daily. We have the fullness of Truth, the answer to all the prophecies, the One Who Saves. We too quickly lose heart, lose Faith, lose Hope and then Love, because we forget Who Christ really is. We complain, we fuss, we fall into anxiety. Why?
The Dark Night is the time of Faith, when we cannot see where God is leading us and when He removes His immediate Presence because we are in sin. He waits, and gives us Hope when we turn to Him in that Faith.
Love is inspired by the grace of the Illuminative State. But, St. Bernard scolds us for not turning to Christ, for whom all those righteous people waited and held Faith for so long.
Another point the saint makes in this sermon is the fact that the angels came to the shepherds because they were "men of good will". The Good News comes to those who really want peace.
He quotes the Scriptures: this is from Luke 2.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flock.
9 And
behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God
shone round about them; and they feared with a great fear.
10 And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people:
11 For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying:
14 Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.
15 And
it came to pass, after the angels departed from them into heaven, the
shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us
see this word that is come to pass, which the Lord hath shewed to us.
16 And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.
17 And seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child.
18 And all that heard, wondered; and at those things that were told them by the shepherds.
Notice that the angels do not say peace to all men. Bernard notes that they speak to those who were not evil, like Herod, who did not have "good will" towards men.
This is one of the mysteries both of Divine Providence and predestination, as I referred to in early posts last month. God knows to whom He can share His Good News, Himself.
He comes to the humble, which is why the Illuminative State follows the Dark Night. Christ came at night. He brought His Light into the Darkness. And the first to see Christ in the manger were those humble ones.
to be continued....