MY BELOVED IS MINE AND I AM HIS: SELF-KNOWLEDGE IN THE ...

saving work of Jesus Christ in the soul’s ascent to self-knowledge. First, we will show
how Bernard has, on the basis of the biblical witness and the patristic tradition he
inherits, conceived a thoroughly incarnational Christology which supplies the doctrinal
foundation for his entire spirituality. In virtue of this incarnational Christology, Bernard
is able to show how the divine Person of the Word, through his descent and ascent in the
flesh, undertakes his own journey of self-knowledge that he might learn by human
experience the humility and compassion he asks of his disciples. Second, through a study
of Bernard’s Sermons for the Liturgical Year, we will argue that Bernard sees in the
mysteries of Christ’s descent and ascent, from his Advent to his gift of the Spirit at
Pentecost, the model for those who would undertake their own personal journey of self-
knowledge in imitation of his example. Third, and finally, we will turn to Bernard’s
letter-treatise Against the Errors of Peter Abelard to show how, for the abbot, the
Incarnate Word renders himself not only a perfect example of the humility and charity
that lead to true self-knowledge, but also the source of these virtues for those who are
joined to him, as members to their Head, by faith, charity, and the sacraments of the
Church. In attending to these dimensions of Bernard’s Incarnational Christology,
moreover, we hope to offer a concrete example in his thought of the “doctrinal
spirituality” we have referred to above.
Bernard’s Patristic Sources
With regard to Bernard’s patristic sources, we have already seen how the abbot
depends on the teaching of the Rule of Benedict for the most basic foundations of his
spiritual theology. Following Benedict, Bernard teaches that the spiritual life is, most
fundamentally, the soul’s search for God. The monk who seeks God will, moreover,
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