Saint Bernardino of Siena
Born to a noble family, Bernardino of Siena was born on September 8, 1380 in Massa Marittima in Tuscany, Italy. He was a brilliant student. Attached to God, he belonged to a brotherhood of prayer. In Siena in 1400, he devoted himself tirelessly during the plague epidemic, and his involvement meant that he was entrusted with the management of a hospital. A few years later, he made his religious profession in September 1403, as a Franciscan religious for the Order of the Friars Minor of the Observance. Ordained a priest, he affirmed himself as a renowned preacher and as having been at the origin of the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. He died on May 20, 1444 at the age of 64. He was canonized on May 24th, 1450 by Nicholas V.
He is celebrated every year by the Church on May 20. So, let's meet Saint Bernardino of Siena: his life, his influence and what he can still tell us today.
At the end of this article on Bernardino of Siena, we also invite you to discover other figures of holiness in the Guide to Saints on Hozana.
[community-card id=8110]
What can we learn from Saint Bernardino of Siena?
Saint Bernardino of Siena, a renowned preacher
After becoming a priest, his prior of the Franciscans appointed him for a preaching ministry.
Having at heart the evangelization of the Italian people, Bernardino began to preach from the age of twenty-five, near the convent, then in Pavia and Siena. Unfortunately, as early as 1411, he was affected by the plague, which interrupted his preaching for a few years. During this time, he took the opportunity to meditate. From 1416, he resumed his preaching, especially in Padua, then in Mantua. His influence grew only a few years later when he was able to preach in front of more than thirty thousand listeners, in marketplaces. One of his biographers said that Bernardino “cleansed Italy of all the sins with which it abounded. ”
In his preaching, he had such an influence on the morals of people that the pyres of “vanities” would take place, that is to say, pyres where immoral and vain objects growing in sin were burned. Bernardino invited the crowd to abstain from blasphemy and sin, and to observe feast days.
As a fine speaker, he knew how to speak to people with pictorial, concrete and understandable language. For example, he exhorted the crowd by saying: “Imitate the cow when it grazes. He chews and chews, and this chewing seems to him better than swallowing. Do the same with God's word when you hear it. Chew it a lot, so that it seems better to you to chew than to hear. ”
A renowned preacher, Bernardino had a major role with John of Capistrano, since he trained this Franciscan priest, who was later canonized, like him.
Saint Bernardino of Siena, at the origin of the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus
During his preaching, Bernardin joined his words to his gestures, with a sign bearing the monogram IHS (that is to say “Jesus, savior of men”), surrounded by a sun so that he was the object of veneration. In one of his sermons, Bernardin said about Jesus “We must know this name so that it shines, and not pass it by in silence.” He widely spread this devotion to the holy name of Jesus in Italy, which earned him the nickname “the apostle of Italy.”
What can Bernardino of Siena bring us today?
The importance of ruminating on the Word of God
In his preaching, Bernardino exhorts the crowd to ruminate on the Word of God. As we saw above, he said about the Word of God “Chew it a lot, so that it seems better to you to chew than to hear. ”
Lectio Divina, which consists in particular of a deep meditation on the Holy Scriptures, is one way among many others to ruminate on the Word of God. Read this article to rediscover what this is all about.
Our whole life is preaching
By preaching as much by word as by deed (one can think of his involvement during the plague epidemic), Bernardin shows us that preaching consists not only in speaking, but in being and doing. It shows us that our whole life must be a preaching through the proclamation of Christ, dead and risen.
To deepen your knowledge of Bernardino of Siena
Works
Below is a book that can allow you to deepen your knowledge:
· Louis Berthaumier, History of Saint Bernardino of Siena, Paris, 1862
· Paul Thureau-Dangin, A Popular Preacher in Renaissance Italy: Saint Bernardine of Siena, Paris, 1896
Praying with Bernardino of Siena
Prayer of Saint Bernardino “O Name of Jesus, all hope of forgiveness, grace, glory is in You! ”
“O Name of Jesus, exalted above all other Names! O Triumphant Name! O Joy of Angels! O terror of hell! All hope of forgiveness, grace, glory is in You! O Sweet Name, You grant forgiveness to the guilty, You reform morals, You fill fears with divine sweetness and remove frightening visions! O Glorious Name! Through You, the mysteries of eternal life are revealed, souls are inflamed with divine love, are strengthened in battle and are delivered from all perils. O Desirable Name! Delicious Name! Wonderful name! Venerable name! You are gradually raising the souls of the faithful, by your Gifts and Graces, to the height of heaven. All those to whom You communicate your ineffable Greatness, acquire by your virtue, salvation and glory! So be it.”
Prayer by Saint Bernardino “O Mary, Mother of Mercy, we have recourse to You:”
“Worthy Virgin, you are the Mother of Mercy, the Treasury of graces, the Source of piety, and the true living Temple of God. O Mary, we have recourse to You, could You reject us, You who have never failed in the need of anyone who has invoked You in all the sincerity of his heart? Amen.”
Continue to develop your friendship with Christ with Hozana
- Discover our communities to pray regularly
- Or check out the great novenas
- Pray with the Gospel of the day
