17 September 2020
Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
St. Robert Bellarmine died on this date in 1621 at 78 years of age. He was an Italian Jesuit and a Cardinal. He was named a doctor of the Church because of his extensive scholarship, focusing on dogmatics and controversies, which are not matters for a blog on Ignatian spirituality. Nevertheless, those who practice Ignatian spirituality can find ample material for prayer in Bellarmine’s lesser known writings on the spiritual life, such as The Sigh of the Dove or the Benefit of Tears (De gemitu columbae sive de bono lacrymarum). At the conclusion of the first part of this book, Bellarmine calls attention to the famous Marian antiphon: Salve Regina, especially to the line “Ad te clamamus, exules fillie Evae, ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.” He says that way too many people recite this text with neither understanding nor emotion. He then imitates Jesus (Matthew 15:8), repeating the warning of the prophet Isaiah (29:13): “this people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
Those of us who pray the Salve Regina frequently need to put our heart into it. To that end, Cardinal Bellarmine gives us this prayer: “You, O Lord, are kind and meek and of great mercy to all who call on you. Remember that we are dust. Heal our listlessness. Enkindle your Spirit in us, and let the tears flow. Send down your Holy Spirit, who teaches us to pray with sighs too deep for words. If, in your just judgement, the tears of the eyes are not fitting, then grant us the sighs of the heart. And should we be undeserving of these gifts of yours, then at least bestow on us the sincere desire to obtain them.” Amen.