Today is the feast of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church. From his commentary on the Song of Songs, Sermon XXXIV (pp. 411-412):
How many there are who suffer humiliation without being humble! Some endure humiliation with bitterness, others with patience, others again with gladness. The first class are culpable, the second are innocent, the last are just. Although innocence may be considered a part of justice, still the perfection of justice belongs to humility....[I]t is not to the humbled but to the humble that God gives His grace. The humble man is he who converts humiliation into humility, and it is only such as can say to God, "It is good that Thou hast humbled me."
