The Eucharistic kiss

St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) did not write a systematic treatise devoted exclusively to the Eucharist in the way that later theologians would do. Bernard’s approach to the Eucharist is contemplative, mystical and unitive.  We can gain some insight into his approach by immersing ourselves in the monastic spirituality of the Benedictine family of which the Cistercians were a new development from the 12^th Century.  For the early Cistercians, and broadly within the Benedictine monastic tradition of Bernard's time, the focus was on a living relationship with Christ through Scripture, the liturgy and the sacrament. 
  In his Sermons on the Song of Songs, he uses the language of desire, intimacy and union between the disciple and Jesus.

For Bernard, Christianity was essentially a relationship with Christ. The Eucharist was not just a sacred object or ritual but a privileged meeting with the Bridegroom of the soul.   In one of his sermons he quotes the Song of Songs:

"Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.”

St Bernard interprets this kiss as a communication of divine love and grace. In some places he associates the deepest ‘kiss’ with the Holy Spirit and the intimate self-giving of God [see The Holy Spirit: the kiss of the mouth].

In this imagery a deeper understanding of Holy Communion is possible in which the believer is drawn into intimate union with Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit

A monastic spirituality is rooted in the meditation, prayer, community liturgy, work and lingering in contemplation.  It is about adoration, love and union over analysis.

In the Eucharist, the humility first revealed in the Incarnation continues sacramentally, as Christ makes himself present under the humble appearances of bread and wine.

Might we take a leaf from Cistercian spirituality and rest a while in the Lord’s presence and resisting the temptation to rush through even the celebration of Mass?

"Jesus is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, joy in the heart." [Sermon15: The Name of Jesus]