These are the ancient words of bernard of clairvaux 1090 1153, a great lover of god and considered the last of the church fathers. Why we should love god, and the measure of that love. Bernards sermons on the nativity, translated from the original latin by a priest of mount melleray, devon. Saint bernards on loving god is one of his most delightful, and most widely read, works. Bernard rapidly made great spiritual progress under the guidance of his abbot st. One of bernards most famous writings examines several degrees of love toward god. For indeed, god deserves to be loved very much, yea, boundlessly, because. Its famous affirmation that god is to be loved without limit, sine modo, is taken directly from the letters of saint. What, then, will the lord be to those who seek his presence. Stephen harding, and expected only to live in the service of god hidden and unknown. Spirituality of the middle ages creighton university. While there are many books in the tournament that i have on my list to read, like city of god by st. As the founder and abbot of the abbey of clairvaux, st. This translation, all apparently available for use in the public domain, is by a translator not of the catholic faith, and he.
Some letters of saint bernard, abbot of clairvaux by st. Bernard, called abbot of clairvaux, wisheth long life in. Bernard of clairvaux, the twelve steps of humility and pride. The legacy of saint bernard of clairvaux to 20thcentury christians, as multifaceted as it is, lies most significantly in his profound human psychology of selfesteem and selfawareness grounded. On loving god bernard of clairvaux god deserves to be loved especially by believers 36 because the church knows christ, she feels pangs of love for god that nonbelievers do not. Bernard of clairvaux 10901153, a french abbott, and one of the very few saints designated as a doctor of the church. Librivox recording of on loving god by saint bernard of clairvaux. Click download or read online button to get bernard of clairvaux book now. Bernard of clairvaux on loving god five essential quotes. On loving god, saint bernard of clairvaux, full catholic. On loving god bernard of clairvaux pdf on loving god bernard of clairvaux pdf download. This brief biography of saint bernard of clairvaux highlights the life of a great saint. For mere ignorance, as in the first instance, does not glory. Publication date 1884 topics god worship and love publisher london.
Bernard 10911153 was centrally responsible for the early expansion of the cistercian order throughout europe. On loving god by saint of clairvaux bernard free ebook. Tens of thousands heard his powerful preaching, and he personally attracted and helped many hundreds of men to follow a call to monastic life. On loving god kindle edition by bernard of clairvaux. Augustine and the cost of discipleship by dietrich bonhoeffer, i selected on loving god because it is broken up. Bernard surveys the four types of love that christians experience as they grow in their relationship.
Written at the request of one of the cardinals of rome, it describes the four levels of love for god, and puts christian devotion in the context of god s love for mankind. Bernard of clairvaux the twelve degrees of humility. In these years both clairvaux and rome, the centre of gravity of medieval christendom, focussed upon bernard. In this work, bernard offers us much to think and pray and meditate upon. She sees the onlybegotten son of the father staggering under the weight of the cross. Four degrees of love bernard of clairvaux soul shepherding.
Bernard of clairvaux on love christian history institute. Igniting flames of revival across europe, bernard of clairvaux was one of the most powerful preachers in two thousand years of christian history. Bernard surveys the four types of love that christians experience as they grow in their relationship with god. Bernard of clairvaux pillar of the church britannica. Almost every historian writing about the 11th and 12th centuries includes bernards name and accomplishments, both ecclesiastical and political. Read in english by phil chenevert you want me to tell you why god is to be. The mission of the ccel is to make classic christian books available to the world.
Issue 24 bernard of clairvaux christian history magazine. Your righteousness stands like the strong mountains, god. Short because it was written and coped by hand no printing press let alone computers and word processors and sweet because it shows the path on loving god and contains a surprising simple list on the degrees of love that anyone can understand. Saint bernard was writing not so much for himself as for others which makes his work so much more understandable. On loving god by bernard of clairvaux free at loyal books.
Bernard, called abbot of clairvaux, wisheth long life in the lord and death in the lord. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading on loving god. This document has been generated from xsl extensible stylesheet language source with renderx xep formatter, version 3. This material is summarized from the public domain version of bernard of clairvauxs. It stands in the tradition of the fathers of the church, but it carries patristic teaching into the middle ages and into the cloister. Bernard of clairvaux 10901153, a figure of towering importance on the twelfthcentury monastic and. Today is the feast day of saint bernard of clairvaux whose cistercian order became the most influential movement in 11thcentury europe. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Also known as the cathars or pure ones, they believed in a good god who.
How blessed is he who reaches the fourth degree of love, in which one loves oneself only for gods sake. Written at the request of one of the cardinals of rome, it describes the four levels of love for god, and puts christian devotion in the context of gods love for mankind. Bernard reminds us that not only did god give us life, but he gave us himself. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. On loving god by saint bernard of clairvaux ebook lulu. On loving god is one of the bestknown and most influential works of medieval christian mysticism. A short treatise by saint bernard of clairvaux on loving god. This pdf file is from the christian classics ethereal library. Complete summary of saint bernard of clairvaux s on loving god. Here is a quote from anamchara books modernday version of one of bernards most famous books, loving god. Bernard of clairvaux is the little tract, on loving god. Four degrees of love from the treatise on the love of god, by bernard of clairvaux 1090 1153 you ask me, why should god be loved. In a new analytic commentary, stiegman examines bernards language, logic, and theology, demonstrating the vital importance of reading medieval authors on their own terms. Download life and works of saint bernard abbot of clairvaux pdf ebook life and works of saint bernard abbot of clairvau.
As abbot of the cistercian monastery of clairvaux, which he founded, he was constantly involved in the political, religious, and philosophical issues of his time, in. Bernard of clairvaux download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Bernard of clairvaux, the parables and the sentences, cf 55, trans. Bernard of clairvaux christian history christianity today. Bernard of clairvaux 10901153 on loving god is one of the bestknown and most influential works of medieval christian mysticism. This document has been generated from xsl extensible. Perhaps bernards most delightful tract, on loving god posits that everything good in human persons is an expression of gods love and by love the person may participate in the being of the triune god.
Written at the request of one of the cardinals of rome, it describes the four levels of love for god, and puts christian devotion in the. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. On loving god bernard of clairvaux pdf why okdo pdf to jpeg j2k jp2 pcx converter 3 9 we should love god and the measure of that love. The mature and most active phase of bernards career occurred between 1 and 1145. Bernard of clairvaux sermons on the song of songs bernard of clairvaux ca. Simply because no one could be more justly loved than god. In his devotional classic, the love of god, bernard of clairvaux presents four degrees of love, a model for spiritual development in christlikeness. Complete summary of saint bernard of clairvauxs on loving god.
Passionately in love with christ, he proclaimed a message of gods grace and called people to turn from temporal pleasures to. Mediator and counsellor for several civil and ecclesiastical councils and for theological debates during seven. The best christian book of all time tournament to pick up a few classic christian books that i had yet to read. How much god deserves love from man in recognition of his gifts, both material and spiritual. To the illustrious lord haimeric, cardinal deacon of the roman church, and chancellor. This text is excerpted from the online edition at christian classics ethereal library.
On loving god saint bernard of clairvaux audiobook and. A spirituality of love introduction in this short essay. I answer, the reason for loving god is god himself. Life and works of saint bernard abbot of clairvaux. This book is available in pdf, html, epub, kindle, and other formats. Originally written in the early part of the 12th century, this book continues to speak to us today on the timeless subject of how we can love god.
Love is the fountain of life, and the soul which does not drink from it cannot be called alive. Librivox recording of on loving god by kirsten ferreri on loving god is one of the bestknown and most influential works of medieval christian mysticism. Bernard of clairvaux 3 not remain sinful, so that same love which in equal measure he poured out upon angels kept them altogether free from sin. A companion to bernard of clairvaux pdf free download. Download loving god the teachings of bernard of clairvaux pdf ebook loving god the teachings of bernard of clairvaux lo. The third degree of love, we have now seen, is to love god on his own account, solely because he is god. Saint bernard on the love of god by bernard, of clairvaux, saint, 1090 or 911153. An excerpt from the love of god by bernard of clairvaux. Download a pdf file of this issue for free download 326 kb support this ministry. Bernard of clairvaux, on loving god, cistercian fathers b, trans.