On Loving God
Of Clairvaux, St Bernard
In this 11th century text, St Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church, gives the reader his insights and advice on Love, describing the four separate kinds of love that seekers experience on their path to Loving God: self-love, selfish love, loving God objectified, and loving one's self in God. This desire for Deity, the Saint asserts, is both a duty, because "He loved us first...miserable sinners, with a love so great and free", and a deli...