iii) The Four Degrees of Love
So in the opening sentences of his treatise, “On Loving God,” Bernard begins:
“You wish me to tell you why and how God should be loved. My answer is that God himself is the reason why he is to be loved. As for how he is to be loved, there is no limit to that love”.
Bernard then demonstrates how God deserves our love. Bernard locates himself and his hearers within the teaching of the Fathers, and as such sees no need for polemics on matters of doctrine. For one who is secure in the arms of the Beloved, only love is needed to go on loving. Bernard presents a progression in this journey of love, four degrees of love.The first of which is the love of self for our own sakes. In our fallenness, this tends to destruction.
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This is a spirituality steeped in monastic theology, aiming at wisdom rather than knowledge, seeking to draw lessons out of scripture to apply practically to a life of contemplation and devotion. The ever-pervasive influence of the Cistercian sermo means his writings assume a shared starting point of faith and outlook and press towards corporate encouragement. To this end, Bernard, with his abbatial burden, seeks to share with the reader, or hearer, the grace he himself has received from the Lord. A careful study leaves the reader assuredly edified towards a greater love for Christ. His emphasis on the will and its attendant desire and love offers a helpful corrective to our contemporary over-emphasis on reason, which often veers towards an evangelical rationalism. Bernard’s view of the Christian life through the metaphors of journey and relationship is useful in engaging the heart and mind and again provide a helpful corrective to contemporary decisionism and easy believism. Bernard presents a view of Christian discipleship not as a program or study plan, but as a headlong plunge into an experiential pursuit of the Spirit of Christ, seeking the threefold kisses of repentance, obedience and contemplative union. A union which through degrees draws the seeker away from a selfish love of God and others, to a divinely empowered love of God and others. Our evangelical minds can shrink back at the heights of love to which Bernard calls us to, even as those who believe the Bible, we are prone to temper his call to love with a divine self-forgetfulness, with rejoinders of the limitations of our fallenness this side of glory. And no doubt, the fullest experience of this perfect will requires glorified, perfected hearts, minds, souls and strength. This side of glory we only experience in part and see through a glass darkly. But our limitations should not cause us to
In the beginning, Creation was oriented to worship but, by the Fall, this relationship was broken. Thereafter throughout history, God has worked to rebuild this relationship. Salvation history includes the familiar stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and ultimately Jesus. By the true sacrifice of Christ, we can come to understand the fullness of what our relationship with God can be. Jesus is the exemplar of what it means to be related in love. He is the one whom Mrs. Turpin strives
Leclercq, Jean. The Love of Learning and the Desire for God; a Study of Monastic
...nd analyzing the writing of Pope Francis it allowed me to further my understanding of not only his particular style of teaching, but also of the various issues surrounding Christian ethics. Reading his book, changed my perspective on a few issues and had an impact on me in regards to my life as a Christian. By writing this paper, I was able to identify the main focuses of Christianity in order to become more effect, relevant, and credible. In addition, I was able to further my understanding of the issues surrounding Christian ethics, which will allow me to help others more effectively by following in Jesus’s footsteps. Overall, I enjoyed the assignment and it opened up my eyes to the different issues surrounding the four areas of concern mentioned in The Joy of the Gospel, which are the new idolatry of money, option for the poor, inequality, and common good/peace.
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
... of the Christian faith front and center by uniting two camps of believers in one reading; a starting point. As illustrated by the authors, “Though we have not, of course, reached agreement, we are satisfied that we have eliminated misunderstandings, that is, that neither of us has misrepresented the other. We offer the result to the reader as a celebration of shared friendship, faith, and scholarship” (xi).
...nother. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13: 34-35).
A central component of medieval religion that is evident in even the slightest dissection of the life of Margery Kempe or the directed discipline from the author advising contemplation is an unmistakable desire for religious experience. Even among married men and women who are occupied with family responsibilities, lay people during this time such as we see in the life of Margery herself are seeking more intense religious ways of living. Margery, as the example, lived with her husband with whom she had fourteen children. Growing up influenced by the church, her spirituality came to a heightened level when she and her Jesus began having actual communication with one another. While the church was catalyzing religious experience in medieval communities, upon the realization of direct mystical connection with Christ in the lives of people such as Margery, the desire for the inward search for spiritual satisfaction spread.
Neely opened her paper with a powerful but yet simple scripture from the Bible. “God is Love.” (1 John 4.16) I believe this is one of the many important scriptures to look back on when talking about a Christian worldview. Love is the core of my Christian worldview. In Luke's Gospel, Jesus mentions this "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” He says, "Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back…” (Luke 6:30-36) Christian love is giving to others what you would want them to give to you in that situation, even if they can’t give it back.
If we are unable to love, and this what Wright is addressing, then one has no saving knowledge of God. As Christians, one needs to be reminded that God’s nature is kind, because there is no evil in God, and this what is being pointed out in the entire book of After you Believe: Why Christian Character
One of the more surprising features of the Christian faith is that it produced at its very beginning a substantial body of writings. That this should be the case is by no means a necessity: not all religious movements produce writings. Furthermore, that these writings should be collected into one book and thus become a sacred corpus, and that this sacred corpus should continue to influence the life of believers and to determine the content and the practices of the faith two thousand years later is also remarkable.
...s distributed in Theology 101 at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle on 22 April 2008.
He made and loveth all…” and that is that one should love and respect God and all things
The Late Middle Ages saw great theological discrepancies through the progression of Christian mysticism. The exploration into spiritual practices and the unification of the soul during this period led to great philosophical works. The Cloud of Unknowing and The Imitation of Christ are two noteworthy texts that discuss one’s aspiration to attain union with God. The Cloud of Unknowing is an anonymously authored spiritual exercise that accentuates movement toward the contemplative life by acknowledging what is unknown by man. In contrast, The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis is a spiritual guide which emphasizes that the way to be fully Christian is to live in the imitation of Jesus Christ. While many of the thoughts concerning human reason and withdrawal from the corporal world are similar in the texts, the two are inherently different as the account in The Imitation of Christ is more compelling due to its focus on a humanistic objective while acquiring union and salvation with God.
This was because He knew that love was the key to growing in their faith and living a life free from Sin.13 Love is only possible because God created it, He knew that humans needed love.14
“Love is the state in which man sees things most decidedly as they are not. The power of illusion is at its peak here, as is the power to sweeten and transfigure. In love man endures more, man bears everything. A religion had to be invented in which one could love: what is worst in life is thus overcome – it is not even seen any more.”