Bernard Of Clairvaux ❲FRESH · 2026❳

In his classic work On Loving God , Bernard argues that love is a journey that starts with the self and ends with a complete losing of oneself in God. He outlines these four stages:

We transition to loving God simply for who He is, regardless of the "perks". Bernard of Clairvaux

We begin to love God because of the benefits He provides us. In his classic work On Loving God ,

We start by loving ourselves for our own needs. We start by loving ourselves for our own needs

The Mellifluous Doctor: Lessons in Love from Bernard of Clairvaux

The highest state, where we love ourselves only because God loves us—a state of total, egoless peace. 2. The Battle Against Pride

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) was a man of intense contradictions—a monk who craved solitude yet became the most influential power-broker in Europe, and a mystic who wrote "sweet as honey" prose while preaching for the Second Crusade. Known as the his teachings on humility and love remain a bedrock of spiritual wisdom nearly a millennium later. 1. The Four Degrees of Love