Loving God

Amat ergo jam Deum, sed propter se interim adhuc, non propter ipsum. Est tamen quaedam prudentia scire quid ex te, quid ex Dei adjutorio possis, et ipsi servare te infensum, qui te tibi servat illaesum. At si frequens ingruerit tribulatio, ob quam et frequens ad Deum conversio fiat, et a Deo aeque frequens liberatio consequatur nonne, etsi fuerit ferreum pectus, vel cor lapideum toties liberati, emolliri necesse est ad gratiam liberantis, quatenus Deum homo diligat, non propter se tantum, sed et propter ipsum? Ex occasione quippe frequentium necessitatum crebris necesse est interpellationibus Deum ab homine frequentari, frequentando gustari, gustando probari quam suavis est Dominus. Ita fit ut ad diligendum pure Deum plus jam ipsius gustata alliciat suavitas, quam urgeat nostra necessitas; ita ut exemplo Samaritanorum, dicentium mulieri quae adesse Dominum nuntiaverat, Jam non propter tuam loquelam credimus; ipsi enim audivimus, et scimus quia ipse est vere Salvator mundi; ita, inquam, et nos illorum exemplo carnem nostram alloquentes, dicamus merito: Jam non propter tuam necessitatem Deum diligimus; ipsi enim gustavimus et scimus quoniam suavis est Dominus. Est enim carnis quaedam loquela necessitas, et beneficia quae experiendo probat, gestiendo renuntiat. Itaque sic affecto, jam de diligendo proximo implere mandatum, non erit difficile. Amat quippe veraciter Deum, ac per hoc quae Dei sunt. Amat caste, et casto non gravatur obedire mandato, castificans magis cor suum, ut scriptum est, in obedientia charitatis. Amat juste, et mandatum justum libenter amplectitur. Amor iste merito gratus, quia gratuitus. Castus est, quia non impenditur verbo, neque lingua, sed opere et veritate. Justus est, quoniam qualis suscipitur, talis et redditur. Qui enim sic amat, haud secus profecto, quam amatus est, amat; quaerens et ipse vicissim, non quae sua sunt, sed quae Jesu Christi, quemadmodum ille nostra, vel potius nos, et non sua quaesivit. Sic amat qui dicit: Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus. Qui Domino confitetur, non quoniam sibi bonus est, sed quoniam bonus est; hic vere diligit Deum propter Deum, et non propter seipsum. Non sic amat de quo dicitur: Confitebitur tibi cum benefeceris ei. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Liber De Diligendo Deo, Caput IX Source: Migne PL 182.989c-990b

So then now man loves God, but not yet for God’s sake, but for his own. There is, however, a certain prudence to know what you can do by yourself and what by God’s help, and by that to have guard against the enemy, that keeps you unharmed. But when tribulations frequently assail, because of which a man frequently turns to God and by the benevolence of God is frequently liberated, is it not that even a heart as hard as iron, or as cold as marble, must be softened by the goodness of such a liberator, so that he would love God not only for himself, but because He is God? For the reason of frequent and pressing necessities a man often calls on God; and by often tasting, the tasting proves how sweet the Lord is. 1 Thus it is that a man is drawn to a pure love of God by the tasting of His sweetness, more than by the urging of necessities; as the Samaritans bear witness who said to the woman who announced she had encountered the Lord: 'Now we do not believe on account of your words, for we have heard Him ourselves and we know that He is truly the Savior of the world.' 2 And, I say, by their example, proclaiming our own carnality, we should rightly say, 'Now we love God not because of our necessity, for we have tasted and known how sweet the Lord is.' The necessities of the flesh have a certain way of speaking, approving the benefits they have experienced, in happiness declaring them. So with this affection, now it shall not be difficult to fulfill the commandment regarding the love of one's neighbour, since he who loves God correctly loves that which is His. Such love is chaste, and being chaste is not burdened by obedience to the commandment that exhorts us to make the heart chaste, as it is written, in the obedience of charity. 3 He who loves rightly, freely embraces the righteous command. This love is rightly grateful, because it is joyful. It is chaste, because it is not found in words, nor on the tongue, but in deed and truth. 4 Righteous it is, because what it has received it returns. He who loves in this way cares not for his own advantage, but as he has been loved, he loves, seeking not what is his own but what is Jesus Christ's, just as He did not seek His own things but ours, or rather us. So he loves who says: 'Confess the Lord because He is good.' 5 He who takes joy in the Lord not because of some good done to him, but because He is good, He truly loves God for His own sake, and not for himself. So he does not love concerning whom it says: 'He shall confess you when you do good to him.' 6 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God, Chapter 9 1 Ps. 33.8 2 Jn 4.42 3 1 Pet 1.22 4 1 Jn 3.18 5 Ps. 117.1 6 Ps. 48.18