w*****e
发帖数: 226 | 1 Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard(1090-1153) was one of the great leaders in the history of the Church
. He was an eloquent speaker and considered by many to be one of the holiest
indivicuals who ever lived. His works had a profound influence on both
Martin Luther and John Calvin. The following is from his well known work,
his treatise On the love of God.
1.The first degree of love: The love of self for self's sake.
2.The second degree of love: The love of God for self's sake.
3.The third degree of love: The love of God for God's sake.
Here I want explain a little because a lot of brothers and sisters stay at
2nd degree of love and can not go further, I want to share the following
excerpt:
In the first degree of love we love ourselves for our own sake. In the
second degree of love we love God for our own sake, chiefly because he has
provided for us and rescued us. But if trials and tribulations continue to
come upon us, every time God brings us through, even if our hearts are made
of stone, we will be softened by the grace of the Rescuer. Thus, we begin to
love God not merely for our own sakes, but for himself.
In order to arrive at this we must continually go to God with our needs and
pray. In those prayers the grace of God is tasted, and by frequent tasting
it is proved to us how sweet the Lord is. Then we can say,"We now love God,
not for our necissity, for we ourselves have tasted and know how sweet the
Lord is."
4.The fourth degree of love: The love of self for God's sake.
This I will just quote from the book. As it is not for everyone. Those who
have ears, hear this please.
Blessed are we who experience the fourth degree of love wherein we love
ourselvevs for God's sake. Such experiences are rare and come only for a
moment. In a manner of speaking, we lose ourselves as though we did not
exist, utterly unconsicious of ourselves and emptied of ourselves.
If for even a moment we experience this kind of love, we will then know the
pain of having to return to this world and its obliations as we are recalled
from the state of contemplation. In turning back to ourselves we will feel
as if we are suffering as we return to the mortal state in which we are
called to live.
But during those moments we will be of one mind with God, and our wills in
one accord with God. The prayer, "Thy will be done", will be our prayer and
our delight. Just as a little drop of water mixed with a lot of wine seems
to entirely lose its own identity as it takes on the taste and color of the
wine; just as iron, heated and glowingm kiijs very much like fire, having
lost its original appearance; just as air flooded with the light of the sun
is transformed into the same splendor of the light so that it appears to be
light itself, so it is like for those who melt away from themselves and are
entirely transfused into the will of God.
The perfect love of God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength will not
happen until we are no longer compelled to think about ourselves and attend
to the body's immediate needs. Only then can the soul attend to God
completely. This is why in the present body we inhabit this is difficult to
maintain. But it is within God's power to give such an experience to whom He
calls, and it is not attained by our own efforts.
My beloved brothers and sisters, if you experience the fourth kind of love,
praise the Lord for His saving work, that self forgetting, God serving
attitude combined with total surrender result in a glimpse of how God love
you, which makes you love yourselves and others.
Praise His name! | i*****t
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