On Loving God: De Diligendo Deo Paperback – December 31, 2009

Classical Christianity for the ages. Appreciate the depth of insight. Well.translated with easy to read paragraphs. Buy it and see

While sometimes difficult to understand, but upon reading over the sentence again, and reading the explanation St Bernard provides for us lay persons; I am able to realize the meaning. I truly appreciated this succinct understanding presented by this most holy saint for loving God. Most verbiage is very clear.

There is a pop song by Lord Huron that goes "Yes I know that love is like ghosts - few have seen it but everybody talks." Bernard offers this incredibly level headed and profound treatise to those of us who are wondering what love is anymore anyway. Much of the contemporary jabber about love fails to explain our poor experiences with it. Not so here. His four levels of love move from self interest (where most of us are and stop) through to a beautiful and self forgetful form of love for ourselves that is rooted in a love of God and follows His affections for others. There is a breathtaking panorama painted for those who read this to the end - a life lived in love is beautiful indeed - and Bernard reminds us that this reality is sure to come to fruition.

Very quick read for a very influential book. St. Bernard is a Christian mystic and one of the prominent figures of the Middle Ages. This book is short and sweet. Short because it was written and coped by hand (no printing press let alone computers and word processors) and Sweet because it shows the path on loving God and contains a surprising simple list on the degrees of love that anyone can understand. Everybody can benefit from this book, IMHO.

Superb book. I only wish that I had read it in the quiet of my home instead of the noise and distractions of an airport and airplane. Bernard clearly and logically explains why we ought to love God as he masterly weaves Scripture quotations from St. Paul and the Song of Songs into his text. By itself, the Song of Songs makes little sense. Bernard, however, sheds light on this book by exposing its deep mystical meanings within the contexts of our love for God and God's love for us and His church.

Like another buyer, I purchased this specifically for the commentary which was not included. For the price, I am not too upset but this could have been made clear upfront.

Lightweight and somewhat interesting.

Some very good points.

Excellent!

I didn't enjoy this very short book after the first chapter. In all there are 14 chapters, each one, two or three pages in length.Perhaps I'm a little simple in my thoughts on love but Bernard dove into a level of detail that I didn't;t really comprehend nor warm too. I soon found I was skimming large sections of it looking for some gems but for me they were few and far between.I guess it just wasted my type of read. Clearly I'm an exception judging by the other reviews so best not take my word for it.