In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor turns to St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s On Loving God as a natural deepening of the path already laid by the Holy Rule. Through prayer, humility, obedience, and restraint, St. Benedict has been helping to form the heart. Now St. Bernard helps clarify what that formation is meant to open within us: a deeper love of God.

St. Bernard begins with a simple but decisive truth. We do not love God only because of what He gives. We love Him because of who He is. While the spiritual life often begins in need, in our desire for help, clarity, consolation, or strength, it does not end there. As the heart continues to turn toward God in prayer, love matures. Prayer becomes more than a place of petition. It becomes a place of communion, where the heart learns to remain with God and to rest more fully in Him.

This teaching fits deeply within the Benedictine way. The Holy Rule has already been clearing away what keeps the heart restless and divided. St. Bernard now shows that all of this formation is ordered toward love. Humility clears the way. Discipline steadies the heart. Prayer opens it. And Christ reveals the full measure of this love in His complete self-gift to the Father. This episode invites listeners to consider how their own prayer is changing, and whether their love for God is becoming less anxious, less measured, and more rooted in God Himself.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God, Chapter 1 §1

“The cause of loving God is God himself;
and the measure of that love is to love without measure.”

Causa diligendi Deum Deus est; modus autem sine modo diligere.

“We love, because he first loved us.”

1. Do I tend to turn to God mostly when I need help, clarity or consolation?
2. How has my prayer changed over time? Has it become more a place of communion as well as petition?
3. In what ways have prayer, humility, obedience and restraint been helping to prepare my heart for a deeper love of God?
4. Do I find myself resting in God Himself, or mostly in the gifts and answers I hope to receive from Him?
5. How does Christ’s complete self-gift help me understand what it means to love God more freely and more fully?

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