St. Bernard of Clairvaux's "Life of St. Malachy of Armagh" is a hagiographical masterpiece that delves into the life and virtues of Saint Malachy, a pivotal figure in the Irish Church during the 12th century. Written in a style that melds vivid narrative with spiritual exaltation, St. Bernard crafts a compelling portrait of Malachy's dedication to reforming the Church and his profound mystical experiences. The text also reflects the socio-religious context of the time, displaying the tensi...

The author is ernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist (1090 – August 20, 1153) was a Frenchabbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order. After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. "Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val d'Absinthe, about 15 km southeast of Bar-sur-Aube. According to tradition, Bernard founded the monastery on 25 June 1115, naming it Claire Vallée, whi...

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 - August 20, 1153) was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order. The Song of Songs is a book of the Hebrew Bible-one of the megillot (scrolls)-found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim (or "Writings"). It is also known as Canticle of Canticles or simply Canticles from the Vulgate title Canticum Canticorum (Latin, "Song of Songs"). The protagonists of Song of Songs are a woman (identified in one verse as "the Shu...

You want me to tell you why God is to be loved and how much. I answer, the reason for loving God is God Himself; and the measure of love due to Him is immeasurable love. Is this plain? Doubtless, to a thoughtful man; but I am debtor to the unwise also. A word to the wise is sufficient; but I must consider simple folk too. Therefore I set myself joyfully to explain more in detail what is meant above. We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason; nothing is more reasonable, no...

"We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason; nothing is more reasonable, nothing more profitable." On Loving God is first a touching description of God's love for us as a unmistakably demonstrated in the death of his Son. Second, it is a call for us to joyfully respond to God like the child who runs to and embraces her father whose love is sure. As St. Bernard writes, "They love all the more, because they know themselves to be loved so exceedingly."

"""You want me to tell you why God is to be loved and how much.I answer, the reason for loving God is God Himself; and the measure of love due to Him is immeasurable love. . . ."" Saint Bernard's On Loving God is one of his most delightful, and most widely read, works. It stands in the tradition of the Fathers of the Church, but it carries patristic teaching into the Middle Ages and into the cloister. Its famous affirmation that God is to be loved without limit, sine modo, is taken directl...

This timeless work is applicable to everyone who has experienced the struggle between good and evil in his own soul. St. Augustine, born in Tagaste, Numidia, in North Africa (now Constantine) in 354, was raised by a devout Christian mother. He abandoned the Christianity in which he had been brought up, taking on a mistress who bore him an illegitimate son. After hearing the sermons of Ambrose, he began a great internal struggle which led to his conversion in 387. The Confessions d...

St. Bernard of Clairvaux's "Life of St. Malachy of Armagh" is a profound hagiographical work that delves into the life and virtues of St. Malachy, a significant figure in the Irish church. Bernard, known for his eloquence and deep spirituality, portrays Malachy as a model of holiness and dedication to God. The text highlights Malachy's tireless efforts in reforming the church in Ireland, his commitment to monastic life, and his role in bridging the gap between the Irish and Roman ecclesias...

"We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason; nothing is more reasonable, nothing more profitable." On Loving God is first a touching description of God's love for us as a unmistakably demonstrated in the death of his Son. Second, it is a call for us to joyfully respond to God like the child who runs to and embraces her father whose love is sure. As St. Bernard writes, "They love all the more, because they know themselves to be loved so exceedingly."

Portraits of Piety: The Lives, Legacies and Writings of Saints gathers forty books into a capacious archive of Christian sanctity, tracing devotion through biography, theology, meditation, apologetic, historical study, and literary portraiture. Patristic argument, medieval mysticism, Reformation controversy, hagiographic narrative, and modern reflection coexist here, revealing sainthood as both an inherited ideal and a contested cultural language. Particularly compelling is the volume's mo...