Overall Summary:
St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s “On Loving God” is a theological treatise that explores the nature and degrees of love for God. St. Bernard outlines why God deserves to be loved and how humans can ascend through various degrees of love. His argument is built on the foundation that God’s love is boundless and that human love should aspire to be the same, though it will always fall short of God’s perfect love. He describes the journey of the soul from a self-centered love, through a love of God for His benefits, to a pure love for God’s own sake, culminating in a selfless love where one loves oneself only for God’s sake.

Detailed Chapter Summaries:

Chapter I: Why we should love God and the measure of that love

Summary: St. Bernard argues that God should be loved for His own sake and with immeasurable love. He emphasizes that God’s love for humanity, demonstrated through the gift of His Son, is the ultimate reason for loving God.

Key Points:

• God loved us first (1 John 4:19).
• God’s gift of His Son (John 3:16).
• The measure of our love should be limitless because God Himself is infinite.

Chapter II: On loving God for His gifts

Summary: Bernard discusses the reasons why humans should love God, focusing on the material and spiritual gifts bestowed by God. He highlights that these gifts should lead us to love God, not just for the gifts themselves but for who He is.

Key Points:

• God’s provision of all things (Ps. 136:25, Matt. 5:45).
• The dignity, wisdom, and virtue granted to humans (Gen. 1:26, Ps. 94:10).
• True glory lies in recognizing all good things as coming from God (1 Cor. 4:7, Ps. 115:1).

Chapter III: Incentives for Christians to love God

Summary: Bernard explains that Christians have greater reasons to love God compared to non-believers due to the revelation of God’s love in Jesus Christ. He portrays the deep emotional connection the Church has with Christ, likening it to a bride’s love for her bridegroom.

Key Points:

• The manifestation of God’s love through Christ’s suffering (John 15:13).
• The Church’s profound love for Christ (Cant. 2:5).
• The transformation and blessings brought by Christ (Phil. 2:10, Rev. 21:5).

Chapter IV: Comfort in the recollection of God

Summary: Bernard talks about the comfort believers find in the thought of God, contrasting this with the despair of those who do not seek Him. He emphasizes the continual hunger for God’s presence experienced by the faithful.

Key Points:

• The blessing of hungering and thirsting after righteousness (Matt. 5:6).
• The futility of worldly riches and the ultimate satisfaction in God (Ps. 73:25-26, Matt. 25:34).

Chapter V: The Christian’s debt of love

Summary: Bernard highlights the immense debt of love Christians owe to God, not just for creation but for redemption through Christ. He underscores that true love for God transcends self-interest.

Key Points:

• The supreme gift of Christ’s redemption (Heb. 9:12).
• The call to love God wholly (Deut. 6:5, Ps. 116:12).
• The transformation from self-love to divine love (John 3:16, Rom. 8:18).

Chapter VI: A brief summary

Summary: Bernard reiterates the boundless nature of love for God, insisting that love for God is both a debt and a spontaneous affection. He emphasizes that this love should be all-consuming and rooted in the recognition of God’s infinite love.

Key Points:

• Love for God is immeasurable (Ps. 18:1-2).
• The innate justice of loving God for His gifts (Ps. 36:6-7, Rom. 5:8).

Chapter VII: Love and its rewards

Summary: Bernard discusses the rewards of loving God, noting that true love is its own reward. He argues that God, who is love, rewards love with Himself.

Key Points:

• The unselfish nature of true love (1 Cor. 13:5).
• The reward of love is God Himself (Lam. 3:25, Rom. 10:12).

Chapter VIII: The first degree of love: loving God for self’s sake

Summary: Bernard identifies the initial stage of love where humans love God for their own benefit. This self-centered love is natural but should evolve into higher forms of love.

Key Points:

• The commandment to love God (Deut. 6:5).
• The progression from self-love to social love (Ecclus. 18:30, 1 Tim. 6:8).

Chapter IX: The second and third degrees of love

Summary: Bernard outlines the second degree of love, where one loves God for His own sake, and the third degree, where one loves God unselfishly and finds joy in God Himself.

Key Points:

• Transition from loving God out of necessity to loving God for His goodness (Ps. 34:8, John 4:42).
• Unselfish love manifests in loving God’s creatures (1 Peter 1:22).

Chapter X: The fourth degree of love: loving self for God’s sake

Summary: Bernard describes the highest degree of love, where one loves oneself only in relation to God. This selfless love is complete and mirrors divine love.

Key Points:

• The transformation of human affections into divine will (Ps. 73:26, Matt. 6:10).
• The eventual perfection of love in the afterlife (Ps. 42:2, 27:8).

Chapter XI: Attainment of perfect love at the resurrection

Summary: Bernard explains that perfect love is fully realized only after the resurrection when the soul is completely united with God. Until then, the soul remains incomplete without the body.

Key Points:

• The soul’s journey to complete union with God (Rom. 8:28).
• The resurrection as the consummation of love (Ps. 116:15, Rom. 8:28).

Chapter XII: On love: a letter to the Carthusians

Summary: Bernard reiterates the degrees of love in a letter, emphasizing true charity and the transformation from self-interest to pure love of God.

Key Points:

• The nature of true charity (1 Tim. 1:5).
• The difference between self-interested love and pure love (Ps. 118:1, 1 Cor. 13:5).

This structured approach gives a concise yet comprehensive understanding of St. Bernard’s profound exploration of divine love.