On Loving God (Formatted with TOC)

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order. Following the Christian defeat at the Siege of Edessa, the Pope commissioned Bernard to preach the Second Crusade. The last years of Bernard's life were saddened by the failure of the crusaders, the entire responsibility for which was thrown upon him. Bernard died at age 63, after 40 years spent in the cloister. He was the first Cistercian monk placed on the calendar of saints, and...