Of the love of God : Francis, de Sales, Saint, 1567-1622 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive (original) (raw)

CONTENTS. BOOK I. INTRODUCTION TO THE WHOLE TREATISE. I. How, in order to the perfecting of human nature, God has committed the government of all the soul's faculties to the will 1 II. Of the different ways in which the will rules the powers of the soul 3 III. How the will contests the sensuous appetite 5 IV. Love governs all the affections and passions, and even the will, although that in its turn governs love 8 V. The affections of the will 10 VI. How the love of God predominates over all other love 12 VII. What love is 14 VIII. What that attraction is which excites love 18 IX. Love tends to union 20 X. The union which love seeks is spiritual 21 XI. There are two parts of the soul 26 XII. In these two parts of the soul there are four different degrees of reason 29 XIII. Of different kinds of love 31 XIV. Charity synonymous with love 33 XV. The adaptation between God and man 34 XVI We have a disposition to love God above ail things 36 XVII. Nature alone cannot love God in all things 37 XVIII. Our natural inclination to love God is not without its use 39 BOOK II. THE ORIGIN OF DIVINE LOVE. I. God's Perfection is manifold yet one 41 II. God's sole action is His Divinity 43 III. Of Divine Providence 45 IV. God's supernatural Providence over man 48 V. God's Providence has provided a plenteous redemption for man 50 VI. The special favours bestowed in the redemption of man by God's Providence 52 VII. The marvellous variety of graces which God vouchsafes to men in His Providence 53 VIII. How greatly God desires our love 55 IX. How God's Eternal Love draws our hearts to love Him 58 X. How we often reject God's inspirations, and refuse to love Him 60 XI. It is from no lack of Divine Love if we are not filled with love XII. God leaves us wholly free to follow or reject His leadings 65 XIII. The first feelings of love which Divine Grace kindles in the soul before it attains to faith 68 XIV. How love is accepted by faith 70 XV. How largely holy hope feeds love 72 XVI. How love is carried out by hope 74 XVII. The love which comes of hope is good, albeit imperfect 77 XVIII. Love is to be found in penitence 79 XIX. Penitence without love is imperfect 81 XX. How love and grief are mingled in contrition 82 XXI. How our Lord's Love draws us on to faith and charity 86 XXII. What charity is 88 BOOK III. THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF LOVE. I. How Divine Love may be continually growing in us 90 II. How easy our Lord has made the growth of love 92 III. How the loving soul advances in love 94 IV. Of perseverance in this holy love 98 V. The privilege of dying in holy love is a special gilt of God 101 VI. We cannot attain to the perfection of unitive love of God in this mortal life 104 VII. The charity of saints in this life may equal, or even sometimes exceed, that of the blessed 105 VIII. The matchless love of the Mother of God 107 IX. What is the union of the blessed with God? 110 X. Past earthly longing will greatly increase the union of the blessed with God 112 XI. The union of the blessed with God through His vision 1x3 XII. The eternal union of the blessed with God through the vision of the Eternal Birth of the Son of God 115 XIII. The union of the blessed with God through the vision of the Holy Ghost's Procession 116 XIV. The holy sight of glory will tend to unite the blessed with God 117 XV. There will be sundry degrees in the union of the blessed with God 118 BOOK IV. THE DECAY AND RUIN OF CHARITY I. We may lose the love of God so long as we are in this life 121 II. How the soul's love grows cold 124 III. How we forsake Divine for earthly love 126 IV. Divine Love may be lost in a iqoment 128 V. The only cause of failure and slackness in charity lies in man's will 130 VI. Whatever love we bear to God is His Gift 132 VII. It is our part to shun idle curiosity, and humbly acquiesce in God's All-wise Providence 135 VIII. The loving submission which we owe to the decrees of God's Providence 139 IX. There is a certain form of love which yet lingers in the soul which has lost Divine Charity 141 X. The danger of this imperfect love 143 XI. How to distinguish this imperfect love 145 BOOK V. THE TWO CHIEF ACTS OF DIVINE LOVE, WHICH ARE COMPLACENCY AND BENEVOLENCE I. Wherein the complacency of holy love consists 147 II. This holy complacency renders us the babes of Christ 150 III. The love of complacence turns our hearts to God, and gives a perpetual longing after Him 152 IV. The loving sympathy which attends the love of complacency 155 V. The sympathy and complacent love found in the Passion of our Lord 158 VI. The love of benevolence we practise towards our Lord through desire 159 VII. The desire to exalt and magnify the Lord draws us from inferior pleasures, and fixes our mind on His Divine Passion 161 VIII. How the love of holy benevolence tends to the praise of the Dear Lord 163 IX. The love of benevolence makes us call upon all creation to join in praising God 166 X. The desire to praise God makes us long after Heaven 167 XI. We share in the praises rendered to God by our Redeemer and His Mother 169 XII. God's sovereign praise of Himself, in which we share through the love of benevolence 172 BOOK VI. THE PRACTICE OF HOLY LOVE IN PRAYER AND MEDITATION I. Mystical theology is nothing else save meditation and prayer 175 II. Of meditation, the first step in prayer or mystic theology 279 III. Contemplation; the first point of difference between that and meditation 183 IV. Love in this world takes its rise, but not its perfection, from the knowledge of God 284 V. The second difference between meditation and contemplation 287 VI. The third difference, namely, that contemplation is pursued without difficulty 190 VII. The loving recollection of the soul in contemplation 293 VIII. The rest of the recollected soul is its Beloved 296 IX. How to attain this blessed repose 198 X. The different degrees of this quietude, and how to maintain it 299 XI. Self-abnegation in this matter 202 XII. How the soul flows into God 204 XIII. The wound of love 207 XIV. Some other ways by which holy love wounds the heart 220 XV. The loving weakness of the soul wounded by love 213 BOOK VII. THE UNION OF THE SOUL WITH ITS GOD AS PERFECTED BY PRAYER. I. The union of the soul with God in prayer is through love 317 II. The various degrees of holy union with God which are found in prayer 221 III. The highest degree of union in rapture 224 IV. Of the first species of rapture 227 V. The second kind of rapture 229 VI. The signs of true rapture, and the third kind thereof 231 VII. Love is the soul's life 233 VIII. S. Paul on the extatic superhuman life 236 IX. The supreme effort of love is the death of those who love 238 X. Of those who have died of love and for Divine Love 241 XI. Of some who died solely of love 242 XII. The history of one who died of love on Mount Olivet 244 XIII. The blessed Virgin Mother died of love for her Son 246 XIV. The blessed Virgin must have died a loving, peaceful death 248 BOOK VIII. THE LOVE OF CONFORMITY, BY WHICH WE UNITE OUR WILL TO THAT OF GOD, AS SIGNIFIED TO US BY HIS COMMANDMENTS, COUNSELS, AND INSPIRATIONS. I. The love of conformity springs from holy complacency 252 II. The conformity of submission proceeding from the love of benevolence 254 III. How to conform to God's Will when it is signified to us 256 IV. Conformity of our will to that of God for our salvation 258 V. The conformity of our will to God's, as signified to us in His Commandments 260 VI. Conformity of our will to that which God has signified by His Counsels 262 VII. How love for God's Will, as signified in His Commandments, leads us to love for His Counsels 264 VIII. Contempt for the evangelic Counsels is a great sin 267 IX. All men can respect, if all cannot follow, the evangelic Counsels, and each man ought to follow them so far as he is able 269 X. How to conform to God's Will, as signified by inspiration, and of the various means by which God so inspires us 272 XI. The union of our will with that of God, when He inspires us to extraordinary acts of virtue. Perseverance in vocation a first test of inspiration 274 XII. The union of our will with that of God when He inspires us to do what seems contrary to His ordinary laws. Peace and quiet a second test of inspiration 277 XIII. Obedience to the Church, and to those set over us, the third test of inspiration 279 XIV. How to recognise the Will of God 281 BOOK IX. THE LOVE OF SUBMISSION, BY WHICH OUR WILL IS UNITED TO GOD'S GOOD PLEASURE I. The union of our will with God's Will, called the will of good pleasure 284 II. Man's will is best united to God's Good Pleasure amid tribulation 286 III. The union of our will with that of God in spiritual trials by resignation 289 IV. The union of our will with that of God by indifference 290 V. Holy indifference embraces all things 292 VI. The practice of loving indifference in what concerns God's Own service 294 VII. Holy indifference as to progress in virtue 297 VIII. The union of our will with that of God in His sufferance of sin 300 IX. How to exercise indifference even in what concerns holy things 302 X. How to test the reality of this holy love 303 XI. The trouble of a loving heart which knows not whether it is pleasing to the Beloved 305 XII. Amid such interior trials the soul cannot realise its own love of God, or the spiritual death that self-will is undergoing 307 XIII. The will, once dead to self, lives solely in God's Will 309 XIV. The death of the will 311 XV. The best course we can take, amid the interior and exterior troubles of life, when the will is dead to self 313 XVI. The perfect self-renunciation of the soul which is united to God's Will 3x5 BOOK X. THE COMMAND TO LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS. I. The graciousness of this precept 318 II. This commandment is of Heaven, although it is given to the faithful on earth 320 III. The heart which is filled with love of God will love all else in Him 321 IV. Two manners of perfection of love in this mortal life 324 V. Two yet higher degrees of the love of God above all else 326 VI. All who really love will alike love God above all things 329 VII. Continuation of the same subject 330 VIII. Wherein the strength and virtue of sacred love lie 332 IX. Testimony of Holy Scripture to this assertion 334 X. We ought to love God far more than ourselves 336 XI. How the love of God leads to the love of our neighbour 338 XII. How love brings forth zeal 340 XIII. God is a jealous God 342 XIV. Our zeal or jealousy for our Lord 344 XV. The wise guidance of religious zeal 347 XVI. Concerning certain saints whose zealous indignation is in nowise irreconcilable with the above 350 XVII. Our Lord's Life the perfection of all acts of love 353 BOOK XI. THE SUPREME AUTHORITY OF LOVE OVER ALL THE SOULES VIRTUES, ACTIONS, AND PERFECTIONS. I. All virtues are acceptable to God 357 II Love endows virtue with a power of pleasing God which by nature it cannot have 359 III. Some virtues achieve higher excellence than others by reason of the presence of Divine Love 361 IV. Divine Love a special sanctifier of obedience 362 V. Divine Love enhances every other Virtue in proportion as it is infused into them 364 VI. The exceeding excellence which love imparts to those acts which spring either from itself or from other virtues 366 VII. The highest virtues cannot exist apart 369 VIII. Charity comprehends all virtues 372 IX. All virtues derive their perfection from holy love 375 X. The heathen virtues were very imperfect 377 XI. All human actions are worthless if performed apart from the love of God 379 XII. God's Love, if renewed in the Soul, revives all that sin had slain 381 XIII. All our actions should be done in the light of love 384 XIV. The practical result thereof 386 XV. Love includes all the sevenfold gifts 388 XVI. The loving fear of the Bride 390 XVII. How far servile fear may abide with holy love 391 XVIII. How love employs natural, servile, and mercenary fervor 393 XIX. Divine Love includes the fruits of the Holy Ghost and the Beatitudes 396 XX. Love disposes of all the passions and emotions, subjecting them to itself 398 XXI. Sadness is for the most part unprofitable, and even opposed to Divine Love 401 BOOK XII. COUNSELS CONCERNING THE SOUL'S ADVANCE IN DIVINE LOVE. I. Advance in Divine Love does not depend upon natural temperament 405 II. We must have a continually growing desire to love 406 III. He who would long after God's Love must check worldly longings 408 IV. Our lawful callings in nowise hinder the exercise of Divine Love 409 V. An illustration of this principle 410 VI. It is important to avail ourselves of the present moment to advance in Divine Love 411 VII. Every act should be done as perfectly as possible 412 VIII. How to turn all our actions to God's service 413 IX. Further means of working all things for God 415 X. The grace of a voluntary sacrifice 416 XI. The motives for Divine Love 418 XII. How to make use of these motives 418 XIII. Mount Calvary is the true school of love 419 Digitized by Google.

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