Lenten Readalong Week 4

Dear Everyone,

It’s difficult to believe that we are embarking on the fourth week of Lent. Time is certainly passing quickly. This past week we read Chapter 6 and 7. St. Bernard continues to challenge us, pausing in Chapter 6 to summarize what he’s expressed thus far and to call on us to love God as much as we can. He quotes part of a favourite Psalm: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust’ (Ps. 18.1f).”

In Chapter 7, St. Bernard examines the nature of love, a topic I’m sure will resonate with readers. Did you notice this phrase: “It is so that these impious ones wander in a circle, longing after something to gratify their yearnings, yet madly rejecting that which alone can bring them to their desired end, not by exhaustion but by attainment”? Here, St. Bernard reminds me of Dante and the way he constructed the Inferno and its circles. Dante expands on St. Bernard’s insight that some people wander in search of what they want, but never finding it. St. Bernard says that everyone is looking for God. I welcome your reflections in the comments below.

As we embark on this fourth week of Lent, we will be reading Chapters 8 and 9. I look forward to our discussions and to our opportunity to chat together in the All Things SR podcast chatroom on Sunday, March 22nd. Please join me.

Peace be with you all,

SR

www.sylvainreynard.com