At first glance the writings of Bernard of Clairvaux, a twelfth-century theologian, might not seem particularly relevant to the twenty-first century. The concerns that preoccupied him during life -- crusades and schisms, kings and queens, heresies and councils -- are far removed from our own lives. And yet Bernard belongs to the same spiritual community we do today.

Centuries later, we too can be inspired and challenged as we study Anamchara's modern version of Loving God, Bernard's teachings on our relationship with the Divine. "Love is the essence," he wrote, "the very substance of God. . . . Love is at the same time God and the gift of God. Love is the eternal law that created the universe and continues to rule it. All things are ordered -- measured, numbered, and weighed -- by love's structure, and nothing is left outside love's realm."