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SALESIAN LITERATURE
Treatise on the Love of God
Treatise on the Love of God
Author: Francis de Sales
“The Treatise on the Love of God is the most basic book of Salesian Spirituality. All the writings of St. Francis dc Sales, including the Introduction to the Devout Life, are reflections of the profundity of his understanding of God's love in various situations and circumstances of life. St. Francis dc Sales wanted to write another book. The Love of Neighbour, that would complete the first, The Love of God. Was it a coincidence that he did not do so, so that people could understand that love, in the salesian concept of love, is one integral reality? There is only one and one only true love that is, the love of God and all other loves for persons and things are in, through and for that love.”
Rev. Fr. Agnelo Fernandes,
MSFS Superior General
"Anyone familiar with his great spiritual classic can readily appreciate how challenging it is to put into readable English the saint's, profound insights into our loving relationship with God. As the saint, himself notes, an understanding of the twists and turns of our minds and hearts that are treated in this work, require a deep prayerful life. This translation should aid our prayer life and make the reading of this enduring classic more accessible and most rewarding and gratifying."
Alexander Pocetto, OSFS
Senior Salesian Scholar, Dc Sales University, Center Valley, PA, USA
TLG has a total of 188 chapters, and 129 of them are less than 4 pages in the printed book, therefore it will take only a few minutes to read most of the chapters. Click the links below to read.
How to Make use of the TLG; Introduction; Historical Background; Preface by SFS
Book One:
A Preparation For The Whole Treatise
Chapter 2: How The Will Controls The Powers Of The Soul In Different Ways
Chapter 3: How The Will Regulates The Sense Appetite
Chapter 5: The Emotions Of The Will
Chapter 6: How Love Of God Controls Other Loves
Chapter 7: Description Of Love In General Terms
Chapter 8: Attraction Which Awakens Love
Chapter 9: Love Tends To Union
Chapter 10: The Union Which Love Seeks Is Spiritual
Chapter 11: The Human Spirit Has Two Parts And How
Chapter 12: In These Two Parts Of The Soul, There Are Four Different Grades Of Reason
Chapter 13: The Different Forms Of Love
Chapter 14: Charity Is To Be Called Love
Chapter 15: The Relationship Between God And The Human Person
Chapter 16: We Have A Natural Inclination To Love God Above All Things
Chapter 17: We Do Not Have A Natural Power To Love God Above All T*hings
Chapter 18: Our Natural Inclination To Love God Is Not Useless
Book Two:
History Of the Heavenly Origin and Birth of Divine Love
Chapter 1: Divine Perfections Are Only One Single Infinite Perfection
Chapter 2: In God There Is Only One Activity, That Of Being God
Chapter 3: Divine Providence In General
Chapter 4: God’s Supernatural Providence Towards Rational Creatures
Chapter 5: Divine Providence Provided Humans With Superabundant Redemption
Chapter 6: Special Privileges Granted By Divine Providence In The Redemption Of Humans
Chapter 7: How Admirable Is Divine Providence In The Variety Of Graces It Bestows On Humans
Chapter 8: How Much God Desires That We Love Him
Chapter 10: Quite Often, We Reject Inspiration And Refuse To Love God
Chapter 11: It Is Not The Fault Of Divine Goodness If We Do Not Attain Great Excellence In Love
Chapter 12: Divine Inspirations Leave Us In Full Freedom To Follow Them Or To Reject Them
Chapter 14: The Feeling Of Divine Love Received Through Faith
Chapter 15: The Great Feeling Of Love We Receive From The Virtue Of Hope
Chapter 16: How Love Is Practised In Hope
Chapter 17: The Love In Hope Is Very Good Though Imperfect
Chapter 18: Love That Is Practised In Penance; And First That There Are Different Kinds Of Penances
Chapter 19: Penance Without Love Is Imperfect
Chapter 20: How Love And Sorrow Blend Together In Contrition
Chapter 21: The Loving Attractions Of Our Lord Help And Accompany Us To Faith And Charity
Book Three:
The Progress And Perfection Of Love
Chapter 1: Each One Of Us Can Increase God’s Love More And More In Ourselves
Chapter 2: Our Lord Has Made It Very Easy For Us To Grow In Love
Chapter 3: How A Person In Charity Grows In Charity
Chapter 4: Holy Perseverance In Sacred Love
Chapter 5: The Happiness Of Dying In Divine Charity Is A Special Gift Of God
Chapter 6: We Cannot Achieve Perfect Union Of Love With God In This Mortal Life
Chapter 8: The Unparalleled Love Of The Mother Of God, Our Lady
Chapter 9: Preparation For Reflections On The Union Of The Saints With God
Chapter 10: The Longing Which Goes Before Will Greatly Increase The Communion Of The Saints With God
Chapter 11: The Union Of The Saints With God In The Beatific Vision
Chapter 12: The Eternal Union Of The Saints With God In The Vision Of The Eternal Birth Of God’s Son
Chapter 13: The Union Of The Saints With God In The Vision Of The Proceeding Of The Holy Spirit
Chapter 14: The Communion Of Saints With God In Heaven Is Achieved Through The Light Of Glory
Chapter 15: The Union Of The Saints In Heaven With God Will Differ In Their Intensity
Book Four:
The Decline And Ruin Of Charity
Chapter 1: We Can Lose The Love Of God As Long As We Are In This Mortal Life
Chapter 2: How We Grow Cold In Holy Love
Chapter 3: How We Abandon The Love Of God For The Love Of Creatures
Chapter 4: We Lose Holy Love In An Instant
Chapter 5: The Only Cause Of The Growing Cold And Failure Of Charity Is In The Will Of The Creatures
Chapter 6: We Are To Acknowledge That All The Love We Have For God Is From God
Chapter 7: We Must Avoid All Curiosity And Humbly Accept God’s Most Wise Providence
Chapter 8: Advice For Loving Submission Which We Owe To The Decrees Of Divine Providence
Chapter 9: Of A Certain Remnant Of Love Often Continuing In A Soul That Has Lost Holy Charity
Book Five:
Two Most Important Exercises Of Holy Love Practised Through Gratifying And Benevolent Love
Chapter 1: Gratifying Love: First Of All, In What It Consists
Chapter 2: Gratifying Love Makes Us Like Little Children At The Bosom Of Our Lord
Chapter 4: Loving Sympathy By Which Gratifying Love Is Still Better Explained
Chapter 5: Sympathy And Gratifying Love In The Passion Of Our Lord
Chapter 6: We Practise Love Of Benevolence By Desiring Something For Our Lord
Chapter 8: Our Benevolent Love Leads Us To Praise God Our Well-Beloved38
Chapter 9: Our Benevolent Love Prompts Us To Invite All The Creatures To Praise God
Chapter 10: Our Desire To Praise God Makes Us Long For Heaven
Chapter 11: We Practise Benevolent Love By Joining With Our Saviour And His Mother In Praising God
Chapter 12: The Supreme Praise God Gives To Himself And Our Practice Of Benevolent Love
Book Six:
Practices Of Holy Love In Prayer
Chapter 1: A Description Of Mystical Theology Which Is The Same As Prayer
Chapter 2: Meditation, First Step In Prayer Or Mystical Theology
Chapter 3: Description Of Contemplation. First Difference Between It And Meditation
Chapter 4: In This World, Love Takes Its Origin, Not Its Excellence, From The Knowledge Of God
Chapter 5: The Second Difference Between Meditation And Contemplation
Chapter 6: Contemplation Is Made Without Toil - The Third Difference Between It And Meditation
Chapter 7: Loving Recollection Of The Soul In Contemplation
Chapter 8: The Stillness Of The Recollected Soul In Its Beloved
Chapter 9: The Practice Of This Sacred Stillness
Chapter 10: Various Degrees Of Stillness How It Is To Be Kept?
Chapter 12: The Soul Flows Out Of Itself Into God And Is Absorbed In Him
Chapter 13: Love Wounds The Heart
Chapter 14: Some Other Means By Which Holy Love Wounds The Heart
Chapter 15: The Loving Affectionate Languishing Of The Heart Wounded By Love
Book Seven:
Union Of The Human Spirit With God Is Perfected In Prayer
Chapter 1: How Love Realizes The Union Of The Human Spirit With God In Prayer
Chapter 2: The Different Degrees Of Union Realized In Prayer
Chapter 3: The Supreme Degree Of Union By The Suspension Of The Faculties And Rapture
Chapter 4: Rapture And Its First Type
Chapter 5: The Second Type Of Rapture
Chapter 6: Signs Of Good Rapture And The Third Type Of Ecstasy
Chapter 7: Love Is The Life Of The Soul Continuation Of The Discussion On The Ecstatic Life
Chapter 8: Excellent Advice Of St. Paul For An Ecstatic Superhuman Life
Chapter 10: Those Who Die Out Of Love For God And For Divine Love
Chapter 11: Some Of The Lovers Of God Even Died Of Love
Chapter 12: The Wonderful Story Of A Noble Man Who Died Of Love On Mount Of Olives
Chapter 13: The Most Holy Virgin Mother Of God Died Of Love For Her Son
Chapter 14: The Glorious Virgin Died Of Love Supremely Sweet And Peaceful
Book Eight:
Compliant Love By Which We Unite Our Will To That Of God Which Is Declared To Us By His Commandments, Counsels And Inspirations
Chapter 1: Compliant Love Originating From Gratifying Love
Chapter 2: The Conformity Of Submission Which Flows From Benevolent Love
Chapter 3: We Have To Conform Ourselves To What Is Called The Declared Will Of God
Chapter 4: The Conformity Of Our Will To God’s Will To Save Us
Chapter 5: The Conformity Of Our Will With That Of God In What Is Declared By His Commandments
Chapter 6: The Conformity Of Our Will To God’s Will As Declared By His Counsels
Chapter 7: The Love Of God’s Will Declared By The Commandments Leads Us To The Love Of The Counsels
Chapter 8: The Contempt Of The Evangelical Counsels Is A Serious Sin
Chapter 13: The Third Sign Of Inspiration: Holy Obedience To The Church And The Superiors
Book Nine:
Love Submissive By Which Our Will Is United With aThe Permissive Will Of God
Chapter 1: Union Of Our Will With The Permissive Will Of God
Chapter 2: The Union Of Our Will With God’s Permissive Will Is Made Principally In Trials
Chapter 4: The Union Of Our Will With God’s Permissive Will By Disinterested Love
Chapter 5: Holy Indifference Extends To Everything
Chapter 6: The Practice Of Disinterested Love In The Service Of God
Chapter 7: The Indifference Which We Should Practise Concerning Our Progress In Virtues
Chapter 8: How We Are To Unite Our Will With God’s Will In His Permitting Sins
Chapter 9: Purity Of Indifference Should Be Practised In The Actions Of Sacred Love
Chapter 10: A Way Of Recognizing Change Concerning Holy Love
Chapter 13: The Will Dead To Itself Lives Entirely In The Will Of God
Chapter 14: Clarification Of What Has Been Said Regarding The Death Of The Will
Chapter 16: The Perfect Stripping Of The Soul United To God’s Will
Book Ten:
The Commandment Of Loving God Above All Things
Chapter 1: The Sweetness Of The Commandment Which God Has Given Us Of Loving Him Above All Things
Chapter 4: The Two Degrees Of Perfection With Which This Commandment Can Be Kept In This Mortal Life
Chapter 5: Two Other Degrees Of Greater Perfection By Which We Can Love God Above All Things
Chapter 6: To Love God More Than Anything Is Common To All Lovers
Chapter 7: Clarification Of The Previous Chapter
Chapter 9: Confirmation Of What Has Been Said By A Comparison Worth Noting
Chapter 10: We Ought To Love The Divine Goodness Supremely Far More Than Ourselves.
Chapter 11: Most Holy Charity Produces Love Of Neighbour
Chapter 12: How Love Causes Zeal
Chapter 13: God Is Jealous In His Love Of Us
Chapter 14: Our Zeal Or Jealousy For Our Lord
Chapter 15: Counsels For The Guidance Of Holy Zeal
Chapter 17: Our Lord Practised The Most Perfect Activities Of Love
Book Eleven:
The Absolute Authority Which Sacred Love Has Over All The Virtues, Actions And Perfections Of The Soul
Chapter 1: All The Virtues Are Pleasing To God
Chapter 3: Sacred Love Raises Some Virtues To A Higher Excellence Than Others
Chapter 7: Perfect Virtues Are Never Present Singly But Always Along With The Others
Chapter 8: Charity Includes All The Virtues
Chapter 9: The Virtues Draw Their Perfection From Sacred Love
Chapter 10: A Digression On The Imperfection Of The Virtues Of The Unbelievers
Chapter 11: Human Actions Are Without Value When Done Without Love Of God
Chapter 13: We Should Reduce The Entire Practice Of Virtues And Of Our Actions To Holy Love
Chapter 14: The Practice Of What Has Been Said In The Preceding Chapter
Chapter 15: Charity Contains In Itself The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit
Chapter 16: The Loving Fear Of Spouses: A Continuation Of The Same Subject
Chapter 17: Servile Fear Remains Along With Divine Love
Chapter 18: Love Makes Use Of Natural, Servile And Mercenary Fear
Chapter 21: Sadness Is Almost Always Useless And Even Contrary To The Service Of Holy Love
Book Twelve:
Some Counsels For The Progress Of The Human Person In Holy Love
Chapter 1: Progress In The Love Of God Does Not Depend On Natural Dispositions
Chapter 2: We Should Have A Continual Desire To Love
Chapter 3: To Have The Desire Of Sacred Love We Should Renounce All Other Desires
Chapter 4: Lawful Occupations Do Not Prevent Us From Practising Divine Love
Chapter 5: A Touching Instance On This Subject
Chapter 6: We Should Make Use Of Every Opportunity To Practise Divine Love
Chapter 7: We Must Take Care To Do Our Actions Most Perfectly
Chapter 8: The Usual Means Of Offering Our Works To God’s Service
Chapter 9: Some Other Ways Of Doing Our Works Quite Well For The Love Of God
Chapter 10: Advice To Sacrifice Our Free Will To God
Chapter 11: Motives For Loving God
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