Treatise on the Love of God

This book is a comprehensive treatise on the nature, generation, and practice of divine love (charity). It systematically explores the relationship between the human soul and God, moving from a psychological analysis of the will to the practical application of love in both prayer and action. The work is structured to guide the soul from its natural inclination towards goodness to the highest states of mystical union and conformity with the divine will.

Here is a summary of the book, broken down into its logical sections:

Section 1: The Psychological Foundation of Love

This foundational section provides a detailed analysis of the human soul, establishing the will as its principal faculty. St. Francis de Sales explains that the will governs the intellect, memory, and appetites. He distinguishes between the passions of the lower, sensual appetite and the affections of the higher, rational will, arguing that both are ultimately forms of love directed toward what is perceived as good. The author establishes that the soul has a natural inclination to love God above all things, rooted in the profound affinity and correspondence between the created soul and its infinite Creator. However, due to the weakness caused by sin, this natural inclination is insufficient on its own to achieve this perfect love, making divine grace essential.

Section 2: The Generation and Growth of Divine Love (Charity)

This section details the supernatural process by which divine love, or charity, is born and nurtured in the soul. It begins with God's loving providence, who, through an act of pure mercy, initiates the process by sending grace and holy inspirations to awaken the soul. The soul's journey then progresses through distinct stages: first, an act of Faith, which is not merely an intellectual assent but a loving adherence to revealed truth; second, the virtue of Hope, which is described as a loving desire for God as our ultimate happiness; and third, Penitence, which culminates in a perfect contrition born not of fear, but of a loving sorrow for having offended God's infinite goodness. This entire process, guided by grace and met with the soul's free consent, leads to the infusion of charity—a true, mutual friendship with God. This love can be increased through good works or tragically lost in a moment through mortal sin.

Section 3: The Practice of Affective Love (Prayer and Contemplation)

Here, the focus shifts to the affective exercise of love, primarily through prayer. The two principal acts of this love are complacency and benevolence. Complacency is the soul's profound delight and joy in God's infinite goodness and perfection for His own sake. Benevolence is the ardent desire to praise and glorify God, wishing Him all good, which, since He possesses all good, translates into a desire to see Him eternally exalted. St. Francis de Sales explains how these acts are exercised in prayer, which progresses from Meditation (a discursive, effortful reasoning on divine mysteries to stir the heart) to Contemplation (a simple, loving, peaceful, and sustained gaze upon God). This can lead to the "prayer of quiet," a state of deep interior repose where the soul rests in the divine presence, and even to ecstatic union, where the soul is "ravished" out of itself and into God.

Section 4: The Practice of Effective Love (Conformity and Action)

The final section is dedicated to effective love, where love is expressed through action and the union of the human will with the divine will. This conformity is twofold. First, it involves obedience to God's "signified will," which is made known through His commandments, counsels, and inspirations. Second, and more perfectly, it involves submission to His "will of good-pleasure," which is manifested in all the events of life, especially in sufferings, tribulations, and spiritual dryness. The highest degree of this submission is "holy indifference," a state in which the soul has no will of its own but is perfectly abandoned to God's providence, loving His will above all things and in all things. The book concludes by affirming that charity is the "queen of all virtues," giving life, value, and supernatural merit to every good work, and that the ultimate goal of the Christian life is to reduce all actions to the single, pure motive of pleasing God. Mount Calvary is presented as the ultimate "academy of love," where love and death are perfectly united in the sacrifice of Christ.