<p>&ldquo;Love is the fountain of life, and the soul which does not drink from it cannot be called alive.&rdquo; These are the ancient words of&nbsp;Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 &ndash; 1153), a great lover of God and considered the last of the Church Fathers.</p><p>Bernard was Cistercian monk and followed very strict disciplines. He chose to live in a primitive hut in a marshy valley rather than a wealthy Benedictine monastery nearby. Why? He said, &ldquo;I was conscious my weak character needed a strong medicine.&rdquo; Later he founded 70 monasteries and was the leader of the monastery at Clairvaux, France.&nbsp;He taught that to know God we need to be devoted to him in poverty, simplicity, and solitude.&nbsp;His writings had a profound influence on Martin Luther, who called him &ldquo;the best monk that ever lived,&rdquo; and John Calvin.</p>