Love Is The Answer Again

Finishing up the chapter on “The Will and Holy Love of God”, one is taught how to come into God’s perfect will for our lives.

“As a practical conclusion, we must allow ourselves to be loved by this exceedingly holy, purifying, life-giving love, and submit to its purifications, however painful they may be at times. And it should be met with a generous response, according to these words of St. John: ‘Let us love God: because He hate first loved us’”.

Garrigou-Lagrange continues, “We must love the Lord for His Own sake, with a purity of intention rising above the promptings of vainglory and pride and that self-seeking which is induced by jealously and the desire for the esteem of men.”

Here is the crunch paragraph. One can meditate on this paragraph for a long time.

“The beginning in us of a pure love for God will then be some participation in that love which God has for Himself, a spark from that divine furnace of His own self-love . And as our love grows purer daily, it will increase in holiness, generosity, and strength. Indeed it will make us invincible, according to the phrase of St. Paul (Rom. 8:1), ‘If God be with us, who can be against us?’ And finally, our love thus gradually purified will enable us to triumph over death itself and will open the gates of paradise to us. When we enter into glory, we shall be established forever in a supernatural love for God that can nevermore be lost or lessened.”

Love is the answer. Living, working, walking, speaking, resting in love is the way to fulfill the perfect will of God in our lives.

This post sums up the entire perfection series, but I do not think I am ready to write (again) this is the last perfection post.