XVI — LOVE OF NEIGHBOR AND LOVE OF GOD

Presence of God. — Make me understand, O Lord, that the surest sign of my love for You is a sincere love of neighbor.

Meditation

1 — The soul that lives for God needs to be sure that its love for Him is not an illusion. And what criterion can give it certainty? St. Teresa of Jesus answers: “Although there are very many signs by which to know whether we love God, still we can never be sure of it, whereas we can be sure regarding love of neighbor. And be certain that the more you see yourselves advanced in love of neighbor, the more you will be in love of God” (Interior Castle V, 3, 8). This is an indisputable argument, since there is one single virtue of charity; and while our love for God is difficult to verify, it is impossible to be mistaken about the love we bear neighbor. In fact, it does not require much perspicacity to notice whether we are charitable, patient, indulgent, benevolent toward brethren; and precisely from our way of behaving toward them we can infer the measure of our love for God.

At times we may delude ourselves into thinking we have advanced in love of God because of certain spiritual delights we experience in prayer, because of certain impetuous desires that awaken in us, making us seem ready to face, for love of Him, any sacrifice. St. Teresa of Avila, fine knower of the snares into which souls can fall, thus puts them on guard: “No, my sister! The Lord wants works. He wants, for example, that you not care about losing that devotion in order to console a sick woman whom you see you can help, making her suffering your own, fasting yourself, if necessary, to give her food — and this less for her than because you know this is God’s will” (Way 3). There you see in what true love consists. Precisely in this sense St. John the Evangelist could say: “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren” (1 Jn. 3:14). He does not say because we love God, but because we love the brethren, precisely because fraternal charity is the surest index of true love of God.

2 — St. Teresa of Jesus writes: “The love the Lord bears us is so great that in return for what we have for our neighbor, He will make grow in us, by a thousand devices, the love we bear to Him. And of this there is no doubt” (Interior Castle V, 3, 8). Beautiful and authoritative affirmation, which impels us with enthusiasm to practice fraternal charity and makes us glimpse how right the saint was in saying: “If you understood how important this virtue is, you would apply yourselves to no other study” (ibid., 10).

A soul that truly loves the Lord desires nothing more than to grow in his love, and here is the infallible means: practice fraternal charity with great care. That soul ardently aspires to union with God, and here is the way: to be united with brethren. We must always remember that the virtue of charity is a created participation not only in the infinite charity with which God loves Himself, but also in the immense love with which He loves his creatures. The more we love brethren, the more we enter that current of love with which God surrounds all men; the more we participate in his attitude of benevolence, goodness, infinite charity. And precisely thus fraternal charity unites us to Him who is charity by essence: “Deus caritas est,” God is charity, “and he who abides in charity abides in God, and God in him” (1 Jn. 4:16). On the contrary, when we fail in fraternal charity, we move away from God, we move away from his attitude of infinite charity, which is equivalent to moving away and even separating from Him. Therefore the Apostle exhorts us: “Beloved, let us love one another, because charity is from God. And whoever loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love has not known God, because God is charity. He who does not love remains in death” (ibid., 4:7-8; 3:14). Thus we understand that, very differently from human love, supernatural love for neighbor, far from turning us away from divine love, launches us toward God with ever-growing vigor and unites us ever more to Him.

Colloquy

“O Lord, the surest sign for knowing whether I truly love You is to see with what perfection I observe the precept of charity toward neighbor. Since the matter is most important, I must therefore try to examine myself even in the smallest things, without giving weight to certain ideas that at times come to me in crowds during prayer, by which I seem ready, for love of neighbor, to undertake and do very great things, even for the salvation of one soul alone. If my works do not correspond to this, I have no reason to think myself so advanced. Nor, my God, should I believe I have reached union with You and love You much because of devotion and spiritual delights I may have in prayer.

“I must instead pray that You grant me love of neighbor in all its perfection and then leave You to act. If, on my side, I strive and do all that is possible to obtain it; if I force my will to yield in everything to that of others, even at the cost of my rights; if, despite all nature’s repugnances, I forget my interests in order to attend only to theirs; and if, when occasion presents itself, I take every labor upon myself to exempt others from it, You will certainly give me more than I can merit. But I must not believe this should cost me nothing and that all is done. And besides, O Lord, did not the love You bore us also cost You? To free us from death You suffered the cruelest death, that of the Cross” (St. Teresa of Jesus, Interior Castle V, 3, 8-12).