52 — THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE

Presence of God. — O my God, may there be only love in me, may everything come from love and everything go to love.

Meditation

1 — The life of the soul arrived at total union can be defined a single, continuous, most intense exercise of love by means of which it gives itself without ceasing to its God. All its powers, not only purified, but also perfectly harmonized, employ themselves in rivalry in the divine service: “the intellect, applying itself to know the things that are of greater glory of God, to accomplish them; the will, loving all that pleases God and turning the affection to Him in every thing; the memory, having solicitous thought of that which belongs to the divine service and is more pleasing to the Lord.” (G.C.C. 28, 3). Not only, but also the sensible part, that of the body with all its senses takes part in this magnificent concert of love so that the soul can truly say that all its “capital” — that is, all its spiritual and sensible powers — is completely employed in the exercise of holy love. “In fact — explains the Mystical Doctor — [it] treats the body according to God, directing to Him the operations of the internal and external senses. Moreover the four passions of the soul [that is, joy, hope, fear and sorrow] are regulated according to God; because it does not rejoice except in God, nor hopes in other than in God, nor fears except for God, nor sorrows except according to God; finally all its appetites and solicitudes tend to Him alone” (ibid., 4).

The amorous flame of divine wisdom has so taken possession of this soul, has so purified it and enamored it of God alone, that all its being and all its powers vibrate only for Him, operate only to serve Him and give Him pleasure, are not hungry except for Him, desire nothing except to give themselves to Him and to unite themselves to Him in perfect love. It is thus that even the first movements of this soul are movements of love: “the intellect, the will and the memory immediately run to God; and similarly the affections, the senses, the desires, the appetites, hope, joy immediately... of first impulse rise to God” (ibid., 5). Love has become the atmosphere in which the soul moves, has become its breath, its life, the hard sacrifices, the harsh struggles and the renunciations of the past, when its exercise of love consisted “in stripping itself of all that is not God” (G.C.S. II, 5, 7), seem to it now a nothing in comparison to the great good attained and it repeats with enthusiasm: “All is little when it is a question of making acquisition of the pure and true love of God” (T.M. Sp. p. 131).

2 — The love of the soul that has made the total donation of itself to God is the true pure love. Pure love, because no longer mingled with the minimum affection of creature or with the minimum search of self. Pure love, because it rises directly and speedily to God through all the circumstances of life, without ever stopping in any created thing. Of all events, of all duties, of all actions the soul makes use to love its God, which is to say to give itself to Him, serving Him as it pleases Him more. The soul no longer has need, as in time past, to apply itself particularly to this or to that virtue, since it has already acquired them all in a perfect way, but “as well in the dispatching of temporal affairs, as in the practice of spiritual things... its exercise consists only in loving” (G.C.C. 28, 9). It no longer has need of the recall and of the goad of an external law that guide it, because its law is the great love that it carries inside itself and that spurs it to seek and to will in all things the divine good pleasure. “Love and do what you will,” said St. Augustine; “for the just man there is no law,” has written St. John of the Cross on the summit of the mount of perfection, and this, far from signifying that love dispenses from the observance of the law, from duty and from obedience, signifies precisely that love, when it is truly perfect, substitutes and completes any law, having in itself the force of launching the soul to the highest perfection.

Of this totalitarian and most pure love, that employs in God all the forces of the soul without subtracting anything from it, of this love that goes directly to wound the heart of God passing beyond all the things of earth, St. John of the Cross has written: “a little bit of pure love is more precious in the sight of God and brings greater utility to the Church... than all the other works united together” (C. 29, 2). There cannot be, in fact, activity more intense and more sublime than that which concentrates and occupies in God all the energies and the capacities of the creature. It is the eternal activity of the angels and of the saints of heaven, it is the activity that, almost rivaling with them, can begin from down here the souls pervenued to total union with God. “Happy life, happy state and fortunate the soul that arrives at it! where all is for it substance of love and joy and nuptial delight” (ibid., 28, 10).

Colloquy

“As the spouse places not her love, her thought, her work, in other than in her spouse, so do, O Lord, that my soul may have neither affections of will, nor cognition of intellect, nor solicitudes, nor appetites that are not turned to You.

“Grant that I may not know how to do other thing than love You, divine Spouse. And seeing that You appreciate nothing, nor of anything are pleased except love, help me to apply myself all in Your pure love, because I desire to serve You perfectly.

“Permit not that I seek more my interest, nor go after my tastes nor even occupy myself in other things or affairs to You extraneous and from You alien, but grant that all my soul be engaged in loving You. All in me be moved for love and in love. In operating, I wish to do every thing with love, and in suffering, I wish to suffer all with taste of love.

“Grant that I may repeat to You together with the spouse of the Canticles: ‘All the new fruits and the old, my Beloved, I have kept them for You’. As if to say: O my Beloved, I desire for me and for love of You all that is bitter and fatiguing, and all that is suave and desirable for You” (G.C.C. 27, 7 and 8; 28, 2-10).

“O Jesus, my heart aspires neither to riches, nor to glory, not even to the glory of heaven! That which I ask is love! One cannot do but a single thing: love You, O Jesus! Yes, Jesus my, I love You! I love the Church my Mother and remember that the smallest movement of pure love is more useful to her than all the other works taken together. Grant, O Lord, that pure love be found effectively in my heart.

“O Jesus, grant that love penetrate me and encircle me; Your merciful love renew me, purify me at every instant and leave not in my heart trace whatever of fault!” (T.B.G. St. 11 and 8).