13th December
Merit and the Love of God
1. The more we know, writes St. Catherine of Siena, the more we love, and the more we love, the more we receive. Our merit, she concludes, increases in accordance with the measure of our love. (Dial., c. 131) We tend to judge men on the strength of their achievements, and to judge ourselves according to the degree of success which we have attained. Our standards could hardly be more false. "How much soever each one is in Thy eyes," the author of “The Imitation of Christ” cries out to God in the words of St. Francis, "so much is he and no more." (Bk. III, c.50)
It is not success which counts with God, and still less human esteem. What matters with God is our intention of pleasing Him and of working for His glory from the motive of pure love. If we are successful in our work, let us praise God. If we are unsuccessful, let us thank Him just the same. Our merit is commensurate with our love for God. If we love Him very much, we shall work hard and make sacrifices for His sake. We must work to satisfy God alone, however, and not for ourselves. If we work for any other purpose all our labour is wasted. We sow abundantly and reap little or nothing. God alone matters. If we work only for Him, we shall be blessed by Him and shall reap the fruits of everlasting life.
2. It is necessary, therefore, to love God and to do everything for love of Him and for His glory. If we are to love God, however, we must know Him. If only we knew God perfectly, not only should we love Him, but we should come near to expiring from excessive love. We love God too little because we know Him too little. Let us endeavour, therefore, to know Him by meditating on His infinite goodness, beauty, and perfection. Any other goodness, beauty or perfection is a faint reflection of that of God Who is the source of all true goodness. We should not allow ourselves to be distracted or disturbed by these fleeting and perishable reflections.
God alone is enough for us. Let us learn to know Him and, in consequence, to love Him in the splendour of created things, which reflect His beauty and power. The stars and the flowers, the waves of the sea and the trees of the forest, all speak to us of God. Let us come to know and to love Him, until we lament with St. Augustine: Too late have I loved You!
3. The more we know and love God, the more we receive from Him. If we love Him sincerely, He will shower down His graces on us. We have such grave need of these favours in order to be able to resist temptation, to avoid sin, and to advance in holiness. Let us think of God often, therefore, in order to deepen our awareness of His presence and to fan the flame of our love for Him. Then we shall live in intimacy with Him and shall receive from Him all the graces which we need.
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