Today we are reminded that Jesus is the manifestation of God who desires our love so much that we are commanded to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. St. Francis de Sales notes:
God has planted in the human heart a special natural inclination to love good in general. Likewise, implanted in us is a desire to love God’s goodness that is better and more lovable than all things. So ardent is God’s desire for our love that we are commanded to love God with all our strength. Thus we have no pretext to turn away from loving God’s infinite goodness that enlivens all souls. When commandments are ordained by love they give goodness to those who lack it and increase goodness in those who have it. God’s law of love takes away our weariness, as it refreshes and restores our hearts. There is no toil in doing what we love, or if there is any, it is beloved toil.
Eagles have strong hearts and great power of flight, yet they have greater powers of sight than of flight. Hence, they extend their vision much more quickly and much farther than their wings. Likewise, our reason knows that God’s goodness is lovable above all things. However, our minds have far more light to see how worthy of love God is than strength of will to love God’s goodness. Consequently, our natural desire to grow in divine love becomes constricted when our selfish desires and feelings stir us up.
Thus, our human heart produces certain beginnings of love for God’s goodness in the most natural way. Yet, to advance as far as loving God above all things belongs only to hearts animated and assisted by divine grace. Still, if we faithfully co-operate with our natural inclination to love God above all things, the gentleness of God’s divine mercy always gives us an abundance of help so as to become divinely loving.
(Adapted from the writing of St. Francis de Sales)
