Today I would like to offer another Lenten thought on loving God from an old saint - Blosius the Venerable (1566 c.).
"Oh, when shall I perfectly die to myself and be free from all creatures? Oh, would that I were truly meek of heart and humble; truly poor and naked in spirit. Grant, O Lord, that by perfect self-denial, perfect mortification of my vices I may arrive at perfect love of you. You have commanded that I should love you; give what you command and command what you please. Grant that I may love you with my whole mind, with all my powers, with my whole soul. Deign to heal and to reform the powers of my soul, broken and corrupted by sin, by the powers of your most holy soul. Free my soul from all distracting cares; strip from it the images and forms of perishable things. Grant me to dwell with you in the sanctuary of my soul; grant that by steadfast thought, clear knowledge, and fervent love I may always be able to flow into you."
By way of comment, I am reminded of how much I am dependent on God for transformation. I cannot love Him, truly and faithfully love Him, unless he enables me to love. May his "granting" be abundant in our lives at this time of year so that we may reflect His glory and proclaim his praise.
Sorry I missed last week's posting...life sometimes crowds out the heart's desire.
Today, in honor of Ash Wednesday and Valentines Day, I would like to offer some words of meditation from the Venerable Louis of Granada (1588 c.).
"O God, if all the causes and motives for love are summarized and centered in you to an eminent degree, why do I not love you with the full capacity of my love? If we were to see any one of these motives of love in any creature, we would love that creature with such abandon that we would gladly die for it. Why,then, Lord, are we not inflamed with your love? Why do we not melt with love and desire to suffer a thousand deaths for love of you? If we recall the benefits we have received from you, we shall realize that we owe you the greatest debt of gratitude. If we consider love itself, we shall see that no one loves us more than you. Who is more perfect than you, more good, more beautiful, more kind, more noble, more wise, more powerful, more generous?What is it Lord, that prevents our hearts from running to you? What bonds could be so strong that they hold us captive and prevent us from reaching you? If it is a love for the things of the world, how can such fragile and passing things hold back the impetus of our love for you? Will a blade of grass be sufficient to resist a stone that comes hurtling down a mountain side?"
These words pierce me because I know too well that my love for the things of this world do hold me back from living a fully abandoned life for the love of God, in response to a loving God.
May this Lenten season bring clarity to the futility and emptiness of the things we put our trust in beside Jesus.
May this Lenten season bring clarity to the futility of being satisfied in any other person, place, or thing, but in the person of Jesus.
May God grant to us our plea, for without His intervention we will still be putting our faith in a blade of grass to stop a rolling stone.
