“But I just don’t feel like I love God!” Ever felt like that? Me, too!
The devil trembles when one gets on their knees to pray when the heart is cold and it is very difficult! The sign of a true lover…one who wills to love!
From An Easy Way to Become a Saint by Father Paul O’Sullivan, 1949
HOW TO LOVE GOD
Now let us see what we can do to become saints. The first, the easiest and the most certain of all means to become a saint is to love God. We cannot possibly do anything holier, anything more pleasing to Him or anything more meritorious for ourselves.
We must learn all about the Love of God, for nothing is more important and more necessary for us, and nothing more conducive to our happiness. To love God is the great work of our lives.
THE VALUE OF AN ACT OF LOVE
The value of one simple act of love is priceless. An act of love is of greater value than a thousand acts of any other virtue, just as one small diamond is worth more than a thousand gold pieces.
Our Blessed Lord told Benigna Consolata that any ordinary Christian can make an act of love in a moment which will have a reward for all eternity. We can make countless acts of love every day without any difficulty.
Secondly, He told her that one act of love gives Him more glory and more pleasure than a thousand horrible blasphemies give Him pain!
Thirdly, love wipes out our sins. One short act of love won for the Thief on the cross the promise that he would be that very day with Christ in Paradise.
On the other hand, all that we do which is not done for the love of God is worthless and will get no reward.
We may toil for long years and receive great praise and honor for our labors, but if our work is not done for love of God, it is worthless.
Thus it is that a poor old woman who tells her beads at the church door, who bears her poverty patiently and who lives a quiet Christian life will have a higher place in Heaven than the great statesmen, the clever generals, the famous politicians, who direct the destinies of vast empires but who do not think of offering their work to God.
IS IT EASY TO LOVE GOD?
Most certainly, for God created us expressly to love Him and to love Him with all our hearts and souls. He is goodness itself. He has done everything to make us love Him.
One might as well ask if it is easy for a child to love its mother, for a wife to love a dear husband, for a friend to love a friend, for a servant to love a good and generous master. It is much easier to love God, who is infinitely good and sweet, God who loves us tenderly and affectionately, who is our dearest and most loving Father, our best, our truest Friend. All that is necessary is to realize His goodness.
The first great Commandment, the very essence of our holy Religion, is to “Love God with all our heart and soul; with all our strength and mind.” This everyone must do. Surely the all-merciful and wise God would never make the very first condition of His beautiful Religion something hard and difficult.
SOME SAY THAT THEY CANNOT LOVE GOD
There are people who say that they cannot love God. When they make an act of love and say, “Oh my God, I love You,” they feel nothing in their hearts to correspond to their words. Their words sound hollow, cold and false. This is what they tell us themselves. Unfortunately, this happens to many, and as a consequence, they are losing every day of their lives great merits and never experience the wonderful happiness they should enjoy in their Religion.
Why cannot they love God?
There are four reasons:
First of all, they never ask God to help them to love Him.
Secondly, they do not realize, as we have said, what God is, His boundless goodness, His sweetness, mercy and love.
Thirdly, they do not understand how much He loves them.
Fourthly, they have no idea of all that emotional love, sentimental love; we speak of the solid love of God which comes from a clear, intelligent understanding of how good and sweet God is.
He Himself tells us: “Taste and see how sweet the Lord is,” and again, “My yoke is sweet, My burden light.”
“The one who knows how to profit by his own errors is the one who makes a success of life. To be discouraged over your mistakes is foolish. To disregard them is equally unwise. To face them fearlessly and try to learn from them how to avoid a mistake next time is part of wisdom.” – Fr. Edward F. Garesche, Catholic Book of Character and Success, 1912, Painting by John George Brown
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Thank you very much, it does seem dry at times, or things go awry, and one just doesn’t know what to think with an unclear head.