by Saint Alphonsus Liguori
CHARITY SEEKETH NOT HER OWN
WHOEVER desires to love Jesus Christ with his whole heart must banish from his heart all that is not God, but is merely self-love. This is the meaning of those words, "seeketh not her own;" not to seek ourselves, but only what pleaseth God. And this is what God requires of us all, when He says: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart. [Matt. xxii. 37.] Two things are needful to love God with our whole heart: 1. To clear it of earth. 2. To fill it with holy love. It follows, that a heart in which any earthly affections linger can never belong wholly to God. St. Philip Neri [Bacci. l. 22, ch. 15.] said, "that as much love as we bestow on the creature, is so much taken from the Creator. In the next place, how must the earth be purged away from the heart? Truly by mortification and kind detachment from creatures. Some souls complain that they seek God, and do not find Him; let them listen to what St. Teresa says: "Wean your heart from creatures, and seek God, and you will find Him." [Avis 36.]
The mistake is, that some indeed wish to become Saints, but after their own fashion, they would love Jesus Christ, but in their own way, without forsaking those diversions, that vanity of dress, those delicacies in food: they love God, but if they do not succeed in obtaining such or such an office, they live discontented; if, too, they happen to be touched in point of esteem, they are all on fire; if they do not recover from an illness, they lose all patience. They love God; but they refuse to let go that attachment for the riches, the honors of the world, for the vainglory of being reckoned of good family, of great learning, and better than others.
Such as these practice prayer, and frequent Holy Communion; but inasmuch as they take with them hearts full of earth, they derive little profit. Our Lord does not even speak to them, for He knows that it is but a waste of words. In fact, He said as much to St. Teresa on a certain occasion: "I would speak to many souls, but the world keeps up such a noise about their ears, that My voice would never be heard by them. Oh, that they would retire a little from the world!" Whosoever, then, is full of earthly affections cannot even so much as hear the voice of God that speaks to him. But unhappy the man that continues attached to the sensible goods of this earth; he may easily become so blinded by them as one day to quit the love of Jesus Christ; and for want of forsaking these transitory goods he may lose God, the infinite good, forever. St. Teresa said: "It is a reasonable consequence, that he who runs after perishable goods should himself perish."
St. Augustine [De Cons. Evang. l. I, C. 12.] informs us that Tiberius Cæsar desired that the Roman senate should enroll Jesus Christ among the rest of their gods; but the senate refused to do so, on the ground that He was too proud a God, and, would be worshipped alone without any companions. It is quite true: God will be alone the object of our adoration and love; not indeed from pride, but because it is His just due, and because too of the love He bears us. For as He Himself loves us exceedingly, He desires in return all our love; and is therefore jealous of anyone else sharing the affections of our hearts, of which He desires to be the sole possessor: "Jesus is a jealous lover," [Ep. ad Eust.] says St. Jerome; and He is unwilling therefore for us to fix our affections on anything but Himself. And whenever He beholds any created object taking a share of our hearts, He looks on it as it were with jealousy, as the Apostle St. James says, because He will not endure a rival, but will remain the sole object of all our love: Do you think that the Scripture saith in vain: To envy doth the Spirit covet which dwelleth in you? [James iv. 5.] The Lord in the sacred Canticles praises His spouse, saying: My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed. [Cant. iv. 12.] He calls her "a garden enclosed," because the soul that is His spouse keeps her heart shut against every earthly love, in order to preserve all for Jesus Christ alone. And does Jesus Christ perchance not deserve all our love? Ah, too much, too much has He deserved it, both for His Own goodness and for His love towards us. The Saints knew this well, and for this reason St. Francis de Sales said: "Were I conscious of one fibre in my heart that did not belong to God, I would forthwith tear it out." [Spirit, ch. 9.]
CHARITY SEEKETH NOT HER OWN
WHOEVER desires to love Jesus Christ with his whole heart must banish from his heart all that is not God, but is merely self-love. This is the meaning of those words, "seeketh not her own;" not to seek ourselves, but only what pleaseth God. And this is what God requires of us all, when He says: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart. [Matt. xxii. 37.] Two things are needful to love God with our whole heart: 1. To clear it of earth. 2. To fill it with holy love. It follows, that a heart in which any earthly affections linger can never belong wholly to God. St. Philip Neri [Bacci. l. 22, ch. 15.] said, "that as much love as we bestow on the creature, is so much taken from the Creator. In the next place, how must the earth be purged away from the heart? Truly by mortification and kind detachment from creatures. Some souls complain that they seek God, and do not find Him; let them listen to what St. Teresa says: "Wean your heart from creatures, and seek God, and you will find Him." [Avis 36.]
The mistake is, that some indeed wish to become Saints, but after their own fashion, they would love Jesus Christ, but in their own way, without forsaking those diversions, that vanity of dress, those delicacies in food: they love God, but if they do not succeed in obtaining such or such an office, they live discontented; if, too, they happen to be touched in point of esteem, they are all on fire; if they do not recover from an illness, they lose all patience. They love God; but they refuse to let go that attachment for the riches, the honors of the world, for the vainglory of being reckoned of good family, of great learning, and better than others.
Such as these practice prayer, and frequent Holy Communion; but inasmuch as they take with them hearts full of earth, they derive little profit. Our Lord does not even speak to them, for He knows that it is but a waste of words. In fact, He said as much to St. Teresa on a certain occasion: "I would speak to many souls, but the world keeps up such a noise about their ears, that My voice would never be heard by them. Oh, that they would retire a little from the world!" Whosoever, then, is full of earthly affections cannot even so much as hear the voice of God that speaks to him. But unhappy the man that continues attached to the sensible goods of this earth; he may easily become so blinded by them as one day to quit the love of Jesus Christ; and for want of forsaking these transitory goods he may lose God, the infinite good, forever. St. Teresa said: "It is a reasonable consequence, that he who runs after perishable goods should himself perish."
St. Augustine [De Cons. Evang. l. I, C. 12.] informs us that Tiberius Cæsar desired that the Roman senate should enroll Jesus Christ among the rest of their gods; but the senate refused to do so, on the ground that He was too proud a God, and, would be worshipped alone without any companions. It is quite true: God will be alone the object of our adoration and love; not indeed from pride, but because it is His just due, and because too of the love He bears us. For as He Himself loves us exceedingly, He desires in return all our love; and is therefore jealous of anyone else sharing the affections of our hearts, of which He desires to be the sole possessor: "Jesus is a jealous lover," [Ep. ad Eust.] says St. Jerome; and He is unwilling therefore for us to fix our affections on anything but Himself. And whenever He beholds any created object taking a share of our hearts, He looks on it as it were with jealousy, as the Apostle St. James says, because He will not endure a rival, but will remain the sole object of all our love: Do you think that the Scripture saith in vain: To envy doth the Spirit covet which dwelleth in you? [James iv. 5.] The Lord in the sacred Canticles praises His spouse, saying: My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed. [Cant. iv. 12.] He calls her "a garden enclosed," because the soul that is His spouse keeps her heart shut against every earthly love, in order to preserve all for Jesus Christ alone. And does Jesus Christ perchance not deserve all our love? Ah, too much, too much has He deserved it, both for His Own goodness and for His love towards us. The Saints knew this well, and for this reason St. Francis de Sales said: "Were I conscious of one fibre in my heart that did not belong to God, I would forthwith tear it out." [Spirit, ch. 9.]