Knowing that God loves us with an infinite love is the Good News that gladdens and gives meaning to our lives; it is the extraordinary news that the Risen Christ sends us to proclaim to all people. We, too, can affirm that we have known and believed the love God has for us. In the face of such love, we feel incapable of expressing what our hearts cannot even fully grasp: "To know that You love me so much, my God, and… I haven't lost my mind?"
Everything the Lord has done and continues to do for us is a profusion of care and grace: His Incarnation, His Passion and Death on the Cross—which we have contemplated these past days—His constant forgiveness of our failings, His continuous presence in the Tabernacle, and the help He sends us daily. Considering all He has done and continues to do for mankind, our response to such great love should never seem sufficient to us.
---
### Fidelity: The Greatest Proof of Love
The greatest proof of this response is **fidelity**, loyalty, and unconditional adherence to the Will of God. In this sense, Jesus teaches us by showing His infinite desire to do the Father’s Will, telling us that His food is to do the will of Him who sent Him. *"I have kept my Father’s commandments,"* the Lord says, *"and I abide in His love."*
The Will of God is revealed to us primarily through:
* The faithful fulfillment of the **Commandments**.
* The teachings proposed by the **Church**.
* The honest performance of our daily duties with a sense of **God's presence**.
It is in this fulfillment that we find love for God and, ultimately, holiness.
---
### Love as Identification of Will
Love for God does not consist of sensible feelings, although the Lord may grant them to help us be more generous. It consists essentially in the **full identification of our will with God’s**. Therefore, we should frequently ask ourselves:
* Am I doing what I ought to do at this moment?
* Do I offer my work to God when I begin and while I am doing it?
* Do I rectify my intention when vanity or "what people might say" creeps in?
* Do I strive to work with human perfection?
* Am I a habitual source of joy for those who live or work with me?
* Does my daily presence bring them closer to God?
> "Love is repaid with love," but an effective love that manifests in concrete actions—in fulfilling our duties toward God and others—even when feelings are absent and we must go "uphill."
As **St. Teresa** wrote: *"It is clear that supreme perfection does not consist in interior favors or great raptures (...) but in having our will so conformed to the Will of God that we desire whatever we understand Him to desire, with all our will."*
Love must persist even in total aridity, should the Lord permit such a trial. It is in these moments that, typically, our relationship with the Lord is purified and becomes more steadfast.
HCD