Faith in the reality of His Love in me...

I've been dipping into a book I've been meaning to read properly for ages - the letters to the Society of Marie-Therese de Lescure, Superior General 1946-57. I picked it up again yesterday, after not having read it for a while, flicked through a few pages, and found myself with her letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart, 16th June 1950. And there, in bold, repeated three times, were the words Faith in the reality of His Love in me.

The central message of this part of the letter was that when we long for love we dwell too much on our own inevitably limited, imperfect love for God, and the times we don't feel full of loving feelings. Instead, she suggests, we should dwell less on our own love and more on God's. This echoes the emphasis of I John: In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us... (4.10). All love begins and flows from God, and this strong, constant love is what we need to root ourselves in, so that we might learn and begin to love with more strength and constancy.

But then I looked again at the words, and saw something more. Faith in the reality of His Love in me, not for me. (It's so often the tiniest words which carry the greatest meaning!) The reality of God's infinite, all-embracing, unconditional Love dwelling within me, whether I am conscious of it or not. The reality of God's Love in me, choosing to remain in me, even when I am angry, selfish or unloving. The reality of God's Love in me, working within me, purifying my motives, transforming me into Love, freely given to all. And the astounding yet perfectly reasonable call to put my faith in the reality of all this, whether I live up to it or not...