Lent 3 ~ Loving God for Himself

O Jesus, my supreme good, I love Thee, not for the sake of the reward which Thou hast promised to those who love Thee, but purely for Thyself. I love Thee above all things that can be loved, above all pleasures, and above myself and all that is not Thee… ~ from Act of Reparation by St Margaret Mary Alacoqué

          Any journey towards God will always be made easier by holy obedience. But obedience is my Calvary, like hauling a ton of weight up a mountain trail.

          This morning, this prayer by one of dear heart friends, St Margaret Mary Alacoqué, brings sudden light. The missing factor for me is love. A love so pure that it seeks no reward for itself. A love that gives and gives and is renewed over and over – simply because it gives, seeking nothing in return.

          At the sink doing the dishes this morning, I heard the faintest of strains from the song, Mary, Did You Know? the song of Mary and Jesus, of mother and child. Like a vine of the tiniest wildflowers it passed before my heart and left. I looked at it leave and wondered at its visit.

          Light then fell again. A love that loves God purely for Him and with no furtive eye cast towards a reward is akin to the love of a mother for her baby. St Margaret Mary had come to teach me that obedience is made easier by love. She was now bidding me recall the way I used to hurry to my babies’ needs. Whatever I did for them, it was not so that they would love me in return. I had loved them just for them.

          Again, I wonder how I am to love God in that same way.

          And then I know. If I have welcomed God into my heart, then, whenever I give of my heart to my family without expecting anything in return, I am loving God for Himself.