Archive for love

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Waiting for Me

Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, devotion, Faith, Poetry, Prose & Prayer, Spirituality with tags , , , , , , , on January 13, 2012 by Joanna

God is.
God is waiting for me.
He woos me.
He thirsts.
God thirsts
For my thirsting for Him

Here in the Now,
I Am.
I Am in mystery.
I Am in darkness.
Being of Light,
Overshadowed, as by a cloud,
As driving in the dark,
Seeing darkly,
Perceiving indistinctly,
All senses at high pitch.

Unify the threads of day.
Compose my hours
To sing one song.
Bathe me anew.
Let me swim in You.
Alive to Presence.
Awake in repose.
Listening.

I know You in fullness,
Fully and abundantly.
I know You
In the fullness of my emptiness,
Robed in the fullness of my sorrow,
In the fullness of my grief,
In the fullness of my joy and plenty,
In rapture,
Sweetly knowing
And by Love known.

© 2012 Joann Nelander

 

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Obedience

Posted in My Journal with tags , , , , , , , on December 30, 2011 by Joanna

Today the Church sings, “Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who was obedient to Mary and Joseph.”

My heart is singing , too, for as these words entered my soul, up sprang joy. Here within me was the path Jesus walked as He began life on Earth as the God Man. How can I not follow Him, as I prepare for a brand new year. The Way shows me, in my infancy, His Way. He turns my heart to Mary and Joseph, giving me the gift of loving parents to watch over me, to protect me, and to be all supplication on my behalf.

My happy resolve is to fix my eyes upon them and listen for their voices reverberating within me. My joyful way throughout the New Year will be to obey in imitation of my Christ and King. “Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who was obedient to Mary and Joseph.”

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Forget Not

Posted in Art, Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith with tags , , , , , , , on December 30, 2011 by Joanna

As I walk in Your house,
May I never forget You are Master,
Lord of this domain.

May my thoughts
Spring as fruit upon the vine.
Sustain me, O my Beloved,
With the Bread of angels.

Hallowed Ground of my New Birth,
Give me Your heavenly Water,
That I may never thirst again.
Let it rise within me,
As an eternal spring,
And let it fall from heaven,
Like those “torrents
In the southern desert,”

Sheltered in Your arms,
Covered by the corner of Your mantle,
Fed by the Manna of Your Heavenly Body,
Who could forget to sing You songs of Love?

Copyright 2011 Joann Nelander

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Clinging

Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Poetry, Prose & Prayer, Religion, Spiritual with tags , , , , , , , on December 28, 2011 by Joanna

 

Clinging, clinging to You,

As a leaf clasping the vine

With mouth pressed

And soul hungry,

Receiving in its will

Sustenance and vigor.

Stress, season, time,

And the tempters three,

World, Devil and fleshy me,

Turn, test and try resolve.

Clinging, I cling,

Clasping fast,

For only the glue of love

Suffice as bond,

To quell and conquer,

The wanton, the unruly.

For the Conqueror abides in me,

I cling to the Almighty Three.

 

Copyright 2011 Joann Nelander

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Listening to Love

Posted in My Journal with tags , , , , , , , , , , on December 21, 2011 by Joanna

What are you saying, dear Lord?

You Who speak with Your poor creature.

Give voice to Your desire.

Place Your lips to my ear.

 

How do You speak?

Will I hear a voice?

See a vision?

Feel Your stirrings in my soul?

Will there be thunder as on Sinai

Or the breeze of Carmel?

 

Can I see in my blindness?

Hear, despite ears that have inclined to foreign gods?

Barnacles of perversion weigh on me.

Encrustations of sin hamper my ascent.

 

Give me feathers,

And wings of desire,

That I might rise, weightless and free,

Drawn by Your Love for me,

As music on the Wind of Your Spirit.

 

©2011 Joann Nelander

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Talking Dog Appeals to the Heart

Posted in family fun, My Journal, Pet with tags , , , , , , , , , on November 16, 2011 by Joanna

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Love’s Return

Posted in Religion, Spiritual with tags , , , , on January 28, 2011 by Joanna

Moved by Love, my Love,
How do I make return?
Struggles press, take hold of.
Moved by Love, my Love,
Power proffered from above
Too requisite to spurn.
Moved by Love, my Love,
How do I make return?

Copyright Joann Nelander

(experimental triolet)

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Paul Bore Every Burden For the Love of Christ

Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, St. Paul with tags , on January 24, 2011 by Joanna

From a homily by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop

For love of Christ, Paul bore every burden

Paul, more than anyone else, has shown us what man really is, and in what our nobility consists, and of what virtue this particular animal is capable. Each day he aimed ever higher; each day he rose up with greater ardor and faced with new eagerness the dangers that threatened him. He summed up his attitude in the words: I forget what is behind me and push on to what lies ahead. When he saw death imminent, he bade others share his joy: Rejoice and be glad with me! And when danger, injustice and abuse threatened, he said: I am content with weakness, mistreatment and persecution. These he called the weapons of righteousness, thus telling us that he derived immense profit from them.

Thus, amid the traps set for him by his enemies, with exultant heart he turned their every attack into a victory for himself; constantly beaten, abused and cursed, he boasted of it as though he were celebrating a triumphal procession and taking trophies home, and offered thanks to God for it all: Thanks be to God who is always victorious in us! This is why he was far more eager for the shameful abuse that his zeal in preaching brought upon him than we are for the most pleasing honors, more eager for death than we are for
life, for poverty than we are for wealth; he yearned for toil far more than others yearn for rest after toil. The one thing he feared, indeed dreaded, was to offend God; nothing else could sway him. Therefore, the only thing he really wanted was always to please God.

The most important thing of all to him, however, was that he knew himself to be loved by Christ. Enjoying this love, he considered himself happier than anyone else; were he without it, it would be no satisfaction to be the friend of principalities and powers. He preferred to be thus loved and be the least of all, or even to be among the damned, than to be without that love and be among the great and honored.

To be separated from that love was, in his eyes, the greatest and most extraordinary of torments; the pain of that loss would alone have been hell, and endless, unbearable torture.

So too, in being loved by Christ he thought of himself as possessing life, the world, the angels, present and future, the kingdom, the promise and countless blessings. Apart from that love nothing saddened or delighted him; for nothing earthly did he regard as bitter or sweet.

Paul set no store by the things that fill our visible world, any more than a man sets value on the withered grass of the field. As for tyrannical rulers or the people enraged against him, he paid them no more heed than gnats.

Death itself and pain and whatever torments might come were but child’s play to him, provided that thereby he might bear some burden for the sake of Christ.

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All Our Love Must Be For God

Posted in My Journal with tags , , , on January 21, 2011 by Joanna

From the treatise On Spiritual Perfection by Diadochus of Photice, bishop

All our love must be for GodNo one who is in love with himself is capable of loving God. The man who loves God is the one who mortifies his self-love for the sake of the immeasurable blessings of divine love. Such a man never seeks his own glory but only the glory of God. If a person loves himself he seeks his own glory, but the man who loves God loves the glory of his Creator. Anyone alive to the love of God can be recognized from the way he constantly strives to glorify him by fulfilling all his commandments and by delighting in his own abasement. Because of his great majesty it is fitting that God should receive glory, but if he hopes to win God’s favor it becomes man to be humble. If we possess this love for God, we too will rejoice in his glory as Saint John the Baptist did, and we shall never stop repeating: His fame must increase, but mine must diminish.

I know a man who, though lamenting his failure to love God as much as he desires, yet loves him so much that his soul burns with ceaseless longing for God to be glorified, and for his own complete effacement. This man has no feeling of self importance even when he receives praise. So deep is his desire to humble himself that he never even thinks of his own dignity. He fulfills his priestly duty by celebrating the Liturgy, but his intense love for God is an abyss that swallows up all consciousness of his high office. His humility makes him oblivious of any honor it might bring him, so that in his own estimation he is never anything but a useless servant. Because of his desire for self abasement, he regards himself as though degraded from his office. His example is one that we ourselves should follow by fleeing from all honor and glory for the sake of the immeasurable blessings of God’s love, for he has loved us so much!

Anyone who loves God in the depths of his heart has already been loved by God. In fact, the measure of a man’s love for God depends upon how deeply aware he is of God’s love for him. When this awareness is keen it makes whoever possesses it long to be enlightened by the divine light, and this longing is so intense that it seems to penetrate his very bones. He loses all consciousness of himself and is entirely transformed by the love of God.

Such a man lives in this life and at the same time does not live in it, for although he still inhabits his body, he is constantly leaving it in spirit because of the love that draws him toward God. Once the love of God has released him from self-love, the flame of divine love never ceases to burn in his heart and he remains united to God by an irresistible longing. As the Apostle says: If we are taken out of ourselves it is for the love of God; if we are brought back to our senses it is for your sake.

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Holy Hope

Posted in My Journal with tags , , , , , , , on August 30, 2010 by Joanna

Holy Hope, I see before me the path of Jesus.
It trails into my future, while it’s clarity fades as it leaves this present moment.
I am like Bartimeus along this way.
I call out for my Savior.
At my plea angels hurry to my side with the balm to heal my blindness.
I see the Christ with me, before me, beside me, beneath me as hallowed ground, above me as Sun’s light and warmth.
In Hope I never walk alone.
Companions of my life, hand in hand,
Faith and Love abide with me.
My life follows in His steps to that place prepared for me.
Here on this Earth, I, too, know the Cross.
And in this Day, I, too, experience the Paradise of His Presence.

Joann Nelander

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My Heart Your Paradise

Posted in My Journal with tags , , , , , , , , , , on August 24, 2010 by Joanna

May my heart be Your paradise on earth, empty of self, save for You, Who are the wellspring of my very being, the great I Am Who Am. Cloth me in Your Heart and dream Holy dreams that create Your life in me. I am empty awaiting the waters of life to inundate my poor, longing soul. Speak peace Beloved. I gaze into Your Soul in its anguished Gethsemane. All ages await your healing Death on the Cross the Father laid upon your bosom in a bath of blood and tears. Fill Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow as with Mary”s “Fiat” her womb became Your world.

Life, precious ointment of Love, consume the death You find in me.

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Entombed With Eucharistic Love

Posted in Christ, My Journal with tags , , , , , , , , on May 11, 2010 by Joanna

You, O Lord, inflame my heart.
Rush on me, O Lord!
Rush on me, O Holy Spirit,
As I devour You, O God,
Devour Me.

Descend into my depths.
Awaken my soul.
Resurrect my poor spirit.
Rise in my heart.
I am Your servant, Lord.

My members are now
Your members, Jesus.
My heart, Your heart,
My eyes, Your eyes,
My ears, Your ears.

Arise, O Lord! Inflame, O Lord!
On every cell imprint Your Name.
On every fiber, imprint Your Image.
My frame, Your temple,
My will, Your altar.

Yours, Yours, I am Yours.
Lay me down next to You,
Entombed in Eucharistic Love,
Now and forever, Yours.

Heart of my heart,
I love you,
Repaying Love with love,
Yet, wholly inadequate,

Living out of Your Being for supply.

Answering Your call,
The Spirit and the Bride, say “Come!”
I answer, “Come. Come, Lord Jesus,
Bridegroom of my soul!
Finally, eternally, come!

Come Eternal Flame!
Baptise me, O Holy Spirit;
Holy Fire of the Father’s Love.
Eternal Father, Trinity,
One Son, forever.  Eucharistic Sun.

by Joann Nelander

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Charity Should Know No Limit

Posted in Catholic, Church, Church Fathers, Lenten Reading with tags , , , , , , , on March 16, 2010 by Joanna

From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great,

The virtue of charity

In the gospel of John the Lord says: In this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for each other. In a letter of the same apostle we read: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God; he who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

The faithful should therefore enter into themselves and make a true judgment on their attitudes of mind and heart. If they find some store of loves fruit in their hearts, they must not doubt Gods presence within them. If they would increase their capacity to receive so great a guest, they should practice greater generosity in doing good, with persevering charity.

If God is love, charity should know no limit, for God cannot be confined.

Any time is the right time for works of charity, but these days of Lent provide a special encouragement. Those who want to be present at the Lords Passover in holiness of mind and body should seek above all to win this grace, for charity contains all other virtues and covers a multitude of sins.

As we prepare to celebrate that greatest of all mysteries, by which the blood of Jesus Christ did away with our sins, let us first of all make ready the sacrificial offerings of works of mercy. In this way we shall give to those who have sinned against us what God in his goodness has already given us.

Let us now extend to the poor and those afflicted in different ways a more open-handed generosity, so that God may be thanked through many voices and the relief of the needy supported by our fasting. No act of devotion on the part of the faithful gives God more pleasure than that which is lavished on his poor. Where he finds charity with its loving concern, there he recognizes the reflection of his own fatherly care.

In these acts of giving do not fear a lack of means. A generous spirit is itself great wealth. There can be no shortage of material for generosity where it is Christ who feeds and Christ who is fed. In all this activity there is present the hand of him who multiplies the bread by breaking it, and increasing it by giving it away.

The giver of alms should be free from anxiety and full of joy. His gain will be greatest when he keeps back least for himself. The holy apostle Paul tells us: He who provides seed for the sower will also provide bread for eating; he will provide you with more seed, and will increase the harvest of your goodness, in Christ Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

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A Mother to All -Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Culture, Defending Life, Faith, Gospel, Government, Lent with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 2, 2010 by Joanna

This is healthcare for the soul. Mother Teresa did it without government, person to person and from the heart.

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Mirror of Love

Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Lenten Reading, Religion with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on February 26, 2010 by Joanna

From the Mirror of Love by Saint Aelred, abbot

Christ, the model of brotherly love

The perfection of brotherly love lies in the love of one’s enemies. We can find no greater inspiration for this than grateful remembrance of the wonderful patience of Christ. He who is more fair than all the sons of men offered his fair face to be spat upon by sinful men; he allowed those eyes that rule the universe to be blindfolded by wicked men; he bared his back to the scourges; he submitted that head which strikes terror in principalities and powers to the sharpness of the thorns; he gave himself up to be mocked and reviled, and at the end endured the cross, the nails, the lance, the gall, the vinegar, remaining always gentle, meek and full of peace.

In short, he was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before the shearers he kept silent, and did not open his mouth.

Who could listen to that wonderful prayer, so full of warmth, of love, of unshakeable serenity”Father, forgive them” and hesitate to embrace his enemies with overflowing love? Father, he says, forgive them. Is any gentleness, any love, lacking in this prayer?

Yet he put into it something more. It was not enough to pray for them: he wanted also to make excuses for them. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. They are great sinners, yes, but they have little judgment; therefore, Father, forgive them. They are nailing me to the cross, but they do not know who it is that they are nailing to the cross: if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory; therefore, Father, forgive them. They think it is a lawbreaker, an impostor claiming to be God, a seducer of the people. I have hidden my face from them, and they do not recognize my glory; therefore, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

If someone wishes to love himself he must not allow himself to be corrupted by indulging his sinful nature. If he wishes to resist the promptings of his sinful nature he must enlarge the whole horizon of his love to contemplate the loving gentleness of the humanity of the Lord. Further, if he wishes to savor the joy of brotherly love with greater perfection and delight, he must extend even to his enemies the embrace of true love.

But if he wishes to prevent this fire of divine love from growing cold because of injuries received, let him keep the eyes of his soul always fixed on the serene patience of his beloved Lord and Savior.

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St Bridget 12 year prayer-7 wounds of Jesus

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Culture, Just Thinking Out Loud, Religion with tags , , , , , , , , on February 20, 2010 by Joanna

A  wonderful prayer for Lent and a prayer with promises,,,Say everyday!

Sent from my iPod

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St Bridget 12 year prayer-7 wounds of Jesus

Posted in Art, Prayer with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2010 by Joanna

The 12 Year Prayers:

O Jesus, now I wish to pray the Lord’s Prayer seven times in unity with the love with which You sanctified this prayer in Your Heart. Take it from my lips into Your Divine Heart. Improve and complete it so much that it brings as much honor and joy to the Trinity as You granted it on earth with this prayer. May these pour upon Your Holy Humanity in Glorification to Your Painful Wounds and the Precious Blood that You spilled from them.

First Prayer: The Circumcision

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary’s unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the first wounds, the first pains, and the first Bloodshed as atonement for my and all of humanity’s sins of youth, as protection against the first mortal sin, especially among my relatives.

Second Prayer: The Suffering on the Mount of Olives

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary’s unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the terrifying suffering of Jesus’ Heart on the Mount of Olives and every drop of His Bloody Sweat as atonement for my and all of humanity’s sins of the heart, as protection against such sins and for the spreading of Divine and brotherly Love.

Third Prayer: The Flogging

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary’s unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the many thousands of Wounds, the gruesome Pains, and the Precious Blood of the Flogging as atonement for my and all of humanity’s sins of the Flesh, as protection against such sins and the preservation of innocence, especially among my relatives.

Fourth Prayer: The Crowning of Thorns

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary’s unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the Wounds, the Pains, and the Precious Blood of Jesus’ Holy Head from the Crowning with Thorns as atonement for my and all of humanity’s sins of the Spirit, as protection against such sins and the spreading of Christ’s kingdom here on earth.

Fifth Prayer: The Carrying of the Cross

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary’s unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You the Sufferings on the way of the Cross, especially His Holy Wound on His Shoulder and its Precious Blood as atonement for my and all of humanity’s rebellion against the Cross, every grumbling against Your Holy Arrangements and all other sins of the tongue, as protection against such sins and for true love of the Cross.

Sixth Prayer: The Crucifixion

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, through Mary’s unblemished hands and the Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer You Your Son on the Cross, His Nailing and Raising, His Wounds on the Hands and Feet and the three streams of His Precious Blood that poured forth from these for us, His extreme tortures of the Body and Soul, His precious Death and its non-bleeding Renewal in all Holy Masses on earth as atonement for all wounds against vows and regulations within the Orders, as reparation for my and all of the world’s sins, for the sick and the dying, for all holy priests and laymen, for the Holy Father’s intentions toward the restoration of Christian families, for the strengthening of Faith, for our country and unity among all nations in Christ and His Church, as well as for the Diaspora.

Seventh Prayer: The Piercing of Jesus’ Side

Pray 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, then:

Eternal Father, accept as worthy, for the needs of the Holy Church and as atonement for the sins of all Mankind, the Precious Blood and Water which poured forth from the Wound of Jesus’ Divine Heart. Be gracious and merciful toward us. Blood of Christ, the last precious content of His Holy Heart, wash me of all my and others’ guilt of sin! Water from the Side of Christ, wash me clean of all punishments for sin and extinguish the flames of Purgatory for me and for all the Poor Souls. Amen.

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Ordinary People – Extraordinary Love

Posted in Anti-abortion with tags , , , , , on December 8, 2009 by Joanna

In life no one goes unchallenged.  Challenges rise before us like daunting mountains before the promised grace abounds that will carry us up and over.  Angels stand by still and mute til summoned to our side. The Church teaches, yet it is left for us to decide to trust and to obey.  From Christ we hear, “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew16:18)  When I hear that I must assume that “the gates of hell” will certainly try. Be Not Afraid.Net shares a story of trust amid extraordinary challenge.

From:L  A Donation of Spirit by Katrina J. Zeno:

“She was the first person I ever met who wore black leather and lipstick to match. It was 1983, and I was a freshman at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. The young woman in black, Dawn Scanlan, was the University president’s niece. She had been “entrusted” to my small, faith-sharing group for the weekend with the hope that we would be a good influence on her. Much to my surprise, and to the delight of her uncle, Dawn enrolled at Franciscan University the next fall. Leaving behind the racy life of a Long Islander, she tried to give God and her Catholic faith a fair shake. She half succeeded. After a year of less than spectacular grades, the probation committee at the University informed Dawn she couldn’t continue. She got a job with British Airways, moved to Atlanta, Georgia, married a Lufthansa airline employee, and settled down to a mediocre Catholic life. “I continued to straddle the fence,” Dawn says. “I went to church on Sunday, taught my two daughters their prayers, but still compromised in many areas.” But in August of 1997 the fence began to crack. Five months into her third pregnancy, Dawn received some disturbing news: Her baby had a rare and fatal form of dwarfism (only 100 documented cases) in which his lungs would never develop. If he made it to term and was born, he would die within hours. Additionally, he had no arms or legs, just hands and feet, and he was hydrocephalic. “I was very confused and didn’t know what to do,” Dawn says. “Some of my friends suggested I have an abortion. I wanted the Catholic position, so I called Uncle Mike.” Uncle Mike, a.k.a. Fr. Michael Scanlan, TOR, president of Franciscan University, listened to his distressed niece and then gave his advice: wait and pray for 24 hours, and then he’d call back. “It was the best advice he could have given me,” Dawn says. “Within two hours, I knew what I would do. I would continue my pregnancy and shower my baby with love. I made the decision with God’s help. It was my decision. It wasn’t Uncle Mike’s decision.” …….  the rest here.

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“Fish” and the Heart of God

Posted in Catholic with tags , , , , , , , , on September 19, 2009 by Joanna

H/T Catholic Exchange for “Fish”

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Effects of Divine Love

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Religion with tags , , , , , , , , , , on July 5, 2009 by Joanna

My Imitation of Christ by Thomas a’ Kempis

Book Three-Fifth Chapter

The Wonderful Effect of Divine Love

The Disciple:

I BLESS You, O heavenly Father, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, for having condescended to remember me, a poor creature. Thanks to You, O Father of mercies, God of all consolation, Who with Your comfort sometimes refresh me, who am not worthy of it. I bless You always and glorify You with Your only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, forever and ever. Ah, Lord God, my holy Lover, when You come into my heart, all that is within me will rejoice. You are my glory and the exultation of my heart. You are my hope and refuge in the day of my tribulation. But because my love is as yet weak and my virtue imperfect, I must be strengthened and comforted by You. Visit me often, therefore, and teach me Your holy discipline. Free me from evil passions and cleanse my heart of all disorderly affection so that, healed and purified within, I may be fit to love, strong to suffer, and firm to persevere. Love is an excellent thing, a very great blessing, indeed. It makes every difficulty easy, and bears all wrongs with equanimity. For it bears a burden without being weighted and renders sweet all that is bitter. The noble love of Jesus spurs to great deeds and excites longing for that which is more perfect. Love tends upward; it will not be held down by anything low. Love wishes to be free and estranged from all worldly affections, lest its inward sight be obstructed, lest it be entangled in any temporal interest and overcome by adversity. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller, and nothing better in heaven or on earth, for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God, Who is above all created things. One who is in love flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free, not bound. He gives all for all and possesses all in all, because he rests in the one sovereign Good, Who is above all things, and from Whom every good flows and proceeds. He does not look to the gift but turns himself above all gifts to the Giver. Love often knows no limits but overflows all bounds. Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of troubles, attempts more than it is able, and does not plead impossibility, because it believes that it may and can do all things. For this reason, it is able to do all, performing and effecting much where he who does not love fails and falls. Love is watchful. Sleeping, it does not slumber. Wearied, it is not tired. Pressed, it is not straitened. Alarmed, it is not confused, but like a living flame, a burning torch, it forces its way upward and passes unharmed through every obstacle. If a man loves, he will know the sound of this voice. For this warm affection of soul is a loud voice crying in the ears of God, and it says: “My God, my love, You are all mine and I am all Yours. Give me an increase of love, that I may learn to taste with the inward lips of my heart how sweet it is to love, how sweet to be dissolved in love and bathe in it. Let me be rapt in love. Let me rise above self in great fervor and wonder. Let me sing the hymn of love, and let me follow You, my Love, to the heights. Let my soul exhaust itself in praising You, rejoicing out of love. Let me love You more than myself, and let me not love myself except for Your sake. In You let me love all those who truly love You, as the law of love, which shines forth from You, commands.” Love is swift, sincere, kind, pleasant, and delightful. Love is strong, patient and faithful, prudent, long-suffering, and manly. Love is never self-seeking, for in whatever a person seeks himself there he falls from love. Love is circumspect, humble, and upright. It is neither soft nor light, nor intent upon vain things. It is sober and chaste, firm and quiet, guarded in all the senses. Love is subject and obedient to superiors. It is mean and contemptible in its own eyes, devoted and thankful to God; always trusting and hoping in Him even when He is distasteful to it, for there is no living in love without sorrow. He who is not ready to suffer all things and to stand resigned to the will of the Beloved is not worthy to be called a lover. A lover must embrace willingly all that is difficult and bitter for the sake of the Beloved, and he should not turn away from Him because of adversities.

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