Happy Wednesday! This blog post is a reflection on the first chapter of the book I Believe In Love, by Fr. Jean C. J. D’Elbée. This book is a personal retreat based on the teaching of St Thérèse of Lisieux which has been incredibly influential in my own spiritual journey, so I am excited to share it with you as well!

How often do you think about love? In your day to day life, how often do you remember that you are a beloved son or daughter of God? This is the core of our identity, yet it is the part we forget most often, as we turn to things like better clothes, the fanciest new technology, or our achievements in work or school to center our identity in. Though it is sometimes hard to remember, the truth is that we were created out of love, to love and to be loved.

You may have heard this truth before; it is repeated countless times in the Bible, the Catechism, the writings of the saints, and the words of modern preachers. It is worth repeating, for love is truly the foundation of our lives: “God loved us first, that we might love Him” (1 John 1:4). This short verse sums up all of salvation history: Creation, the Fall, God’s repeated promises to mankind, the Incarnation, the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, and the institution of the Church. Though mankind rejected God, God loved us infinitely more, and sent a Savior to redeem us from the snare of sin. He knew that at the end of our lives, we will stand before Him with nothing, for we cannot hope to win Heaven through our own efforts. In His immense desire to be united to us, Jesus poured out His own blood to cover us with it, to take our sins upon Himself and to give us His own merits. St Therese writes that at the end of her life, she shall rejoice, for “having nothing, I shall receive everything from God”. God loves us so much, in fact, that He doesn’t just want to be close to us, He wants to truly become one with us, so much so that He gave Himself to us in the Eucharist. You may have heard of the great love God displayed in humiliating Himself by becoming man in the Incarnation. How much more loving and humiliating is it for the Divine to become bread to be eaten!

Even growing up learning this, it is sometimes hard to believe in or to accept. The heresy of Jansenism tells us that God is vengeful and demanding, waiting for us to sin so He can smite us into hell. We often fall into an unconscious fear of God ruthlessly judging us for every little sin. We think that God is angry with us when we cannot feel His presence, or we believe He won’t love us unless we meet the standards that we set for ourselves. These are all lies straight from hell! It is the devil who loves to drag us down, to convince us that we are worthless, alone, and utterly unlovable. Never let your sins, past or present, stop you from running back to the heart of Jesus. It is good to reflect on our faults to lead us to humility and repentance, but our reflections should also lead us to God’s infinite loving mercy. When a child is lost, loving parents will stop at nothing to get them back. They don’t care why the child wandered off; they just want to make sure they are home and safe. God is an infinitely loving parent. He doesn’t care what you did. He just wants you to come home.

Have you ever noticed how people look at babies? We love them. We cherish them. Everyone wants to make the baby smile or laugh, everyone wants to hold the baby. We delight in their every attempt to scooch, to grab, to take their first teetering steps. The baby doesn’t even have to do anything to be an incredible delight to their parents and to the people around them.

You are God’s baby, His child of adoption. Just like a baby, you do not have to do anything to earn God’s love. He cherishes you, delights in your every attempt to seek the good for which you were created, even though you may stumble and fall. You are a joy to Jesus. If this is your first time hearing this truth, or if you struggle to accept it, sit with this thought for a bit. Take it to adoration. You are a joy to Jesus, and He will stop at nothing to love you, no matter who you are or what you have done.

The first chapter of this book is entitled “Love for Love”. We are greatly loved, and our response must be to love in return. God hides Himself from us so that we might show our love for Him by seeking and choosing Him in all things without immediate reward (Matthew 5:12). The way to do this is complete surrender and abandonment to His will, which will be covered more in depth later on. However, it starts with recognizing His love in our own lives. Not just the love we feel in periods of consolation, for these feelings are fleeting, but the love that God shows in taking care of our every need. This week, meditate on the love of Jesus, in the Gospel and in your own life. Ask God to reveal to you the great love and joy that He has for you, and thank Him for His infinite mercy and grace.