THIRTEENTH MEDITATION FOR LENT
"Have I been so long a time with you and have you not known me?" (John 14:9)
It is not possible to know Jesus Christ well and not to love Him tenderly; a person who only loves Him coldly cannot be said to know Him. This complaint which He makes to His Apostles reveals to us the sentiments of His Heart. Although they had left all to follow Him, they did not love Him yet with sufficient fervor, because they still knew Him only imperfectly. But has not this Divine Savior more reason to make a similar reproach to us and to say to us: "I have been so long in the midst of you; I have been with you night and day; I have been in your midst solely for the love of you, and yet you do not know Me! For if you knew Me, would you leave Me alone almost always? Would you show so little eagerness in visiting Me? Would you be so little recollected in My presence? Would you have so little confidence in Me in all your wants? Would you not have recourse to Me before all others in all the happenings of life, and could you without pain separate yourself from Me during all your life? What reply could I make to Him?
[From 'The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus' by Fr. John Croiset, SJ]
It is not possible to know Jesus Christ well and not to love Him tenderly; a person who only loves Him coldly cannot be said to know Him. This complaint which He makes to His Apostles reveals to us the sentiments of His Heart. Although they had left all to follow Him, they did not love Him yet with sufficient fervor, because they still knew Him only imperfectly. But has not this Divine Savior more reason to make a similar reproach to us and to say to us: "I have been so long in the midst of you; I have been with you night and day; I have been in your midst solely for the love of you, and yet you do not know Me! For if you knew Me, would you leave Me alone almost always? Would you show so little eagerness in visiting Me? Would you be so little recollected in My presence? Would you have so little confidence in Me in all your wants? Would you not have recourse to Me before all others in all the happenings of life, and could you without pain separate yourself from Me during all your life? What reply could I make to Him?
[From 'The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus' by Fr. John Croiset, SJ]
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please no anonymous comments. I require at least some way for people to address each other personally and courteously. Having some name or handle helps.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.