"Our first task in mental prayer, instead of offering or doing anything for God, is to let ourselves be loved by him like very small children. Let God have the joy of loving us. That is difficult, because it means having a rock-solid belief in God’s love for us. It also implies accepting the fact of our own poverty. Here we touch on something absolutely fundamental: there is no true love for God which is not built on a recognition of the absolute priority of God’s love for us; there is no true love for God that has not grasped that, before doing anything at all, we have first to receive. “In this is love,” St. John tells us, “not that we loved God, but that he loved us first” (1 Jn 4: 10).
- Time for God, pg.53-54
God loves each of us in a special way. However, being able to recognize that special love can be difficult. Yet, when we do, I think we will grow in happiness and also become better able to truly understand God's calling for us. To hear His call requires a "rock solid belief in God's love for us." We must believe that God loves us even when we sin, or let him down. Sometimes I am guilty of this; letting myself think that God turns his back on me when I fall into sin, and that He will not turn back to me until I am forgiven. This is not true because God opens his heart up even more to us more when we sin, because he knows that we only need his love and mercy more. He is filled with compassion. The devil wants us to believe the negative things about God, that He doesn't love us, or that He has given up on us. But, we must believe that God's mercy is infinite, and that He longs for us to be close to Him.
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