Chapter IX
Love does not Rejoice in what is Wrong,
But Rejoices with the Truth

Chapter IX
Love does not Rejoice in what is Wrong,
But Rejoices with the Truth

by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

Love and truth are inseparable. Love, knowing that God is the true and only good, detests sin (which is directly opposed to God's will), and seeks only what pleases almighty God. So the soul that loves God tries to please Him, regardless of any human respect. As has been emphasized throughout this book, all holiness consists in conforming our will to God's, and in submitting our will to His.

Conformity to God's Will

If, then, we want to become saints, we must concentrate on doing the will of God, rather than our own. All the Commandments and Counsels are contained in discovering and obeying God's will. We must, therefore, ask the Lord to give us a holy liberty of spirit that leads us to embrace whatever is pleasing to Jesus Christ, in spite of any feelings of hesitation that might stem from self-love and human respect. The love of Jesus Christ makes those who love Him seem equally at ease in any job, pleasant or unpleasant. These persons work with that peace of mind which comes from the knowledge that they are pleasing almighty God.

Saint Augustine can say that if we love, we can do what we please, because He knows that whoever really loves God seeks only to please Him. And Saint Teresa reminds us that those who concentrate on pleasing the one they love become heedless of all private interests. This, too, is what we must do to discover the will of God for us. But we stumble and fall a thousand times, and even lose our way, because we do not focus our attention on our God of love.

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind" - Matthew 22:37. Those who do just that are ready to say with Saint Paul at his conversion: "What shall I do, Lord?" - Acts 22:10. We must realize then, that when we desire what God wills, we, at the same time, desire what is really best for ourselves. Saint Vincent de Paul said: "Conformity with the will of God is the treasure of a Christian, since it incorporates self-denial with all virtues in union with God".

But all this union or conformity with the will of God must be complete and without reserve on our part. We are deceived if we think union with God consists in ecstasies and raptures. It consists in nothing other than submitting our will to the will of God. Oh how many of us say: "Lord, I give you my will", but when we meet with difficulties, we fail to yield calmly to God's will.

If we were united with God's will in all our trials, we would become saints. We must focus all our efforts on keeping our will in complete union with the will of God in everything, pleasant or unpleasant.

Patterns for Perfection

Many try to devise their own patterns for perfection. If they are introverts, they say that sanctity consists in living in seclusion. If they are extroverts, they say that holiness consists in preaching and evangelization. If they are naturally generous, they argue that sanctity is attained only by giving money to the poor. All these actions are the outgrowth of the love of Jesus Christ; but love itself consists in complete union with the will of God. And in order to reach this union, we must deny ourselves and prefer what is most pleasing to God, solely because He deserves it.

Others want to serve God, but it must be in this place, at this job, with these people; otherwise they perform poorly. These people are not free in spirit, because they are slaves of self-love. They are always unhappy because their attachment to self-will makes the yoke of Jesus Christ very heavy for them.

True lovers of Jesus Christ love only what is pleasing to Jesus Christ. They love when it pleases Jesus Christ, where it pleases Jesus Christ, and how it pleases Jesus Christ - whether He chooses to place them in an important position or in an apparently insignificant job. This is what the pure love of Jesus Christ really means. So we must try to conquer our self-will that seeks only to be praised or to be employed in a place that is most suited to our liking. What good will it do to be praised or well-paid, without the will of God?

In speaking of the Last Judgment, Jesus said: "Many will say to Me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in Thy name, and cast out devils in Thy name, and done many miracles in Thy name? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity" - Matthew 7:22-23. In other words, He is telling them that He does not recognize them as His disciples because they preferred to follow their own inclinations, rather than His will.

A proper pattern of perfection consists of the following:

A true turning away from self.

A complete mortification of the appetites.

A perfect union with the will of God.

Whoever lacks one of these requirements is not on the road to holiness.

The goal of all our actions should be the will of God, rather than the glory of God. For when we say that we are working for the glory of God, we frequently deceive ourselves and do our own will under the pretext of glorifying God. Saint Francis de Sales warns us: "Many say to the Lord: 'I give myself entirely to You'. But few are really ready to embrace that abandonment".

It is therefore in suffering and cheerfully embracing what cuts against the grain of our own self-will, that we recognize the true lovers of Jesus Christ. Those who embrace their crosses, without complaining, are examples of this.

We must, of course, resign ourselves to the crosses that come directly from God, like sickness, lack of talent, apparent "bad luck"; but we must also embrace those that come indirectly from God, but through others, like persecution, theft, injury.

We should, then, constantly beg for the grace to belong completely to God, asking Him for light to understand His will and strength to carry it out. But we can never do this without mental prayer, coupled with a heartfelt desire to be totally united to Jesus Christ.

Obedience to God's Will

How can we know what God asks of us? There is no surer way than to practice obedience to those who hold authority over us. God is more pleased with the sacrifice of our own self-will in obedience, than with all the other sacrifices that we can offer Him. And why is this? When we give Him our material goods, we give of what is ours; but when we give Him our will, we give Him ourselves. Therefore, when we say to God: "Lord, let me know by obedience what You want of me, because I want to do it", we have nothing more to give Him.

There are so few people completely surrendered to God, because so few submit to obedience. Some are so attached to their own opinions that when they are asked to obey - even if it is something they like to do - they find that simply because it is a command, they lose any desire for it, and any desire to carry it out, because they only enjoy their own will. How different is the attitude of the saints!

In order to practice perfect obedience, we must obey with both our mind and our will. To obey with our mind means that we do not unnecessarily question or examine what is commanded, taking for granted that what is commanded is the most perfect thing to do, although some other command might be better before God. Obedience of the will implies that we act freely, and not like robots. This is true not only for religious, but also for the laity, who owe obedience to their spiritual directors.

In summary, our pursuit of holiness depends on:

Surrendering our self-will

Following the will of God

Begging God for the strength to do both.

Prayer

Beloved Redeemer, be the only Lord of my heart. Possess it entirely. I want to love You alone, obey You alone, and try to please You alone. Others may seek the riches of the world; I want only You. You are, and always shall be, my Treasure in life and in eternity.

Jesus, I give You my whole mind and my whole will. They once rebelled against You, but now I dedicate them completely to You. Tell me what You want me to do, and I will leave nothing undone. I accept Your will and resign myself to accept everything You send my way.

Love, deserving of infinite love, You have loved me enough to die for me. I love You with my whole heart, and I abandon my soul into Your hands. Receive me and make me faithful until death.

My Jesus, from now on I will live only for You; I will love only You; I will seek nothing but to do Your blessed will.

Mary, my hope, help me to seek and to follow God's will in all my actions.

Amen