It is necessary to know God.

Everyone who loves... knows God," the Apostle John testifies. "Whoever does not love has not come to know God" (1 Jn. IV, 7-8). Consequently, he who knows God cannot but love Him. Especially, by knowing God's love shown to us, we cultivate in ourselves a feeling of reciprocal love.

Let us love Him, because He first loved us (1 Jn. IV, 19).

We know love in that He laid down His life for us (1 Jn. III, 16).

Therefore, know God, know His love, especially manifested in the atoning sacrifice of the Lord, Who laid down His life for us. Study the Savior's life, His person, His character, His work and teaching, and the history of His suffering. A high, extraordinary, holy personality will open before you, a pure, noble character, which cannot but be loved.

Imagine more clearly, step by step, moment by moment, all this wonderful life: Christmas night... The wondrous Child, who exchanged the throne of heaven for a bundle of straw for us... The squalor of the cave and the cold of the night... Education in Nazareth... Poverty and the need to work hard... Fasting in the desert and the horror of temptation... Wandering in Palestine without His corner, without shelter... Annoying crowds of people, and this constantly gentle smile... Words of mercy and compassion... Miracles of healing and blessing of children... The espionage of the Pharisees and the hatred that was gathering more and more around him... The ringing of silver and the betrayal of Judas... Gethsemane with its dying anguish... The crackle of torches and the kiss of a traitor... The betrayal of the students and complete loneliness... An outrageously cruel and unfair trial... The cries of the excited, embittered crowd: "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Calvary... Crucifix... The last breath and this dying cry: My God, My God! why hast thou forsaken me?

And when all this suffering life with its shame and pain, with its humiliation and anguish, with its loneliness and love, and when you understand that He loved and pitied you, prayed for you and suffered for you, then a sharp feeling of compassion and gratitude will permeate the heart... And this is the beginning of love.

Finally, a great means of developing love for God, uniting with Him directly and making one feel the sweetness of this unity, is sincere, heartfelt prayer.

Chapter XII, pp. 35-44

This passage of the Gospel contains three sections, three themes apparently little connected with each other.

Verses 35-37 contain the idea, based on the 109th Psalm of David, that Christ the Messiah is God.

Verses 38-40 contain a warning against the spiritual leaders of Israel, the scribes and Pharisees, and an indication of their major vices.

Verses 41-44 tell the story of a poor widow who put two mites into the treasury of the temple.

Despite the external disconnection of the narrative, there is an undoubted internal connection between these three sections.