IX

ABOUT LOVE

MY SOUL thirsts for the living God. My soul again seeks to enjoy the Lord to its heart's content. Oh, the incomprehensible mercy of God: the Lord created man from the dust and breathed into him the breath of life, and the soul of man became dear to God.

The Lord so loved His creation that He gave the Holy Spirit to man, and man knew his Creator and loves his Lord.

The Holy Spirit is the love and sweetness of the soul, mind and body; but when the soul loses grace, or when grace diminishes, then the soul will again tearfully seek the Holy Spirit and miss God, and say: "My soul misses the Lord, and tearfully seek Him. How can I not seek Thee, O Lord? Thou Thyself first sought me, and gave me to delight in the Holy Spirit; and now my soul misses Thee. My heart has loved Thee, and I pray Thee: let me abide in Thy love to the end; grant me for the sake of Thy love to endure all sorrows and illnesses."

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Fear and trembling will hold my soul when I want to write about the love of God.

Poor is my soul, and I have no strength to describe the love of the Lord.

And the soul is afraid, and at the same time it is drawn to write at least a few words about the love of Christ. My spirit is weary to write this, but love compels me.

Oh, man, is a feeble creature.

When grace is in us, the spirit burns and yearns for the Lord day and night, for grace binds the soul to love God, and it has loved Him, and does not want to tear itself away from Him, for it cannot be satisfied with the sweetness of the Holy Spirit.

And there is no end to God's love.

I know a man whom the Merciful Lord has visited by His grace; and if the Lord had asked him: "Do you want to give you more?" then from the weakness of the flesh the soul would have said: