After forty-three days of Kempis and four of Augustine — St. Alphonsus de Liguori. A new century. A new voice. The same truth. Kempis: self-will is a nowhere road. Augustine: the weight of love carries the soul. Liguori: the union of wills IS the love.
Perfect love of God means the complete union of our will with God's. The more one unites his will with the divine will, the greater will be his love of God.
A man has two servants. One works all day — but according to his own devices; the other works less, but does what he is told. The master favors the second.
God does not want sacrifices, but obedience to his will. The man who follows his own will independently of God's is guilty of a kind of idolatry. Instead of adoring God's will, he adores his own.
The two servants: one works hard but self-directed, the other obeys. The master favors the obedient. Effort without obedience is the nowhere road in a work uniform. And Liguori names what Kempis implied: self-direction is not just disobedience. It is idolatry — the soul worshipping her own will instead of God's.
The greatest glory we can give to God is to do his will in everything.
"I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me."
"That the world may know that I love the Father: as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I."
"Whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother."
If the Son subordinated His will to the Father's in the garden, facing the cross — how much more the pilgrim facing the boxes? And the promise: whoever does the Father's will is My brother. The obedient soul is not a servant. She is family.
I prayed today for obedience to His will. I am under so much pressure and I don't want to follow my own will. I want to keep diligence in my reading and prayer. I know all things work together for good for those who love God. I want to be obedient to His love. Obedience is the way out of the stress of the world.
Under pressure, Le prayed for obedience. Not strength. Not relief. Obedience. The prayer of a soul who has learned that the stress is not in the circumstances — it is in the divided will.
Obedience is the way out. The stress comes from carrying two wills. The self-directed will fights the circumstances. The obedient will rests inside them. When the soul's will matches God's — the internal war stops. Not because the boxes disappear. Because the resistance disappears.
Obedient to His love. Not to a rule. To love. The union of wills IS the love. The soul that obeys out of love is not a slave. She is the most free person in the room.
"I want to be obedient to His love. Obedience is the way out of the stress of the world."
Le's Heart · Caldas da Rainha · The Lord's Day · Liguori — the union of wills IS the loveUnion of Wills
The more one unites his will with God's, the greater the love. The union IS the love. Not two things — one.
Obedience over Sacrifice
Two servants — one works hard on his own, one obeys. The master favors the obedient. Effort without obedience is the nowhere road.
The Way Out
The stress comes from the divided will. Obedience resolves the war. Not because the boxes disappear — because the resistance disappears.
Family, Not Servants
Whoever does the Father's will is family. The obedient soul is sister, daughter, beloved.