Jesus Christ and St. John the Apostle by Damiane, 14th century, via Wikimedia Commons
My Jesus, from all eternity
you were pleased to give yourself to us in love.
And you planted within us a deep spiritual desire
that can only be satisfied by yourself.
I may go from here to the other end of the world,
from one country to another,
from riches to greater riches,
from pleasure to pleasure, and still not be content.
All this world cannot satisfy the immortal soul.
It would be like trying to feed a starving man
with a single grain of wheat.
We can only be satisfied by setting our hearts,
imperfect as we are, on you.
We are made to love you,
you created us as your lovers.
It sometimes happens that the more we know a neighbor,
the less we love him.
But with you it is quite the opposite.
The more we know you, the more we love you.
Knowledge of you kindles such a fire in our souls
that we have no energy left for worldly desires.
My Jesus, how good it is to love you.
Let me be like your disciples on Mount Tabor,
seeing nothing else but you.
Let us be like two bosom friends,
neither of whom can ever bear to offend the other.
Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, 1786 – 1859, French parish priest
HarperCollins Book of Prayers
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We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
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