On-going Conversion Towards Loving God Vehemently

We bear in ourselves the “seed of eternity”, our immortal soul, destined for everlasting happiness of face to face union of love with our infinitely perfect God– that ravishing happiness which “eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1Cor 2:9).

But there will be no fruition or fulfillment of love in the life hereafter if we do not have love for God while here on earth. In fact this is the very reason why God put us in this world–to prepare us for Heaven. As the Catechism puts it: “We are here to know, love, and serve God, and so be happy with Him forever in Heaven”.

We may, however, go through life unconsciously afflicted with spiritual myopia, exerting all our efforts and energy towards goals like careers, financial stability, worldly successes, health and longevity, but lose sight of eternity. Or we may simply be content to avoid Hell, but not desirous of that everlasting bliss of possessing God and being possessed by Him in a union “so ravishingly complete as to be infinitely beyond the ecstasy of the most perfect marriage”. Or at best we settle for a faint love of God.

Hence the need for conversion, or at least an on-going conversion from lukewarmness towards that uncompromising commitment to love God vehemently.

Many Saints have achieved that fervent love of God at a young age, such as St.Therese, or St. Carlo Acutis. Others went through a long journey of sinful living before eventually having a dramatic conversion experience. Still for many others it is a steady and gradual growth towards a mature and committed spiritual life. In any case, for all of us, ‘conversion’ has to happen, lest we get stuck in superficial living thinking our life is meaningful enough. Such a conversion is surely a grace of God we can pray for– for ourselves and for others, especially our loved ones.

For us who already have that minimum of faith, the only starting point is a deeper consideration and meditation on God's tender love for each of us personally. St. John aptly puts it: “We love God because He first loved us” (1Jn 4:19). “Before the Incarnation of the Eternal Word, says a celebrated author, man might doubt whether God loved him tenderly or not; but now that Jesus Christ has become man and died for us, such a doubt is impossible” (St. Alphonsus). We will never be able to fully comprehend the depth of divine love that led our Lord to offer Himself as a victim in atonement for our sins. “A soul that considers the love of Jesus for mankind is forced, as it were, to love in return.” (St. Alphonsus). “The charity of Christ presseth us” (2 Cor 5:14). Ours is simply a response. No one who meditates frequently on the Passion will remain cold, un-feeling or un-touched by the all-consuming fire of God's love. What more incentive or motivation do we need!

Still, our weak human nature will tend to cling to the allurements of this world of sense and the love for self satisfaction which tend to make the person (ourselves) almost the center of this world, hindering us from loving God passionately. Hence the necessity to cultivate a strong desire to love God, applying ourselves to intense prayer and mortification, which are the two traditional means that will enable us to fly to God and be consumed with love for Him.

Let us be reminded, however, that we are here referring to the love of charity; not the love of feeling, but supernatural love that springs from the theological virtue of charity infused into our souls when we are in the state of grace.This is the virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, He meriting to be loved in the highest degree for His infinite lovableness. We need only to make acts of this virtue frequently (in the state of grace), which merits for us an increase in Sanctifying Grace and actual graces to love God in action, that is, in thought, word, and deed. Now we realize that God Himself assists us in loving Him.

Still conversion is a process. And we ought not to delay, by making that initial commitment and energetically sustaining it and striving to grow in it with sky as the limit. We are encouraged to ask God for light that we may see what we're missing, and guide us with His grace along the path of perfection. But in the end it is a choice –between a life of mediocrity and lukewarmness (though we may not be aware of it), or a life of peace and joy which only in God can we find– a fruit of a passionate love for Him.

Now let us suppose that we have already made an explicit commitment to love God without compromises. How do we know we truly are loving God Whom we do not see? By serving Him; and we serve God by doing His will manifested in His Commandments. And so the first manifestation of this is a total detachment from all sin in thought, word, and deed, even venial sin, which weakens our love. This is the minimum of doing God's will. But we also ought to do God's will positively or actively through the spiritual and corporal works of Mercy as occasions present themselves in our everyday life. Often our daily duties of work and family life already afford us opportunities to practice charity. Moreover, we need to intentionally offer to God all our thoughts, words, and deeds: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1Cor 10:31).

We also do God's will passively, so to speak, when we accept in loving and trustful surrender to God everything that He allows to happen to us everyday of our lives. And through all these, we are to carry without complaints whatever crosses God sends us, enduring and offering with love all the sufferings that may come our way.

As we grow in this path, little by little we also learn to take on specific love-offerings to God, be it some acts of self-denial or good deeds done to others for love of God. These seemingly little acts, along with our intentional offering of everything we do for love of God, and our self surrender to His loving will– are one continuum that connects our life in the here and now to that fulfillment of love in eternity. We take joy in knowing that “one act of pure love (charity), no matter how simple, is greater than the whole created universe” (St. Thomas Aquinas, paraphrased). Thus charity, the bond of perfection, becomes the thread that runs throughout the whole fabric of our Christian Life.

At first we might feel we are loving God simply effectively, but the more we walk on this path the more we will reach that affective love of God, even to the point of rejoicing more in His happiness than in our own. Indeed supernatural love of God is in the will; but the emotional dimension (affective), prompted by a deep realization and experience of God’s tender love for us, is what moves us even more to love God actively in the concrete instances of our daily life. We are assured that as we strive to love Him, God will meet us where we are and lift us up to experience the sweetness of His love, even in the midst of suffering. We will then have that ardent desire for others to also love Him vehemently.

Now we might ask, “what more can I do to truly love God and please Him?” We can love Him with our Blessed Mother, who alone of all men and women has the greatest love for God and pleased Him most. And so we are well advised to love God always with Mary, thereby pleasing Him the most.

And so, as we heed St Paul's admonition to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (cf Phil 2:12), may we first work out our conversion and on-going conversion with God's grace. It is never too late nor too early to walk on this path of perfection. We would not want to waste time anymore, chasing worldly pleasures and self satisfactions. For there is nothing out there but emptiness, sour hangover, and misery. Rather let us dive into this great adventure of loving God more and more passionately, which unites us to Him even here on earth–the only way to true happiness and future beatitude in eternity.

We have been forewarned: “I know all about you: how you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other, but since you are neither, but only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev 3:15-16).