> [[365-the-yes-of-perfect-consent|← 365. The Yes of Perfect Consent]] | [[-divine-intimacy-toc|TOC]] | [[367-perfect-union|367. Perfect Union →]] --- # 366. The Reciprocal Gift PRESENCE OF GOD - May I be all Yours, Lord, and You all mine. ## Meditation 1 “God does not give Himself wholly to us until He sees that we are giving ourselves wholly to Him” ([[teresa-of-avila-saint|T.J.]] [[tj-way-ccel-toc|Way]], 28). God respects man’s liberty so much that, although desiring to have him share in His divine Life, He actually communicates Himself only in the measure of our consent; when this consent is total, He does not hesitate to give Himself wholly. God responds to the perfect yes of the soul with the “true and entire yes of His grace” (cf. J.C. LF, 3,24). To the perfect gift of the will on the part of the soul corresponds the full communication of grace on the part of God; grace is granted in all its perfection, accompanied by the wealth of the infused virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Grace and love necessarily go together, and as perfect adherence to the will of God is the sign of perfect love, it follows that God gives the superabundance of grace to the soul which is completely conformed to His divine will. St. John of the Cross explains this lofty state yet more fully: “When the will of God and the will of the soul are as one in a free consent of their own, then the soul has attained to the possession of God through grace of will, insofar as can be, by means of will and grace; and this signifies that God has corresponded to the yes of the soul with the true and entire yes of His grace” (ibid.). The soul has given itself entirely to God, and now it receives its reward: God gives Himself to it. The soul, says the Saint, possesses God “through grace of will,” that is, by reason of the perfect communication of grace, which is God’s response to the total gift of the will. By this perfect communication, God gives Himself to the soul, allowing it to participate more and more in His supernatural Being and divine Life, and dwelling in it in a manner ever more intimate and profound. This is the triumph of grace in the soul. That grace, which was communicated to it in germ at Baptism, and which has increased little by little in the course of the various stages of the spiritual life, reaches maturity when the soul has surrendered itself completely into the hands of God, giving Him its whole will. Not in vain has the soul died to itself; it has died in order to live in God and for God, to live by His life, by His love, by His will. “You are dead,” says St. Paul, “and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Col 3,3.). ## Meditation 2 With the authority of a Doctor of the Church, St. John of the Cross declares: “When in this way the soul voids itself of all things and achieves emptiness and surrender of them (which, as we have said, is the part that the soul can play), it is impossible, if the soul does as much as in it lies, that God should fail to perform His part by communicating Himself to the soul, at least secretly and in silence. It is more impossible than that the sun should fail to shine in a serene and unclouded sky; for as the sun, when it rises in the morning, will enter your house if you open the shutter, even so will God...enter the soul that is empty and fill it with divine blessings” (LF 3,46). How long has Our Lord, the divine Sun, let the luminous ray of His grace shine upon your soul; how long has He knocked at your door: “Behold, I stand at the gate and knock” (Ap 3,20). Each confession, each Holy Communion, each Mass, each occasion for the exercise of virtue, each inspiration, each command or request of obedience: are not these God, knocking repeatedly at the door of your heart? And what are you doing? Why do you still keep Him waiting? Wake from your torpor, open your soul! “Lift up your gates...and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates, and the King of glory shall enter in!” (Ps 23,7). Do not be satisfied with opening the door half-way, or even three-quarters; open it completely. It is necessary to lift up the gates, to remove every obstacle: your God must enter in. If you find it costly to deny your will in everything, consider how great a good it is to be guided in all things by the will of God. If you find it a burden to renounce self-love and earthly affections, think how joyous it is to possess the love of God. If you are reluctant to die to self, ponder how glorious it is to live to God. St. Teresa of Jesus cried out in a burst of enthusiasm: “What nothingness is all that we have given up, and all that we are doing, or can ever do, for a God who is pleased to communicate Himself in this way to a worm! If we have the hope of enjoying this blessing while we are still in this life, what are we doing about it, and why are we waiting? What sufficient reason is there for delaying even a short time instead of seeking this Lord, as the Bride did, through streets and squares?” ([[tj-interior-castle-ccel|Int C]]) VI, 4). Our Lord wills to communicate Himself to your soul, to give Himself entirely; He wills to come and live with you: “If any man shall hear My voice and open to Me the door, I will come into him and will sup with him and he with Me” (Ap 3,20). Oh! may you not lose this immense gift through your own fault, your own negligence! ## Colloquy “O Lord of heaven and earth! Is it possible, while we are still in this mortal life, for us to enjoy You with such special friendship?... Oh! the joys which You bestow on souls who give themselves entirely to You! What endearments, what sweet words are these, one word of which would suffice to unite us to You. May You be blessed, O Lord, for so far as You are concerned we shall lose nothing. By how many paths, in how many manners, through how many means do You reveal Your love to us! By trials, by bitter death, by tortures, by affronts suffered daily, by Your forgiveness. And not by these alone, but by words that pierce the soul that loves You. “So, my Lord, I ask You for nothing else in this life but that You should ‘kiss me with the kiss of Your mouth’; and let this be in such a way, Lord of my life, that, even if I should desire to withdraw from this friendship and union, my will may be so completely subject to Yours that I shall be unable to leave You. May nothing ever hinder me, O my God and my glory, from being able to say: ‘Better and more delectable than any other good is Your friendship and Your love." “For the love of the Lord, my soul, wake out of this sleep and remember that God does not keep you waiting until the next life before rewarding you for your love of Him. Your recompense begins in this life. “O my Lord, my Mercy and my Good! What more do I want in this life than to be so near You that there is no division between You and me? And since Your love allows it, I will repeat without ceasing: ‘My Beloved to me and I to my Beloved’” (cf. [[teresa-of-avila-saint|T.J.]] Con, 3 - 4). --- ## Reference Int C - [[tj-interior-castle-ccel|Interior Castle]] T.J - [[teresa-of-avila-saint|Saint Teresa of Jesus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]]esus]] Way - [[tj-way-ccel-toc|The Way of Perfection]]) # References J.C. - [[john-of-the-cross-saint|Saint John of the Cross]] LF - [[jc-living-flame|Living Flame of Love by Saint John of the Cross]] T.J. - [[teresa-of-avila-saint|Saint Teresa of Avila]] Con - [[tj-conceptions-of-the-love-of-god|Conceptions of the Love of God by Saint Teresa of Avila]] Int C - [[tj-interior-castle-ccel|Interior Castle (Mansions) by Saint Teresa of Avila]] Way - [[tj-way-ccel-toc|Way of Perfection by Saint Teresa of Avila]] --- ![[bibliography#^biblio-di]] > [[365-the-yes-of-perfect-consent|← 365. The Yes of Perfect Consent]] | [[-divine-intimacy-toc|TOC]] | [[367-perfect-union|367. Perfect Union →]]