Saturday, December 26, 2020

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov: On love of the will of God


 Blessed is the man whose entire will is in the keeping of God's law (cf Ps 1:2). Blessed is the heart that has ripened in the knowledge of God's will, that has seen that "that the Lord is good" (Ps 33:9), that has acquired this vision by tasting of the commandments of the Lord, and that has united its will with the will of the Lord. Such a heart is the blessed man. Blessed is the heart that is afire with divine zeal! Blessed is the heart that burns with the insatiable desire to do the will of God! Blessed is the heart that sweetly suffers beyond all endurance with the love of God! Such a heart is the place, home, bridal chamber, and throne of blessedness!
From the early morning, the eagle sits on the tip of a high crag. Its sparking eyes hungrily seek out prey. It rises into the blue sky, swims in the wide expanse on extended wings, and seeks its prey. And when it finds its prey, it becomes an arrow, a lightning bolt as it attacks; then it rises like an arrow again with its prey and disappears. Once the chicks are fed, the eagle again is on watch, either on the cliff or in the sky. Similar to this is the heart that is infected with the wound of incurable love of the commandments of God! In this love of blessedness. The commandments are not merely found in the doing. Within them is hidden, and through them is revealed, spiritual wisdom.
+St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, from The Refuge, Anchoring the Soul in God, Chapter 1

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