June 1, 1978

THE PATH OF LOVE

My brother, I am Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.

The moment has finally arrived, my brother, awaited by me.

When you spoke of the paths that lead souls to God, you referred to me, attributing the shortest path to me: that of love. Rather than discovering this path, I re-discovered it, and in truth I made an effort to run upon it to its very end, and now I am happy, as happy as it is possible to be.

It seemed to Me the least difficult one, and above all, the most marvelous: to compete in love with Love. Dear brother, please understand that this affirmation is not in a literal sense, but in an ample sense.

It is not possible to explain what happens between him, who loves you without limit, and you, when you use all your good will, for loving is an act of the will, and although it is not possible to explain it, I will try: if you make your will produce an act of love, directed to his Heart, he answers with his infinite Love and envelops, penetrates and compenetrates your heart; your small ray enters and is fused in his Merciful Heart, and his love and yours are fused and form only one, immense love; your “I love you” is fused with the eternal “I love you,” forming only one act, just as the small flame of a match cast into a great fire, becomes a great flame united with it.

The path of man upon earth is a trial

Dearest brother, you do well in insisting and teaching that the path of man upon earth is a trial, a trial from which no one can escape, a trial of which it is necessary to have a just and exact vision, so that no one may run the risk of going astray.

In what does this trial consist? For me the trial is one, that is divided into three parts:

- The first is a trial of faith; it is approving and accepting faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God; therefore, if one does not believe, there is no salvation. To believe, to believe firmly in the truths and in the revealed mysteries; To believe in the Church as a sacrament of salvation, placed by God in the midst of the nations as a teacher, guide and light for all peoples; to believe in the authority of God the revealer; to believe in the words of the Word of God, who cannot deceive; to believe in the eternal law of God, a law that does not change nor can ever change, and that no one can disfigure, nor even less, change, without incurring the wrath of God.

- The second trial demanded by divine omnipotence consists in man recognizing that God is the Supreme Being and Lord of everything and of everyone, and that full and absolute submission is due to him, and therefore obedience is due to the law.

- The third trial demanded by divine mercy is that of love. For me, Therese of the Child Jesus, this trial includes within it the first two; I personally made an effort to give to love the most concordant proof, with my own love, and I do not see or understand how one can give any other proof to the infinite Love of God, except love itself.

In baptism we received from love the capacity to love, and consequently, that of serving and obeying

Although accepting the complete reasonability of the two first trials, I do not see their necessity, and I would say, their usefulness, above all, because in baptism Christians receive sanctifying grace, that is, faith, hope and charity, inseparable virtues that cannot be divided. Where there is love of God, there is faith, and therefore, if there is faith, there you have love of God. This is not only a play upon words, but rather a stupendous reality. In baptism we received from Love the capacity to love, consequently, to serve and to obey. For me the path of love of God is the most marvelous, the shortest, and the safest.

Brother Octavio, love him; love him; love him who is Love; never permit yourself to be influenced by the falsity, the vanity, by the flatteries or the snares of the world; even when I was a child, I saw with great clearness how all human life is like a flower that opens in the night, only to fall down, withered, on the next day.

Love him who is love, Father Octavio; you will never be defrauded, neither in time nor in eternity. Love him now in your tribulations, and then, soon, you will love him in the most perfect and complete joy. Love impels and moves you toward him, and he moves toward you; from the encounter that is produced, spring marvelous and stupendous effects for you, for others, and for souls. Love him; love him until you are consumed by him, as he was consumed for you. One day you will understand how in this consists the only and marvelous reason for our life.

By virtue of the Communion of saints, let us remain united to him, eternal and infinite Love, who from all eternity loves us. May God bless you, and with you bless all those whom you love, now and always.

Therese of the Child Jesus