It is you I desire and seek; it is you I am claiming

"This eternal beauty, ever supremely loving, is so intent on winning man's friendship that for this very purpose he has written a book in which he describes his own excellence and his desire for man's friendship. This book reads like a letter written by a lover to win the affections of his loved one, for in it he expresses such ardent desires for the heart of man, such tender longings for man's friendship, such loving invitations and promises, that you would say he could not possibly be the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth and at the same time need the friendship of man to be happy.

In his pursuit of man, he hastens along the highways, or scales the loftiest mountain peaks, or waits at the city gates, or goes into the public squares and among the gatherings of people, proclaiming at the top of his voice, "You children of men, it is you I have been calling so persistently; it is you I am addressing; it is you I desire and seek; it is you I am claiming. Listen, draw close to me, for I want to make you happy" (Prov. 8:4). And the better to attract men, Wisdom says to them, "It is through me and through my grace that kings reign, princes rule, monarchs and sovereigns bear the sceptre and crown, I inspire legislators with the ability to enact just laws for the good of their people. I give magistrates the courage to administer justice fairly and fearlessly."

"I love those who love me and those who seek me diligently find me," and in finding me they will find good things in abundance. "For riches, glory, honours, dignities, real pleasure and true virtue are found in me; and it is far better for a man to possess me than to possess all the gold and silver, all the precious stones, and all the wealth of the whole universe. Those who come to me, I will lead along the paths of justice and prudence. I will enrich them with the inheritance due to rightful children and fulfil their greatest desires (cf. Prov. 8:15-21). Rest assured, it is my greatest pleasure and purest delight to converse and to abide with the children of men" (cf. Prov. 8:31).

"And now, my children, listen to me. Happy are those who keep my ways. Hear my instructions, be wise and do not ignore them. Happy is the man who listens to me, watching at my gates every day, waiting beside my door. He who finds me finds life and obtains salvation from the Lord, but he who sins against me, wounds his own soul. All who hate me love death" (Prov. 8:32-36).

Even though eternal Wisdom has spoken so kindly and so reassuringly to win the friendship of men, he still fears that they, filled with awe at his glorious state and sovereign majesty, will not dare approach him. That is why he tells them that "he is easily accessible, is quickly recognised by those who love him and is found by those who seek him; that he hastens to meet those who desire him and that anyone who rises early to look for him will have no trouble, for he will find him sitting at his door, waiting for him" (Wisd. 6:13b- 15)."

-- Eternal Wisdom's letter of love by St Louis de Montfort

Let us be students of the laws of God

"The Holy Scriptures praise nothing more than a perfect and holy life lived in the exact and perfect fulfillment of each one’s duties. In the Old Testament our Lord and God taught his people and told them: You must be holy because I am holy.

The Eternal Father gave us our Lord Jesus Christ as our teacher, master and guide. He confirmed and ratified the Old Testament injunction where he taught us that we must emulate the holiness of the Father: You must be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect. How does one become perfect and holy? The Doctors of the Church, the leaders of souls, and the masters of the spiritual life answer: If you would be perfect and become holy, fulfill your duties faithfully.

Once a desert father was asked by a certain young hermit what books he ought to study in order to advance in holiness. The old man replied: My practice is to read two books only. In the morning hours I read the Gospel, and in the evening I read the Rule. The first teaches me the way I should walk as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. The other teaches me what I should do to be a good religious. That is enough for me.

Let us therefore be students of the laws of God so that we may conduct ourselves according to them. When you walk, these will guide you; when you lie down, watch over you; when you wake, talk with you. Wherever we may be or go, may they go with us to direct our footsteps. May they be so near us when we sleep that they may fill our thoughts as soon as we awaken. His voice will speak to us in them. He will refresh us for the day ahead. Through his laws we will gain the victory over our doubts. We will cast away every obstacle. We will free ourselves of that sluggishness of nature which is the enemy of strength, the foe of devotion, and the lover of ease. The law of life will help us to overcome our fears in time of temptation and to follow eagerly in the way of obedience. May it always be at hand to counsel us, so that by it we may find the strength to follow God’s call with generous hearts and willing souls."

Keep yourself simply and peacefully attentive to the prayer of Jesus within you

"Fear not, O my soul, these apparently extravagant expressions, this idea of submersion in God, of being invaded by God, which amounts to the same thing; for God never invades you except for the sake of submerging you, so to speak, in the ocean of light and of love which He is.

The Eucharist of Jesus leads you directly to this grace. Do not stand in dread of any foolish pretence or irreverent presumption. The Eucharist itself supplies you with wings strong enough to lift you so high, yes, even unto the Lord Most High, Jesus.

Remember, then, that just as it is now not you, but He who lives in you, so it is not so much you who pray; it is He who prays in you.

I implore you to let go all your reasoning; do not wear your mind with that philosophy. Rather, stop torturing yourself; keep yourself simply and peacefully attentive to the prayer of Jesus within you. Can one imagine any activity comparable to that of a soul who rises to her God through the very activity whereby Jesus lifts His gaze to His Father in the love of the Father and of the Son?

It is then that you find yourself, as it were, immersed in God, invaded by God. And it is the Eucharist living in you which obtains for you this ineffable privilege!

What Jesus did on the mountain when He passed the night in the prayer of God, He renews in you whom He constitutes, at this hour, a kind of mountain of God, a lofty mountain, a high-ridged mountain, a mountain in which it has pleased God to dwell.

What was it He was doing? Was He praying for someone greater than Himself? Yes indeed, insofar as He was man. Did He humble Himself, soliciting some grace? The Gospel tells us nothing; rather does it seem to suggest something sublime by those words: in the prayer of God.

What is that prayer? It is the eternal contemplation of God, of His beauty, of His infinite love. Can one imagine a more sublime prayer than that which God makes eternally within Himself, when He contemplates and loves His sovereign majesty? That is where the soul of my Saviour spent its nights and its days; that was His prayer. He would teach you to give yourself up to it with all your own soul.

Of course, Jesus here below lived at the same time in His soul as if in heaven; He was always in possession of the clear face-to-face vision, the vision of the Word and, through that Word, of the entire Trinity; Jesus alone could enjoy, even on earth, the fullness of the prayer of God.

He alone was thus in the full noonday of divine glory, in the bosom of that Father who became His sacred oratory. God He was, Himself, in His own prayer; it was Himself He contemplated, the Word of the Father, and loved eternally. As man, His soul entered into the prayer of the God who He was. He penetrated into God, immersed Himself therein. He contemplated the greatness of God, His infinite bounty; He loved them in God's contemplation of His own grandeurs and in the infinite love God necessarily bears toward them. What is that but entering into the prayer of God? Carried away by the impulse of love from the Holy Spirit, His blessed soul went forth to the Father, to the Son who He was, to the Holy Spirit, while at the same time it submerged itself in the abyss of the divine perfections.

Who has ever heard of such a prayer? Can it become ours? And, if so, what can it not obtain for us?

The Eucharist, living in the depths of our soul, introduces us to that prayer. At that moment, forming but one thing with Jesus Christ, entering into a mysterious participation in all that He is, all that He has, we are carried away by Him into the movements of His soul. Immersed in it, invaded by it, we participate in His prayer of God. Do we realized that?

Where does He lead us? Into the treasures of His wisdom and knowledge, into the riches of divine light and intensity. That is, of course, His privilege; but in proportion to our silent attention, our recollection and self-donation of the soul, at that most precious hour, this prayer inundates us with the graces of the Saviour.

What heavenly moments, yes, blessed moments, when ravished out of ourselves, we enjoy insofar as we are permitted to enjoy it here below, the most intimate communion with God, Father, Son, Spirit of Love; it is the prelude and the pledge of the beatific vision."

-- Pledge of Glory: Eucharistic Meditations based on the Prayer of Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity by Dom Eugene Vandeur