God’s Love for the Human Person
[My God] the infinite love with which you freely and mercifully love me from all eternity compels you … to come to me, to be with me, and to make me one with yourself. My God, love compels you to excesses [of love]. (OOCC, X, pp. 277 - 278; STA, 565)
Though a person does not deserve to be loved by God, he has loved the human person from all eternity. God manifests his love by bringing various blessings on the human person. While writing to the Church community at Ephesus, St. Paul narrates a number of spiritual blessings the God of mercies has brought on humankind through his Son Jesus. Though he is unworthy and sinful, God has called him to a life of intimate relationship with him so that he can be holy and blameless like God himself. God has bestowed on a person many blessings through Christ’s redemptive action in the world. St. Vincent Pallotti was overwhelmed by the generous love of God. He always felt that the love God had for the human person compelled him to excesses of love. God, because of his love for the humans, had gone out of his way to do great things for them. St. Vincent found the proofs of God’s excess love for his people in God choosing him, coming to him, being with him and establishing an intimate relationship on a personal level with him, even though he deserved none of these. Recognition of God’s excess love for him made St. Vincent grateful to God by living a life which manifested the greatness and holiness of God.
Do I believe in God’s great love for me? Am I able to find proof of God’s love in my life? Do I acknowledge my unworthiness to be the object of God’s love? How do I respond to God’s excess love for me?
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. (Eph. 1:3 – 4)