The fact is that we would like, in greater or lesser degree, to please ourselves; or rather, to please ourselves in a merely natural order rather than in a supernatural order. So we often would like one thing or another for our own comfort, through self-love; and if what God sends us is not to our taste, we are disturbed and even rebellious.

In the spiritual order, too, we would like to satisfy our personal taste. I do not want to reach sanctity, but by this path, in imitation of my favorite Saint; but no, our Lord knows better than we along what path and in what manner we must reach heaven. On the other hand, we would like to have clear insight into all that happens to us and its contribution to our sanctification.

And so when we understand that such a thing will sanctify us, we are content; but if we do not understand, we are disquieted. How can this suffering possibly sanctify me? The cross is indeed the way to perfection, but there are crosses and crosses, and in this one I see no prospect of coming closer to God. How shall I become holy if our Lord places me in these conditions which seem opposed to my sanctification?

What blindness of heart! Do you not understand the ways of God? He loves you more than you love yourself. He loves you more than anyone else loves you. He is unceasingly solicitous for your good. If He sends you this cross, it is exactly what you need for your sanctification. If we but understand these truths, what would make us lose peace?

How calm our lives would be! Come this event or another, it makes no difference; in the depths of the soul, I mean, for not being of stone I shall not fail to feel. Some events bring joy and others, suffering; yes, I shall suffer and weep and I may even complain, but deep in my heart I shall experience peace.

Lord, this instrument you are now using to sanctify me must be very precious since Your love sends it; yes, I recognize it but it pains me; allow me, then, to weep and to complain. And Jesus allows us to weep and to complain; but what He does not want is that we become disturbed; while we groan and weep He would have us preserve peace in our hearts.

I insist that what I keep saying is not something artificial, it is unadulterated truth, although profound truth. Things seen superficially can disturb us, but if we regard them with the profundity of faith, nothing can make us lose peace.

Servant of God, Luis Maria Martinez

The post The Ways of God for Our Sanctification first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Lord, if I truly loved You, everything in me would unceasingly repeat that heavenly word. I would tell it to You by my thoughts raised up to You, by my affections, by my words of praise, by my body which is Your temple, by my spirit which would be one with Your spirit, by my works which are the fruit of my love and the instruments of Your glory. Oh, if I loved You, my life would be one living and indestructible “I love You”. And my death would only add this word to the others that perpetuate and consummate it: perfectly and forever. Is not this the way of life in heaven?

I love You and I am secure in Your love. In work and in rest, when awake and in sleep, in joy and in sorrow, my life is always love. Love is a flower that lives in every climate except that of egoism and sin…The one place necessary to live is love; from that height we ought, indeed, to say: it is good to be here.

The servant of God Luis Maria Martinez

The post In Love first appeared on AirMaria.com.

The story of love that is Jesus’s life on earth contains unfathomable and divine wealth. That infinite love took on all forms in order to set hearts on fire and ferry them to the eternal abode of love. It took the form of an extra ordinary miracle in Mary’s womb, a heavenly smile in Bethlehem, a deep silence in Nazareth, a struggle in the desert, a light of life and profligacy  of mercy in Tiberius, a glory on Tabor, a tenderness in the Cenacle, and agony in Gethsemane, and the pain, ignominy, and death on Calvary. Love is thus always one and manifold: it is immutable in its essence and prodigiously dynamic in its activity.

The Servant of God, Archbishop Luis Maria Martinez

The post Infinite Love first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. (Isaiah 49:15).  These words of the Lord are echoed in Mary’s maternal heart. A mother does not forget; a mother does not abandon; a mother never takes the tenderness of her heart away from her unfortunate and ungrateful child; but even if a mother does forget and abandon her child, Mary does not. And her love, maternal tenderness and the victorious power of divine love merge, for her tenderness is the most exquisite fruit of the Earth and the perfect reflection of heaven’s love. 

Venerable Archbishop Luis Maria Martinez 

The post Mary our Mother first appeared on AirMaria.com.