Part V, Chapter XIV

Fifth Consideration: Of the Eternal Love of God towards Us

Consider the eternal love which God has borne towards you: for, before our Lord Jesus Christ, as man, suffered on the cross for you, his divine Majesty, by his omniscience, already foresaw your being, and loved you exceedingly. But when did his love for you begin? Even when he began to be God. But when did he begin to be God? Never, for he has always been without a beginning or end, so also has he always loved you from all eternity, and in consequence of this love he has prepared for you these graces and favors. Hence, speaking to you as well as others, by the prophet Jeremias, he says, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee”; and amongst other things he caused you to make firm resolutions to serve him.

O God! what resolutions are these on which thou hast thought and meditated from all eternity! Ah, how dear and precious should they be to us! What ought we not to suffer, rather than forget the least of them! Though the whole world should be destroyed in consequence, yet we must observe them faithfully; for the whole world is not worth one soul, and a soul is worth nothing without these resolutions.

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