Charity.
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart. This is the greatest and the first commandment,
and the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” — St. Matt. 22:38
THIRTEENTH DAY.
The less desires we have, the more charity we possess. He who no longer feels within himself a desire for anything possesses the most perfect charity. — St. Augustine.
St. Francis of Sales said sometimes to those few persons with whom he ever spoke of his interior dispositions: “I wish for very few things, and I wish very little for those few. I have scarcely a desire for anything, and if I could be born again, I would wish to have none whatever.”
St. Teresa was so certain that perfect love excluded all earthly desires, that she exclaimed: “I God, my Love, Thou lovest me more than I can love myself, more than I can understand; why should I desire more than Thou wouldst give me?”
A director of souls gave this advice to one who asked him for direction: “Keep this in mind, never let these words, I will, I will not, I should like, escape your lips, nor let the sentiments these words express find a place in your heart.”
Prayer.
My God, I do not desire riches, or honors, or pleasures in this world. I do not desire the esteem of creatures, or life, or health. I desire nothing of earth. I desire only the accomplishment of Thy will.