Choice and Desire

Love makes a soul fragrant so the love
is shared with everyone.

Jesus loves us immensely. He loves us enough to forgive us our sins and to inspire us to do things for people we don't even know; that is, to suffer for them so they truly can receive what they need.

Mind you, it is not for us to establish what or how much we will suffer, let alone to propose suffering the passion-life with Him. If such a thing happened in our life, it would be the case of Him proposing the suffering, knowing us as He does, and not of us offering to be crucified. Those he loves the most, He most afflicts, and if the passion-life is concerned, it will be real and genuine. He has asked so many to join Him in His passion-life. They loved Him very deeply to be able to embrace the cross, and it was impossible to suffer so without the love. Often, illness, particularly unknown suffering afflicted many, before the passion joined it's life to their own life. The suffering is such that there is no energy to direct our own passion; we lack the depth of emotion and intellect that exists when God is at the heart of a sharing of the passion.

A soul in whom Jesus occupies the most part of their minds and hearts are full of thoughts of Jesus, and Jesus is so full of the sufferings of His cross, that it is no great shift to focus on His passion-life from our desires for others and our service to them. 

Yet, it need not be the cross that intrudes into our lives. We may be dumbstruck to learn what has overtaken us. The unexpected misery engulfs us in love as we have never experienced it before. A grateful soul speaks tenderly to Him, and the love fills the heart so deeply, it is almost no suffering at all, to embrace what He may have arranged.

Wonder at the depths of love of the saints.