CHAPTER XIV.
RESIGNATION TO THE WILL OF GOD.
I.
The Merit of Resignation to the Divine Will.
St. John Chrysostom says that all the perfection of the love of God consists in resignation to the divine will. As hatred divides the wills of enemies, so love unites the wills of lovers, so that each wishes only what the other desires. " True friendship of persons consists in wishing and not wishing the same thing," says St. Jerome to Demetriades. Hence the Wise Man says: They that are faithful in love shall rest in him.[1] Souls that are faithful in loving God acquiesce in all that he wills.
Since nothing is more dear to us than self-will, the sacrifice of it is the most acceptable offering we can present to the Lord. This is the sacrifice that God himself continually asks of us with so much earnestness. My son, give me thy heart.[2] Son, give me your heart, that is, your will. Nothing else that we offer to God can content him as long as we reserve our own will. I explain myself by this example: If you had two servants, one of whom labored continually, but always according to his own will; the other performed less work, but was obedient to all your directions, —you would certainly entertain a great regard for the latter, and little or no esteem for the former. Oh! how often do we deceive ourselves by desiring to engage in certain undertakings
