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                                    amid the trials of life should think themselves separated from his grace%u201d.[40][0] Finally, Saint JohnDamascene viewed the genuine affections shown by Christ in his humanity as proof that heassumed our nature in its entirety in order to redeem and transform it in its entirety: Christ, then,assumed all that is part of human nature, so that all might be sanctified.[41][1]63. Here, we can benefit from the thoughts of a theologian who maintains that, %u201cdue to theinfluence of Greek thought, theology long relegated the body and feelings to the world of the prehuman or sub-human or potentially inhuman; yet what theology did not resolve in theory,spirituality resolved in practice. This, together with popular piety, preserved the relationship withthe corporal, psychological and historical reality of Jesus. The Stations of the Cross, devotion toChrist%u2019s wounds, his Precious Blood and his Sacred Heart, and a variety of Eucharist devotions...all bridged the gaps in theology by nourishing our hearts and imagination, our tender love forChrist, our hope and memory, our desires and feelings. Reason and logic took otherdirections%u201d.[42][2]A THREEFOLD LOVE64. Nor do we remain only on the level of the Lord%u2019s human feelings, beautiful and moving as theyare. In contemplating Christ%u2019s heart we also see how, in his fine and noble sentiments, hiskindness and gentleness and his signs of genuine human affection, the deeper truth of his infinitedivine love is revealed. In the words of Benedict XVI, %u201cfrom the infinite horizon of his love, Godwished to enter into the limits of human history and the human condition. He took on a body and aheart. Thus, we can contemplate and encounter the infinite in the finite, the invisible and ineffablemystery in the human heart of Jesus the Nazarene%u201d.[43][3]65. The image of the Lord%u2019s heart speaks to us in fact of a threefold love. First, we contemplate hisinfinite divine love. Then our thoughts turn to the spiritual dimension of his humanity, in which theheart is %u201cthe symbol of that most ardent love which, infused into his soul, enriches his human will%u201d.Finally, %u201cit is a symbol also of his sensible love%u201d.[44][4]66. These three loves are not separate, parallel or disconnected, but together act and findexpression in a constant and vital unity. For %u201cby faith, through which we believe that the humanand divine nature were united in the Person of Christ, we can see the closest bonds between thetender love of the physical heart of Jesus and the twofold spiritual love, namely human anddivine%u201d.[45][5]67. Entering into the heart of Christ, we feel loved by a human heart filled with affections andemotions like our own. Jesus%u2019 human will freely choose to love us, and that spiritual love is floodedwith grace and charity. When we plunge into the depths of his heart, we find ourselvesoverwhelmed by the immense glory of his infinite love as the eternal Son, which we can no longerseparate from his human love. It is precisely in his human love, and not apart from it, that we15
                                
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