Page 39 - Demo

A LAMENT AND A REQUEST165. Beginning with his second great apparition to Saint Margaret Mary, Jesus spoke of thesadness he feels because his great love for humanity receives in exchange %u201cnothing butingratitude and indifference%u201d, %u201ccoldness and contempt%u201d. And this, he added, %u201cis more grievous tome than all that I endured in my Passion%u201d. [162]166. Jesus spoke of his thirst for love and revealed that his heart is not indifferent to the way werespond to that thirst. In his words, %u201cI thirst, but with a thirst so ardent to be loved by men in theMost Blessed Sacrament, that this thirst consumes me; and I have not encountered anyone whomakes an effort, according to my desire, to quench my thirst, giving back a return for my love%u201d.[163] Jesus asks for love. Once the faithful heart realizes this, its spontaneous response is one oflove, not a desire to multiply sacrifices or simply discharge a burdensome duty: %u201cI received frommy God excessive graces of his love, and I felt moved by the desire to respond to some of themand to respond with love for love%u201d. [164] As my Predecessor Leo XIII pointed out, through theimage of his Sacred Heart, the love of Christ %u201cmoves us to return love for love%u201d. [165]EXTENDING CHRIST%u2019S LOVE TO OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS167. We need once more to take up the word of God and to realize, in doing so, that our bestresponse to the love of Christ%u2019s heart is to love our brothers and sisters. There is no greater wayfor us to return love for love. The Scriptures make this patently clear:%u00a0%u201cJust as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me%u201d (Mt 25:40).%u00a0%u201cFor the whole law is summed up in a single commandment: %u2018You shall love your neighbour asyourself%u2019%u201d (Gal 5:14).%u00a0%u201cWe know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever doesnot love abides in death%u201d (1 Jn 3:14).%u00a0%u201cThose who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom theyhave not seen%u201d (1 Jn 4:20).168. Love for our brothers and sisters is not simply the fruit of our own efforts; it demands thetransformation of our selfish hearts. This realization gave rise to the oft-repeated prayer: %u201cJesus,make our hearts more like your own%u201d. Saint Paul, for his part, urged his hearers to pray not for thestrength to do good works, but %u201cto have the same mind among you that was in Christ Jesus%u201d (Phil2:5).169. We need to remember that in the Roman Empire many of the poor, foreigners and others39