Martyrdom of Love

 Divine love takes its sword to the hidden recesses of our inmost soul and divides us from ourselves. ~St. Jane Frances de Chantal

                                                 

The Holy Spirit seems to have me on a "sword" theme these last two days. The above quote is taken from the Office of Readings today for St. Jane's feast day. St. Jane, under the guidance of St. Francis de Sales, founded the Visitation Order. She was speaking to her sisters about martyrdom, especially about what she called a martyrdom of love. She described this martyrdom as: "Here God keeps his servants and hand maids in this present life so that they may labor for him..." When one of her sisters asked what this type of martyrdom looked like, she replied, "Yield yourself fully to God, and you will find out!" Now there's a challenge! And it is one, as Christians, we are all called to accept.

The first reading for Mass today from Deuteronomy (Deut.6:4-13) tells us to love God with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength. This is how God loves each of us. It is the love Christ showed us in accepting and embracing His Passion and Death. It is sacrificial; it is martyrdom.

Let us ask St. Jane Frances de Chantal to pray for us that we may allow that sword of Divine love to enter our souls and accept the challenge to live out this martyrdom of love in our lives.