10-26-2026, 08:35 AM
Chapter XXXIV. Of the Properties of Lovers
There are three properties peculiar unto lovers of which it is needful to know. Likewise certain signs of love, whereby each may know whether he be a true lover or not.
The first property is to be truly transformed in the will of the Beloved. To me it seemeth that His will is His life, which He showeth forth in His own self; herein doth He show us poverty, suffering, and contempt, which we must all experience indeed, and when the soul is strengthened and practised in these things neither vice nor temptation can enter into it.
The second property is to be transformed in the properties of the Beloved, of which I will at present mention three only. The first is love; that is, to love all creatures according as is seemly. The second is to be humble and gentle. The third (which is given by God unto His lawful children) is steadfastness; for the nearer the soul is unto God, the less doth it change in its own self. We are ashamed when we are moved by anything vile, and herein know we our great wretchedness.
The third property is to be wholly transformed in God, and then we are beyond all temptation. Then do we no longer live in ourselves, but in Him; but when we fall back again into our misery we do beware of all creatures and of our own selves.
I pray you, keep control over yourselves and give not yourselves unto any creature, neither lend yourselves unto aught whatsoever; but give yourselves wholly unto Him who saith, "Thou shalt love the Lord with all thine heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and with all the strength that thou hast."
Of the Signs of Love.
These are the signs of love.
The first sign of true love is that the lover submitteth his own will unto the will of the beloved.
The second is that he forsaketh all other friendship which might be contrary unto his love. He likewise forsaketh father and mother, brother and sister, and all other affection which is contrary unto the will of the beloved.
The third is, that there is nothing hidden in one which is not revealed unto the other; and this (according unto my thinking) is the sum and complement of all the other signs and workings of love.
The fourth and last is, that the lover doth strive to make himself like unto the beloved. If the beloved be poor, he striveth to be poor; if the beloved be reputed vile, then he seeketh to be vile also; if the beloved be in grief, he seeketh to be a sharer of that woe, in order that the condition of one may be like unto that of the other.
Of a truth I do hold that true and perfect love cannot exist betwixt rich and poor, honourable and vile, sorrowful and joyous, because these conditions are widely different one from another, and there can be no perfect love betwixt them because one doth not share the condition of the other. Love is a true virtue, which not only maketh things like unto each other but also uniteth them, and it always leadeth the soul unto its like and not unto its opposite.
Of a certainty did Jesus Christ, the Eternal Love, possess all these signs. He submitted His will unto man's will, and even unto death was He obedient unto those who slew Him, albeit He could have overthrown them by only raising His hand. Moreover He forsook all friendship, His kindred and His mother and His own flesh and blood for man's sake, leaving them and going to His death upon the Cross. He did also reveal unto us His secrets, saying, "I have not called you servants," &c. Moreover, He desired to make Himself like unto man, taking upon Himself true humanity and mortality, becoming like unto man in all things, saving only sin.
Therefore ought we also to do all these things for His sake; otherwise love goeth halting upon our side, and doth great wrong unto that passionate Lover. Wherefore let us make ourselves like unto Him in all things (in which He made Himself like unto our wretchedness), doing penance in that poverty, contempt, pain, and contrition of heart in which He always lived. Of a truth, if one person alone were to perform all the acts of penance which are performed by all the men in the world, they would not suffice to repay the smallest drop of sweat which Christ shed for us, nor would they be enough to merit the least of the joys of Paradise promised unto us, nor to give satisfaction for the least of the mortal sins by us committed, nor yet to repay God for our creation.
There are three properties peculiar unto lovers of which it is needful to know. Likewise certain signs of love, whereby each may know whether he be a true lover or not.
The first property is to be truly transformed in the will of the Beloved. To me it seemeth that His will is His life, which He showeth forth in His own self; herein doth He show us poverty, suffering, and contempt, which we must all experience indeed, and when the soul is strengthened and practised in these things neither vice nor temptation can enter into it.
The second property is to be transformed in the properties of the Beloved, of which I will at present mention three only. The first is love; that is, to love all creatures according as is seemly. The second is to be humble and gentle. The third (which is given by God unto His lawful children) is steadfastness; for the nearer the soul is unto God, the less doth it change in its own self. We are ashamed when we are moved by anything vile, and herein know we our great wretchedness.
The third property is to be wholly transformed in God, and then we are beyond all temptation. Then do we no longer live in ourselves, but in Him; but when we fall back again into our misery we do beware of all creatures and of our own selves.
I pray you, keep control over yourselves and give not yourselves unto any creature, neither lend yourselves unto aught whatsoever; but give yourselves wholly unto Him who saith, "Thou shalt love the Lord with all thine heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and with all the strength that thou hast."
Of the Signs of Love.
These are the signs of love.
The first sign of true love is that the lover submitteth his own will unto the will of the beloved.
The second is that he forsaketh all other friendship which might be contrary unto his love. He likewise forsaketh father and mother, brother and sister, and all other affection which is contrary unto the will of the beloved.
The third is, that there is nothing hidden in one which is not revealed unto the other; and this (according unto my thinking) is the sum and complement of all the other signs and workings of love.
The fourth and last is, that the lover doth strive to make himself like unto the beloved. If the beloved be poor, he striveth to be poor; if the beloved be reputed vile, then he seeketh to be vile also; if the beloved be in grief, he seeketh to be a sharer of that woe, in order that the condition of one may be like unto that of the other.
Of a truth I do hold that true and perfect love cannot exist betwixt rich and poor, honourable and vile, sorrowful and joyous, because these conditions are widely different one from another, and there can be no perfect love betwixt them because one doth not share the condition of the other. Love is a true virtue, which not only maketh things like unto each other but also uniteth them, and it always leadeth the soul unto its like and not unto its opposite.
Of a certainty did Jesus Christ, the Eternal Love, possess all these signs. He submitted His will unto man's will, and even unto death was He obedient unto those who slew Him, albeit He could have overthrown them by only raising His hand. Moreover He forsook all friendship, His kindred and His mother and His own flesh and blood for man's sake, leaving them and going to His death upon the Cross. He did also reveal unto us His secrets, saying, "I have not called you servants," &c. Moreover, He desired to make Himself like unto man, taking upon Himself true humanity and mortality, becoming like unto man in all things, saving only sin.
Therefore ought we also to do all these things for His sake; otherwise love goeth halting upon our side, and doth great wrong unto that passionate Lover. Wherefore let us make ourselves like unto Him in all things (in which He made Himself like unto our wretchedness), doing penance in that poverty, contempt, pain, and contrition of heart in which He always lived. Of a truth, if one person alone were to perform all the acts of penance which are performed by all the men in the world, they would not suffice to repay the smallest drop of sweat which Christ shed for us, nor would they be enough to merit the least of the joys of Paradise promised unto us, nor to give satisfaction for the least of the mortal sins by us committed, nor yet to repay God for our creation.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre