the Abbot Guerric), this appears an extreme prodigality of Thyself, coming from the great anxiety Thou hast to be loved by mankind. "O God! if we may dare say so, prodigal of Himself through desire of man!" "And is it not so?" he continues: "how otherwise can we style this God than prodigal of Himself Who, in order to recover lost man, not only gives whatever He has, but even His Own self?"
St. Augustine says that God, in order to captivate the love of men, has cast several darts of love into their hearts: "God knows how to take aim at love; He draws the arrow that He may make a lever." What are these arrows? They are all the creatures that we see around us; for God has created them all for man, that man might love Him; hence the same Saint says, "Heaven and earth and all things tell me to love Thee." It seemed to the Saint that the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the plains, the seas, and the rivers spoke to him and said, Augustine, love God, because God has created us for thee, that thou mightest love Him. When St. Mary Magdalene of Pazzi held in her hand a beautiful fruit or flower, she declared that that fruit or flower was as a dart to her heart, which wounded her with the love of God; thinking as she did how from all eternity God had designed to create that flower that she might discover His love, and love Him in return. St. Teresa, moreover, said that all the fair things which we see,---the lakes, the rivers, the flowers, the fruits, the birds,---all upbraid us with our ingratitude to God, for all are tokens
