He has given us all His Blood, His whole life, His whole Self, in order that we may give our entire selves to Him, and be wholly His. And let us understand that then we shall give our whole heart to God when we shall give Him our will entirely, not wishing anything henceforward but what God wishes,---and He certainly only wishes our welfare and our happiness: To this end Christ died and rose again, that He might be the Lord both of the dead and of the living. Therefore whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. [Rom. 14:8] Jesus was pleased to die for us; more than this He could not have done to win all our love, and to be the sole Lord of our heart: so that from this day forward we are bound to make known to Heaven and to earth, in life and in death, that we are no longer our own, but that we belong solely and entirely to God.
Oh, how God longs to see, and how dearly He loves a heart that is wholly His! Oh, what delicate and loving caresses does God show, what good things, what delights, what glory does God prepare in Paradise for a heart that is wholly His! The Venerable Father John Leonard of Lettera, a Dominican, one day beheld Jesus Christ under the appearance of a hunter, and traversing the forest of this earth with an arrow in His hand. The servant of God asked Him what He was thus engaged about. Jesus answered that He was hunting after hearts. Who knows, I say, whether in this Novena the Infant Redeemer will have the success to hit and to make a prize of some hearts which He has been hunting after for a long time, and hitherto has been unable to wound and to capture! Devout souls, if Jesus gain us, we shall also gain Jesus. The advantage of such an exchange is all on our side. "Teresa" (said the Lord one day to this Saint),
