Page 211 - spiritual_accompaniment_montreal_archdiocese

HOMILIES

The first is “You shall love the Lord your God.” Therefore, leave everything to place yourself
in the presence of God with all your heart. Seek God’s will with all your heart because his will
means eternal life! His will means your happiness! His will means peace! His will means
harmony! His will means salvation. His will means our wellbeing, our good! It is for our good,
for the good of humanity, but also for the good of the Church, for the good of the family, for
our personal good. God wills our good!

Do we thirst for happiness? If we really thirst for happiness, then let us seek the will of God,
because no one wants our happiness more than God does! Let us seek the will of God.

So give up everything to put yourself in the presence of God, give up everything to say: “Lord,
you are first in my life.” Give up everything to say: “Lord, let me enter into your plan of love,
into your plan of creation, into your plan of salvation. Lead me. Let my life cling to your will,
let my life be obedient to your will.” Jesus says: “I do as the Father has commanded me, so
that the world may know that I love the Father.” We do not normally see the link between
obedience and will, and love, and the loving will of God. In the words of Christ, the link is very
strong. What does it mean to love someone? Loving someone means many things, but it also
means loving what the loved one desires. To love God is to love what God desires.

To love God is to want to be united with God by being united with his will. This really is a
process of love. It is neither a process of domination nor of manipulation. These are distor-
tions of obedience. Being united to the other by being united in will is true obedience. Being
united with God is being united with his will, which means truly putting God first in our lives.
There are obstacles to putting God first in our lives. For example, we can doubt that He is
really with us, doubt that He really accompanies us, doubt that He really wants to help us.
Maybe there are moments when we ask for a lot, but without knowing how to put Him first in
our lives, without knowing how to discern his will first. At the same time, God is patient. God
really wants our happiness and really wants to guide us to eternal life.

Here is an example, a simple but revealing example: being a child. Part of being a child is to
refer to your parents. Children ask things of their parents. When we were children, we asked
our parents. This is what it is to be a child: it is to ask your parents. But how do parents
respond? Do parents agree to every request of their child? Yes, when they see it is good. But
when harmful, maybe a toy for which the child is too young, they say: “Too soon. When you
are older.”

(cont’d)

Collection of texts by the Most Rev. Christian Lépine 211