Presence of God

O infinite Goodness, continually communicated to creatures, teach me how to imitate You.

Meditation

I. Goodness is not confined within itself; its characteristic is to diffuse itself, that is, to communicate itself to others, "bonum diffusivum sui," good is diffusive of itself; the greater the good, the more it tends to diffuse itself. God is the supreme good; therefore, He diffuses Himself sovereignly. He diffuses Himself first in Himself, in the bosom of the Blessed Trinity : the Father communicates to the Son all His divinity—essence, life, goodness and divine beatitude; the Father and the Son together communicate this to the Holy Spirit. The mystery of the Blessed Trinity, the intimate life of God, consists precisely in this essential, total, unceasing, and absolute communication. In it we have the supreme expression of the axiom : "Bonum diffusivum sui." Good is diffusive of itself.

But infinite Goodness wills to pour itself out exteriorly also; thus, God calls into existence an immense number of creatures to whom He communicates, in varying ways and degrees, some of His own goodness. God creates creatures, not because He has need of them, for they can add nothing to His beatitude and essential glory; but He creates them solely to extend His infinite goodness outside Himself. God wills creatures not because of any goodness or loveliness already in them, but because in creating them, He gives them a share in His own good and makes them lovable. God communicates Himself to creatures only because He is good and rejoices in sharing His good with other beings. His goodness is so great that it can communicate itself to an infinite number of creatures without being diminished; it is so diffusive that it makes all it touches good. This goodness is the cause of your being and of your life : when you were created, it left its imprint on you, and it is always and unceasingly penetrating and enveloping you. Has your heart retained the seal of the divine goodness? Examine your thoughts, feelings, actions and see if there shines in them the reflection of the infinite goodness of God.

II. God’s goodness is so gratuitous that it gives itself to creatures without any merit on their part; it is so liberal that it always precedes them and never fails to impart its light to them even when, by abusing their liberty, they show themselves unworthy of it. God’s goodness is so patient that it does not stop at the ingratitude, the resistance, or even the crimes of His creatures, but His grace always pursues them. God could, in all justice, requite man’s sins by depriving him of life and all the other good things He has bestowed upon him, but His infinite goodness prefers to shower upon man new gifts and new proofs of His kindness. Has He not said : "I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live" (Ez. 33, 11)?

Consider now your goodness, and see how weak, narrow, calculating, and self-interested it is, when compared with the goodness of God. How often you act like the publicans of whom the Gospel speaks, "who love only those who love them" (cf. Mt 5,46). You are good to those who are good to you, you help those who will help you in return; but many times you are hard and miserly with your gifts to those from whom you can expect no recompense. Does it not often happen that you are sweet and benevolent toward those who approve of you and share your opinions, but harsh and unkind toward those who oppose you? In the presence of coldness, ingratitude, insults, or even a trifling lack of consideration, your good nature is offended, closes up, and withdraws into itself and you are no longer capable of benevolence toward your neighbor. See what need you have to meditate on the words of Jesus, inviting you to imitate His heavenly Father’s goodness : "Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you, that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh His sun to rise upon the good and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust" (Mt. 5, 44-45).

Colloquy

"O eternal Father! O fire and abyss of charity! O eternal clemency, O hope and refuge ofsinners! O eternal, infinite good! Have you any need of your creature? You must have, since You act as if You could not live without her, You, the life of every creature, without whom nothing lives. Why, then, do You act in this way? Because You are in love with Your work, and You delight in it, as if You were overcome with the desire of its salvation. Your creature flees from You and You go looking for her; she moves away, and You draw near. You could come no closer than You did when You took upon Yourself her humanity.

"What shall I say? I must cry with Jeremias : ' Ah! Ah! ' because I cannot say anything else, my limited words cannot express the affection ofmy soul which so greatly desires You. I ought to repeat St. Paul’s words : ‘ Tongue cannot tell, nor ear hear, nor eye see, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to know what I saw. ’ What did I see? ‘ Vidi arcana Dei, ’ I saw the ineffable mysteries of God. And what can I say? I, with my dull feelings, can add nothing more; I only say to you, my soul, that you have tasted and have seen the abyss of the sovereign, eternal Providence. Now I thank You, O eternal, sovereign Father, for the unlimited goodness You have shown me, so wretched and unworthy of every grace.

"Can I ever thank You sufficiently for the burning charity which You have shown to me and to all creatures? No! But You, O sweet, loving Father, will be grateful for me, that is, the affection of Your charity itself will return thanks to You, for I am she who is not. If I said I could do something by my own power, it would not be true, for You alone are He who is. My being and all other good things have come from You, who give them to me unceasingly because You love me, and not because You owe me anything. "O infinite goodness, inestimable love, wonderful are the marvels You have worked in Your rational creature!" (St. Catherine of Siena).