His love is infinite - it is total, never half-hearted, never conditional, never measured. An example: my mother will soon be donating her kidney to my cousin who has diabetes. When I asked her, Has he gotten over his alcoholism? She said, I don't know. She doesn't even know whether he has gotten his act together yet or not. Not only that, but she is willing to follow through her act of love by moving to New Hampshire to care for him because his own mother no longer can. The one-time act of self-donation is not enough - she wants to make sure it has its complete effect in him so that he can live a full life. She is risking a diminished life (and possible death) for someone whom many would say doesn't deserve it - yet this is only a pale reflection of God's love for us! God never says, "Shape up, kid, or forget it."

His love is unchanging - it is never affected by our response or by circumstances. When I was preparing for my first vow of consecration to the Lord (January 1997), I began to experience different forms of attack (self-pity, a sense of failure, irritation toward others, etc.). Finally I recognized that this was a manifestation of God's love for me. None of this sin was a surprise to him! He knew it was there all along, and had already atoned for it by the cross. His only desire was to deliver me from everything that would keep me from being fully united with him, by allowing me to see it so I could repent for it.

His love is all-pure, it is not mixed with any selfish motives, it is never tainted by the slightest resentment or pettiness. One time when I was praying, I suddenly experienced the Lord's tender love for each of us in the Community. I had a clear sense of how incredibly close he was to each person as they went about their day, how much he was caring for the needs of each and longing to draw each to himself.

His love is faithful, it is totally committed, passionately caring about our response (Jer 31:3). What truly faithful husband or wife would be indifferent as to whether their love was requited? It is in the nature of love, even selfless love, to desire a response on the part of the beloved. "God loves us just as we are, and he loves us too much to let us stay that way."

His love is wise, knowing exactly what is best for us. "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was" (Jn 11:5f). Why would he do that? Sometimes it seems obvious to us what is the best way for God to show his love in a situation, but he sees further than we and loves us too much to simply go along with our wishes. Jesus wanted so much more for Lazarus than simply physical well-being; he wanted to give him resurrected life! But at first they were unable to see that.

His love is humble, enduring our coldness, our mistrust, our rejection. The Lord is attentive to us at every moment of every day, yet how little attentive we are to him. St. Francis used to weep his heart out because "Love is not loved."

What a privilege it is that we can know these truths, so we can stand on them, rest in them! We don't have to be dominated by circumstances, plundered by Satan, or carried away by runaway thoughts. Example: in the midst of my "eye crisis" in Italy, when I was in intense pain, afraid all my hopes and dreams were coming to an end, unable to read or study, I felt shattered like a piece of pottery. One day, I went into a little church to pray, and just sang and praised the Lord with all my heart for a couple of hours. It has never been so hard to praise him, yet I knew that it was a grace to be able to stand on the truth of God's unchanging goodness, love and majesty. This is our inheritance!