Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’”Matthew 22:37
“If we really love God, everything will be freely and gladly given, regardless of what we feel in terms of consolations or awareness of Him.”
Sister Jane SLG (Sisters of the Love of God) in The Hidden Joy (Oxford: SLG Press, 1994) 20 as recounted in What Do You Seek? Wisdom from Religious Life for Today’s World by John-Francis Friendship (Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2021) 8.
Here, John-Francis quotes Sister Jane talking about the the sharing of those who set their hearts on God. Their sharing is free and glad because of their deep love for God.
The Rule of the Community of the Sisters of the Love of God declares that when the whole being is set on God, the hidden joy that is beyond all natural attainment is found.
They would likely add that one does not discover this until one pursues it. The point for ordinary people is not to look for consolations from God or awareness of God, but simply to love God.
To use a word picture, when our hands clutch money or things we think we need, we cannot hold onto God. But if instead we hold on to God, we can share freely and gladly because in Him we have everything we need.
And we discover hidden joy. Want to grow in sharing and generosity this year. Love God, regardless of what you feel in terms of consolations or awareness of Him, and do this in community.