239 part i: sunday meditations for the entire year He adorned the earth with a variety of beautiful trees, flowers, and grasses. What else do your eyes need to be pleased? What else could your heart desire to be satisfied? What is lacking to your soul to be refreshed and comforted? Undoubtedly, the most gracious Father thought that these things, created out of His love for you, were still too small and inadequate, since He also wanted His only-begotten Son to be put to death for your salvation. In this way the all-good God loved the world; He loved the human race, and He loved you, who are ungrateful. Be ashamed and embarrassed, since you have not done anything worthy out of love for Him, you have not accomplished any remarkable deed, and you have not exercised any solid virtue. Indeed, if you would look at yourself more carefully, you would find that you have repaid good things with evil ones: love with hatred, benefits with evil deeds, and favors with ingratitude. This is revealed through your grievous daily faults, which, upon careful examination of your conscience, you will find beyond number. To action, by the immortal God! Promise at once to bewail not only your evil deeds, but also those of others, and to reconcile yourself with the Divine Majesty by giving worthy satisfaction. 2. “that [H]e gave [H]is only-begotten Son” (Jn 3:16). Consider how great would be the love of subjects for a king who would offer his son, his only son, to die for the preservation of the kingdom that was about to be totally lost and annihilated forever together with all its provinces. Certainly, such a prince would earn the endless love and remembrance of his own people, and the lasting admiration of outsiders. Moses offered himself to receive great disgrace and nearly eternal condemnation before God who wanted to annihilate the whole of Israel (cf. Ex 32:10), with these words: “Lord, either forgive this people, or strike me out [f.58v] of the book of life” (cf. Ex 32:3132). All men admire this act, and quite rightly, for God Himself approved of it.
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