“In His infinite goodness, God will never abandon those who do not want to abandon Him” (St. Francis de Sales).
If our heart and will are centred on God and remain in Him, then, thanks to His faithfulness, nothing much can happen to us. This is true even when we suffer repeated defeats because of our weaknesses and evil inclinations that we have not yet overcome. The important thing is that we return to the Father and do not let sin or weakness drive us away or discourage us to the point of believing that we can no longer return to God or that He has turned away from us.
No doubt our Father turns away from sin, but not from the sinner whom He always wants to save. It could be said that, in a way, because of His infinite love, He cannot even turn away from us. It is love itself that prevents Him from doing so. In the book of Hosea He says: “How can I give you up, O E′phraim! How can I hand you over, O Israel! (…) My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender” (Hos 11:8).
So, with God’s grace, we must try to remain centred on our Father, never deliberately distancing ourselves from Him or tying our hearts to anything or anyone to the point of straying from the path. Our Father will give us everything we need to do this.
The words of St Francis de Sales are particularly important for us when we are in a deep crisis and it seems that access to our Father is blocked. In such circumstances, all kinds of substitutes are presented to us to take the place of God in our heart and to confuse us.
Therefore, we must cling to the certainty that our Father has not abandoned us and will not abandon us, even if it is an act of the will and without feelings of joy. A simple glance at Him, together with the words: “Father, I want to remain with you” would then become a light in the darkness.