“Whoever loves the Savior with courageous love never ceases to love Him in times of temptation, desolation, and despair” (St. Alphonsus Liguori)
It is easier for us to love when we are carried by our feelings, when our hearts rejoice and take delight in God and in all that He does and is. Such a state of mind is indeed akin to the paradisiacal condition that awaits us in eternity. However, as long as we are still on our journey and have not yet reached the kingdom of eternal joy, we share in the sufferings of our Savior; we are called to carry the cross set before us. “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
St. Alphonsus Liguori helps us understand that this requires courageous love because temptations, inner dryness, and desolation make it difficult to follow Christ. Yet, at the same time, they are a challenge and a test of our faithfulness. At times, love for the Lord consists simply in performing an act of the will to hold fast to the faith in the midst of such trials.
However, our Father permits these trials of faith and the faithfulness to Him that they require. On the one hand, we are strengthened by them, for a faith fortified through trials deepens our devotion to the Lord. On the other hand, God gives us the opportunity to prove our love for Him through such difficulties and hardships.
Lastly, the Lord ensures that our faithfulness to Him in difficult circumstances, which demands courageous love, also becomes a blessing for others. They may thereby find true faith and not lose heart in their own life situations. Every cross we bear for the Lord is made fruitful by our Father in ways known only to Him, for the sake of the kingdom of His love.