the love of Jesus

O Father of Jesus,
Help me to approach You with deepest reverence,
not with presumption,
not with servile fear, but with holy boldness.
You are beyond the grasp of my understanding,
but not beyond that of my love.
You know that I love You supremely,
for You are supremely adorable, good perfect.

My heart melts at the love of Jesus,
my brother, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh,
married to me, dead for me, risen for me;
He is mine and I am His,
given to me as well as for me;
I am never so much mine as when I am His,
or so much lost to myself until lost in Him;
then I find my true [womanhood].

But my love is frost and cold, ice and snow;
Let His love warm me,
lighten my burden,
be my heaven;
May it be more revealed to me in all its influences
that my love to Him may be more fervent and glowing;
Let the mighty tide of His everlasting love
cover the rocks of my sin and care;
Then let my spirit float above those things
which had else wrecked my life.

Make me fruitful by living to that love,
my character becoming more beautiful every day.
If traces of Christ’s love-artistry be upon me,
may He work on with His divine brush
until the [c o m p l e t e] image be obtained
and I be made a perfect copy of Him,
my Master.

O Lord Jesus, come to me,
O Divine Spirit, rest upon me,
O Holy Father, look on me in mercy
for the sake of the well-beloved. 

[a late-night prayer, read in turmoil, from The Valley of Vision.]