Just for Today, December 4

(Christ.) What do I require more of thee than that thou endeavour to resign thyself entirely to Me. What­soever thou givest beside thyself I regard not; for I seek not thy gift, but thyself. As it would not suffice thee, if thou hadst all things but Me; so neither can it please Me, whatever thou givest, as long as thou offerest not thyself. Offer thyself to Me, and give thy whole self for God, and thy offering will be accepted.

Behold, I offered my whole self to the Father for thee, and have given My whole Body and Blood for thy food, that I might be all thine, and thou mightest be always Mine. But if thou wilt not offer thyself freely to My will, thy offering is not perfect, nor will there be an entire union betwixt us.
- Bk. IV, ch. viii.

(Disciple.) Lord, all things are Thine that are in heaven and earth. I desire to offer up myself to Thee as a voluntary oblation, and to remain for ever Thine....Behold, I commit myself to Thy mercy; I resign myself into Thy hands. Deal with me according to Thy goodness.
- Bk. IV, ch. ix.
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Saint Teresa went through great suffering during her life, and for the sake of souls wished this to be made known after her death, so that seeing the seal of the cross upon her life, they might recognize her mission as genuine. She did not, however, consider the martyrdom of the heart which she underwent was a sign of her acceptance as victim by God's merciful Love; it was the infinite tenderness of divine Love which overflowed from the Sacred Heart into her soul that she took as a pledge.

If she said that to offer oneself as a victim of Love is to give oneself up to much anguish and suffering, it was to souls who held back and would not allow Our Lord to work His whole will in them, as it was often painful; but to souls who, in spite of their shrinking from the cross, were on fire with love and zeal and sought after perfection, she said: Why are you afraid to offer yourself as a victim to God's merciful Love? I could understand if it were to His Justice, but His merciful Love will have pity on your weakness and will treat you very gently and merciful­ly.

- H.
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For a List of Abbreviations, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.