Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

Do you remember this children's song, written in 1859? 
 

Karl Barth, the famous Swiss Reformed theologian, was once asked to sum up the essence of all the millions of words in the multiple volumes he had published. He replied simply, “Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so.”

And there it is.

The greatest saints and doctors of the Catholic Church would all agree. Because, as Howard Cosell used to say on Monday Night Football, (dating myself I know), “It all comes down to this!”

To know the love of Jesus that surpasses knowledge enables us to be filled with the very fullness of God (cf. Eph. 3:19).

SAINTS AND THE LOVE OF JESUS

Where to start and whom to select? Just a few examples:

St. Bernard of Clairvaux has beautifully and movingly expressed his love for Jesus: “Write what you will, I shall not relish it unless it tells of Jesus.” Bernard authored the classic hymn to Jesus, Jesu Dulcis Memoria (worth finding for all the verses):

Jesus, the very thought of Thee,
With sweetness fills my breast!
Yet sweeter far Thy face to see
And in Thy presence rest.

St. Thomas Aquinas gave voice to his love and praise of Jesus in several magnificent Eucharistic hymns, such as O Salutaris Hostia and Tantum Ergo, still commonly used today for Exposition and Benediction. He also wrote, of course, lofty theological tomes such as his Summa Theologiae.

In 1273, the year before his death, Aquinas had two remarkable mystical experiences. In the first, before a crucifix, he heard the Lord say, “You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward would you have for your labor? Thomas answered, “Nothing but you, Lord.”

The second was an ecstasy while celebrating Mass. Afterward, St. Thomas could no longer write. He said, “All that I have written seems like straw to me,” compared to the glory he had experienced in ecstasy. He had a glimpse, or a taste, of the overwhelming love of Jesus.

St. Alphonsus Liguori is accurately described as a bishop, founder, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, philosopher, and theologian. To say he was extremely brilliant, gifted and talented is to understate it by a mile!

His love for Jesus and Our Lady was tenderly expressed in the hymns and prayers that he composed, especially those used in a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament, which some of us may have prayed years ago. A prayer from his “Way of the Cross” has remained with me to this day. It shows the depth of Alphonsus’ heart, and let us hope, ours also.

I love you, my beloved Jesus.
I repent with my whole heart for having offended you.
Never permit me to separate myself from you again.
Grant that I may love you always, and then do with me as you will.

TO KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST WHICH SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE

I am profoundly thankful that Jesus loves me, and you, and all of us. I’m grateful, too, that the Bible does tell us so! Let us never tire of reading and hearing of his gracious love, especially in this month as we continue through Lent and enter Holy Week. As a beautiful Methodist hymn puts it:

Jesus paid it all; all to him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain;
He washed it white as snow.