Last night before “crawling in,” when I knelt at my bedside to make an act of contrition (a custom I have observed for years), one phrase struck me: “deserving of all my love.”

Our society doesn’t like to recognize this fact that God deserves our love. It is reluctant to even acknowledge His existence, much less the debt of gratitude and love we owe Him.

This attitude of “ingratitude” and indifference, unfortunately, creeps in to influence our own personal dispositions.

So it was that last night these words spoke to me and cast light into my own blindness and indifference.

Although I pray and try to do what is right, I don’t often give thought to the reality of God’s goodness and how He deserves ALL my love.

Living in modern society, I have come to take things for granted, forgetting that every breath I take is a gift from God to whom I owe each moment of my existence. All the good things I experience each day should be occasions for me to say “thank you.” If only I’d remember where they came from and not assume they are a part of life that is owed to me!

I would do well to think about this more throughout the day; I should be mindful of how good God is to me and remember His presence, seeking His help. If I do so, I will surely be better off; I will be better prepared to resist temptation.

I pray for the grace to remember that He who is “all good and deserving of all my love” is with me, ready to help me. This will bring me to more easily turn to Him and away from those actions and things not befitting of one of his disciples.

The short psalm in this morning’s Liturgy of the Hours reminded me that “strong is his love for us.” St. John has pointed out, too, in one of his epistles, that “in this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us…”

As we approach February 14th (the holiday for lovers and the beginning of Lent), may I be more conscious of this love. May I gratefully return it in my daily life.