"St. Augustine says, that the love of God increases in proportion as self-love is diminished; and that the destruction of the latter is the perfection of the former. 'The diminution of cupidity,' says the holy doctor, 'is the nutriment of charity; but its total absence is the perfection of charity.' Charity is estimated, not by its tenderness, but by its strength. Ardent charity smooths every asperity and surmounts every obstacle. 'There is nothing,' says St. Augustine, 'so difficult, which the fire of love does not conquer.' In another place he ways 'In what we love there is no labor; or if there be, we love the very labor itself.' In a soul that loves God, torments endured for his sake excite no pain; or if they do, these pains are to her a source of happiness and delight.'"
The True Spouse of Jesus Christ, St. Alphonsus Liguori (Christianity: Catholic) Redemptorist Fathers, 1929
The True Spouse of Jesus Christ, St. Alphonsus Liguori (Christianity: Catholic) Redemptorist Fathers, 1929
