| BkII:4.V.7 | It is in the reception of divine love with absolute gratitude, serenity, and openness of heart, that true union takes place and virginal conception occurs. But you must divest yourself of all fear of not being. You must understand—and you are ready to understand—that in this union you lose nothing. You do not lose your being, either totally or partially. You are neither less nor more. You simply are what you are because this union is a union of your whole self, not a joining with anything external. You meet with everything you truly are, and in that meeting love imbues your whole being. Truly, this is loving yourself unconditionally. By loving yourself unconditionally in Christ, the fruitful part of yourself creates a new love. You have moved from the sterility of separation to the fertility of love. To love God above all things is, in truth, to love yourself. |