Source: Little Women
Source: Reflections and Maxims (1746), p. 166.
“And you must love him, ere to you
He will seem worthy of your love.”
Stanza 11.
A Poet's Epitaph (1799)
“I am the Divine Beloved worthy of being loved because I am Love.”
Final Message (6 January 1969).
General sources
Context: To love Me for what I may give you is not loving Me at all. To sacrifice anything in My cause to gain something for yourself is like a blind man sacrificing his eyes for sight. I am the Divine Beloved worthy of being loved because I am Love. He who loves Me because of this will be blessed with unlimited sight and will see Me as I am.
“When love is in excess, it brings a man no honor, no worthiness.”
Liebe machet schoene wîp:
desn mac diu schoene niht getuon, sin machet niemer lieben lîp.
"Herzeliebez vrowelîn", line 17; translation from Frederick Goldin German and Italian Lyrics of the Middle Ages (New York: Anchor, 1973) p. 121.
Source: The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
Letter to Dorothy Day, quoted in Catholic Voices in a World on Fire (2005) by Stephen Hand, p. 180.
Context: Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy if anything can.
“You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.”
“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.”
Letter to Dorothy Day, quoted in Catholic Voices in a World on Fire (2005) by Stephen Hand, p. 180.
Context: Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy if anything can.
