All I want to do is not do bad things in the world which are sin or lead me to sin. How do I fully love Jesus and Mary like I love a human being? How do I love them even though I cannot see them? I have been trying to break this barrier in my faith where I hold nothing back, but I can’t. How do I love Jesus and Mary with my whole heart?
By the way I go to daily mass, adoration a couple times a week and go to confession as needed. I know those things help me love God more. I’m talking beyond Sacraments, how do I love more?
Please pray some Hail Mary’s for me, I’m anxious for your responses
Ryan
Here is one thing that i think will help you very much -
archive.org/details/theheartofthegos00donnuoft
it’s a book dedicated to finding the true meaning and use of the word “heart” in the Gospel, and applying that revealed teaching to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, it is really my absolute favorite book, and is also all about learning to love and understand the Heart of Jesus(though we can only understand His heart very minutely)
you can also find it for sale on amazon or
bookfinders.com , either an older hardcover copy(1913 edition is my favorite) or there’s reprints of it on amazon.
aside from that, the ways we learn to truly love Jesus and Mary are by actively following the things He told us,
“If you love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15
“If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my Father’s commandments, and do abide in his love.” John 15:10
“And he said to all: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23
“Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you” Matthew 5:44
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.This is the greatest and the first commandment.And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-38-39
Love is in the will, we love by what we choose, not just in choosing not to sin, but also in choosing to do good things, such as the spiritual and corporal works of mercy,
but most of our opportunities on a day to day basis to love God seem to just be little things…but that is often what pleases God most, for one because we are less likely to take pride in those seemingly insignificant things, and also because to practice virtue in little things throughout the day, builds up over time and really helps us to grow in holiness moreso than the few things we would consider to be greater acts of virtue.
and since love is in the will, that means no matter how you feel, you can always love, which is really the best proof of our love for God, that when we are feeling awful or moody or angry or whatever else, but still follow Jesus and obey Him and His Church, then we are showing that it’s God we love and not the feelings or consolations He gives us(or which merely occur one way or another)…even the devil can manipulate our feelings(good or bad), so we must be careful not to trust ourselves or our own heart, but to put all our trust entirely in Jesus, with lots of prayer, and if possible, a good spiritual director…which also should be prayed for(to obtain, that is)
‘Until you have eradicated evil, do not obey your heart; for it will seek more of what it already contains within itself.’ St. Mark the Ascetic
another great help in learning to love Jesus and Mary, and in learning our Catholic faith in general, would be to listen to or read the writings of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen -
youtube.com/playlist?list=PL291A7A1EB7543269
but how do you love Jesus and Mary as you would love a human being? i assume by that you simply mean to love them as if you could see them like you see others? or as if you were already in heaven with them?..in that case, what you need is faith, and faith is an infused virtue, meaning you must pray for it,
though it may not be what you expect, to love God is an entirely different love from the love we have for our fellow creatures, we love God above all else, and love others for the love of God, and as i said, love is not feeling based, the feelings are not an indication of love and is not required to love, we love God by doing His will, and for His own sake, not for any personal gain or interest, but simply to please Him, because He is perfect and deserving of our love, and loves us with an infinite love, even though we do not deserve it.
but just be patient with yourself, you will grow in love for God over time, with daily prayer and reception of the sacraments, daily spiritual reading, such as that book i listed, or other good books like “the imitation of Christ” or “divine intimacy”, or books on the lives of the saints, such as the ones in the “from the housetops” magazines -
store.saintbenedict.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=12&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1
and also just talking with God everyday will help you to know and love Him more…so just take it a day at a time, don’t rush it, you don’t want to get overwhelmed,
God knows that you want to know and love Him more, and if you ask He won’t disappoint you, because really He loves you and longs to be with you more than you could even understand or imagine, so He always has your best interest at heart, and you just have to trust Him and cooperate with His will and learn to grow in His love and in holiness on His time and not yours.
alright, sorry to make this so long(though i’d like to say alot more), but i hope it helps, take care.
