“Many say, ‘Who sheweth us good things?’ The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: thou hast given gladness in my heart. By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they are multiplied: In peace in the self same I will sleep, and I will rest: for thou, O Lord singularly hast settled me in hope.”
Everyone seeks happiness and goodness. Many, however, want to enjoy what is visible, graspable, pleasurable. “Who will give us the good things you speak of?” then is the reply, to which you, in your innocence, purity, and divine love reply: The light of the Holy Face is smiling upon me. All the things of this world fall away from you, o loved of God, for a clearer vision of His face, of which you are the reflection. Ah, what greater joy can there be than to be a reflection of infinite beauty, to be an object of infinite love! Simply knowing how loved you are gives a gladness of the heart that reaches far past what all the passing things of this world can possibly give. Thus devotion to the Holy Face is one of immense beauty, for it is natural of lovers to look on the face of their beloved and forget the toils and fleeting things that happen outside of love, and rest in love for a moment before returning to what life asks of them. This joy is only multiplied by the gifts He gives: The necessities of life, represented by the corn, which you never find yourself without: “He hath brought you forty years through the desert: your garments are not worn out, neither are the shoes of your feet consumed with age” (Deuteronomy 29:5). The inebriation of love, represented by the wine: “Eat, O friends, and drink, and be inebriated, my dearly beloved” (Song 5:1). Finally, the oil of anointing, that you might know the divine mysteries: “But you have the unction from the Holy One, and know all things” (1 John 2:20). Or, the oil could represent the anointing of Christ’s kingship, in which you participate, for you are one chosen by God for His kingdom: “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward” (1 Kings 16:13). There is also the peace of heart that comes from confidence in a holy death, anticipating your holy rest of heaven: “For we, who have believed, shall enter into rest” (Hebrews 4:3). A life lived in love will go straight to the heavenly embrace of love, that you may rest after your love story on earth unfolds. Because you know that you are loved, that you will be loved into heaven, and that you are loving now, you can rest in God, who alone gives you the hope and fulfillment you need. Let your heart rest on His heart, for He will give it the rest it needs: “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23), for love will set you on rock, so nothing can disturb the rest of your love: “Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock” (Matthew 7:24-25). Rejoice in love! Believe in love! Rest in love! For nothing can give you the rest of your heart like God’s love, which shines upon you always: “You may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).