I shared the quotation below with the Streams of Grace retreat group yesterday morning. It comes from Abbé Henri de Tourville (1842-1903), who was ordained as a French priest in 1873. His two most noteworthy proteges were Baron Friedrich Von Hügel and Charles de Foucauld (spiritual father of the “Little Brothers of Jesus,” and order that Brennan Manning was part of earlier in his ministry). I love the simple bold counsel to allow God to love us:
“Go bankrupt! Let our Lord love you without justice! Say frankly, ‘He loves me because I do not deserve it; that is the wonderful thing about Him; and that is why I, in my turn, love Him as well as I can without worrying whether I deserve to be allowed to love Him. He loves me although I am not worthy; I love Him without being worthy to love.’” (Abbé Henri de Tourville. Letters of Direction. Harrisburg: Morehouse Publishing, p. 63.)
