it is by prayer that one arrives at the constant desire to make God’s interests one’s own, and it is by suffering accepted for his sake that one comes to share in the Passion of Christ, who is Love itself. Prayer broadens the scope of love; suffering in the spirit of sacrifice is love’s appropriate expression. The love of God can be verified only by the combined effect of deepening the life of prayer and the willingness to sacrifice. The saints know no other way and Christ taught no other way. “If any man wishes to be my disciple,” our Lord said, “let him take up his cross and follow me” (Mt. 16:24; ML 8:34; Lk. 9:23). It is prayer that enables us to see the necessity of doing this, and it is in prayer that we get the grace to act on it. Prayer and sacrifice go together, and together they express our love of God. Prayer without sacrifice can become a hobby; sacrifice without prayer can become a psychosis.
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