An instant of pure love is more precious in the eyes of God and the soul, and more profitable to the Church, than all other good works together,… In the evening of life we will be judged on [divine] love alone.
As Christ does not force our will, He only takes what we give Him, but He does not give Himself entirely until He sees that we yield ourselves entirely to Him…The chief point is that we should resolutely give Him our heart for His own and should empty it of everything else, that He may take out or put in whatever He pleases as if it were His own property.
Perfection consists in the likeness of our soul to the divine mind and life, that is God; and this greater and more perfect likeness consists of the most excellent and most pure contemplation and most fervent love of God. This is also proven by this reason: it is certain that for all the evangelical counsels and the Christian life, the goal is the perfect fulfillment of charity and divine love.