Ave Maria Meditations
God loved you first! Once you take the sentence as literally as can be, and I try to do that. For it is truly the great power in our lives and the consolation that we need. And it’s not seldom that we need it.
He loved me first, before I myself could love it all. It was only because He knew me and loved me that I was made. So, I was not thrown into the world by some operation of chance…but I am preceded by a perception of me, and idea and a love of me. They are present in the ground of my being.
What is important for all people, what makes their life significant, is the knowledge they are loved. The person in a difficult situation will hold on if he knows Someone is waiting for me, Someone wants me, and needs me. God is there first and loves me. And that is the trustworthy ground on which my life is standing and on which I myself can construct it.
From Benedictus by Pope Benedict XVI
