“Love means deeds, not sweet words.”

February 16th, 1932    

St. Josemaría, while giving Communion to some nuns in the Church of St. Isabel in Madrid, through the cloister grille, repeats each time one of them comes close to receive Communion: “Lord, I love you more than this one”. St. Josemaría hears clearly the answer from our Lord: “Love means deeds, not sweet words.” He wrote in his personal annotations: “Today, after giving Holy Communion to the nuns, before Holy Mass, I told Jesus what I so often tell him, day and night: I love you more than these”. And immediately I understood, without the need for words: ‘Love is deeds, not sweet words and excuses.’ I saw clearly at that moment how little generosity I have, and suddenly recalled many unnoticed details I hadn’t been paying attention to, which brought home to me with crystal clarity my lack of generosity. O Jesus, help me, so that your donkey will be fully generous. Deeds, deeds!"

Concerning this intellectual locution from our Lord, Blessed Alvaro del Portillo said that "our Father was very moved by it" not because he was getting lax in his prayer life, but because "the Lord was asking more from him and, with this locution, giving him light by which he was catching on to ‘many unexpected details’ " (Apuntes, no.6061 note 496).

In a get-together, (23-XI-1966) st. Josemaría said: "That poor priest was frozen, and from then on he understood the essential importance of the unity of life: that in every moment, our behavior should be shaped to the doctrine of Christ”.

His divine locution gave rise to n. 933 in The Way: "There is a story of a soul who, on saying to our Lord in prayer, ‘Jesus, I love you,’ heard this reply from heaven: ‘Love means deeds, not sweet words.’ "Think if you also could deserve this gentle reproach".