Deus é infinito e só aceita em troca um bem infinito, o amor

^{[God's answer to Saint Catherine:]} “My daughter, do you not know? All the sufferings that a man endures or can endure in this life are insufficient to satisfy for the smallest sin. Since I am an infinite good, the offense committed against me demands infinite satisfaction. I want you to understand this. The evils of this existence are not punishments, but correction of the offending child. Thus, satisfaction is given by love, repentance and contempt for sin. This repentance is accepted in place of guilt and repentance ^[penance], not by the virtue of the sufferings endured, but by the infinity of love. God, who is infinite, wants infinite love and pain.” ^{[page 29]}

“Actions based on other principles are for me mere words, fleeting accomplishments. I, as an infinite being, want infinite actions, infinite love. I wish that mortifications and other bodily exercises be considered as means, not as ends. If the entire affection of the person rested on them, something finite would be given to me, like a word that, upon leaving the mouth, no longer exists, when it is pronounced without love.” <sup>[page 45]

[See original text in Portuguese]</sup>

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