Patristic Quote for the Day

This is why Christ exposes himself to fleshly indignity, why he undergoes the abuse that he suffered, why he perseveres through various forms of punishment, and why he endured a very bitter death, because he willed to be condemned since he had such love for what he had created. But God's will in this instance is nothing new; the first words of the ancient Law insisted on this: "You shall love the Lord your God," it says, "with all your heart and with all your soul"; because that dominion is true which commands by love, not by fear; which subjects both bodies and hearts to itself by means of affection; which by loving furnishes servants for itself who are not unwilling, but willing. So this is the first reason for the Lord's Passion, whereby he wanted it to be known how much God loved humanity, since he wanted to be loved rather than feared. - St. Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 72B, par. 4