Lord Jesus, Increase Your Love in Me.

Notice that this prayer does not ask ‘increase my love for You Jesus,’ but instead it petitions Jesus to increase His love in us. That is because the Lord needs to pour forth His infinite love for us, which is rejected by so many. “I pour it into those who love Me to receive comfort therefrom.” This is the secret for increasing in holiness. The more he effuses His love in us, the more we shall love.

The only place I have ever seen this prayer is in the writings of the mystic and victim soul, Maria Valtorta. On March 30, 1949 she wrote that the Lord told her this: “Along with the great John, you, little John, should repeat the short perfect request: ‘Lord Jesus, increase Your love in me.’ Repeat it! Repeat it! I need to pour forth this infinite love of mine, which so many reject. […] I pour it into you.”

The great John is the Apostle St. John, the Evangelist. The little John refers to Maria Valtorta herself, it is how the Lord often refers to her, because of her mission as an evangelist of the gospel.

The Lord said, “Along with the great John,” because it was St. John himself who first prayed this prayer, as recorded in a vision Maria received a few years earlier, on April 28, 1945. It takes place near the beginning of the second year of the public life of Jesus, and He is talking with his twelve Apostles – the topic is suffering and death.

“I will endeavour to get accustomed to suffering,” says Bartholomew. […] “I am old and all I ask for is to precede You and enter peace with You,” says Simon Zealot. […] “I will be unhappy if I survive You. But I will be comforted by preaching You to the people,” says the Iscariot.

The Apostles continue to comment, and finally Andrew exclaims, “Oh! Keep quiet. You would think that the Master is to die soon! I do not want to think of His death!” Peter, his brother, responds that he is quite right, since Jesus is young and healthy. But the Lord interjects: “What if they killed Me?”

Peter replies, “Let that never happen to You, but I will avenge You.” “How, by a blood vengeance?” “Well, also by that means if You will allow me. Otherwise by my profession of faith amongst the peoples. […] The world will love You because I will be indefatigable in preaching You.” The Lord replies, “That is true and that is what will happen. And what about you John, and you, Matthew?” The latter replies, “I must suffer and wait until I have washed my soul by suffering a great deal.”

John on the other hand does not seem to know for sure what to answer. He affirms that he would like to die at once so that he would not have to see Jesus suffer. He would like to be near the Lord to comfort Him in His agony. Then he also says that he would like to live a long time in order to serve Him. He continues with, “I would like to die with You to enter heaven with You. I would like everything, because I love You. And I think that I, the least of my brothers, will be able to do all that, if I know how to love You properly." Then John concludes with, “Jesus, increase your Love!”

Judas the Iscariot tries to correct him. “You mean, increase my love,” he remarks.

John: “No. I say: ‘increase Your love.’ Because the more He will inflame us with His love, the more we shall love.”

Jesus is pleased by John’s words, and drawing him closer says, “It is not a mistake, but a wise prayer, to ask God to increase His love in one’s heart.” He says that John has revealed a mystery of God about the sanctification of hearts. “God effuses Himself to just souls, and the more they surrender to His love, the more He increases it, and their holiness grows greater. That is the mysterious and ineffable work of God and of souls. It is accomplished in mystical silence, and its power, which cannot be described in human words, creates indescribable masterpieces of holiness.”

Lord Jesus, increase Your love in me. Repeat it! Repeat it!

Based on The Notebooks, 1945-1950, page 520; and The Gospel as Revealed to Me, chapter 149.

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