Dilexit Nos §100

¹⁰⁰ The prophet Hosea goes so far as to speak of the heart of God, who “led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love” ( Hos 11:4). When that love was spurned, the Lord could say, “My heart is stirred within me; my compassion grows warm and tender ( Hos 11:8). God’s merciful love always triumphs (cf. Hos 11:9), and it was to find its most sublime expression in Christ, his definitive Word of love.