Dilexit Nos §74

⁷⁴ The Fourth Gospel tells us that the eternal Son was always “close to the Father’s heart” ( Jn 1:18). Saint Irenaeus thus declares that “the Son of God was with the Father from the beginning”. Origen, for his part, maintains that the Son perseveres “in uninterrupted contemplation of the depths of the Father”. When the Son took flesh, he spent entire nights conversing with his beloved Father on the mountaintop (cf. Lk 6:12). He told us, “I must be in my Father’s house” ( Lk 2:49). We see too how he expressed his praise: “Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth’ ( Lk 10:21). His last words, full of trust, were, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” ( Lk 23:46).