9781644135945

The Light of the World
“To no men rendering evil for evil.” Unredeemed men, the world, seek revenge. The world
sees no virtue but only weakness in the practice of self-control, forgiveness, and charity. It has
retained the spirit of the Old Law: “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” This is not the
spirit of the Christian, for he is bidden, “If one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also
the other” (Mt 5:39). Christ was not satisfied merely to leave this instruction to His disciples;
He gave them a sublime example when He allowed Himself to be scourged and sentenced to
death without resisting. When He was spit upon and struck, He suffered all His torments in
silence. For those who persecuted Him He prays, “Father, forgive them, for they know not
what they do” (Lk 23:34). This, too, is the spirit on which He has established His kingdom,
the kingdom of the spirit.
“Overcome evil by good.” This is the spirit of Christ and of true Christian piety. “If thy
enemy be hungry, give him to eat” (Epistle). The only revenge permitted to the Christian
is the return of good for evil. He is to overcome evil only by doing good. “Do good to them
that hate you and pray for them that persecute . . . you” (Mt 5:44). This disposition must be
universal. The Christian must do good to everyone, even to those who persecute him and
hate him; he must repay evil with good. This is the spirit of Christ, the spirit every member
of Christ must have.
“The Lord hath built up Sion.” He builds up His kingdom by means of His graces, dispensed
in the Mass and in Holy Communion. His task is not an easy one. The material which He uses
is the cold, vindictive hearts of men. These hearts are narrow, selfish, proud, and unbending.
They are given to bickering, faultfinding, criticism, and slander. The Lord must shape these
living stones to fit the design of the Sion He has planned. The Epistle of the day shows us how
deficient we are in the qualities which Christ desires of us. We perceive our misery, but we cry
out to Him, “Lord, Thy kingdom come.” Fill our hearts with Thy spirit, our minds with Thy
thoughts, our souls with Thy love.
“Overcome evil by good,” with unfeigned charity for all men. This virtue has been called the
milk of human kindness. Kindness is the most pleasing adornment of the Christian personality.
“Put ye on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity,
humility, modesty, patience” (Col 3:12). In this spirit the true Christian must grow, especially
if he wishes to profit from his attendance at Mass.
The Mass is a communal act of worship. We cannot assist at it with profit unless our heart
is at peace with God and our neighbor. The Mass is the supreme act of public worship in the
Church. To offer worthily the Holy Sacrifice, we must be united in heart and in soul with our
brethren in Christ. But this does not mean merely the bodily union of the faithful in offering
their gifts. We must be united in spirit, too, for we pray not merely for our own needs, but for
all our brethren: “Give us this day our daily bread; forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation.” That is the language of Christian
brotherhood, Christian charity.
Prayer
O Lord, Thou hast given us participation in the graces of Mass and Communion; grant, we
beseech Thee, that our lives may be regulated in conformity with these graces. Amen.
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