9781644135945

The Light of the World
Thursday
As Jesus descended from the mountain, a great multitude followed Him and a leper came
and fell at His feet and cried out, “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. And Jesus,
stretching forth His hand, touched him, saying: I will. Be thou made clean” (Gospel). Christ
thus manifested both His goodness and His power over nature.
“Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.” Leprosy is the figure of sin, which defiles the
soul. Leprosy is a disease that is particularly horrible because of the disfigurement that it produces
in its victims. The effect of leprosy on the body gives us a tangible impression of the effect
of sin on the soul. Passion is so deeply rooted in our natures that, unless it is ruled with a firm
hand, it may destroy and disfigure the beauty both of our body and of our soul. This passion
is insatiable and will not rest until it has destroyed our soul and the souls of others. Any soul
that wishes to become a member of Christ must first cleanse itself from the vices of passion.
“Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.” Jesus wills to make us so. “I will. Be thou made
clean.” We must be clean in our thoughts, actions, and desires. How could it be otherwise, since
by baptism we have become living members of His body? The body and soul of man belong
to Christ and are part of Him since He has by His death snatched them from the hands of the
enemy. But even after our incorporation in the body of Christ, the deeply rooted evil of our
animal passions remains with us, and we must wage a continual war against it. “Lord, if Thou
wilt, Thou canst make me clean.”
“Blessed are the clean of heart” (Mt 5:8). Christ expects not only that the soul be clean of
actual sins of impurity, but also that the heart be clean. No attachment to sin can be allowed
to grow up in the soul, and everything that fosters such an attachment must be cut off. The
Christian must always keep in mind the end for which he was created, and with a determined
will strive continually to attain that goal. He must be prepared for trials and difficulties, for the
way is not easy, and trials, suffering, and self-denial mark the way that leads to salvation. Only
when the soul has detached itself from all that might tarnish its beauty can it fulfill its proper
function of reflecting the beauty of God. To accomplish such detachment is the work of continual
mortification and earnest sacrifice. “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.”
Blessed are they who by continual self-control have overcome all that is earthly and human, and
have made themselves a holocaust to God.
“Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.” “The Lord hath built up Sion [His Church]
and [there] He shall be seen in His glory” (Gradual). Christ loved chastity, and He desires to
see this virtue reproduced in His disciples. He wishes us, as members of His body, to manifest
the splendor of His purity. You are “now light in the Lord. Walk, then, as children of the light”
(Eph 5:8). We pray, not only for ourselves, but also for our brethren: “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou
canst make me clean.”
Nothing can satisfy the heart of man but life in union with God and the blessed company
of the saints. Our souls are vessels into which the divine life is poured. Like the shining vessels
of a great king, our souls should be dipped into the majesty of God and come forth overflowing
with the sweetness of divinity. They should be a delight to the angels and the saints. But God
cannot draw to Himself anything that is unclean. Only they who have achieved purity of soul
may approach close to the divinity. “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.”
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