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The Light of the World
dry branches of a vine which receive no nourishment from the vine. No branch can hope
to produce fruit if it is separated from the vine of which it is a part. Neither can we make
any progress in the spiritual life or bring forth fruit of good works unless we are united to
the source of all good, Christ our Savior.
The first principle of the spiritual life is the realization that of ourselves we are unable to
accomplish anything. Until the soul has learned to mistrust itself and place its complete reliance
on God, it will make no progress. “God resisteth the proud, but to the humble He giveth grace”
(1 Pt 5:5). The man who relies on his own strength is like him of whom Isaias says, “Lo, thou
trustest upon this broken staff of a reed, upon Egypt; upon which if a man lean it will go into
his hand and pierce it” (Is 36:6).
“The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength; the right hand of the Lord hath
exalted me; I shall not die, but live” (Offertory). “He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the
same beareth much fruit” ( Jn 15:5). Distrust of ourselves leads us naturally to trust in
God, who then supplies us with life-giving strength, as the vine supplies its branches with
nourishment. “I can do all things in Him who strengtheneth me” (Phil 4:13). Our true
strength lies in our confidence in His mercy and in our reliance on His divine providence.
His power is infinite, His will to help us is constant and unchangeable, and we never ask in
vain for that which is conducive to our salvation and sanctification. By sanctifying grace
He has made us members of His mystical body, and what He has so propitiously begun,
He will bring to perfection.
Even when we have sinned we may yet place our trust in God. His love and His mercy are
inexhaustible. “The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength,” wonders of love and mercy
in the souls of His creatures. God lives in our souls, and we may submit ourselves to Him with
full confidence.
The most fatal mistake that we can make in the spiritual life is to delude ourselves by thinking
that we can accomplish good by ourselves. Such an illusion is born of pride and a misplaced
confidence in our own powers. Only when we come to understand fully the truth of our Lord’s
assurance, “without Me you can do nothing,” can we begin to make spiritual progress. Reliance
on ourselves is our greatest weakness; complete dependence on God is our strength. “When I
am weak, then I am powerful” (2 Cor 12:10).
“The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength.” We approach the altar today with the
hope that our disposition may invite Him to work His wonders in our soul. Our very nothingness
draws down upon us the stream of life-giving grace. “The right hand of the Lord hath
exalted me” and given me the privilege of participating in the life of Christ. “I shall not die, but
live”; I shall live the life of Christ on earth and eternally in heaven, where I shall fully understand
that all credit is due to the power of the right hand of God, and I shall announce the works of
the Lord forever.
Prayer
O God, who knowest that we are beset by perils such as our human frailty cannot withstand:
grant us health of mind and body, that by Thy help we may overcome the things which we suffer
for our sins. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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