9781644135945

The Light of the World
We rejoice at the privilege of being members of this holy Church. We are like birds that
come to rest in the sheltering arms of the tree which has grown up from a tiny seed. It is good
to live as a Catholic; it is good to die as a Catholic.
Prayer
Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, ever to fix our thoughts on reasonable things and
to do what is pleasing to Thee both in words and in deeds. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Tuesday
“The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed” (Gospel). It is small and insignificant;
yet, when planted in good soil, it springs to life and grows rapidly until it has become a tree.
How appropriate this parable is! Everything that God means to prosper must make a humble
beginning; but good soil is necessary in which God can plant His seed.
The kingdom of Christ, the Church, is like a mustard seed in the simplicity of its teaching. She
preaches humility, subjection, poverty, detachment from the world. Her doctrine includes the
creation of the world by God, the reality of sin, the redemption of men through Christ, and their
sanctification by the Holy Ghost. She insists on the reality of the resurrection and the fatherhood
of God. She explains the fallen nature of man by pointing out his present sinfulness, his injustice,
and his lack of charity. She points to the life of eternity as the end of man’s existence. It is all very
simple; even a child can understand it. Years of study are not necessary for the fundamental
understanding of her dogmas. Even the first exponents of the Gospel were the most simple and
humble of men, unlettered and simple Galilean fishermen. The historians of the early Church,
the Evangelists, gave the world their story in simple, straightforward language which everyone
could grasp. Like the mustard seed, the Church had a simple and small beginning.
“But when it has grown up, it is greater than all herbs.” Although the doctrine which Christ
preached appears simple in the eyes of men, it has worked miracles in their souls. She allows
man to see and understand his environment and the purpose for which he exists. Under the
guidance of grace, the human intellect reaches a level which it could never have attained without
divine assistance. The soul which lives in the light of faith acquires a strength and courage
which it could not otherwise have attained. Enlightened by faith, the Christian finds courage to
face temptation, persecution, sickness, and even death without murmuring. When oppressed
with suffering, or when smarting with the contempt which the world shows her, such a soul
suffers silently and calmly, not because of pride or stubbornness, not because she is indifferent
to suffering, but because she has an unshakable confidence in the abiding presence of Christ.
She finds a precedent for the treatment she is receiving in the suffering and ignominy of her
Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.
Inspired with confidence in Christ’s abiding presence, St. Lawrence, the martyr, was able
to lie down on his red-hot griddle as if it were a soft bed. Similar heavenly wisdom inspired
St. Catherine of Siena to choose a crown of thorns when she might very well have chosen a
crown of gold. St. Paul and his disciples gloried in the sufferings which they had been allowed
to undergo for Christ. Inspired by the love of Christ, Christians of all ages have gone bravely
to meet whatever indignity the world held for them. Sin and any sort of disloyalty they could
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