9781644135945

The Light of the World
love, the Church teaches us today the third aspect of our lenten work and baptismal renewal;
it consists in the perfecting of the spirit of active Christian, brotherly love. “He that loveth not,
abideth in death” (1 Jn 3:14).
“Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? Loose the bands of wickedness, undo the
bundles that oppress; let them that are broken go free, and break asunder every burden.
Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and the harborless into thy house; when
thou shalt see one naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh [your fellow man]. Then
shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall speedily arise. . . . Then shalt
thou call, and the Lord shall hear; thou shalt cry, and He shall say: Here I am. Because I
the Lord thy God am merciful” (Epistle). “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy” (Mt 5:7). Fasting, mortification, works of penance are good and necessary, but only
when they are preceded by the observance of the first commandment, the love of God and
of one’s neighbor, and serve love and kindness. “And if I should distribute all my goods to
feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth
me nothing” (1 Cor 13:3).
“He that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law.” Every other commandment is contained
in this precept. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. . . . Love therefore is the fulfilling of the
law” (Rom 13:9–10). Dispensation can be given from fasting; but from love, never. “Love thy
neighbor as thyself ” (Mt 19:19). Do we observe this command?
“You have heard that it hath been said: Thou shalt love thy neighbor and [the Pharisees
added this] hate thy enemy. But I say to you: Love your enemies; do good to them that hate
you; and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you; that you may be the children
of your Father, who is in heaven, who maketh His sun to rise upon the good and bad, and
raineth upon the just and the unjust” (Gospel). To the sanctification of Lent belongs the
will of brotherly love and the act of this love, even of the love of one’s enemy. “Forgive us
our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” “Be ye therefore merciful as
your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and
you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given
to you” (Lk 6:36–38).
“A new commandment I give unto you; that you love one another as I have loved you”
( Jn 13:34). “He that saith he is in the light [in possession of sanctifying grace] and hateth
his brother, is in darkness [of sin] even until now. He that loveth his brother, abideth in
the light. . . . But he that hateth his brother, is in darkness and walketh in darkness” (1 Jn
2:9–11). “We know that we have passed from death [sin] to life [grace] because we love
the brethren. He that loveth not, abideth in death” (1 Jn 3:14). How is true penance or
the forgiveness of sin possible if we are not diligent in the practice of brotherly love?
Today’s liturgy reminds us of two special fields of brotherly love: almsgiving and the love
of one’s enemies. In the liturgy the stational saints, John and Paul, are the men of mercy, men
of good deeds to the poor. If the Church today takes us into their house, she wishes that we
enter into their spirit and perform works of mercy, especially almsgiving. Are we doing our
duty in this regard? Have we not much to make good during the holy season of Lent? “He
that hath the substance of this world, and shall see his brother in need, and shall shut up his
216