9781644135945

The Light of the World
avowal of our faith, teaches that Christ, the Son of God, descended from heaven and became
man to redeem us from sin. Deeply moved by this manifestation of the love, mercy, power,
and justice of God, we sing with the Church in the Exultet: “For it would have profited us
nothing to have been born unless we had also been redeemed. O wonderful condescension
of Thy mercy towards us! O inestimable affection of charity, that to redeem a slave Thou
didst deliver up Thy Son! O truly necessary sin of Adam, which was blotted out by the death
of Christ! O happy fault that merited so great a Redeemer!” Sin, the greatest evil performed
by men, becomes the occasion for God’s greatest work, the Incarnation of Christ and the
redemption of humanity. Evil must be made to serve God; and since it can be made to serve
Him, He allows it to happen.
In the cross is salvation. Yet a single drop of Christ’s blood, a solitary prayer, a single request
for pardon and grace made by Christ, would have been sufficient for the redemption of men.
“As much as the ocean exceeds a drop, so much does the merit of Christ exceed our sins” (St.
Chrysostom). Even though the justice of God required full satisfaction for sin, it could not have
demanded the passion and death of Christ for this purpose. Full satisfaction could have been
given by a lesser act. But Christ undertook this excess of suffering that we might understand the
extent of His love. The mystery of the cross and the existence of evil and suffering are hidden
from the worldly man, but they should be perfectly clear to the Christian. If we understand
Christ and His mission, we will understand that poverty, humility, misery, and suffering recommend
us to the mercy and love of God. They are the sign and seal of His love; they are a pledge
that He wishes us to resemble His Son.
Suffering is the gate of eternal life. Suffering cheerfully and freely borne is a proof of our
surrender to God. Such suffering glorifies God. No love can be more sincere, no surrender
more heroic and complete than that which manifests itself in voluntary suffering. Christ,
our Lord and Master, embraced suffering instead of pleasure; but the spirit of the world
cultivates pleasure, honor, and indulgence. Christ frees men from the bonds of the world,
from the weaknesses of the flesh, and from self-indulgence. Whomever the Lord wishes to
raise to sanctity, He raises on the cross. The soul, then, that wishes to be filled with grace
must first be crucified. The most sublime form of knowledge is that which is based on
suffering. The truest and the greatest good fortune of man on earth is the privilege to suffer
for Christ. By means of the cross the Lord places His seal upon us. The cross purifies and
prepares the soul for the pure love of God. He who flees from suffering impedes the progress
of love, for in the cross is salvation.
Wherever injustice raises its head, it will be subdued. He whom injustice thought to destroy
and drive from the world, has raised Himself triumphantly from the grave. His Church must
also be persecuted and tried. But when her enemies believe that they have destroyed her and
are beginning to raise a funeral mound over her, she springs miraculously to a new life. From
death comes life. “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.”
“To them that love God, all things work together unto good” (Rom 8:28). Those who love
God may be hated and trampled by men, but in all this persecution God has His own designs,
which are hidden from wicked men. The good Christian will await patiently the revelation of
God’s designs in the sufferings that are imposed upon him; for he is confident that “to them
that love God, all things work together unto good.”
296