9781644135945

The Light of the World
“I know My sheep.” Yes, Lord, you know all things. You know me, not with a knowledge that
is cold and impersonal, but with a love that is full of compassion and understanding. You love
me with a heart that is loving, self-sacrificing, and filled with unspeakable condescension and
goodness. You know me in the Blessed Eucharist.
“And Mine know Me.” O Lord, that I might truly know You, the Good Shepherd, in the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in Holy Communion, in Thy tabernacle! If I could only know
You perfectly! If I could only bring myself to recognize You in Your pastoral mission and
in the trials that each day brings! If only I could conceive You as the one great reality and
allow myself to be completely governed by that knowledge! “And Mine know Me,” and
love Me, hearken to Me, look to Me for guidance, depend on Me, believe in Me, and offer
themselves up for Me.
“O God, my God, to Thee do I watch at break of day; and in Thy name I will lift up my
hands, alleluia” (Offertory). I fly to You and look up to You at the break of day, bringing You
the offering of my prayers, my adoration, my works, and my sufferings. To Thee, the Good
Shepherd, I subject all the powers and movements of my soul.
Prayer
The Lord ruleth me, and I shall want nothing. He hath set me in a place of pasture. He hath
brought me up on the water of refreshment. He hath converted my soul. He hath led me on the
paths of justice for His own name’s sake. For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evils, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff, they have comforted
me, Thou hast prepared a table before me against them that afflict me. Thou hast anointed
my head with oil, and my chalice which inebriateth me, how goodly is it! And Thy mercy will
follow me all the days of my life. And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of
days. (Psalm 22.)
Wednesday
Solemnity of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church
In March we celebrated a feast in memory of St. Joseph’s sanctity and holiness. Today he is
presented to us as the patron and protector of the Church. On this day we should thank this
mighty protector and renew our faith in him. This day should bring us renewed confidence in
the efficacy of his help and protection. It should spur us on to seek his help in the many dangers
that threaten us. “Go to Joseph.”
St. Joseph was the head of the Holy Family and its protector. From all eternity he was
selected to be the guardian of God’s most precious possessions on earth, Jesus and Mary.
God entrusted to him His rarest treasure, and Joseph discharged his duties with perfect
fidelity. With serene unselfishness he accepted the responsibility for Mary and concealed
from the prying eyes of the world the mystery of her miraculous conception of the Son of
God. As the legitimate spouse of Mary, he accompanied her to Bethlehem, and there joined
her in adoring the divine child. Jesus, the son of his legitimate spouse, is also his child and
his responsibility. Joseph was faced with an unfathomable mystery, but he accepted it on
faith. Like the child’s mother, Mary, he lived now only to serve Him, to act as His protector,
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