9781644135945

The Light of the World
with Him, who live and grow by virtue of that union. True Christian virtue is found only in the
Church which is filled with the Spirit of Christ.
Now we understand the liturgy when it sings the Communion chant: “When the Paraclete,
the Spirit of truth is come, He shall convince the world of sin, and of justice, and of judgment,
alleluia, alleluia.” With each worthy reception of Holy Communion, Christ implants His spirit
deeper in our souls. We leave the Communion table and return to our work, to our family, to
our customary occupations, convinced of the heinousness of sin, and we hate it and condemn
it. We are “convinced of justice,” and we reason and conduct ourselves according to its dictates.
We live according to the spirit which Christ has given us.
Prayer
May the Holy Ghost penetrate our hearts, O Lord, and cleanse them. May He penetrate them
to their depths with His dew and make them fruitful. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thursday
“When He [the Holy Ghost] is come, He will convince the world of sin, and of justice, and of
judgment, because the prince of this world is already judged” (Gospel). The third part of the
Holy Ghost’s mission is to convince the world that the prince of this world, Satan, and with
him his domain, the entire world, has been judged. The world is unjust; in Christ alone is there
justice and truth.
Jesus has passed sentence on the prince of this world. This first sentence was given by Christ
on the cross. “Now is the judgment of the world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself ” ( Jn 12:31 f.). Christ allowed
Himself to be unjustly sentenced and put to death by the world. Thus, fixed to the cross, He
is a living judgment written in the blood which poured forth from His wounds. The blood of
this innocent victim stands as a contradiction to the judgment which Satan, the prince of this
world, and his servants, Pilate and the Jews, passed upon the innocent, unspotted Son of God.
Christ has passed judgment on the prince of this world a second time by His Resurrection
from the dead, through which He has proved the falsity of the charges made against Him by
the Jews. He was accused of being a blasphemer, of working His miracles and wonders with
the help and by the power of the devil. These infernal lies are now unmasked. God Himself has
proved through the Resurrection that Christ was the Son of God. “That in the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, . . . and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in
the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:10 f.). Thus sentence has been passed on Satan and upon
the whole world. The judgment of the world concerning Christ, the gospel, the Church, the
Christian faith, Christian morals, the meaning of life, the value of material things, is thus proved
to be false. “Now is the judgment of the world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out”
( Jn 12:31), that is, through the resurrection of Christ. Satan is dethroned. Justice is on the side
of the Lord. The world is filled with lies, treachery, and falsehood. Grant me the light, O Lord,
to recognize the world for what it is and to avoid it and all its abominations.
The Holy Ghost, too, passes judgment on the prince of this world. After Christ ascended
to His Father, the Holy Ghost came to confirm the judgment passed by Christ on the world,
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