9781644135945

The Light of the World
The Holy Ghost continually justifies, confirms, and glorifies Jesus in His members. He offers
proof that Christ is the Son of God, that His words are true, that His virtue was genuine. His
promises are not false but true. Through the power of Holy Communion, He will be glorified
in me. He will form me and reshape me into a spiritual man, so that in my daily life I, too, may
stand as a judgment against the world and Satan (Communion).
Prayer
O Lord, who by the sacred communion of this sacrifice hast made us partakers of the one
supreme divine nature, grant, we beseech Thee, that as we know Thy truth, so we may follow it
by a worthy life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. (Secreta.)
Friday
“O God, grant to Thy people to love that which Thou commandest” (Collect). It is the command
of the Church that we love God and His holy will. In this manner the Church wishes the
baptized to rise to a new life with Christ. This grace we implore for one another.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps 110:10). The fear of God forms the very
foundation of the spiritual life. As long as we have to struggle with sin, the fear of the justice
of God occupies the most important place in our spiritual life. The just punishments of God
visited on sinners, the anger of God, the everlasting pain of hell, are ever before our eyes. We
must never forget our moral weakness, the attraction of sinful actions, the ever-present possibility
that we may fall. Nor can we forget that we are too little concerned about the graces of God, that
we often act from purely natural motives rather than from supernatural ones. We know from
experience that we are careless, easily provoked, impatient, and unpleasant toward our fellow
men. We know that we are self-centered and have many faults. All these things should inspire
us with a continual and secret fear of God. The fear of God should accompany us throughout
our lives, influence all our thoughts and acts, and take a firm hold on us. “Blessed is the man
that feareth the Lord” (Ps 111:1). “Fear God and depart from evil. . . . The fear of the Lord hateth
evil” (Prv 3:7; 8:13). “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
“Thou shalt love the Lord, Thy God” (Mt 22:37). The fear of the Lord is necessary, but
the proper basis and the chief motivating force of Christianity is love. Love alone is worthy of
God, who is entitled to our love because of His infinite perfection and goodness. He deserves
our love because of His many benefactions and the wealth He will bestow on us in eternal life.
“Thou shalt love the Lord, Thy God,” is the first and the greatest commandment. God demands
all our love, and He alone deserves it. Love for God shapes our heart, disentangles it from the
world, and turns it to God. Love alone can make our hearts big enough and strong enough to
endure sacrifice in the service of God. Fear can cause us to avoid evil, but it cannot elevate us
to the performance of good. Love effects both at one and the same time. It draws us away from
what is evil, or from what is only apparently evil, and inspires us to do good. It draws us from
what is merely good to that which is better, and, in spite of all difficulties and hardships, from
that which is better to that which is perfect. Fear causes us to think too much of ourselves; it
cannot inspire us with generosity. It keeps us within the commandments, it keeps us faithful
to our duty, and then feels that it has done enough. Charity is quite different, for it always
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