9781644135945

The Light of the World
4:8 ff.; Epistle). God is love. Our possession of this love makes us resemble God. If we possess
something in common with the Judge already in this world, we need not fear that on the Day
of Judgment, the day of our death, we shall be sentenced and cast off by Him. Charity gives
us this assurance: “Fear is not in charity; but perfect charity casteth out fear, because fear hath
pain. And he that feareth is not perfected in charity” (Epistle).
“If God hath so loved us; we also ought to love one another. No man hath seen God at
any time. If we love one another, God abideth in us, and His charity is perfected in us. . . .
If any man say: I love God; and hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his
brother whom he seeth, how can he love God, whom he seeth not? And this commandment
we have from God, that he who loveth God love also his brother” (Epistle). “He that saith
he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness, even until now. He that loveth his
brother abideth in the light. . . . But he that hateth his brother is in darkness [in sin] and
walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth; because the darkness hath blinded
his eyes” (1 Jn 2:9 f.).
At the head of the Epistles for the many Sundays which follow Pentecost, the liturgy places
that one which promulgates the great commandment of the love of God and of one’s neighbor.
Christian perfection consists essentially in the perfect love of God and of one’s fellow men.
The final end and aim of all the commandments is charity. Without this love for God and for
one’s neighbor, none of the commandments and none of the duties of a Christian life can be
perfectly fulfilled. Charity is the root, the life, and the soul of all the virtues. It is the essence
of virtue, for if it is lacking, there is no true virtue; whereas if there is charity, no virtue is
wanting. Charity is infused in our hearts through the Holy Ghost, who has been given to us.
Not every man can give great alms to the poor or practice heroic mortification, but everyone
is able to practice charity.
The Mass for the first Sunday after Pentecost emphasizes the duty of fraternal charity. This
great commandment is emphasized especially in the Epistle, to which we reply: “I said, O Lord,
be Thou merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee” (Gradual). Christianity
breathes the spirit of love for God and for one’s neighbor. It is in this duty of practicing fraternal
charity that we fail most often, in spite of all our piety.
“Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God: for to Thee will I pray, O
Lord” (Offertory), now in the Offertory of this Mass, while celebrating this Holy Sacrifice with
Thee. This prayer asks for forgiveness and pardon for our many offenses against charity, and
implores strength to develop a perfect love. “Charity is patient, is kind; charity envieth not,
dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up; is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked
to anger, thinketh no evil” (1 Cor 13:4 f.). How far removed we are from such dispositions!
Our self-love and our pride make this perfect charity difficult to attain. With strength obtained
through the reception of Communion we trust that we shall fulfill our duties of fraternal charity
more perfectly than has been our wont. The liturgy has great confidence in the power of the
Eucharist to produce this effect in us, for we receive the Spirit of the Lord when we partake of
His flesh and blood. In a sense, the reception of Holy Communion is a renewal of Pentecost,
for through its use we become spiritual men, having a great capacity for the love of God and
our fellow man. For this reason we rejoice with the words of the Communion prayer: “I will
speak of all Thy marvelous works; I will be glad and rejoice in Thee. I will sing unto Thy name,
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