9781644135945

The Light of the World
this.” We do the very same thing that Jesus did. We take Him in our hands as He took bread and
wine, and offer Him to the Father, His flesh and blood, His life, His sufferings, His death, all that
He did, all that He is. We offer to the Father this victim of inexhaustible worth, a victim which
renders to God infinite praise and honor. We assist at the celebration of Mass, not primarily to
venerate the Lord who has appeared on our altar or to be enriched and enlivened by Him, but
first of all that we may offer Him to His Father. Similarly, He comes down upon our altar, not
primarily that He Himself may be glorified or that He may be of assistance to us, but principally
to glorify the majesty of God. If we were to confine our participation in the Mass to the adoration
of Christ or to the quest of some grace for ourselves, we should demonstrate clearly that
we misunderstand the purpose of Christ’s coming, the true meaning of the Eucharist, and we
should not be fulfilling that command of the Lord, “Do this in commemoration of Me.” In the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass the Father and the Blessed Trinity are the principal objects of our
worship. Christ is the intermediary, and He desires that we offer Him to His Father.
Many Christians believe they have discharged their obligations at Mass when they say their
prayers, either orally or mentally, when they express their love for Christ, when they prepare
themselves properly for the reception of Holy Communion. But that is not sufficient. That which
is most essential in the eyes of Christ and in the mind of God appears to us to be so unimportant
that we often forget it or neglect it altogether. On the other hand, that which is in no way essential,
we make the most important. How, then, can we manage to approach the celebration of Mass
with the proper spirit and with the joy that should characterize our participation?
We are burdened with the realization that we are incapable of offering to God the homage
that is His due, and we bewail our impotence. We strive for a greater love for God, and make
great efforts to overcome our deficiency. We may be willing even to sacrifice everything for this
purpose. And yet, all our efforts would amount to practically nothing. We live in a fool’s paradise
if we hope to be able to honor God properly with anything that is entirely our own, with anything
that we can accomplish by our own effort. If we are so disposed, we can make very little progress;
and if we do manage to make some progress, it is without joy. But once we understand what has
been given to us in the person of Christ, what an infinite power for good was placed at our disposal
when Christ commanded us, “Do this in commemoration of Me”; then we will be able to
participate in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass worthily and with the proper spirit.
Prayer
O Lord, may the sacrifice which we offer to Thy name purify us and confirm us more each day
in a truly heavenly life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thursday
Octave of Corpus Christi
“He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me, and I in him” (Gospel). The
Holy Eucharist is the sacrament of union.
“He abideth in Me, and I in him.” Through the reception of the Holy Eucharist, a living and
fruitful union of Christ with the soul is accomplished. “When melted wax is poured into melted
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