9781644135945

The Light of the World
Prayer
O God, who in the heart of Thy Son, wounded by our transgressions, dost mercifully vouchsafe
to bestow upon us the infinite wealth of Thy love; grant, we beseech Thee, that revering it with
meet devotion, we may make a worthy reparation for our sins. Through the same Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Saturday after the Feast of the Sacred Heart
To St. Paul was given the privilege of revealing to the Gentiles the “unsearchable riches of
Christ,” that is, the wealth of grace and salvation which are given to us through Christ. He falls
on his knees and begs God that we may comprehend the “breadth, and length, and height,
and depth” of God’s mercy in calling us to the faith, and Christ’s love, “which surpasseth all
knowledge” (Epistle).
Oh, “the breadth, and length, and height, and depth” of God’s mercy for us! That mercy is
expressed in the mystery of the Incarnation: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among
us” ( Jn 1:14). Christ further expresses His mercy for men in the mystery of His life of voluntary
poverty, in His humility, His subjection to the Father, and His willingness to do whatever the
Father desires of Him. “The breadth, and length, and height, and depth” of the mercy of God
are expressed with infinite forcefulness by His suffering in the Garden, at the pillar, and on the
way to Calvary, and especially by His crucifixion and death on the cross. All these sufferings
He endured for our sake, to render satisfaction to God in our stead. He has withheld nothing.
There is not a single act of His will that is not directed toward our redemption; there was not
a single member of His adorable body that did not suffer for us. There was no suffering, no
humiliation, no injustice that He did not endure for us. He shed every drop of His precious
blood for us. Who can fathom the breadth, and length, and height, and depth of the mercy of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus? Who can measure it as it is revealed in our vocation to grace and
salvation and to membership in the Church? Or who can measure it as expressed in our call to
receive the sacrament of baptism, or in our participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and
Holy Communion? What divine mercy is expressed in our incorporation in the mystical body
of Christ, since we thereby become branches of Christ, the vine, now through grace, but eventually
through the possession of the glory of heaven! Other men He has passed by. Why has He
selected me in preference to others? Certainly not because I was more worthy. Only because of
pure mercy and compassion has He chosen me. Oh, the depth and the height of divine mercy!
“The charity of Christ which surpasseth all knowledge.” Why does Christ lavish His mercy
upon us? What is the source from which this infinite mercy springs? His love. Love is His very
essence. Love is the secret of His being. He loves us with a love that no words can express and
no created intellect can comprehend. Love makes as one the lovers. For them they are no longer
two persons, but a perfect unity of the two in one. “And all My things are Thine, and Thine are
Mine” ( Jn 17:10). Christ has removed the barrier that separates us from Him, for by baptism
He has called us to a living union with Himself, who is our head. By virtue of this mystical
union, Christ’s merits, satisfactions, and prayers become ours. And everything that was ours
becomes His. When we suffer, He suffers in us and with us. When we humble ourselves, He
offers satisfaction through us to the Father. If we emulate the spirit of Christ and practice the
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