9781644135945

The Light of the World
Prayer
O God, who hast prepared invisible goods for those who love Thee, pour forth Thy love into
our hearts, that loving Thee in all things and above all things, we may be worthy to receive Thy
promises, which exceed all our desires. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Tuesday
While in spirit we bring our gift to the altar during the Sacrifice of the Mass, the Church places
these words on our lips: “I set God always in my sight; for He is at my right hand that I be not
moved” (Offertory).
“I set God always in my sight.” Such is the attitude of our Holy Mother the Church as she
recalls all the sorrows and miseries she has experienced on her hard pilgrimage through the
centuries. Always hard pressed, she is often misunderstood, hated, betrayed, forsaken, and
denied even by her own children. Though she suffers terribly, she keeps her peace without
being troubled. She sees the Lord in all her sufferings, and she finds Him in all her defeats,
losses, and failures, as well as in her victories. He gave her the understanding that He works
in and through all happenings, that all things are in His hand, that to Him is given “all power
. . . in heaven and in earth” (Mt 28:18), that He guides everything, governing and directing
everything for the good and advantage of His Church. She trusts His wisdom and power,
His love for her and for every human soul. He gave His life for His Church and for souls,
He prayed, worked, and toiled during thirty-three years for His Church. And, as if this were
not enough, He daily offers on innumerable altars during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,
His body, His blood, and His heart to His Father for the salvation of the world. Praying,
imploring, expiating in the tabernacle without end, He lifts up His immaculate hands to
heaven. “I set God always in my sight” in the mysteries of His Incarnation, His passion
and death, His life with the Father, since He is “always living to make intercession for us”
(Heb 7:25). He lives among us in the mystery of the Eucharistic sacrifice and by means of
His continual presence in the tabernacle. He works within the souls of men through His
priesthood, through the ceaseless prayer of the Church, through the sacraments, and by
interior illuminations.
“He is at my right hand that I be not moved” (Offertory). Rejoicing with these words, the
Church is well aware of the fact that Christ Jesus our Lord is living and working within her, permeating
His mystical body with His life. She is confident, for “the gates of hell shall not prevail
against” her (Mt 16:18); “Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world
(Mt 28:20). “I will bless the Lord, who hath given me understanding” (Offertory), the faithful
understanding of the mystery of her being filled and united with Christ. This understanding
gives her that calm and victorious confidence in the ceaseless battles she has to fight. “He is at
my right hand that I be not moved”; thus also rejoices the soul that is united with the Church.
“I am the vine; you the branches” ( Jn 15:5). For us He is not only the truth we must accept, not
only the way, the model, and example after whom we must model our lives; He is, first of all,
our life. We are to be coheirs of the life of Jesus. We are His members, His branches; He is our
head; He is the vine. He feeds and nourishes us with His power that we may conquer evil and
be virtuous. He lives within us that He may guide our thinking, guard, strengthen, and guide
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