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The Light of the World
“He that humbleth himself, shall be exalted” (Lk 18:14). “Suffer the little children and forbid
them not to come to Me; for the kingdom of heaven is for such” (Mt 19:14). “Amen, I say to
you, unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom
of heaven” (Mt 18:3).
“He that doeth the will of My Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
This is our way: the fulfilling of God’s will. By fulfilling the duties God imposes on us, we have
active piety; by submitting to everything His providence may send us, we have passive piety.
God leads, we follow. His will and operation come first; our will and work come next. God
gives, we accept. When He enters our interior life, we unite ourselves with Him and become
active. The more perfectly we become united with His will, abandoning ourselves to His good
pleasure, the more fruitful becomes our life. Once we are dead to our own thinking and willing,
God’s will and operations within us can be efficacious and life-giving.
Prayer
May Thy healing work in our souls mercifully free us from our perverse inclinations, O Lord,
and lead us ever to do that which is right in Thy sight. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saturday
“He that doeth the will of My Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven”
(Gospel). This declaration is an unequivocal, infallible promise, since it comes from infallible
truth itself. By fulfilling the will of God we shall find a sure and straight road leading to heaven.
“The kingdom of heaven” is to be found wherever God is, wherever He is adored, recognized,
praised, and glorified. It is in us in so far as we are united to the Church in faith, hope, and charity,
and we separate ourselves from earthly and created things. We find the kingdom of God
wherever His infinitely holy, wise, and just will is recognized and obeyed. Beginning on earth in
His Church and in the souls of Christians, it will be eternal in the glory of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost. There it will be the kingdom of the clear and the unveiled recognition of
God, of a never-ending bliss in His presence, the realm where God is enjoyed, and where eternal
homage of praise and thanksgiving is paid unto Him. There will resound a jubilant “Glory be
to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.”
We enter into the kingdom of heaven when we recognize God by acknowledging His nearness,
His operation within us, His providence, His will in all things in our daily lives. Whenever
we renew our devotion to Him and His holy will, lovingly embracing this will and sincerely
trying to fulfill it, we enter a new and more perfect mansion of this kingdom. Christ told us, “In
My Father’s house there are many mansions” ( Jn 14:2). At last, despising this earthly life, we
shall enter the one which will be our abode forever. Then the kingdom of God will be within
us, ravishing our souls with the unspeakable bliss and joys of God’s glory. “Eye hath not seen,
nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for
them that love Him” (1 Cor 2:9).
The road leading to the kingdom of God is the will of God. There is only this one road.
The prayers and graces offered to us by God, the inspirations, encouragements, and various
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