9781644135945

The Light of the World
“Dost thou renounce Satan?” we were asked; and we replied: “I do renounce him.” Then we
were anointed with holy oil and were asked: “Dost thou believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth? Dost thou believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord? . . .
Dost thou believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the
remission of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?” We who had been deaf and
dumb before, now understood and spoke right: “I believe.” Again we were asked: “Wilt thou be
baptized?” and we answered: “I will.” We then were immersed in death with Christ. By dying
with Him we were able to receive life with Him, the life of the risen Christ, who lives within
us as the head lives with the members. “My flesh hath flourished.” It has been reanimated by
the power and life of the risen Christ. So together with the risen Lord, who lives within us, we
rejoice: “I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast upheld me and hast not made my enemies to
rejoice over me; O Lord, I have cried to Thee, and Thou hast healed me” (Offertory). “God [is]
in His holy place; God who maketh men of one mind to dwell in a house; He shall give power
and strength to His people” (Introit). He truly has given us life.
“I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day” (Epistle). The
death and resurrection of Christ are the source of life for us who are the members of His mystical
body. Christ lives, and with Him we also live, in so far as we die with Him. This is the meaning
of Mass and Holy Communion: if we die with Him in spirit, He will instill His immortal life
into us, now in Holy Communion and later in the eternal bliss of the life to come. “He shall give
power and strength to His people” (Introit).
“By the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace in me hath not been void” (Epistle).
This grateful confession of the Church is our confession also; for of ourselves we are deaf
and dumb, but through grace Christ lives in us. “The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever”
(Ps 88:2).
Prayer
O almighty and eternal God, who in the abundance of Thy loving kindness art wont to give
beyond the deserts and desires of those who humbly pray; pour down upon us Thy mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and granting us those blessings
which we dare not presume to ask. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Monday
“He hath done all things well; He hath made both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak”
(Gospel). Thus rejoicing, the Church never wearies of gratefully recognizing what the Lord
did for her and her children in the sacrament of baptism. If we do not belong to Him, we are
deaf and dumb; if we do belong to Him, however, our ears are opened and we speak right. “I
will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast upheld me” (Offertory).
“He hath made the deaf to hear.” Before we had been received into Christ’s life, we had an
ear only for the voice of our fallen nature, of our self-love, and of the world. Searching for the
things that please the natural man, our thoughts and feelings were according to those of men
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