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The Light of the World
for eternal life ( Jn 15:16). The day of the return of the Lord is near; He warns us earnestly:
“Give an account of thy stewardship” (Lk 16:2). Now is the time of grace. At the Mass the Lord
anticipates His eventual return. He comes to us now as the Savior: “Be of good heart, son, thy
sins are forgiven thee” (Gospel).
At Holy Communion the Lord perfects His redemptive work in us. We come to Him with
the faith and confidence of the man sick with the palsy. He touches us with His life-giving flesh
and blood. “Arise” to a new and better life, “and go into thy house” (Gospel). Our place is in
heaven above. The Lord returns daily at Communion to prepare us for His final coming at our
death and on the last day.
Prayer
Let the operation of Thy mercy, we beseech Thee, O Lord, direct our hearts; for without Thee
we cannot please Thee. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Wednesday
The Apostle admits with great satisfaction: “Nothing is wanting to you in any grace” (Epistle).
There are extraordinary spiritual gifts, the so-called charisms, which were found in abundance
in the young community of Corinth (1 Cor 12). There are also certain ordinary gifts of God
which are necessary and useful for all of us, the so-called spiritual gifts and spiritual consolations,
which are given to us as precious helps on the way to our eternal home. “You are made
rich in Him” (Epistle).
“Nothing is wanting to you in any grace.” There is no lack of anything in God. He gives the
necessary help and grace to each of us according to his needs. He gives us, moreover, many
consolations and favors of sensible devotion as an incentive and support to our efforts. These
are all graces of God, signs of His love for us, by which we receive a deeper knowledge of Him
and of Christ. They give us the strength to overcome the devil and all worldliness. They lighten
the hardships of our profession and the bitterness of our difficulties. They enliven our charity,
strengthen us in temptation, give us confidence in God, increase our faith, and make us a consolation
to our brethren. Should we not give thanks for these graces also?
The fruits of the spiritual gifts are great and useful. They calm our distracted and worldly
thoughts and reveal a wealth and plentitude of divine gifts which we had not heretofore conceived.
Acts of virtue are no longer painful and difficult, but come spontaneously and easily.
Conquering our temptations, external and internal, no longer presents any great difficulty. On
the contrary we overcome them with an ease and assurance unknown before. The conflict
between the flesh and the spirit suddenly subsides. We feel the results: The spirit again regains
the mastery over the rebellious movements of fallen nature. “In all things you are made rich.”
With grateful hearts we confess, “In all things you are made rich.” Nothing is wanting to us. The
Lord has left nothing undone. He sowed His seed with generous hands. If the seed has fallen
upon good ground, it should yield fruit a hundredfold (Lk 8:8).
“The Gentiles shall fear Thy name, O Lord” (Alleluia verse). We, the Gentiles, “are made
rich . . . in all things.” The Lord has given us the riches of His graces through His divine mercy.
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