9781644135945

The Light of the World
“That your charity may more and more abound.” It is for the accomplishment of this end that
the liturgy has been instituted. Our growth in charity is the very purpose of the Mass and of
Holy Communion, which nourishes the inner life of man. By this means the measure of our
charity is increased, the powers of the soul are invigorated through the infusion of sanctifying
grace and the infused virtues, and man is thus given the strength to strive for a holier and
more perfect life.
Our growth in the love of God gives unerring direction to our practice of fraternal charity,
unites us more closely to the mystical body, and disposes us to live for one another and at peace
with one another. For this reason the Epistle and the Gradual of the Mass remind us, “Behold
how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” A truly supernatural
love of our neighbor is not only most intimately connected with the love of God, but may be
even more properly said to be identical with the love of God. Growth in the love of God means
a growth in fraternal charity, a closer union with the body of the Church, and a participation in
the sufferings, prayers, and sacrifices of our brethren. Such is the mind of the Church. May we
so live “that your charity may more and more abound.” This must be accomplished primarily
by Christ. He alone can extinguish in us what is harmful to the spirit of fraternal charity. Only
He is strong enough to stifle in us the spirit of self-love. “Unless the Lord build the house, they
labor in vain that build it” (Ps 126:1).
In all His operations within our soul the Lord has but one object, and that is to destroy
self-love in us that He may make room for the love of God. He can and He will accomplish this
in us. It is for this purpose that the Church prays that we may grow in charity. We may place our
trust in the prayer of the Church, for Christ prays through her.
Prayer
O God, our refuge and strength, the very Author of godliness, hear the devout prayers of Thy
Church and grant that what we confidently ask we may efficaciously obtain. Through Christ
our Lord. Amen.
Friday
The Church prays that we may abound in charity. This “first and greatest commandment” which
the Lord gave us is continually before her eyes. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy
whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and thy whole mind. . . . Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself ” (Mt 22:37, 39). Love is the essence of perfection and the highest reach of Christian
virtue. Whether we are “upright and unspotted in the day of Christ” will depend on the measure
of our love. Love decides our destiny.
“He that abideth in charity, abideth in God and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16). Love rises above the
awareness of “me and you”; the language of love says, “And all my things are thine, and thine
are mine” ( Jn 17:10). Love gives everything. It is the supreme expression, the summation of all
that one can do for another. Through love we are united and identify ourselves with the one we
love. Because we love God, we adore Him, we glorify Him, and we honor Him as best we can.
“For he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law” (Rom 13:8). “Charity . . . is the bond of
perfection” (Col 3:14). All commandments are based on the precept of charity. There is, after
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