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The Time After Pentecost
“The day of Christ” will be a day of triumph for the first-born from the dead, and for us,
whom He has recalled to life, giving us a proof of His justice and mercy, of His power and
holiness.
Prayer
Arouse, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the wills of Thy faithful, that by more earnestly seeking the
fruit of the divine work, they may receive more abundantly the gifts of Thy loving kindness.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Wednesday
Christ is coming to judge the heavens and the earth; “For we must all be manifested before the
judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the proper things of the body according as
he hath done, whether it be good or evil” (2 Cor 5:10). The liturgy beseeches almighty God to
give us the grace to “walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing” (Epistle). If we have done so,
we can go to meet our judge without fear.
“Walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing.” The Epistle instructs us how we may thus walk:
“Be filled with the knowledge of the will of God, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” It
is the will of Holy Mother the Church that we be filled with a spiritual and supernatural wisdom
and foresight. She wishes us to understand what she intends for us and does for us. She
would have us grow in our understanding of the mysteries of the incarnation, the redemption,
the operation of grace in our souls, our incorporation in Christ, and our participation in divine
life, grace, and eternal life. According to the mind of the liturgy, the Christian should live in a
world of the spirit, so “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto
you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph 1:17). Through this
wisdom and understanding we have “knowledge of the will of God”; that is, knowledge of the
benevolent providence of God, which determined from all eternity to send His divine Son, that
He might through His suffering and death reconcile us to the Father and adopt us as the very
sons of God. Inspired by such a knowledge, we “walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing.”
A profound knowledge of what God is, and what He did for us, and what He will yet do for
us in eternity, cannot but influence our lives. It will make us “fruitful in every good work, . . .
strengthened with all might according to the power of His glory, in all patience and long suffering
with joy” (Epistle). We should first know God, what He is, and what He means to us, and then
only should we look upon ourselves. Only then shall we acquire a joyful consciousness of our
participation in the life of God.
“Giving thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of
the saints in light; who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us
into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the
remission of sins” (Epistle). We have received three great graces from God. Though born into
the world as children of anger and destruction, we become partakers of the lot of the saints in
light, since we share the light of faith here on earth and are one day to share in the light of glory
and blessedness in heaven. Although we were born into the world as the slaves of Satan, God
has freed us from the domination of the powers of darkness and has made us members of the
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