9781644135945

The Christmas Cycle
there, no malicious enemy may enter in. The heart in which He dwells may turn to Him and
cry, “Lord, help us.” Such a soul does not hope or cry out in vain. But Christ will remain only
in those souls who fulfill the great commandment, “Love one another. For he that loveth his
neighbor hath fulfilled the law.”
Meditation
This Sunday brings us to another manifestation of Christ. Christ lives in His Church. He governs
and guides it, and protects and helps the head of the Church, as He directs the storm-tossed
boat of Peter to the shores of eternity. Rejoice, O holy Church, for your divine and mighty King
is with you. “God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be moved; God will help it in the morning
early” (Ps 45:6).
“When Jesus entered into the boat, His disciples followed Him” (Gospel). In the sacred liturgy
the Church is the boat into which Christ entered. “The Lord hath built up Sion; and He shall be
seen in His glory” (Gradual). She is filled with the strength of God through her possession of
the body of Christ. He, the Lord, is her head. He is her life and fills her with His own strength,
holiness, and truth. Christ is the real person of the Church, in a most intimate and substantial
union with her. Anyone who desires the truth and grace of Christ, who seeks the forgiveness
of sins, peace of heart, and the fullness of all good things, will find them only where Christ is,
in His Church. “His disciples followed Him” into the boat. We are His disciples and we have
entered into His boat, the Church, to cross the tempestuous sea that separates us from eternity.
He is there in our midst. He is among us through His representatives, the pope, the bishops,
and the priests. He makes His presence felt by means of His sacraments and the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass. His grace operates in us secretly and mysteriously and gives us divine life as the
vine gives life to its branches.
“A great tempest arose in the sea so that the boat was covered with waves.” From the beginning
the history of the Church has been a stormy one. The kingdom of God, the true Church,
will always be attacked in this world by storms and waves. It will always be the target of suspicion,
calumny, hatred, and persecution. The mighty ones of the world, the unbelieving, the immature
scientist, the prejudiced historian, the godless press, will all hurl themselves against the boat of
Christ. If the Church were not exposed to these storms and trials, if she were not hated and not
humiliated, suppressed and persecuted, she would not be the bride of Christ, the crucified One.
“If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” ( Jn 15:20). The fisherman’s boat, the
Church, is exposed to the winds and the waves, the persecutions and the injustices of the world;
but we need not fear, for there in the boat is Christ with us, His apostles and disciples.
In the daily celebration of the Mass, Christ enters into the boat, His Church, with renewed love
and majesty. He never leaves her. “Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation
of the world” (Mt 28:20). Thus each day we behold a new epiphany, a new appearance of the
King, Christ the Lord, in His Church.
“And His disciples followed Him.” We are the disciples, and in following Him into the
boat we are taught to undergo the trials, storms, temptations, and sufferings of life. This is a
trying experience, but we have Him always with us, and we may turn to Him whenever we
have need of Him. “Lord, save us, we perish.” In the time of our necessity He arises from His
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