9781644135945

The Light of the World
thou hast harkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded
thee that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth in thy work. With labor and toil shalt
thou eat thereof, all the days of thy life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and
thou shalt eat the herbs of the earth. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou
return to the earth out of which thou wast taken; for dust thou art and to dust thou shalt
return” (Gn 3:9 ff.). Severe punishment! Adam was cast out of Paradise and condemned
to a life of toil and suffering, and in the end to a bitter death. And what of the eternity that
was to follow this death?
Sin means a separation from God, a desertion of God and His law; it is the setting of our will
against His. Sin means so many things. It means preferring a created good to the uncreated
God, a momentary pleasure to a divine love. I place my own whim before God’s will; God
receives second place.
Today we unite ourselves with all sinful mankind and say in its name and for its intention
the prayer at the Introit of the Mass: “The sorrows of death surrounded me, the sorrows of hell
encompassed me” (Introit).
Woe to us should the Master of the vineyard fail to visit the market place and invite us
to labor in His vineyard, if He should fail to call us to membership in His holy Church. How
thankful we should be today that He has already called us! In order to show our gratitude, we
should labor faithfully in His vineyard and do His will in all things.
“In my affliction I called upon the Lord, and He heard my voice from His holy temple”
(Introit). Thus we approach the altar today and take the precious body and blood of Christ in
our hands and offer them to the heavenly Father: Father for the sake of Thy Son, have mercy,
pardon our sins, and restore us to grace. “Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant,” upon Thy
Church, upon all mankind, “and save me in Thy mercy” (Communion). “If Thou, O Lord, wilt
mark iniquities, O Lord who shall abide it?” (Tract.)
Prayer
Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord; Lord hear my voice. Let Thy ears be attentive
to the prayer of Thy servant. (Tract.)
Graciously hear, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the prayers of Thy people, that we who are
justly afflicted for our sins, may mercifully be freed for the glory of Thy name. Through Christ
our Lord. Amen. (Collect.)
Tuesday
“Go you also into My vineyard” (Gospel). In the vineyard of the Lord you will find work enough
to occupy you for the rest of your life, if you will only do the work.
God calls us first of all to work in the garden of our own soul. Sanctify and save thy soul. “For
what doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?” (Mt
16:26.) Let us look first to the salvation of our own soul, our one immortal soul. All other tasks
must give way and be subservient to this one all-important duty. Our first thought should
always be: “My soul and eternity.” We are occupied with many things. A continual round of
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