9781644135945

The Light of the World
But they murmur against Him and reproach Him; they determine to cast Him out of the
temple and to put Him to death. He interferes with their plans: “And leaving them, He went
out of the city.”
“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found.” He is here and may be found, but those who
buy and sell in the temple will not find Him, for they are too preoccupied with other things.
He is here, but the Pharisee will not find Him; rather, he deliberately turns from Him. Let this
warning guide us during Lent. Only those will find Him who seek Him sincerely. Not only those
who offer Him active opposition, but those also who fail to look for Him will be condemned.
“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found.” “Behold now is the acceptable time, behold, now
is the day of salvation” (Epistle, first Sunday of Lent). Now, during Lent, the Lord is near. Seek
Him while He may be found.
“And there came to Him the blind and the lame in the temple, and He healed them.”
At His approach the children cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” To the Pharisees,
who were indignant at this acclamation and who asked Him, “Hearest Thou what these
say?” He answered: “Yea. Have you never read: Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings
Thou hast perfected praise?” (Gospel.) The blind, the lame, and the children recognize
Him when He comes. They seek Him and gather around Him. They are not absorbed by
the cares and occupations of the world; the noise and bustle and unrest of the world has
not destroyed their sense of values. In the eyes of the world they are the outcasts, the useless,
the worthless. They can produce nothing, and yet they seek the Lord. With faith and
confidence they gather around Him, crying out their hosanna. Should we not be as the
blind, the lame, and the children? When shall we put aside our vain occupations? When
shall we see the emptiness and vanity of all transitory things? When shall we find the grace
to withdraw from the busy market place of the world to see the Lord? “Hosanna to the
Son of David. Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord,” we sing now and at the
Consecration of the Mass. Under the inspiration of grace we repeat this song at the time
of Holy Communion. But we must renounce what is not of God and whatever hinders our
approach to God. We must renew our baptismal vows. “I do renounce sin,” we said at our
baptism; and we must now renew our promise and turn with our whole heart to the Lord.
“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found.”
“And leaving them, He went out of the city into Bethania, and remained there” (Gospel). The
Lord comes to all during the lenten season; but He will turn away from the man who trifles
with grace. Will He come a second time?
“He went out of the city into Bethania.” The Lord is not pleased with the man who is absorbed
by the business of the world. He turns away from the man who is excessively concerned
about the things of time, who is enslaved by worldly passions. In the heart of such a man there
is no room for God. “You have made [My house] a den of thieves.” The soul of the Christian is
the temple of God, a house of prayer, and it must not be profaned by sin or worldly occupations.
Christ came to take up His abode in our souls and thus to complete the work of His redemption.
We must assist Him by purifying our hearts, by casting out of this temple the idols that make it
a place of pagan worship. Our soul must be a house of prayer. It must reproduce the quiet and
peace of Bethania, a penitential spirit, a spirit of recollection and seclusion. Let us then seek
the Lord while He may be found.
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