9781644135945

The Light of the World
As our high priest our Savior recited this prayer: “Father, I will that where I am, they also
whom Thou hast given Me may be with Me. That they may see My glory which Thou hast
given Me, because Thou hast loved Me before the creation of the world” ( Jn 17:24). The
Father promised that we shall be taken to that place where Jesus is in the glory of the Father.
Through our baptism we have become the children of God, “and if sons, heirs also, heirs
indeed of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:17). The Lord has prepared a place for us
in heaven, that “our fellowship may be with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 Jn
1:3); that is, we are to possess and enjoy the life and the fruits of the three divine persons, to
see God, to repose eternally in the presence of God, to love Him. The joy of God will then be
our joy; the life of God will be our life. We shall share a perfect life, in which all our powers
will find their most perfect exercise and complete fulfillment. If we could only perceive what
things God has prepared for us, what great efforts we would exert to obtain this one thing
necessary! Father, grant us to desire with all the powers of our soul the things which Thou
hast promised us. Let us forget all worldly things, all that is temporal and passing, and exert
ourselves to obtain those things that await us.
“Grant that our hearts may be set where true joys are to be found” (Collect). The baptized
soul must linger here on earth, but he allows transitory things to pass by as if they were
no concern of his. He possesses them and he makes use of them as if he possessed them
not and used them not. All his powers and thoughts and endeavors are concentrated on
eternity, on the world above the stars. He lives entirely for the things that are to come when
this world has passed away. His mind is occupied with the consideration of future joys, and
of the perfect and glorious happiness of eternity. He is assured of possessing it because he
possesses the Holy Ghost, and because he has become the son of God through his baptism.
It is guaranteed to him by the resurrection and ascension of the Lord, who is the head of
the body into which he has been incorporated. “But God (who is rich in mercy), for His
exceeding charity wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together in Christ (by whose grace you are saved) and hath raised us up together and
hath made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus. That He might show
in the ages to come the abundant riches of His grace in His bounty towards us in Christ
Jesus” (Eph 2:4–7).
What value can the things of this world have for him who is firmly rooted in a world that
is above all transitory, temporal things? He can afford to wait, for the world can never give him
peace or enjoyment. He exerts his energies and directs his impulses to rise to higher things, to
obtain the one thing necessary, to obtain those things which have a lasting value. Earthly possessions,
difficulties and hardships, pain and disappointments, cannot deter him. His treasure
is buried in the field of heaven; he has discovered one precious pearl, and he sacrifices all else
to purchase this field, this pearl, this blessed eternity. The thought of eternity gives him the
strength to sacrifice and struggle, to pardon injuries, and to suffer in patience. He acquires a
zeal for the salvation of immortal souls. He learns to sacrifice himself in works of charity, to
acquire for his brothers and sisters in Christ the riches of eternal life. The thought of eternity
gives him a driving force that is stronger than the memory of earthly joys, more insistent than
the cravings of nature, more persistent than self, more enduring than death. “Grant to Thy
people . . . to desire that which Thou dost promise.”
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