9781644135945

The Light of the World
Introduction
With the celebration of the feast of Pentecost, the mystery of the actual redemption of mankind
comes to an end. Through Christ we have received a new life, and the Holy Spirit has been
infused into our hearts in order that the life which we received at our resurrection at Easter may
be protected, developed, and brought to perfection. During the Sundays after Pentecost this
work of the Holy Spirit is accomplished. During this time we have the obligation of cooperating
with the Holy Spirit so that He may operate in us and heal us. We must fully cooperate with
Him and allow ourselves to be guided by Him so that we may be brought to spiritual maturity.
The chief means placed at our disposal for this work is the devout celebration of Mass and the
fruitful reception of Holy Communion.
Unlike the Sundays of Advent, the Sundays after Epiphany, and the Sundays of Lent, which
stand in close relationship to Easter, these Sundays after Pentecost are not closely bound
together by a close relationship. Each of these Sundays is, in a sense, a little Easter all by itself.
The central point of each of these Sundays is the celebration of the Eucharist. Throughout
the week we are occupied with our daily tasks and the obligations of our vocation in life.
Thus we are necessarily brought into contact with the world and its spirit, and can scarcely
escape being somewhat infected by that spirit. But on Sunday we withdraw from the world
for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. We seek to stir up within our souls the graces
and the blessings we received at Easter, and through our baptism and our confirmation, by
means of the reception of the Eucharist. We wish to arise again in Christ and with Christ,
and become more intimately and more perfectly united to Him. We renew our renunciation
of sin and of the spirit of the world and our fallen nature. Through the devout celebration of
the Mass we obtain renewed strength, a new joy, and an increased courage for the struggle
to live in Christ and through Christ during the weeks that lie ahead of us.
These twenty-four Sundays fit perfectly in that great procession of events which leads from
Christ’s Resurrection at Easter to His coming at the Last Judgment. Easter brought us the grace
of redemption and initiated us into the mystery of life in Christ and our incorporation in Him
and in His Church. The Lord has withdrawn from us and has ascended into heaven in order to
prepare a dwelling place for us there. “And if I shall go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again and will take you to Myself; that where I am, you also may be” ( Jn 14:3). We have been left
behind in the world; but we are prepared through the reception of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost,
and called to fulfill our mission in the world as men of the Spirit, depending on the strength of
the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Christ, and the gospel. We recall the promise that was made to us
by Christ: “I will come again and will take you to Myself.” Our hearts are filled with longing for
this return of the Lord, and we stand with our lamps in readiness. Soon the day will come when
we shall be told, “Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet Him” (Mt 25:6). He shall
come to take us to Himself, that we may all be where He is. Thus the time after Pentecost is for
the Church the period of the growth and completion of the kingdom of God on earth, and thus
is appropriately affixed to the feast of Pentecost, the day on which the Church was founded.
Three thoughts dominate the Masses said during the period after Pentecost: the remembrance
of Easter, the expectation of the return of Christ, and the battles and the sufferings that are to
be expected in the present life. We call to mind the feast of Easter and our resurrection from
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