9781644135945

The Light of the World
Prayer
O God, the protector of all who hope in Thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is
holy; multiply Thy mercies upon us, that having Thee for our ruler and Thee for our guide,
we may so make use of temporal goods that we lose not those which are everlasting. Through
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Monday
“At that time, the publicans and sinners drew near unto Jesus, to hear him; and the Pharisees
and scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them” (Gospel).
Jesus receiveth sinners. The Son of God “for us men and for our salvation came down from
heaven.” This truth we acknowledge in the Credo of the Mass. Many men are of the opinion
that the Son of God came down from heaven principally in order that He might redeem mankind
from sin. If Adam had not sinned, the Son of God would never have appeared on earth;
in that event there would never have been a Christ, a Christmas, an Easter, a tabernacle, or
the Mass. But “the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk 19:10).
He came for the benefit of those who needed a physician (Lk 5:31). In His loving mercy He
receives the publicans and the penitent Magdalen. Even for the adulterous woman whom the
Pharisees cast at His feet, He had words of mercy. How graphically He described His love
of sinners in the parable of the Good Shepherd and the prodigal son! What a holocaust He
made of Himself for sinners through His suffering and death! We should not wonder, then,
that He received sinners. He had been risen from the dead only a short while when He gave
us on that first Easter evening the sacrament of penance. Christ hates sin with a divine hatred,
but He loves the sinner and desires to save him. How often we also have experienced the fact
that He receives sinners! He has shown us this mercy in the sacrament of baptism, in the
sacrament of penance, and in the multitude of inspirations and graces He has given us. What
would have become of us had He not been disposed to receive sinners with such a divine and
infinite love? What would have happened to us if He had abandoned us? Indeed, we have so
much for which to be thankful.
“Gather from this fact that true justice has compassion, but false justice has scorn. Although
even the just are rightly aroused against the sinner, it is one thing when done as a mark of pride
and another when done out of zeal for discipline. . . . They inflict punishment, but in the spirit
of love. Although outwardly they treat them severely, yet inwardly they preserve sweetness
through charity. They prefer to themselves those whom they must correct, and hold them
whom they judge to be better than themselves. . . . On the contrary, they who are accustomed
to pride themselves on their false justice, despise everyone else, having no compassion on
the weak. The more they believe themselves to be just, the greater sinners they become. The
Pharisees who reproached the Lord because He received sinners, were of this number” (St.
Gregory; lessons at Matins).
“Let them trust in Thee who know Thy name, O Lord, for Thou hast not forsaken them that
seek Thee; sing ye to the Lord, who dwelleth in Sion [the tabernacle]; for He hath not forgotten
the cry of the poor” (Offertory).
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