9781644135945

The Light of the World
The life of the spirit is great and exalted. Poor in its outward appearance, it is inwardly rich
in blessing; for even though it is unpretentious and hidden, it nevertheless exceeds all things
which are not of God. It makes us grow in the life of God and brings God Himself into our
hearts. Its fruits are a holy freedom, peace and security in God. Who could be happier, freer,
stronger, and more at peace with himself and his fellow men than the man who is governed by
the Spirit? He lives God’s life.
Prayer
Grant to us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, the spirit to think and do always such things as are right;
that we who cannot exist without Thee, may be able to live according to Thy will. Through
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Monday
“We are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh” (Epistle). In baptism and confirmation
we have received the Spirit that dwells within us, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit.
He renews within us that mind and direction of will which makes us look up to God and His
goodness. It is especially He who united us in baptism with the living Christ, so that our communion
with Christ is determined according to our possession of the Holy Spirit. If anyone
does not possess the Spirit of Christ, he cannot belong to Him.
“You have received the spirit of adoption of sons” (Epistle). The very moment we received
baptism, sanctifying grace entered into our soul, which meant that the Holy Ghost took up
His abode there. He produced within us the life of grace just as He produced the miracle of the
Incarnation by descending upon the Virgin of Nazareth. Christ must again be born within us.
“How shall this be done? . . . The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most
High shall overshadow thee” (Lk 1:34 f.) at the hour of grace, the moment of our baptism. From
now on He dwells in our souls, drawing them into the stream of love that goes forth from the
Father to the Son and from the Son to the Father. The Holy Ghost directs that stream of love,
which is Himself, to us mortal beings. “The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by
the Holy Ghost, who is given to us” (Rom 5:5). By virtue of that love given to us, we become
members of Christ and are incorporated in Him, who is the head, that we may live a new life in
Christ. We become children of the Father and go to the Father through Christ. The Spirit given
to us transforms us, drawing us into the love with which Christ, the Son of God, loves the Father
and makes us partakers of the life of the Father. We also can say: “I love the Father” ( Jn 14:31),
for the Spirit living within us is the Spirit of love, Christ’s love for the Father. Henceforth the
law of our life is the same law which guides the life of Christ: “I love the Father.”
“The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light” (Gospel).
They live a life on a natural plane, thinking in a human and worldly way. They regard as happy
those who have the money to buy the pleasures and honors of life, who are respected by their
fellow men and have influential positions in society. Guided by such a worldly attitude of mind,
they strive to obtain wealth, prosperity, and honor, and live only according to the dictates of
their temporal interests. They are symbolized by the unjust steward of the Gospel. But those
who have received the spirit of sonship, the baptized and the confirmed, are determined and
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