9781644135945

The Light of the World
will, His working within us. “Out of the mouths of infants and of sucklings Thou hast
perfected praise” (Ps 8:3).
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.
Friday
“You have received the spirit of adoption of sons” (Epistle). We therefore are no mere strangers
and guests who pass by, but members of the family of God, of that house whose foundation
has been laid by Christ. These inexhaustible riches of supernatural sonship have been bestowed
upon us through baptism and confirmation. Unfortunately we think too little of them.
Our being children of God is the root and foundation of all virtues and of all sanctity. The gifts
of nature are many and differ in each person. Grace builds upon nature, ennobling our natural
faculties, talents, and abilities. Grace, therefore, differs in each soul. “To every one of us is given
grace, according to the measure of the giving of Christ” (Eph 4:7). In Christ’s flock every sheep
has its own name. The Lord knows each one and calls His own sheep by name. Each soul receives
proper graces, and each has to comply, in its own way, with the graces and intentions of God.
The more the soul gives itself up to the tender working of the Holy Ghost in a way appropriate
to its individual nature, the more it will be transformed into Christ, the Son of God, and
become like Him. If it has heeded the call of the Holy Spirit by making good use of the graces
bestowed upon it, it has attained sanctity. The first link in the chain of graces and gifts which
God gives us, however, is that merciful regard for us by which He predestined us from all eternity
to become His children. This predestination is the dawn of all the mercies God wills and
intends to bestow on us. The grace of supernatural sonship with which God enriched us, the
foundation of which the Son of God laid through His Incarnation and which He bestowed upon
each one of us at the moment of our baptism, is the basis for all God’s communications with the
soul and for all the subsequent illuminations and inspirations of grace. Without this grace even
a wealth of natural gifts, the most splendid accomplishments, and admirable spiritual greatness
is worthless for eternal life. The one grace of being a child of God is worth more than the whole
universe (St. Thomas); it is our boast and our pride. By making us His children, God has made
us participants in His own divine nature. Being born of God, we possess His nature in so far as
the divine nature can be imparted to a created being. Transcending our own nature, we share
God’s life, His knowledge and truth, His love, His perfections, His bliss, His beatitude, and His
glory; now, indeed, only as in a mirror, but someday in the perfection of the beatific vision.
To be the children of God means to be His friends. Friendship calls for intimacy, the communion
of hearts. The friend reproduces, as it were, his own person in his friend. Wishing his
friend the same good he desires for himself, the friend does everything possible for him. He
wants to see him and exchanges ideas with him, and he talks with him about matters of common
interest. Friends understand each other, sharing joys and sorrows; they grow into one, as it
were, and are animated by one soul. We are the children of God, not merely friends. The grace
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