9781644135945

The Light of the World
believed that it could stand — and yet it fell. Did not the people themselves have God as their
leader in the desert in the pillar of fire; did they not have the ark of the covenant, sacrifices, and
a divinely appointed leader, Moses? Yet despite all this, the people fell in the wilderness. Can
we expect, therefore, that baptism and our membership in the Church of Christ, our Christian
name, will protect us from mishaps and eternal perdition? “He that thinketh himself to stand,
let him take heed lest he fall.”
With this thought in mind we proceed gravely today to the celebration of Mass. What was
planted in our souls in baptism and confirmation must be preserved, tested, and employed
in severe struggles. On entering the house of God we realize our weakness and the necessity
of fighting; but looking up to the majestic picture of our Lord greeting us, His children, we
say: “Behold, God is my helper, and the Lord is the protector of my soul; turn back the evils
upon my enemies, and cut them off in Thy truth, O Lord my protector” (Introit). We pray
that He may help us against those enemies who, according to the Epistle, felled the people of
Israel—worldliness, idolatry, fornication, and murmuring. Putting this request into the Kyrie,
the Gradual, and the Offertory, we are aware that we ourselves are the wanderers in the desert
mentioned in the Epistle.
We humbly profess that the Savior has often good reason to weep over our faithlessness,
too, telling us: “If thou also hadst known, and that in this day, the things that are to thy peace.”
We believe in His merciful love for our souls, professing, therefore, in the Credo that “for us
men and for our salvation He came down from heaven, . . . was crucified also for us, . . . and was
buried.” At the Consecration He comes to us and on the altar renews His death on the cross.
We now lay our hearts on the paten, renouncing all perverted desires, all idolatry, all fornication,
and all murmuring. Thus we sincerely turn to our Lord, confessing: “The justices of the Lord
are right, rejoicing hearts, and His judgments sweeter than honey and the honeycomb; for Thy
servant keepeth them” (Offertory).
Meditation
An exalted dignity has come to us in baptism and confirmation. The liturgy of the week after
Easter and after Pentecost never tires of reminding us of the riches of our state. Today it incites
us to be faithful to the baptismal graces and our Christian name. “He that thinketh himself to
stand, let him take heed lest he fall” (Epistle). We are free to misuse graces and become faithless
to our call and election; but the result of such action will be eternal death.
“He that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall.” The Epistle and the gospel
direct our view to the chosen people made rich in graces by the Lord. By the power of His word
the Lord brought to an end their slavery in Egypt and protected them with special providence,
helping them with many miracles. He led the people through the Red Sea. He made His covenant
with them at Mount Sinai, revealing His will in the Ten Commandments; He protected
them from the parching heat of the sun in the desert by the pillar of a cloud, and guided them
at night by means of a pillar of fire. He provided them with an abundant supply of water coming
forth from the rock, and fed them daily with manna. When at last they reached the Jordan, they
witnessed new miracles; without being hampered by the waters of the river they crossed the
bed of the Jordan. Praying and praising God, they marched around the walls of Jericho and
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