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The Light of the World
Without interruption she sings the praises of the Lord, rendering to Him her gratitude
for the Eucharist, the Holy Sacrament of His love.
We must understand what today’s Mass wishes to convey to us. We believe in Christ and
we wish to stand by Him, for in Christ, and in Christ alone, can we be saved. Faith in Christ
alone makes us partakers of the fruit of redemption and assures us of eternal life. It must
be a faith, however, “that worketh by charity” (Gal 5:6). “Without faith it is impossible to
please God” (Heb 11:6). But it still remains ever true that the greatest virtue is charity. “If I
should have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing”
(1 Cor 13:2).
In the ten lepers of the Gospel, we recognize ourselves. In baptism the Lord, out of pure
mercy and without any merit of ours, cleansed us from the leprosy of our sins; and time and
again He has repeated our cleansing through His priests in the second baptism, the sacrament
of penance. “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
Today we come to the Holy Sacrifice in order to thank God worthily for the infinite love
which He has shown us through so many graces. He never ceases to shower us with His graces,
even when we do not think of them or even when we have made ourselves unworthy of new
graces because of our pride and self-esteem.
We thank the heavenly Father for all His love and graces especially by offering to Him
in the Mass the flesh and blood of our Savior. “Through Him, and with Him, and in Him, be
unto Thee, O God, the Father Almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory,
world without end.”
We thank the Lord for the grace of baptism, for the sacrament of penance, and for the Holy
Eucharist with our prayers, but especially with our lives: with the resolution to be faithful to the
graces and promises of baptism. We promise to be faithful in fulfilling our duties of praying and
working, by sincerely endeavoring to keep ourselves undefiled by sin and free from voluntary
faults and imperfections, trying to spend our lives in pure love for Him.
Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, grant unto us an increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we
may obtain what Thou dost promise, make us love that which Thou dost command. Through
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Monday
The Church, in grave distress, cries to heaven: “Have regard, O Lord, to Thy covenant” (Introit).
It is a cry appealing God to be faithful to His covenant, for the Lord Himself made this covenant
with His chosen people, the Church, wherein He bound Himself to take care of them. The cause
of the Church is God’s own cause. “Have regard, O Lord, to Thy covenant, and forsake not to
the end the souls of Thy poor” (Introit).
“This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these
words” (Ex 24:8). From the beginning God made a covenant with humanity. When Adam
had sinned, He supported fallen humanity with His infinite compassion and promised the
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