9781644135945

The Light of the World
bliss of heaven already here on earth, a foretaste of the life which awaits those who truly belong
to Christ. We “taste and see that the Lord is sweet”; we seek “first the kingdom of God,” that
life which is in Christ. “How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!” How delightful and
satisfying is this life in Christ! “He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much
fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If any one abide not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a
branch, and shall wither” ( Jn 15:5 ff.). Therefore “my soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of
the Lord,” for union with Christ; “for better is one day in Thy courts above thousands” (Introit).
“Walk in the spirit.” The Epistle knows the way both of the flesh and of the spirit. Because
life means a long struggle, the Holy Spirit has been given to us on Pentecost, on the day of our
confirmation, in order that He may help us in the fight against the flesh with its concupiscences.
He gives us strength to enable us to crucify the flesh, thus to harvest the fruits of the Spirit,
which are “charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty,
continency, chastity” (Epistle). It is impossible to serve two masters; we will serve either
the flesh or the spirit. At the hour of our baptism we determined to walk in the spirit; for us there
is, therefore, only a life for God, in Christ and His Spirit. Though we must live in the world, take
care of our family and community, work for our daily bread, we must always “walk in the spirit.”
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice; and all these things shall be added unto
you. . . . Your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things” (Gospel). We must seek
first the things that belong to the kingdom of God; but “the kingdom of God is within you”
(Lk 17:21). This kingdom consists in a living union with God dwelling and working within
our souls and in a filial and intimate conversation with the Father, who is so near to us. “Your
Father knoweth that you have need of all these things.” If we have no reason to worry about
material things, our only duty should be to look after the things of our spiritual life. Material
things, however, “shall be added unto you,” as the fruitfulness and blessings of the interior life.
Everything depends on God’s blessing. “Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain
that build it” (Ps 126:1).
“Be not solicitous therefore, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith
shall we be clothed, for after all these things do the heathens seek” (Gospel). To be solicitous
about life is a pagan attitude. A Christian has faith. The chief difference between a Christian
and a non-Christian is that the Christian has faith in the loving providence of God the Father.
To be a Christian means to have a blind confidence in God by despising the world and material
goods, and by trusting instead in that seemingly uncertain, yet divinely safe providence of the
Father. “Blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed” ( Jn 20:29).
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice; and all these things shall be added unto
you.” It is our blessed duty to seek this kingdom of God by blindly committing our life to His
providence, by trusting that He will arrange all things for our good. When we have reached
the point where God and His will alone determine our actions, where our will and desires
have become one with His, we will have reached a state which is happier and more satisfying
than any other happiness in this world. This state of resignation we can reach only by faith and
confidence, by childlike devotion and love.
Our Holy Mother the Church is our model, for she walks in this spirit despite the fact that
she is oppressed on all sides. Without solicitude she seeks first the kingdom of God. Day after
day, year after year, she celebrates the liturgy calmly and joyfully. She daily administers Holy
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