9781644135945

The Light of the World
God; for his debt will never be satisfied. He has been condemned for all eternity and thrown
into the pit, “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished” (Mk 9:43). “It is a
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:31). The condemned sinner is no
longer a child of God and no longer receives grace; he has lost his right to eternal life, and he
is cast into exterior darkness, where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt 22:13). The
poor wretch cannot lift a hand to ward off his fate; he cannot make the slightest movement to
escape hell. Repentance and sorrow and even prayer are now in vain. It is too late. Hell is eternal.
God is just. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” For this reason we pray
daily and hourly in preparation for the coming judgment. We strive to keep our hearts and
our minds free from every stain of sin. We pass judgment on ourselves each day by an earnest
examination of our past life, our thoughts, our desires, our deeds, and we stand in fear of the
just anger of God. We have a salutary fear of hell. Hell is only for those who spurn God, who are
unfaithful to God, who are lacking in virtue. We strive to do penance, for God is merciful and
we trust in that mercy. Although we are weak, inclined to evil, full of faults and frailties, we do
not lose courage, for we have been humbled by our sins and we are sorry for them. We approach
the sacrament of penance asking for grace and forgiveness in the firm hope that we shall receive
a merciful judgment. We shall find mercy in proportion to the mercy we have shown to others.
“Be ye therefore merciful as your heavenly Father also is merciful” (Lk 6:36). “Blessed are the
merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt 5:7).
God is both just and merciful. In the celebration of the Mass we make complete satisfaction
to the justice of God through the blood of Christ Jesus. In Holy Communion He gives us Jesus,
the incarnate mercy of God.
Prayer
Watch over Thy household, we beseech Thee, O Lord, with continual mercy, that through Thy
protection it may be freed from all adversities and be devoted to good works. Through Christ
our Lord. Amen.
Friday
“The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king who would take an account of his servants. And
when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him that owed him ten thousand
talents” (Gospel). We ourselves are this debtor.
“One was brought to him that owed him ten thousand talents.” The poor man was unable to
repay such a great debt. In this servant we see ourselves. We owe the Lord a debt that we can
never pay. We are indebted to Him for our creation, for God preferred us to so many others
whom He might have created but did not. We are indebted to Him for the grace of preservation
on the earth; He could allow us to sink back into nothingness if He willed. We are indebted to
Him for our body and our soul, for our powers and abilities, our health, our life, and for whatever
good we possess. We are indebted to Him for the gift of His divine Son, for the grace of
salvation, for our dignity as children of God, for the grace of sharing in the life of God already
here on earth and eventually in eternity, and for the glorification of our bodies and souls. To
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