9781644135945

The Light of the World
of the Son of His love” (Epistle). We cry out with joy: “Thou hast delivered us, O Lord, from
them that afflict us. . . . In Thy name we will give praise forever” (Gradual). Then the marvelous
scene of the return of Christ is spread out before our eyes. When His time has come, the Son
of Man will return with great power and glory. “He shall send His angels; and they shall gather
together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest parts of the heavens to the utmost
bounds of them” (Gospel). We receive this joyful message with a devout Credo: “I believe. . . .
I expect the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”
Now we come to the Offertory, and our sentiments are expressed in the Secreta: “Be propitious,
O Lord, to our supplications, and accepting the offerings and prayers of Thy people, turn all our
hearts unto Thee, that being delivered from earthly desires, we may pass on to heavenly desires.”
Together with our offerings of bread and wine, we lay our hearts upon the paten. When we make
this offering we detach our hearts from all “earthly desires,” from all evil inclinations, from all
inordinate attachment to earthly goods, be they money, possessions, honors, position, or health.
The bread, which was confected from many grains of wheat, and the wine, which is mixed with
a few drops of water, are symbols of our union with Christ and the Church to form one unified
and perfect sacrifice to the Father. We have been “delivered from earthly desires” and “pass on
to heavenly desires” through the offering of this Holy Sacrifice. We wish to conform to the will
of God in thought and in inclination, in wish and desire, in will and work, and to be “filled with
the knowledge of the will of God in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that [we] may
walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing
in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to the power of His glory”
(Epistle). The Lord comes to us at the time of the consecration in power and glory, to fill us
with His spirit and life, and to offer us as a “pure, holy, and unspotted victim” to the Father. In
this sacrifice we become one bread, one body, one kingdom of Christ, offered to the Father. In
this kingdom we shall be united in thought and desire to form one kingdom of grace and love.
Meditation
“They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty”
on the day when Christ returns to judge the world (Gospel). It is the day of the general judgment.
“He shall come to judge the living and the dead” (Apostles’ Creed). The Lord still lives. He is
not only the Redeemer of men; He is also the end of all creation. Once He appeared in the world
in poverty and lowliness; but He will come again with power and majesty. “The moon shall not
give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be moved; and
then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven [the cross], and then shall all the tribes of
the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with much
power and majesty” (Gospel). It is the day of Christ’s triumph, and He will be glorified before
all men. First He will recall the dead to life by the power of His word, and they shall rise from
their graves to appear before His judgment seat. They will not appear as individuals, for their
fate has been settled at the time of the particular judgment and will not be changed; they will
appear rather as part of the whole human race; they will be grouped according to their ideologies,
politics, errors, according to their culture and age. They will be obliged to reveal their true
character, whether they are good grain or useless chaff. They will have to confess whether they
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