9781644135945

The Light of the World
secret sins. She prays that God may detach our hearts from all that can bind them to earth, for
he who has been freed from the things of the earth is free with the freedom of Christ.
Key of David, come and deliver the captives from their prison. By Thy coming free us from all
that separates us from God. Bring us freedom and redemption; incline us to surrender ourselves
completely to God.
Fortunate is the soul that has been led from the prison of passion to this perfect freedom of
Christ. Such a soul breathes the air of heaven. Its will is always accomplished, for it is one with
the will of God, who ordains and permits all things. Its knowledge is heavenly and above all the
things of earth. Its freedom is deep and is assured against all disturbance. Its joy is complete in
the eternal company of God. Key of David, come, give us all the freedom to live entirely for God
and Christ, and to stand aloof from all that is not of God and of Christ our Lord.
When shall we achieve this perfect freedom? Only when in the resurrection of the dead
the last enemy has been conquered, and when the last fetter has fallen from our limbs, will our
freedom be perfect. Victory and triumph will come for the Church and her teaching when, at
the Last Judgment, she is recognized for what she really is. On that day all creation will acknowledge
her to be the mystical body of Christ, the ark which has saved mankind. Her children, too,
will triumph on that day, for Christ will say to them, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess
you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mt 25:34). “Lift up your
heads, because your redemption is at hand” (Lk 21:28).
Prayer
O Key of David, and Scepter of the house of Israel, who openeth and no man shutteth, who
shutteth and no man openeth, come and bring forth from his prison house the captive that
sitteth in darkness and in the shadow of death. Amen.
December 21, O Oriens
“O Dawn of the East, brightness of light eternal and Sun of Justice, come and enlighten all who
sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”
“You were heretofore darkness” (Eph 5:8). The sun awakens life; it brings vitality, beauty,
and health to the material world. Should this light fail, the world would languish and wither
away; all creatures would be struck with consternation. A similar happening occurs in the
soul that has been cut off from grace. That soul sits in the shadow of death. It is afflicted
by doubts, and as the light of grace wanes, it is plunged into the black night of despair. It
deteriorates morally; it trembles with anxiety at the thought of the future. Its life, yes, its
very existence is a mystery. It is uncertain of its origin, ignorant of its future. The existence
of suffering and death are for it a complete mystery. Such is the state of a soul cut off from
Christ. For ages mankind has puzzled over the mystery of life. It has worshiped at the shrine
of idols fashioned by its own hand. It has run the gamut of idolatry from the worship of
serpents to the worship of self. It has sought light in sacrifice, even in the sacrifice of human
life; yet it has found no enlightenment; it has attained no peace or freedom. The sun has
been obscured, the light of Christ has not been revealed to it.
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