The Light of Truly Believing Souls
At Easter it was
the Lord's resurrection which was the cause of our joy; our present rejoicing
is the Lord's ascension into heaven. We
are commemorating that day on which our poor human nature was carried up, in
Christ, above all the hosts in heaven, above all the ranks of angels, beyond
the highest heavenly powers to the very throne of God the Father. In this act, the grace of God shows itself
still more marvelous when, in spite of Christ's withdrawal from men's sight,
faith does not fail, hope is not forsaken, charity does not grow old.
Such faithfulness
could never be born in our hearts, nor could anyone be justified by faith, if
our salvation lay only in what was visible.
Instead, through the grace of God, great minds and the light of truly
believing souls put unhesitating faith in what is not seen with the bodily eye.
Even the blessed apostles, though they had
been strengthened by so many miracles and instructed by so much teaching, took
fright at the cruel suffering of the Lord's passion and could not accept his
resurrection without hesitation. Yet
they made such progress through his ascension that they now found joy in what
terrified them before. They were able to
fix their minds on Christ's divinity since their bodily eyes no longer hindered
them from turning all their attention to the realization that he had not left
his Father when he came down to earth, nor had he abandoned his disciples when
he ascended into heaven.
Our Redeemer's
visible presence has passed into the sacraments. Faith is nobler and stronger because sight
has been replaced by a doctrine whose authority is accepted by believing
hearts, enlightened from on high. This
faith was increased by the Lord's ascension and strengthened by the gift of the
Spirit; it would remain unshaken by fetters and imprisonment, exile and hunger,
fire and ravening beasts, and the most refined tortures ever devised by brutal
persecutors.
Let us follow the
example of those throughout the world- women no less than men, tender girls as
well as boys-who have given their life's blood in the struggle for this
faith. It is a faith that has driven out
devils, healed the sick and raised the dead.
And for this faith, over 200 young girls in Africa have been kidnapped
and held, this month, this year. What do
we do for our faith? Are we truly
believing souls? (gleaned from a sermon
by Saint Leo the Great, pope) kvs
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