From the Pastor - 'The Light of the World'

A weekly column by Father George Rutler

While people can shed the light of goodness and truth in the world, Christ is the source of that light. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). He also says, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). This means more than catching a spark of Christ the Light: it means to have Christ’s Light in the soul, enlightening the intellect and strengthening the will. This is the “state of grace” which describes any one of us who has worthily received a sacrament.

There is a Latin expression, “cupio dissolvi,” which means that I wish to dissolve, or be annihilated, expressing what St. Paul meant when he wrote: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Paradoxically, it is by this self-annihilation, that the personality becomes more vivid. This is the opposite of the “self-affirmation” conceit of our narcissistic culture, and it helps explain why the “Greatest Generation” has been followed by the “Smallest Generation.”

Isaiah says that when you help the hungry, homeless and naked, “your light shall break forth like the dawn” (Isaiah 58: 7ff). Without these “corporal works of mercy,” all spiritual aspirations are escapist sentimentality. But for the Light of Christ to shine fully, the corporal works of mercy work in tandem with the “spiritual works of mercy, which help the ignorant, doubtful and sinful while bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving offences willingly, comforting the afflicted, and praying for the living and the dead.”

When the Light of Christ is hidden, life and death alike become puzzles. Our morally darkened age thinks it has autonomy over life, and at the same time it fears death. It is appallingly logical that a culture which destroys innocent life should avoid funerals, not even knowing how properly to bury the dead.

St. Bonaventure says: “Christ is the lamp that illuminates the whole of Scripture: he is its gateway and its foundation. For this faith is behind all the supernatural enlightenments that we receive while we are still separated from the Lord and on our pilgrimage. It makes our foundation firm, it directs the light of the lamp, it leads us in through the gateway.”

On the centenary of the birth of President Reagan, words of his farewell address were recalled: “I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn't spring full bloom from my brow . . .” Moving from civic discourse to divine revelation, St. Paul communicated the Light of Christ: “I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:1-2).

Father George W. Rutler is the pastor of the Church of our Saviour in New York City. His latest book, Coincidentally: Unserious Reflections on Trivial Connections, is available from Crossroads Publishing.