Me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is sweet, and My burden is light.”
COMMENTARY.
Test of Divine Doctrine. He whose heart is bent upon serving God, doing His will and practising the moral precepts of our Lord, will soon recognise and feel within his mind and heart that the doctrine proposed by our Lord is and must be divine. The true faith comes to those of good will. Virtue protects, increases and strengthens faith; whereas vice weakens it, and produces an aversion to its grand teachings, which leads the sinner ultimately into unbelief.
True light. The light of life is the faith taught by Jesus Christ. Without this faith nobody can be saved. True enlightenment, certainty and conviction can only come by faith. Darkness, uncertainty, and the want of all comfort follow unbelief.
Self denial is necessary for every Christian, for without self-denial there can exist no virtue. Our Lord Jesus Himself went before us to show' us the way, and His whole Life on earth was one great act of self-renunciation and self-denial.
The poverty of our Lord was very great. He was born in a stable, and possessed no dwelling-place of His own all the time He dwelt on earth; and He often spent the night praying in the open air. He wandered about as a stranger, living on alms. His only death-bed was the Cross (on which, in very truth, He had not where to lay His Head), and His Body was buried in another man’s sepulchre. The words: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” apply to all true followers of Jesus Christ.
The love of God above all things. Because Jesus is God and has loved us even unto death, we, on our side, must love Him above all things — more than father or mother, more than our own lives. He who loves this life more than God, and who, if the choice is given to him, forsakes God rather than lose his life, is sure to lose his life in eternity. But he who esteems this life as little compared with eternal life and will give it for Christ’s sake, will certainly gain everlasting life. The Church teaches that the holy martyrs pass straight to heaven, without tasting of Purgatory. “If those who prefer this earthly life (the most precious of natural gifts) to the service of God, forfeit all claim to eternal life, how much more do those endanger their salvation who refuse to mortify the lusts of the flesh, and give up faith, love, and the service of God for the basest pleasures and possessions of this world!” (St. Chrysostom.)
Temperance and fortitude. He who washes to win heaven must steadfastly restrain his evil inclinations and passions, fight against all
