examination of the heart 220 Here you see the difference between the servants of God and the servants of the world: The former lament, the latter laugh; the former sigh, the latter play or sing; the former are overcome by mourning, the latter bubble with joy. But what is the end of the one and the other? You know that joy ends in mourning (cf. Prov 14:13). You are also not ignorant of the fact that sorrow is turned into joy (cf. Jn 16:20; Jer 31:13). As the king-prophet88 teaches, the servants of the world “spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol” (Job 21:13). But the God-Man, the Divine Wisdom, whose words are immutable, whose promises are most certain, says to His servants: “So you have sorrow now; but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (Jn 16:22). O happy servants of God whose sorrow led them to penance! Blessed are those who mourn, because they shall be comforted! (cf. Mt 5:5) Blessed are those who went from the house of joy to the house of mourning (cf. Eccl 7:3). Come on! Give infinite thanks to this Lord, whom you hold in your heart, that by the power of His Providence He led you out of the great rejoicing of Babylon to the weeping daughter of Zion. Here, you shall be happy if only you never seek nor even dream about the joys of this world, which are so greatly condemned by Christ. FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER89 Before Holy Communion 1. “But now I am going to [H]im who sent [M]e” (Jn 16:5). Consider that the reason Our Savior delayed, and did not ascend to Heaven at the moment of His glorious return to life, but remained for a longer while with His disciples, was so that 88 This is a mistake by St. Stanislaus, as the following words were said by Job, not King David. 89 In the Novus Ordo this Sunday is the “Fifth Sunday of Easter.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mw==