423 part ii: meditations for more solemn feasts one voluntary act of penance can be worth a thousand punishments in the other life. Walk, therefore; walk while you have the light! 3. “That the darkness does not overtake you” (Jn 12:35). Consider that you alone are to blame whenever the light of your soul is snatched away and darkness sets in. For as soon as you return from the sacred table you busy yourself with so many worthless matters and having barely withdrawn one foot from the Sun you already glide headlong into the abyss of night because you do not take any care either to keep in mind the Divine Presence or to increase your perfection. Therefore Jesus, the Sun of Justice, rightly cautions you today that you should walk carefully in order not to fall into darkness. You should make an effort, therefore, not to be distracted willingly or overwhelmed by the clouds of useless worries. The lost light returns slowly, and what you have first received gratuitously, if lost, can be barely regained afterwards through many prayers. Come now, my soul, gaze attentively at the Sun, lest the darkness engulf you. FOR THE FEAST OF ST. MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST Before Holy Communion 1. “[Jesus] saw a man sitting in the custom house” (Mt 9:9) [DRB]. Consider that by using the word “man,” St. Matthew wanted to indicate his insignificance. When the others [f.135v] called him a “tax collector,” he called himself only a man, because he knew well that one who is a man, is a sinner. Indeed, he would not be counted among them, to whom it was said: “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you” (Ps 82:6). The only reason he was called a tax collector is because he managed a tax office and collected tributes and taxes from the Jews, to which they thought they were not obliged, as the chosen people.
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