Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, you are the cornerstone of the kingdom, and faith is the heavenly light that radiates from your face. I acknowledge faith as a participation in your own divine knowledge, a beam of light imprinted upon the soul to dispel the shadows of this world.
I ask for the “science of the saints” and the “science of salvation” to enlighten my heart. Grant me the grace of a willing subjection to your truths, that I may continue in myself the same submission you showed to your Heavenly Father.
Amen.
Mark 10:17-27
17And when he was gone forth into the way, a certain man running up and kneeling before him, asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may receive life everlasting? 18 And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? None is good but one, that is God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, bear not false witness, do no fraud, honour thy father and mother. 20But he answering, said to him: Master, all these things I have observed from my youth. 21And Jesus looking on him, loved him, and said to him: One thing is wanting unto thee: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. 22Who being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23And Jesus looking round about, saith to his disciples: How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the kingdom of God! 24And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus again answering, saith to them: Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches, to enter into the kingdom of God? 25It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26Who wondered the more, saying among themselves: Who then can be saved? 27And Jesus looking on them, saith: With men it is impossible; but not with God: for all things are possible with God.
St. John Eudes
St. John Eudes describes faith as a “science of salvation” and a “beam radiating from the face of God”. St. Anthony Zaccaria, who promoted frequent Communion and the “Science of the Cross”, understood that faith is a “communication of the divine light” infused into Christ’s soul. The Rich Young Man in the Gospel had the external law but lacked the interior “submission without darkness” that St. John Eudes describes. Anthony Zaccaria’s life was an evaluation of this interior light; he sought to “express and fulfill” Christ’s own subjection to the Father’s truths.
Faith is described as a “divine character”, a heavenly beam radiating from the face of God that imprints His light upon the human soul as a spiritual seal. This “science of the saints” is a direct continuation of the submission and knowledge infused into the soul of Christ at His Incarnation, acting to dispel our internal shadows.
“Faith is… a divine character by which the light of the countenance of God is imprinted upon the soul. It’s a communication and a kind of projection of the divine light and knowledge that were infused into the holy soul of Jesus.”
— St. John Eudes
Mary and the Magisterium
Through the Incarnation, the “inaccessible light” of the Father became a tangible reality in the person of Jesus, nurtured by Mary. St. John Eudes speaks of faith as a “divine character” imprinted upon the soul, a “science of the saints”. Mary was the first to receive this science, submitting her mind perfectly to the lights imparted by the Father. In her motherhood, the “projection of divine light” was no longer a distant abstraction but a physical inhabitant. She transformed the concept of God’s hiddenness into a tangible presence, showing that the soul’s capacity to serve God is expanded through the reception of His Truth.
- Is my faith a "participation in the eternal light," or is it a mere intellectual assent?
- In what area of my life do I need the "science of salvation" to dispel my current shadows?
Closing Prayer
Divine Master, let the light of Thy mind dispel every shadow of error within my heart.
Amen.
