Lord
Jesus Christ,
the world’s true sun,
ever rising, never setting,
whose life-giving warmth
engenders, preserves,
nourishes and gladdens
all things in heaven and on earth:
shine in my soul I pray,
scatter the night of sin,
and the clouds of error.
Blaze within me,
that I may go my way without stumbling
taking no part in the shameful deeds
of those who wander in the dark,
but all my life long
walking as one native to the light.
Desiderius
Erasmus
Desiderius
Erasmus (1466–1536) was born in Rotterdam in Holland. He received
a classical education, lived for some years as a monk and
was ordained a priest. He studied theology in Paris and produced
critical editions of patristic texts and of the Greek New
Testament. He became the foremost representative of the ideals
of learning, dialogue, reasonableness, and piety that characterized
Christian humanism. He tried unsuccessfully to mediate the
controversy between Luther and Rome.
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God
can work anywhere and in any way. This examination of consciousness
simply draws together a formula for prayer about one’s life.
It is a way to be attentive to grace. Grace is the gift God
gives us to live our lives lovingly. Wherever people try to
do this—even if they never use the word God—they are people
of grace. Therefore, we can say with many mystics that grace
is everywhere. Prayer simply helps to relate us to grace, to
see God working in other people.
As we move through Boston College,
we should discover ourselves to be more attuned to grace. In
the liturgy of the Church we can find the cycle of birth, life,
death, and resurrection that marked Christ’s life and unites
him to us. In the Eucharist and in the sacrament of reconciliation
we are offered privileged times to meet Christ as the nourishing
friend and the forgiving companion of our human journey.
There is an insistence at Boston
College that any religious faith must express itself in a dedication
to work for a more just society. While it is true that not every
one is called to work directly for justice, all are called to
support this ministry through their prayer, their vote, and
their public stance. It is not a question of adding to a schedule
already burdened with obligations. It is more the taking on
of a style of life that sees our education as leading us to
God.
Discernment grows out of a sense
of knowing what in our life leads us to or away from God,
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