Illuminating The Minds Of The Worldly With The Light Of Christ.By:C.C.

``But, sad to say, a little pleasure dominates the minds of the worldly, driving out of their hearts all heavenly desires, to such an extent that many imagine that joy is to be found in living under such sensual pleasures. That is because they have neither seen nor tasted the sweetness of God and the inward joy of virtue. But those who utterly despise the world and strive to live under holy discipline experience the heavenly sweetness promised to spiritual men; they also see the errors of the world and how it is deceived in so many ways.`` (Thomas a Kempis)

    It is not enough to simply regard the errors of the world and to seek detachment from it without praying for a remedy. Without desiring the saving power of our Lord to enlighten the hearts of those in darkness we become detached from a desire for all goodness. When we remove ourselves in judgement from the world and claim to be following the light of Christ we not only cease to shine His light within the world, but we sadly assist the darkness.
   It is indeed ``sad to say`` that sensual pleasures take hold of the ``minds of the worldly`` and drive out all heavenly desires. However, the faithful are constantly faced with the same temptation between flesh and spirit in seeking to follow Christ while living within the world.       Though we may have the intellectual readiness to argue about the importance of virtue this ceases to be fruitful and effective if we do not truly ``taste and see the goodness of the Lord``for ourselves. If we cease to act virtuously and deny the opportunity to live out our faith by failing to submit to holy discipline we do nothing more than make a lot of senseless noise and further clutter the confusion of the worldly.
  ``Despising the world`` is not to carry hate for God`s creation, but to love it in a way that values and promotes the world as it was designed to be lived in by God. It is to despise that which taints, pollutes, and clouds the image of goodness through which we have all been created.
   Our Holy Father, Pope Francis reminds us in Evangelii Gaudium of the importance in sharing the news of Our Lord, and the joy of the Gospel. We must not simply look upon the ``errors`` of the world, but gaze steadfastly at the righteousness of our Lord and seek each day to live our lives as a witness to this goodness and to help bring the truth where great deception resides. 
  As we are faced daily with a world full of marketing aimed at `satisfying` sensual pleasures let us turn toward the spirit of our Lord, seeking to follow He who brings everlasting joy. May we strive with faith and perseverance in order to ``taste the inward joy of virtue``. And may our witness illuminate the minds of the worldly with the light of Christ. (C.C.)