304th Meditation
“Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son” (2 Jn 1:9b).
Our Father has entrusted us with a great treasure, which the Church has faithfully guarded: the teaching of Christ. It provides our understanding with supernatural light, so that we do not go astray and thus fall into the snares of the Evil One. Error in matters of faith tarnishes our relationship with God, because it is a “false light” that penetrates our soul, taking the place of the true knowledge of God. Thus, false doctrine also affects our capacity to love, because it hinders a deeper knowledge of God, which, in turn, would increasingly awaken our love for Him.
Both right thinking and right acting is the work of the Holy Spirit, and it grants us a genuine relationship with God, for, as St. John says, “whoever does good is from God” (3 Jn 1:11).
The Father has taken pity on our weakness, since, as a result of original sin, our understanding had been darkened, so that we could no longer naturally understand God’s ways. The opposite was even true: demons confused and seduced human beings to the point of leading them to bow down to strange gods and serve idols. But the Father, in His unceasing goodness, came to us in the Person of His Son, to make Himself known to us as He truly is, and so to lead us out of all error.
Nevertheless, to this day many people lack the light of faith, which would save them from the perdition of this world. To this day human beings follow many false lights, and their knowledge of God remains obscure and not infrequently confused.
Therefore, our Father seeks people who will remain united to Him through right doctrine and right action, in order to manifest His love through them. If they remain in the doctrine entrusted to them as disciples of Christ, then they will be “light of the world” and “salt of the earth” (Mt 5:13-14).