Vigils Reading – 19th Sunday

HIS MOST DIVINE LIFE

From a commentary by Denis the Areopagite1

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In his goodness and love for humankind, Jesus, the most divine Word,

one, simple, and hidden, assumed our nature, appearing though unchanged in

his own nature as a being both composite and visible. Graciously he received us

into unifying communion with himself, joining our lowliness to his sublime

divinity, under the sole condition that we in our turn should adhere to him as

members of his body by living a pure and godly life like his, and not giving reign

to ruinous, death-dealing passions, which would make us incapable of union

with those completely healthy and divine members.

If we aspire to communion with Jesus, we must fix our eyes upon the most

holy life he lives in the flesh and follow the example of his divine innocence so

as to become pure and godlike. Then, in a manner befitting us, he will give us a

resemblance to himself.

The bishop manifests these truths in the sacred rites he performs when

he publicly unveils the hidden gifts, divides them into many parts, and by the

perfect union of the sacrament he distributes with those who receive it, admits

the recipients to communion with it. For by thus presenting Jesus Christ to our

eyes he shows us the very life of our spirit and understanding in a way

perceptible to our senses, as it were pictorially. He shows us how Christ came

forth from his divine concealment to assume for love of humanity our human

form, becoming completely human without loss of his own identity, how while

remaining unchanged he descended from his natural unity to the level of our

divisibility, and how through the beneficent deeds inspired by his love for us,

He calls the human race to communion with himself and to share in his

blessings. He asks only that we unite ourselves to his most divine life by3

imitating it to the best of our ability, so as to enter into a real communion with

God and his divine mysteries.