LET OUR LIGHT BURN BRIGHTLY
Our mission calls us to be light-bearers of Christ so that others may
see the truth of the Gospel.
The images of light
and a lamp tell us much about the Kingdom of God. God's grace not only
illumines the darkness in our lives, but it also fills us with spiritual light,
joy, and peace. Jesus used the image of a lamp to describe how the disciples
are to live in the light of truth and love. Just as natural light illumines the
darkness and enables one to see visually, so the light of Christ Jesus shines
in the hearts of all believers and enables us to see the reality of our God.
Our mission calls us to be light-bearers of Christ so that others may see the
truth of the Gospel.
In the responsorial
psalm we acclaim, "Lord, this is the
people that longs to see Your face" (Ps 24). We receive God's blessing
and grace to be a part of something that is incredibly great: His kingdom. And
it all starts within each one of us, with a response like Mary's
"yes" to spread the Good News and to be Christ's light for others.
I would like to end
with this comfort prayer for today's reflection. It is called "Collecting Light"
by Deborah Gordon Cooper.
Across the street a neighbor strings white lights
along the eaves of his house.
Across the world they sleep out in the cold, our
neighbors too, wakened by gunfire.
I see the way the chickadees take turns at the
feeder. I watch a woman take her husband's hand.
I see the way the sun will find the only
interruption in dark clouds, to toss this amber light across the pines.
I watch the way a young man lifts his mother from
the wheelchair to the car, the shawl he lays across her lap.
I save up every scrap of light, because I know that
it will take each tiny consolation every day to mend the world.
Let us consider how
to "rouse one another to love and good works" (Heb 10:24).