LET
OUR LIGHT BURN BRIGHTLY
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).