“No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
rather, he places it on a lampstand
so that those who enter may see the light.”  – Luke 8:16 

… through him was life,
    and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness has not overcome it.

A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  – John 1:4-9

I haven’t been here in awhile

We moved from our house in early July and lived like vagabonds for a month and a half, sleeping on air mattresses and cots and couches. I will always be so grateful to everyone who found a place for us and even our dog. So many offered to house us and/or our belongings. I will also always be grateful to those who spent time listening to my nervousness and my complaining, and gave me hope when my hope was running empty. I learned many lessons these past months, about the generosity of people, and patience I need to develop, and how little we really need materially to live.

We moved here to our new home officially on September 1, and we are trying, but it doesn’t feel like home yet. I have had to find energy again to make this feel like a safe place, one where we three can get organized for our lives going forward. My kids seem to already have one foot heading into their next journeys, and I am glad for that and I ask that God will bless those journeys.

Todays gospel readings are truly beautiful.

First, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus speaks of a light that, when it is present, cannot be hidden, but placed where others can see it when they enter its presence.

I think about the qualities of light and darkness.

Sometimes I enjoy the darkness, the stillness I find there. I ponder many things in the darkness. But the darkness I am thinking of in this situation is really not total darkness. There is a light shining somewhere. Maybe it’s the moon and stars, maybe it’s a light someone left on in the house. There is a crack, under a door or behind a window curtain, and I am aware that somewhere else, not here where I am, there is a light shining, and if I think about it, I am very thankful for that light.

When I attended college I was confronted with the existence of what science calls a black hole, the total absence of any light or life, a place of blackness where nothing could or did exist. My thoughts could not get away from the nothingness. The other people I spent time around were searching themselves for the meaning of their own lives, and so they couldn’t be much help to me, as I searched for my own life’s meaning. I started to look at the world around me in a very frightened way. I felt alone, I could not confide in any one.

A Jesuit priest I had met on campus rescued me from my darkness, offering kindness and support. He became my friend when I really needed a friend. A year later, another Jesuit priest who taught my literature class offered me an exciting opportunity to assist and teach a summer college literature class (an opportunity I have always regretted not taking).

When I think of priests of the Jesuit order, I always remember the love and compassion these gentlemen showed me.

A friend of my family and the church community and of the world (literally) died last night after sustaining injuries as a pedestrian in a horrific vehicular accident. He was 76 years old.

Everyone who knew Bob described him in the same way – as their friend. Bob was also educated by Jesuits and was a career journalist. After we met he encouraged me to write a small article about my experiences with the Jesuits we both knew. I did not take his offer (another regret). After that, Bob volunteered my husband and I to organize and serve a meal for two summers to 120 people at the county homeless shelter. He often called to ask me to make a meat loaf or baked ziti for the homeless. He organized and personally distributed books and knowledge on several visits to a seminary in the Philippines. At my husband’s funeral Mass, Monsignor Rich asked me if I had a family member in mind to be the lector and I told him that I actually had thought Bob should do it and Monsignor said he had thought the same thing. Bob’s reading of the Scriptures was masterful, a beautiful part of Jerry’s Mass and I will always be thankful for that. After Jerry’s passing, Bob helped my son with thoughtful advice. He was a compassionate encourager.

In John’s gospel, he writes that Jesus is the light who came into a world that didn’t understand Him. He writes that John the Baptist testified that God’s light in the form of Jesus was coming into the world to enlighten us. John the Apostle writes that the darkness of the world could not overcome the light that is Jesus Christ.

God’s enlightenment and love in the form of Jesus is the light that we cannot hide and keep to ourselves. We need to be generous. The Jesuits of my college days were a beacon of light and love. They shared with creative compassion. They gave me hope when I felt hopeless. Bob was also a welcoming light, in our church, community, and the world he found himself travelling to in his later years. The people who have given so generously to my children and I have also been light-bearers, keeping us safe and afloat in their hopefulness.

Thank you most gratefully to all the bearers of hopeful light.

Prayer:

Dear God,

You alone are deserving of all praise. Thank You for giving us Your Beloved Son Jesus and Your Holy Spirit. I thank You for all the bearers of Your Light in this world and for sharing them generously with myself and my children. I pray that You will bless them always.

In your Blessed Son Jesus’ Name I pray,

Amen