Light

I was watching "Shoes of the Fisherman" again yesterday. It dawned on me that, although the world is flooded with light, few can see it, mostly because so few do anything with God's grace, which changes us so we can see.

There is no point in decrying the darkness, or mourning the sting of pain, if we do nothing with the grace of God that will open our eyes to see the real light. The light of the world is disappointing, and garish, making us see all the ugliness there is around us. 

The light of God is strong so as to penetrate everything, everywhere. Neither will we be allowed the joy of a good night's sleep or rest, until our hearts have at last responded to what it found so hard to see.

Time which has so often dragged for us, leaps up refreshed and renewed for us if we respond to God. Just as the moon causes  immense tides of water in the sea, in its orbit around the earth, just so God is moving, a living being, around us, so that if we pay attention, we are aware of God and His light, once we have passed the tide of emotion so we may have a grasp on it. Look beyond the tide of light and the emotion, and what remains is God.

He is everywhere, always until the end of the universe passes away, like the moon setting at night. Who has not felt his heart stir to realize it will be there tomorrow, if you know where to look. The moon sets two hours later every night until it is new, and does not show its light. And if our minds and hearts can be so easily moved by a ball of stone reflecting sunlight, how much more should not our hearts leap up when we recognize the Lord?

On a dark night, in the quiet of the garden, awaken to the light of the Lord. Yet it is not like a child opening a package at a birthday party, well anticipated. The object of our desire does fill us with emotion when we realize the love behind it all. There comes a day when our loved ones pass beyond our gaze and are somewhere we cannot go to listen to them anymore. Yet, just as we anticipate the glory of a full moon rising in a dark sky, we know we will see them again, and that all we have lost to time will be restored to us, in eternity.

So it is worth our while to change a little, to shift the eyes of anticipation to greater things, to do those penitential acts that mean salvation and peace to sinners who repent because we bound the wounds of their sufferings with the bandages of our penances.

We are the focus of His Heart. Open your eyes when He prompts you, and do not refuse to waken from your slumber, for something greater waits to rise in the garden of your life. He permits our self centeredness only long enough to be a child and grow into the splendor of our adulthood; our love, mature in being adult, still has selfish roots, but they have become wonderful possibilities if we desire it. Guard your desires, and guard your heart so they may be for Him entirely.