Dear Friends,
I am glad to live with Sister Melissa Gernon, the second grade teacher
at Nazareth Elementary School. I watch her often, evenings, as she prepares for
the next day or the next week or the next season. Melissa is avid about helping
seven-year-olds make the connection between the things they love and enjoy in
life and the God who holds them close. So in my personal Halloween file now, I
have a cut out pumpkin that one of her children colored. On the back it says:
Being a Christian is like being a
pumpkin.
God picks you from the patch, brings you
in, washes all the dirt off of you.
God opens you up and scoops out all the
yucky stuff, including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc.
Then God carves you a new smiling face
and puts His light inside you
To shine for all the world to see.
How much we need the light is a matter of fact. In these days when
nights are getting longer, we find people stringing up “winter lights.” We used
to call them Christmas lights, but the need to light up the darkness presses us
to string up our outdoor lights long before the Christmas season is upon us.
The word “dark” is more and more often used to describe the times in
which we live. We know we need light to find our way through the darkness that
threatens us spiritually, culturally and morally. But where do we find it and
can we trust it? In the saints of our world. They are God’s beacon through the
darkness.
Paul, the lead character in Michael Malone’s short story “First Lady”
is mulling over saints as he sips his Guinness: “...saints are people the light
shines through. Not just the famous saints…but the everyday saints around us in
the world. Light shines through them and illuminates what they see. The light
goes right through to what they love so that we can see its beauty. They don’t
get that way because they’re looking to…”
Saints are not self-centered people who muster up light to impress
others. No. Saints illumine the world, because they live common lives and do
common things with uncommon generosity. They practice a little restraint and a
little courage. Saints take God more seriously and themselves less so. They
care for others and treat them with dignity. Saints take hope by the hand and
never let it go.
When each of us was baptized, our own baptismal candle was lighted from
the Pascal Candle, which is the premier Easter Vigil symbol of Christ’s
Resurrection. With that light, we saw enough to make choices that would be
important for our lives. With that light, we help illuminate the lives of
others. With that light, we have come to this day. The light of Christ will
never waver. Never go out.
Why should we fear the darkness? The light that guides us is within us,
pumpkins that we are.
~Sister Joan Sobala
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