See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds the peoples; But upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Isaiah 60: 2-3
In was a rather huge auditorium. 10,000 seats or so. People had come to hear a speaker when suddenly, dis- aster struck. POP! All the lights in the auditorium went out. Total power failure. The entire place filled to the brim was now plunged into darkness, a darkness that was total and absolute, since there were no windows to outside around.
And then there was panic.
And then, with equal suddenness, something remarkable occurred. Someone lit a single lighter. A solitary light.
And, so the story goes, everyone was able to see in that huge auditorium, all because of that one single, solitary light. People were stunned. But a lesson was learned: the greater the darkness, the more penetrating and all- encompassing is the light.
If there is one malady facing all of our culture, it is the fact that we feel powerless. We feel helpless in the face of powerful and inexorable forces that permeate our soci- ety. We face the darkness with our little bitty lights and we sense that the gloom is too much, that the night is too murky. And so we give up, we capitulate. What good is our light? What can we as a single simple person do?
What difference can we possibly make?
But then I think of that solitary light. And then I think of people that I have known, great and not very well at all. But at the center of their lives, they were light to the people around them.
Recently one of my colleagues from Borgia passed away, Sr. Mary Paul Holdmeyer. She was a science teacher par excellance. I put a notice up on Facebook about her passing and the post was flooded by her for- mer students who remembered her fondly. A sampling of responses:
Thinking about her puts a huge smile on my face. What a wonderful teacher and human.
One of the greatest women to have ever lived! I’m sorry I caught the Bunsen burner on fire, Sister!! Rest in peace and may you continue to bask in the glory of God.
She was not only an excellent teacher, she was a beauti- ful person both inside and out. She had a wonderful sense of humor. It was an honor to be her colleague.
When I think of her I’m reminded of all the patience she had during seminar helping me with chemistry. I can still hear her laugh too. She will never be forgotten.
So many amazing memories of Sister… Mid physics lessons..
= A class mate: Sister slow down, you’re going too fast!
Sister: No, you’re writing too slow. It’s all relative.
SMP as we called her, was amazing. A light of learning
and love for her students and her fellow faculty members.
Another quick example:
A couple of parishes back, there was a little old Italian woman, named Maria (not her real name). She was over eighty years old at the time, and still quite feisty. My fa- vorite story she told me is when her sister Josie would call her on the phone Josie would talk for too long a time. Maria would say, “Fadder, Josie talka and talka anda I get tired. So I have a langa cord on my phone anda I go out to my doorbell and I ringa it and say, ‘O, Josie, I gotta go, somebody is atta da door.’ Isa that a sin, Fadder?”
How can you not love that?
I remember I was giving a retreat that Maria attended and young mother was lamenting that with her kids and her husband and her job, she felt that had no real time to pray. Maria, sitting next to her, gently patted her on the knee. “I praya for you. That’s all I do alla day long.” And her and the young mother exchanged wonderful smiles. A simple yet powerful light.
Our gospel tells us that astrologers followed a star, and that star led them to Jesus. Who are those people around you, searching, sojourning, seeking the King? You wouldn’t have to look far. They are your neighbors, your family members, your business associates. And when they look to you will they see that light which will points the way to Christ? Will you be the guide in the midst of the gloom and darkness or will you give in to the forces around you? There is so much darkness, vio- lence, hatred, war. It is easy to give up, to think that what you do won’t or can’t make any difference.
If you think that way, think of that single light. Think of SMP or Maria. And know that light
shines the brightest in the darkest night.
Father Kevin