In Your Light We See Light

When we gather for Morning Prayer on these late November days at the Mount, the stained glass windows in our Choir Chapel are shrouded in darkness. As I watch in the silence between the chanting of psalms, the outline of an angel’s wing begins to  emerge … and then St. Benedict’s bald pate begins to glow as he stands beneath the stars and a crescent moon … and then the steps of humility begin their ascent as they pick up the morning light. By the end of prayer, all the familiar colors and images of the windows have been revealed. 

As Thanksgiving approaches, it occurs to me that our blessings are sometimes hidden in murkiness, much like the stained glass images before the coming of dawn. Anxiety, fear, and sadness can obscure the way God is working in our life. Many of the symbols in our Choir Chapel windows provide keys to unlock an awareness of our blessings. For example:

• New branches emerging from a tree stump remind us that God is always clearing the way for new growth in our life

• Hands that are releasing a shower of grapes remind us to be grateful for the food and drink on our table

• A chalice and host remind us that we are nourished and strengthened through the gift of the Eucharist

• A small red devil poking St. Benedict with its pitchfork as he kneels in prayer reminds us that trust in God helps us overcome the things that bedevil us

• An angel with its finger on its lips reminds us to tune out the noise that keeps us from hearing God’s voice

My prayer for you this Thanksgiving is that your blessings come into focus in the midst of any challenges you may be experiencing. Let us say to God with the writer of Psalm 36: “We feast on the riches of your house; you give us drink from the stream of your delight. For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light” (Ps 36: 9-10).

That's Our Job

I got a haircut on November 5, and when I mentioned I was anxious about the outcome of the election, my hairdresser said, “Well, one thing’s for sure; half of the country is going to be unhappy.”

Unfortunately, I landed on the unhappy side of the divide.

I won’t go into the many reasons why I am heartsick. Suffice it to say, I fear what the results of the 2024 election will mean for those who are poor, sick, or elderly, as well as for immigrants and the environment — for all the vulnerable.

After the 2004 election, when the writer Toni Morrison was describing to a friend her depression and inability to work on a new novel, he interrupted, shouting: “No! No, no, no! This is precisely the time when artists go to work — not when everything is fine, but in times of dread. That’s our job!”

The same thing could be said of those who are disciples of Jesus: This is precisely the time when Christians must go to work to feed the hungry, house the homeless, care for the ill, and visit prisoners — not when everything is fine, but in times of suffering. That’s our job!

Many people say that in difficult times, we must trust in God. Sr. Mary Lou Kownacki has an interesting take on that: “As for trusting in God, I think it’s the reverse. I believe God is trusting in us. God is trusting that in giving us the gift of life, we will bear good fruit. That we who claim to be on a spiritual path will accept our responsibility to co-create the kind of world that God envisioned. It’s up to us, each one of us, to be faithful to God’s trust and do everything in our power to bring in the day when ‘justice and mercy embrace.’ The purpose of prayer, Saint Teresa of Avila told her sisters, ‘is good works, good works, good works.’ And I believe her.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Adrienne Johnson Martin added, “It is the weight of the work that helps it bend.”

The Talmud advises, “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” Nor are we obligated to work alone. The weight of our work, when combined with that of others who stand beside us, will help bend our world toward justice. And the community we build in doing that work will be a liberating force for all of us, on whichever side of the divide we find ourselves.