And THE LIGHT Shines in the Darkness

I did my Tuesday midnight adoration hour, my personal Christmas midnight mass early Christmas morn. It was indeed a holy hour for me, and I felt a great joy.  Later that Christmas morning, I went to attend the 10:30A mass, arriving early to say my Morning Prayers and to light a single small candle at the foot of the statue of Mary.  That action would soon have a renewed significance.

I honestly didn’t notice, as mass began, that the church lights, the many beautiful chandeliers which hang from the church ceiling, were not lit.  I was focused on the beauty of the Christmas morning liturgy.  But come the homily, Fr. Ed focused everyone on the absence of the lights.

“No, we didn’t have a power outage,” he said as he pointed at the lights, “but this morning our light was meant to be there, those six candles surrounding the altar.”  And then he explained further.

In Bethlehem, where we have a sister parish which we support, is the Grotto of the Nativity, the exact spot where it is believed Jesus was born.  Fr. Ed said that he had once visited that site, and “the nativity room is a small, below-ground grotto, lit by a single candle.  It is an awesome experience to be there.  It is the spot The Light came into this world.”

Fr. Ed explained that recently, from that candle at the Grotto of the Nativity, another was lit.  Arrangements were then made to allow that lit flame to be flown on an airliner to this country.  “Actually, when the airlines were told what was being done, they allowed for the exception to their rules and waived the airline fees of the people bringing that light, bringing it here to our church.  That light from the Grotto of the Nativity was the light used to light these six altar candles.”

“And the Light shines in the darkness.”

And Fr. Ed went on to explain how with the Birth of Jesus, the Light came into the darkness and how it was intended to light us, so that we too could shine in the darkness.  His light was just the start; we must continue to transfer that light, to be His light in the darkness of this world.

It was a most moving Christmas homily.  And it gave me a renewed perspective to that single small candle I light each Sunday morning.  I want to be a small light in this world. 

Even as you gave birth to the Light, Mary, strengthen my little flame, and help it to light others.  Amen.

And at the end of the mass they took up a second collection, for our sister parish in Bethlehem.