Moving Toward the Light

“Do you prefer the light or the darkness?”  That’s the question that Jesus asks us today. 

At first it seems like an easy question to answer.  But we all know that it’s not that easy in practice.  We’re all sinners.  We all fail to perfectly follow Jesus.  We sometimes choose the darkness. 

The good news is that Jesus is our light.  Even in the deepest darkness, Jesus is there for us.  As he told Nicodemus, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through him.”  (“Porque Dios no envió a su Hijo para condenar al mundo, sino para que el mundo se salvara por él.”)

With Jesus as our light, we have greater courage, hope and freedom.  When the apostles were in prison, the light of Christ came to them in the presence and words of an angel. 

That same light of Christ gave courage to St. Stanislaus, who lived in the 11th century.  He confronted the King of Poland, Boleslaus, who was a corrupt and brutal tyrant.  Stanislaus stood up for the human rights of the people of Poland as well as the rights of the church.  Because of this, he was killed in church—by the king himself. 

Every day Christ renews his call to come to the light and to live in that light.  What a grace and blessing! Today we can be light for each other and for our families. Today we can be light for our communities.  We can be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  Today.—JC