It's
still Christmas, at least through Sunday.
Winter,
in its deep darkness, reminds us of that.
Pope
Francis recently talked about darkness at an Epiphany Mass. Like the wise men,
sometimes we must journey in darkness, he said.
"The Gospel tells us that the Magi, when
they arrived in Jerusalem, lost sight of the star for a time," Pope
Francis said. "They no longer saw it. Its light was particularly absent
from the palace of King Herod: his dwelling was gloomy, filled with darkness,
suspicion, fear, envy."
".
. . The Magi were able to overcome that dangerous moment of darkness before
Herod, because they believed the Scriptures, the words of the prophets which
indicated that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. And so they fled the
darkness and dreariness of the night of the world. They resumed their journey
toward Bethlehem and there they once more saw the star, and the Gospel tells us
that they experienced 'a great joy' " (Matthew 2:10). The very star which
could not be seen in that dark, worldly palace.
"One
aspect of the light which guides us on the journey of faith is holy
'cunning," the pope said, ". . . a spiritual shrewdness which enables
us to recognize danger and avoid it." The wise men, who went back by
another route, "teach us how not to fall into the snares of darkness and
how to defend ourselves from the shadows which seek to envelop our life. By
this holy 'cunning,' the Magi guarded the faith. We, too, need to guard the
faith, guard it from darkness."
Prayer,
love and charity also help us guard our faith, he said.
"We
need to welcome the light of God into our hearts and, at the same time, to
cultivate that spiritual cunning which is able to combine simplicity with
astuteness, as Jesus told His disciples: 'Be wise as serpents and innocent as
doves' " (Matthew 10:16).
We
should consider the wise men as companions on our way, Pope Francis said.
"Today
this is of vital importance: to keep the faith. We must press on further,
beyond the darkness, beyond the voices that raise alarm, beyond worldliness,
beyond do many forms of modernity that exist today. We must press on toward
Bethlehem, where, in the simplicity of a dwelling on the outskirts, beside a
mother and father full of love and of faith, there shines forth the Sun from on
high, the King of the universe. By the example of the Magi, with our little
lights, may we seek the Light and keep the faith. May it be so."
Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan
Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is
over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing.
Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.
