"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle."
-Fr. James Keller
"Let your light shine!"
~Cindy
Novena in Honor of Saint Clare of Assisi
15 years ago
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
That Little Candle!
"How far that little candle throws his beams!
So shines a good deed in a weary world."
-William Shakespeare
So shines a good deed in a weary world."
-William Shakespeare
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Light From Light
Oh, my goodness....I look at the date of my last post and I am amazed. I've often thought of this space; I've thought, "I really should write on my blog today - I found this great quote about light....it's been a while...." and the days would pass by, my words unwritten.
In many ways, my mind and heart have not been, shall we say, spiritually focused these past many months. I think our hearts and minds often wander from what brings us light and life, perhaps seeking something other than the true light that perpetually and persistently burns in our hearts and enlightens our being, our sense of purpose, and thinking that maybe, just maybe, there's something else we should be looking at, looking for. Or, perhaps we just become distracted, or doubtful, or tired, or bored, or even imagine that what we've given our lives to for so many years may just have been pretend, or images of our imagination, or even foolishness.
Whatever the case may be, I still do believe that if we continue to seek the light, and open our hearts to receive it more fully, the light will shine forth upon us, pour over us and into us, and will grow more strongly within us, more brilliant and bright, until it bursts out of us! Then, our personal and particular reflection of the Light, the light that is given to us and that spills out of us will be the light that we were created to share with the world. That's the light that we often put a basket over, but that we are called to put on a lampstand and share with others. (Matthew 5:15-16)
Anyway...what finally prompted me to write today is that, not only is today January 1, 2011 (1/1/11 !), but also at the Saturday afternoon Mass of Anticipation today, we celebrated tomorrow's feast of The Epiphany of the Lord. This is the day that we commemorate the coming of the Magi, those who followed the star and found the Christ-child, laying in a manger. There are so many images of light at Christmas and in the Christmas story, all pointing to the one true Light. (John 1:1-12)
One of my favorite sayings that is often found on Christmas cards is, "The wise still seek him." Let us join the wise men in that first caravan and follow the star that leads us to the Light. I close with some of the beautiful prayers and scriptures of this day as together we follow the light in the dark night sky.
Father,
you revealed your Son to the nations
by the guidance of a star.
Lead us to glory in your heaven
by the light of faith.....
(Opening Prayer of the Eucharistic Liturgy)
Father of light, unchanging God,
today you reveal to men [and women] of faith
the resplendent fact of the Word made flesh.
Your light is strong,
your love is near;
draw us beyond the limits which this world imposes,
to the life where your Spirit makes all life complete.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Alternative Opening Prayer)
First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness, covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover 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.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.
Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.
From the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:1-12)
....
"...We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."
"...And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh...."
Father,
guide us with your light.
Help us to recognize Christ...and welcome him with love....
(From the Prayer After Communion)
Wishing you a....
...Merry Christmas!
...Blessed Epiphany!!
...Happy New Year!!!
...and a deep, abiding, lasting peace.
~Cindy
In many ways, my mind and heart have not been, shall we say, spiritually focused these past many months. I think our hearts and minds often wander from what brings us light and life, perhaps seeking something other than the true light that perpetually and persistently burns in our hearts and enlightens our being, our sense of purpose, and thinking that maybe, just maybe, there's something else we should be looking at, looking for. Or, perhaps we just become distracted, or doubtful, or tired, or bored, or even imagine that what we've given our lives to for so many years may just have been pretend, or images of our imagination, or even foolishness.
Whatever the case may be, I still do believe that if we continue to seek the light, and open our hearts to receive it more fully, the light will shine forth upon us, pour over us and into us, and will grow more strongly within us, more brilliant and bright, until it bursts out of us! Then, our personal and particular reflection of the Light, the light that is given to us and that spills out of us will be the light that we were created to share with the world. That's the light that we often put a basket over, but that we are called to put on a lampstand and share with others. (Matthew 5:15-16)
Anyway...what finally prompted me to write today is that, not only is today January 1, 2011 (1/1/11 !), but also at the Saturday afternoon Mass of Anticipation today, we celebrated tomorrow's feast of The Epiphany of the Lord. This is the day that we commemorate the coming of the Magi, those who followed the star and found the Christ-child, laying in a manger. There are so many images of light at Christmas and in the Christmas story, all pointing to the one true Light. (John 1:1-12)
One of my favorite sayings that is often found on Christmas cards is, "The wise still seek him." Let us join the wise men in that first caravan and follow the star that leads us to the Light. I close with some of the beautiful prayers and scriptures of this day as together we follow the light in the dark night sky.
Father,
you revealed your Son to the nations
by the guidance of a star.
Lead us to glory in your heaven
by the light of faith.....
(Opening Prayer of the Eucharistic Liturgy)
Father of light, unchanging God,
today you reveal to men [and women] of faith
the resplendent fact of the Word made flesh.
Your light is strong,
your love is near;
draw us beyond the limits which this world imposes,
to the life where your Spirit makes all life complete.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Alternative Opening Prayer)
First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness, covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover 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.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.
Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.
From the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:1-12)
....
"...We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."
"...And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh...."
Father,
guide us with your light.
Help us to recognize Christ...and welcome him with love....
(From the Prayer After Communion)
Wishing you a....
...Merry Christmas!
...Blessed Epiphany!!
...Happy New Year!!!
...and a deep, abiding, lasting peace.
~Cindy
Friday, May 7, 2010
No Wandering in the Dark
"No follower of mine wanders in the dark;
s/he shall have the light of life."
-John 8:12
What wonderful assurance!
Let us choose to walk in the light and not the darkness.
The invitation is set before us every day -
we need only accept, say yes, and
"do whatever he tells you"!
Stop. Breathe. Listen. See. Follow.
Listen to that still, small voice in your heart.
See before you the path of life and light
and make the decision to cease your wandering in the dark,
choosing instead to walk in the light on the illumined path.
"O Lord, in your light we see light itself."
Amen!
Blessings of light and life!
~Cindy
s/he shall have the light of life."
-John 8:12
What wonderful assurance!
Let us choose to walk in the light and not the darkness.
The invitation is set before us every day -
we need only accept, say yes, and
"do whatever he tells you"!
Stop. Breathe. Listen. See. Follow.
Listen to that still, small voice in your heart.
See before you the path of life and light
and make the decision to cease your wandering in the dark,
choosing instead to walk in the light on the illumined path.
"O Lord, in your light we see light itself."
Amen!
Blessings of light and life!
~Cindy
Saturday, May 1, 2010
QUOTES ON LIGHT
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in
their true beauty is revealed
only if there is a light within.
-Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Spiritual Armor
"It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep. The night is far spent; the day draws near. Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us live honorably as in daylight." (Romans 13:11b, 12-13a)
Peace to you & every blessing,
~Cindy
Peace to you & every blessing,
~Cindy
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Candlemas
Today the Church celebrates the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. This special day is also known as Candlemas. This morning's Second Reading from the Office of Readings offers many references to light and great invitation for us to be light-bearers in the world, carrying the light of Christ within ourselves and sharing it with others. This reading is from a sermon by Saint Sophronius, a bishop of the 7th Century and is considered one of the Early Church Fathers.
I offer the text of this beautiful reading here, followed by a video I found on youtube.com from http://www.catholicradiodramas.com/, which offers the spoken text accompanied by classic artwork.
Let us receive the light whose brilliance is eternal
In honour of the divine mystery that we celebrate today, let us all hasten to meet Christ. Everyone should be eager to join the procession and to carry a light.
Our lighted candles are a sign of the divine splendour of the one who comes to expel the dark shadows of evil and to make the whole universe radiant with the brilliance of his eternal light. Our candles also show how bright our souls should be when we go to meet Christ.
The Mother of God, the most pure Virgin, carried the true light in her arms and brought him to those who lay in darkness. We too should carry a light for all to see and reflect the radiance of the true light as we hasten to meet him.
The light has come and has shone upon a world enveloped in shadows; the Dayspring from on high has visited us and given light to those who lived in darkness. This, then, is our feast, and we join in procession with lighted candles to reveal the light that has shone upon us and the glory that is yet to come to us through him. So let us hasten all together to meet our God.
The true light has come, the light that enlightens every man who is born into this world. Let all of us, my brethren, be enlightened and made radiant by this light. Let all of us share in its splendour, and be so filled with it that no one remains in the darkness. Let us be shining ourselves as we go together to meet and to receive with the aged Simeon the light whose brilliance is eternal. Rejoicing with Simeon, let us sing a hymn of thanksgiving to God, the Father of the light, who sent the true light to dispel the darkness and to give us all a share in his splendour.
Through Simeon’s eyes we too have seen the salvation of God which he prepared for all the nations and revealed as the glory of the new Israel, which is ourselves. As Simeon was released from the bonds of this life when he had seen Christ, so we too were at once freed from our old state of sinfulness.
By faith we too embraced Christ, the salvation of God the Father, as he came to us from Bethlehem. Gentiles before, we have now become the people of God. Our eyes have seen God incarnate, and because we have seen him present among us and have mentally received him into our arms, we are called the new Israel. Never shall we forget this presence; every year we keep a feast in his honour.
View video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUJTunbv7w0
"It is better to LIGHT ONE CANDLE than to curse the darkness."
May you be a blessing - and be blessed - this Candlemas,
~Cindy
I offer the text of this beautiful reading here, followed by a video I found on youtube.com from http://www.catholicradiodramas.com/, which offers the spoken text accompanied by classic artwork.
Let us receive the light whose brilliance is eternal
In honour of the divine mystery that we celebrate today, let us all hasten to meet Christ. Everyone should be eager to join the procession and to carry a light.
Our lighted candles are a sign of the divine splendour of the one who comes to expel the dark shadows of evil and to make the whole universe radiant with the brilliance of his eternal light. Our candles also show how bright our souls should be when we go to meet Christ.
The Mother of God, the most pure Virgin, carried the true light in her arms and brought him to those who lay in darkness. We too should carry a light for all to see and reflect the radiance of the true light as we hasten to meet him.
The light has come and has shone upon a world enveloped in shadows; the Dayspring from on high has visited us and given light to those who lived in darkness. This, then, is our feast, and we join in procession with lighted candles to reveal the light that has shone upon us and the glory that is yet to come to us through him. So let us hasten all together to meet our God.
The true light has come, the light that enlightens every man who is born into this world. Let all of us, my brethren, be enlightened and made radiant by this light. Let all of us share in its splendour, and be so filled with it that no one remains in the darkness. Let us be shining ourselves as we go together to meet and to receive with the aged Simeon the light whose brilliance is eternal. Rejoicing with Simeon, let us sing a hymn of thanksgiving to God, the Father of the light, who sent the true light to dispel the darkness and to give us all a share in his splendour.
Through Simeon’s eyes we too have seen the salvation of God which he prepared for all the nations and revealed as the glory of the new Israel, which is ourselves. As Simeon was released from the bonds of this life when he had seen Christ, so we too were at once freed from our old state of sinfulness.
By faith we too embraced Christ, the salvation of God the Father, as he came to us from Bethlehem. Gentiles before, we have now become the people of God. Our eyes have seen God incarnate, and because we have seen him present among us and have mentally received him into our arms, we are called the new Israel. Never shall we forget this presence; every year we keep a feast in his honour.
View video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUJTunbv7w0
"It is better to LIGHT ONE CANDLE than to curse the darkness."
May you be a blessing - and be blessed - this Candlemas,
~Cindy
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