If you are like me, one of the hardest parts of this time of year is how early the sun sets. When I walk into our chapel at the House of Studies in the evening before Compline, I feel almost paralyzed by the darkness. Before my eyes adjust to the lack of light, I am blind. I cannot see the mural of our Lady giving the rosary to Saint Dominic above the altar. I cannot even make out the tabernacle where the Blessed Sacrament is quietly residing. Nevertheless, I begin to make my way cautiously to my choir stall. The only light I have to guide me is the flicker of the sanctuary lamp, informing me of the presence of our Lord in the tabernacle. The small candle only illuminates the front corner of the chapel, but it is a reminder that Jesus Christ comes to enlighten the eyes of his servants and expel the darkness of the world.
Our world is dark. It is filled with evil and sin. We see how some sins are paraded around triumphantly as some sort of an idol. We see how political and social conflicts tear us apart. We seem to feel these divisions more acutely around the holiday season, at a time when we try to focus on some sort of sentimental joy and peace. The darkness is surging as the days leading up to Christmas get shorter. We might be tempted to think that sin is overtaking the world and that the darkness is too much.
Christ comes to be our light and our salvation. All of us are like the blind men in today’s Gospel from Saint Matthew crying out for relief from their ailment: “Son of David, have pity on me.” The blind men profess their faith in Jesus, and “their eyes were opened” and filled with the light. We are all familiar with our Lord’s words from Saint John’s Gospel: “I am the light of the world, and he who follows me will not walk in darkness.” No matter how dark the world seems, Christ is still with us to give us his light.
Through the Sacrament of Baptism, we have our eyes opened to see the light of Christ. Not only do we have this light within us, but we are commissioned to be saints who bring it into the world. At our baptism, we receive a lighted candle, which resembles the light of Christ. God chooses us as his instruments to bring this light into the world.
Our Holy Father St. Dominic was so favored to have Christ’s light shine through him that he is given the title lumen ecclesiae. Images of St. Dominic depict him alongside a dog with a torch in his mouth, referencing a dream of his mother that she gave birth to a dog that set the world on fire. By his virtue, piety, and devotion to study, and by the gift of grace, his eyes and mind were enlightened by the truth of the Gospels, which he in turn spread through his preaching. God used St. Dominic’s holy preaching to heal divisions in the Church and to call back to the Faith men and women who had been led astray by heresy. Through this saint, Christ’s light filled his Church and drew in others to see the truth.
As we trudge deeper into the darkness of winter, the amount of daylight will continue to decrease. The world will continue to be embroiled in conflict, sin, and evil. Even amidst this darkness, the light of Christ continues to shine through us, his chosen instruments, as it did through St. Dominic. And on Christmas Eve, on one of the longest nights of the year, churches around the world, including our chapel, will be fully lit, proclaiming to our dark and divided world that Christ, our Lord and our Light, has come.
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Photo by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. (used with permission)
