Eucharistic Reflection - The True Light
The Lay Dominicans of St. Joseph Province invite you to spend some time with our Eucharistic Lord. They pray that the reflection that follows (as well as the other 174 in their book, Godhead Here in Hiding Whom I Do Adore - Lay Dominicans Reflect on Eucharistic Adoration) will draw you to Him and provide you with much to ponder, meditate and contemplate.
"The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Last night,
Lord, on a dark and starless night, with no moon in evidence, a lone star was
shining and breaking through the darkness. It had a brilliant radiance. The
star was surrounded by the reaching branches of trees, which seemed so much
like the distractions and the problems of our lives which try to tear us from
our focus on the Light.
The
radiance of this star kept calling to me again and again, drawing my attention
to the radiance. I was unable to tear my gaze away. Is this what the star of
Bethlehem was like? Did it so penetrate and permeate into the hearts, minds,
and souls of the onlookers? Did it draw them in so completely, that they could
not resist following the star? Those wise and learned men saw what was beyond
the star and knew that they must attain it. They were compelled to travel with
joyful anticipation to reach the source of that light.
After
a time of soaking in the brilliance, light pollution had crept in, and I really
had to search to see the star. I had the desire to see the star, and I searched
for it. O, Lord, is that the way the world is now? So many things try to blot
out the natural light of that star to distract us. So many seemingly radiant
objects try to cover up the true Light that You are, and Your Light is
obscured. Everything that should be so clear, is not. People accept artificial
light readily instead of holding fast to Your true Light. As long as others are
happy, people will offer the excuse that this artificial light is another’s
“truth”.
Much
like those tree branches that seemed to be clutching to reach the star, how
many things seem to clutch at us in our lives, as if trying to pull us away
from Your Light. They seem to tear at us in order to turn us in a completely
different direction than the way that You would have us travel. We need the
Eucharist as the lodestar of our lives. Our Eucharistic Lord has come so near
and keeps beckoning us further along the path of light and life.
Precious
Lord, draw us always to Your true light. May we always desire to attain Your
Light. Direct us and order our lives in the way that You would have us go, for
Your greater honor and glory. May our lives reflect Your light to others, and
may You, the one true Light, always be reflected in our lives and actions, so
that we may draw others from the darkness to your marvelous Light."
Mrs. Melanie Von Gunten, OP, St.
Thomas Aquinas Fraternity, Zanesville, OH