Let There Be Light Analogies

Light is a special thing. The book of Genesis tells us that light is the very first physical reality God created. Light not only radiates its own beauty, but also reveals the beauty of other things. It stands to reason then; there is nothing quite like a good light analogy to help us “see”.

St. John of the Cross

You might already be familiar with light through a pane of glass from St. John of the Cross. A modern day version for this one could involve a car. On a bright sunny day, as you drive away from the sun, you may think your windshield is not perfectly spotless, but pretty darn clean. As you turn and drive towards the sun, the dirt, blotches, smears & chips in the glass make their presence known. The sins in our life are like the imperfections on the glass. Moving away from God, our faults are barely visible if noticed at all. Facing God and moving toward Him, we see everything as His grace shines through. We then may experience an intense desire to clean our souls.

Here are a few more analogies that are perhaps not as famous, but just as “enlightening”…

• The Little Flower

The sun provides the same light upon everything in the forest, from the most towering tree to the smallest flower provided that there are no obstructions. In this same way Saint Thérèse of Lisieux describes God grace as being available to the holiest people and the most towering saints as well as a little flower like herself.

 

• Moon on the Water

Here’s one inspired by lay apologist Frank Sheed. On a clear moonlit night, we can observe a perfect reflection of the moon off a calm body of water. To the degree in which the water is disturbed, the reflection of the moon will become distorted. Even one small rock thrown into the water can set off a ripple effect that can completely distort the surface and thus the reflection of the moon. Of course in a torrent of wind and rain, the added distortion of a small rock would never even be noticed.

So it is with our life and sin. We are meant to reflect Christ to others. The more we are disturbed by sin, the more the reflection of Christ is distorted. Even one small sin can distort us, but in a torrent of sin, smaller faults can go completely unnoticed.

• Sun & Distance

Anything seen from a distance seems smaller than when viewed up close. The sun is many times larger than the earth and this never changes, but with all the intervening space between the two celestial bodies, the sun can seem as small as a pea and any small object can block-out its magnificent rays.

 

So it is with a person’s soul. The further a soul is from God the easier any trifling thing can block His magnificent grace. The closer a soul is, the more God may pour in His grace unobstructed.

The preceding inspired by Fr. John Tauler. O.P.

• Mediarix of all Graces

Mediarix basically refers to the intercessory role of the Mary as a mediator in the redemptive role of her son. The CCC is clear about the title. "…Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix." Paragraph 969

We notice that the phrase "of all graces" is missing. Does Mary simply pray to her Son that he may give us grace or does God also use her as an instrument in distributing that grace? Mary's role as an instrument in the dispensation of ALL graces flows logically with the help of an “illuminating” light analogy.

If we are in a room with one window, the sunlight passes through the glass to light up the room whether we know the glass is there or not; whether we like the glass or not. The glass is in no way the source of the light, but ALL the light passes through the glass regardless. The glass can also help to keep bad things out of the room like insects, wild animals and cold air. Incidentally, if God were to make a piece of glass for the light of the world to shine through, would He choose some dirty, cracked or chipped glass that would block and distort His magnificent  light, or would He create an immaculate piece glass?

 As long as we are talking about Mary and light, think of a magnifying glass placed in the sun. What happens? The rays of the sun that go through the glass are concentrated and the heat & light is greatly magnified. How many ants discover this at the hands of mischievous little boys? Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord (Luke 1:46). Mary acts as the “magnifier” of God’s Grace and magnifiers also work both ways. Mary will magnify our feeble efforts before God if we go through her.

Inspired by a book called "33 Days to Morning Glory" by Fr. Michael E. Gaitley and the teachings of St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Louis de Montefort.

 

"I believe in God as I believe the sun had risen, not because I can see it, but because by way of it, I can see everything else."

– C.S. Lewis

Fatigue Makes Cowards of us All

What could Jimmy Johnson, former coach of the Dallas Cowboys, and St. John of the Cross possibly have in common? Both speak of “fatigue”.

One evening I caught part of a motivational talk given by Jimmy Johnson on the NFL Network. He was sharing a football philosophy he learned from another coach about how football rewards great conditioning. When we think of a great football player, with think of a tough guy with great strength, speed and natural ability, but it means nothing without conditioning. Regardless of your ability, fatigue will cause you to lose focus and make mistakes; you will lose the will to fight and you will lose the will to win. Nearing the end of a game, a player should be smiling. The player who is hunched over and sucking-wind in the 4th quarter becomes a coward. Even if your opponent is more talented, you can still win by exhausting your rival.

When I was younger I played some soccer. Now my eleven year old son plays on the local travel team. At the end of the last spring season we had a “kids vs. the parents” game just for fun. I do some jogging to try and keep fit, but it is nothing like the conditioning needed for the frequent, fast sprints required in soccer.

Although the Dads were bigger, stronger and in some cases more talented than the boys, by the end of the game fatigue made a coward out of me. I lost the will to play and I lost the will to win. I started to make mistakes. I began to hope the ball would not come my way in fear of being embarrassed by some speedy kid. I knew what to do, but I could not do it; my body could not react to my will because of fatigue. It was like Romans 7:19 was coming to life right there on the field, “For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want”. The Dads did win in the end, but no thanks to me.

After seeing coach Johnson’s talk the night before, I happened across a reflection from St. John of the Cross the very next morning which spoke of fatigue. We may be familiar with the analogies that compare spiritual conditioning to physical conditioning. An athlete prepares for an event through training and practice; it’s a lot of hard work and discipline. It may even be described as suffering and sacrifice. The same is true in the spiritual life if we want to defeat our adversary. But St. John touches on something a little different; something that is dangerous even for those who are spiritually well disciplined. It’s what happens when we are fatigued by divided desires.

He says:

“Weakness and tepidity are another kind of harm the appetites produce in a man. For the appetites sap the strength needed for perseverance in the practice of a virtue…. A man whose will is divided among trifles is like water which, because of some leakage, will not rise higher and consequently becomes useless.”

St. John of the Cross

If we pour out too much of our time, talent and treasure like a libation to the gods of power, possessions and pleasure, we leave ourselves open to spiritual attack, even if we have routine spiritual practices. Too much work, too many hobbies/activities, too much on the social calendar; the devil loves worldly busyness and helps to keep us pulled in many directions in order to exhaust us. This can happen even with ministry work and other “good deeds”. Once fatigued, his temptations have greater effect. He knows we will lose focus in our spiritual life and make mistakes, we will lose the will to fight and we will lose the will to win. If not careful, we too will become useless, living life as described in Romans 7:19 because fatigue makes cowards of us all.