"I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life." 

When Jesus speaks these words, we listen. It is quite often that we as Catholics hear the light metaphor—Jesus is the light of world, shining through the darkness. It is a natural yearning, to seek the brighter corners of our dark world, to hope to feel the warmth that sunlight brings, to live in places with ample natural lighting. In fact, when my room gets too dark, I feel the urge to pull open the curtains and let the sunlight flood through. It often improves my mood.

In contrast, when I walk home alone at night, when I stare at the ceiling before going to bed, the darkness feels all-encompassing, almost intimidating in its absence of light. I blink my eyes a few times to adjust. At the end of the day, the darkness shrouds your vision. It confuses your senses. It forces you to rely on faith and faith alone. It is almost like being blindfolded and having to navigate your way through thick brambles and bushes in the woods, trusting that you are going in the right direction without the certainty of lit roads. I remember the woods of New Hampshire…the wintry nights of slippery slopes, and the fear of falling into dark voids because the light from the stars was too faint to guide me home. The only thing of comfort is the inner light of faith, the strength derived from knowing that God is walking besides me always, the surety of God’s light shining on me even when I cannot see it clearly.