1/31/2013 – Thursday of third week in ordinary time – Mark 4:21-25

      Baptisms are one of the most joyful occasions I celebrate in my life as a priest.  Last weekend, I celebrated a baptism in the Spanish mass.  In the baptismal rite, the godparent lights a candle for the child being baptized from the paschal candle, representing how the light of Christ that is being passed on to the child through the sacrament of baptism and through the promises and commitment that the parents and godparents make on behalf of the child. The baptismal rite explains that this light is entrusted to the parents and grandparents in order to be kept burning brightly in the life of the child. 

         We are the light of Christ.  We have the light of Christ burning inside of us.  We can choose to keep this light burning.  We can pass on this light to others.  Or we can extinguish the light and keep it hidden from the world.

         When I was a small child growing up in Chicago in the Rogers Park neighbor, the example of Christ’s light living in the adults at the church that we attended was a great example of faith for me.  I felt so nurtured and so encourage by the light of Christ that I saw in their lives. As a child, it seemed like this light of Christ was so appreciated in our world.  However, today, we see Christianity under attack.  In many ways, the government is trying hard to marginalize the light of Christ in the world and to make it irrelevant.  When I was in Yazoo City, there was a cross on a water tower in the nearby community of Benton for years. The people of the community saw it as an historical landmark, as a light shining in the darkness of the world.  Yet, someone who did not even live in the community was offended by this lighted cross and sued the community to take it down.  Fortunately, the good people of that small town raised funds in order to put that light on a tower located on private land. They would not let the light of Christ to be taken from their community. 

         We may face a lot of challenges and struggles in our lives that try to keep the light of Christ away from us.  Yet, it is up to us to keep it burning brightly.  May we never forget that task that is entrusted to us.