"The Light shines IN the darkness, and the darkness HAS NOT overcome it." St John of the Cross took us on this exploration of the dark night of the senses and the dark night of the soul in the 16th century. He experienced it fully, and he wrote about the final outcome of it. In the end, as he experienced it, the darkness itself BECAME light.
Doors that open us to our brokenness as an opening to new life and visions. Truly waking from our tombs. Thank you for the depth and sharing of the light you live from. 💕🙏🏻
What a wonderful insight and perspective on a familiar passage. Thank you so much for your keen words. And David Whyte…..he is just the best, isn’t he?
I tried, yet again, to find a faith community for me and my daughter. I said I would “give up” my preconceptions of what I wanted for us, with memories of the community we built and left behind with our first relocation, and sit and breathe in “what is.” And again we found doors closed to our willingness to step up, together, my disabled daughter and I, to volunteer to work among the current members because we are “too new” with “possible limitations” and we’re “unknown” to the Leadership. Same story with each new church we’ve tried here. “Just sit and rest” the pastors say. But, why? I’ve been resting at home. Now I want to connect to a community and them to us, in the “give and take of breath. I want to BE the Body of Christ. Onward. I’ve set my eyes on a new faith community. We’ll try again next week. 🙌🙏👀 Still looking…for the light under the threshold.
The week leading up to today, I was pre imaging the eclipse. I was thinking of a total eclipse we had experienced with our children when they were early elementary and pre elementary. I was feeling the darkness and nighttime in the middle of the day. I was wondering what a 70 percent would look like here. I did a paper collage- a piece which I believe expresses the light you reflected on this morning. My reflection "no matter the shape of darkness, there is always some light ("The light of Love) in our darkness. " After doing this piece I felt Happy/ Joy and you brought this to bear this morning. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your words today. They helped me in so many ways. But the most important insight is that it helped me with a fearfulness I have lived with for almost 90 years. It gave me a perspective I lacked. The images of standing at the door, opening it, stepping through it and light and darkness really spoke to me and I listened. Thanks be to God - and to you.
I really appreciate your sensitivity to the underlying truths in the Bible that speak so clearly. It is one thing to have an external Jesus that we follow and quite another to accept and fully realize the risen Christ within. For the disciples, the human person Jesus was present as a teacher and guide. To really embody the presence of Jesus requires dying to what we thought as the only possible reality, being willing to enter this darkness, facing whatever we find, and emerging in the freedom of new life. Faith in resurrection is the natural consequence of a process that is an ongoing opportunity for renewal through death. Darkness is only light under pressure and fear is certainly an oppressive force. Release the pressure and light is liberated in endless joy!
"I Want to be a Child of the Light,' is one of my favorite hymns, Advent season or not. Hearing it sung so beautifully has opened a door in my heart and given me a peace I didn't realize I needed. And the poem"s words rang true as it was not my effort that opened the locked door, but the presence of Christ wrapping the tomb of my room in brilliant light. 🎶 I want to walk as a child of the Light. I want to see Jesus...in him there is no darkness at all, the night and the day are both alike🎶 Truly a total eclipse of the heart ♥️
Another "Wow!" interpretation. Thank you!
A full, deep breath of freedom! Thank you, Diana. ❤️
Only in Him is there hope ❤️🙏🏻✝️🙏🏻❤️
Interesting thought - "they entombed themselves." Thanks Diana
Ah!
These are written so we don't have to be afraid!
I heard the Gospel during today's liturgy with totally different ears after reflecting with these powerful insights from Diana.
Wow! We discussed these readings in our men's Bible study yesterday, but your comments made me see these Scripture lessons in a whole new way. Thanks.
"The Light shines IN the darkness, and the darkness HAS NOT overcome it." St John of the Cross took us on this exploration of the dark night of the senses and the dark night of the soul in the 16th century. He experienced it fully, and he wrote about the final outcome of it. In the end, as he experienced it, the darkness itself BECAME light.
Doors that open us to our brokenness as an opening to new life and visions. Truly waking from our tombs. Thank you for the depth and sharing of the light you live from. 💕🙏🏻
I am so grateful for your words and the wonderful comments from the readers. You all bring light to my corner of the world.
What a wonderful insight and perspective on a familiar passage. Thank you so much for your keen words. And David Whyte…..he is just the best, isn’t he?
Breathtaking…all of it. Yet this caught my heart:
“Your way home,
understood now,
not as an achievement,
but as a giving up,
a blessed undoing,
an arrival
in the body
and a full rest
in the give
and take
of the breath.”
I tried, yet again, to find a faith community for me and my daughter. I said I would “give up” my preconceptions of what I wanted for us, with memories of the community we built and left behind with our first relocation, and sit and breathe in “what is.” And again we found doors closed to our willingness to step up, together, my disabled daughter and I, to volunteer to work among the current members because we are “too new” with “possible limitations” and we’re “unknown” to the Leadership. Same story with each new church we’ve tried here. “Just sit and rest” the pastors say. But, why? I’ve been resting at home. Now I want to connect to a community and them to us, in the “give and take of breath. I want to BE the Body of Christ. Onward. I’ve set my eyes on a new faith community. We’ll try again next week. 🙌🙏👀 Still looking…for the light under the threshold.
The week leading up to today, I was pre imaging the eclipse. I was thinking of a total eclipse we had experienced with our children when they were early elementary and pre elementary. I was feeling the darkness and nighttime in the middle of the day. I was wondering what a 70 percent would look like here. I did a paper collage- a piece which I believe expresses the light you reflected on this morning. My reflection "no matter the shape of darkness, there is always some light ("The light of Love) in our darkness. " After doing this piece I felt Happy/ Joy and you brought this to bear this morning. Thank you.
Dear Diana,
Thank you so much for your words today. They helped me in so many ways. But the most important insight is that it helped me with a fearfulness I have lived with for almost 90 years. It gave me a perspective I lacked. The images of standing at the door, opening it, stepping through it and light and darkness really spoke to me and I listened. Thanks be to God - and to you.
I really appreciate your sensitivity to the underlying truths in the Bible that speak so clearly. It is one thing to have an external Jesus that we follow and quite another to accept and fully realize the risen Christ within. For the disciples, the human person Jesus was present as a teacher and guide. To really embody the presence of Jesus requires dying to what we thought as the only possible reality, being willing to enter this darkness, facing whatever we find, and emerging in the freedom of new life. Faith in resurrection is the natural consequence of a process that is an ongoing opportunity for renewal through death. Darkness is only light under pressure and fear is certainly an oppressive force. Release the pressure and light is liberated in endless joy!
"I Want to be a Child of the Light,' is one of my favorite hymns, Advent season or not. Hearing it sung so beautifully has opened a door in my heart and given me a peace I didn't realize I needed. And the poem"s words rang true as it was not my effort that opened the locked door, but the presence of Christ wrapping the tomb of my room in brilliant light. 🎶 I want to walk as a child of the Light. I want to see Jesus...in him there is no darkness at all, the night and the day are both alike🎶 Truly a total eclipse of the heart ♥️