By Katie Harmon-McLaughlin, Director of Formation Ministries

…and above all things, clothe yourselves with the bonds of charity, as with a mantle, which is a bond of perfetness and peace; pray always, that you may not faint until I come: behold, and lo, I will come quickly, and receive you unto myself. Amen.

[Excerpted from “When We Gather,” Advent and Christmas Resource]

Dark and light are not as separate as we often imagine.
What of dusk and dawn?
What of starlight radiance and glow of moon?
What of cloud cover and rain obscuring sun at noon?

What of shadow and shade?
Glimmering, flickering flame of candle—
Circle aglow in surrounding night?
Sunlight streaming through trees,
Sideways beams in late afternoon—
Beauty in the balance
Of the luminous
And hidden?

And so it is in us.
The necessary pull of moon and rise of sun sustaining life.
The inner shadows inviting healing,
The spaces of shade from the too-brightness of what seems to sear.
The colors of dawn gleaming in the new-day soul.
The descending dusk of letting go into the night where the Spirit works unseen within.

The edges of light greeting darkness—
Spaces of passage where what we try so hard to keep divided
Becomes indistinguishably one.

And the longest night of my life is,
Across the globe, the longest day for another.
And my longest day is another’s longest night.
The light does not ever vanish nor does the darkness.
What I seek and what I resist always present somewhere
Even when they are not visible—
Always an invitation and inevitability.

And so blessed are you who live in the intersecting places of darkness meeting light,
Who refuse to see as separate the union needed for fullest life—
The balance needed for growth at all.
Blessed are you who enter the longest night with a heart open
To the gifts the darkness brings.
And blessed are you who bask in the longest day to soak in the fullness of what is revealed.
Blessed are the dark and the light and the spaces they gather
To meet in every season, in every heart.

Prayer Phrase

“I bring you good news that will cause great joy” (Luke 2:10).

Kindling the Light

Choose a quiet spot where you can sit comfortably. Place a candle or small light in front of you. Take a few slow breaths, letting the noise of the day settle. Light the candle. As you strike the match or switch on the light, say softly:
“I make room for joy to grow within me.
I make room for the light that connects me to others.
I make room for the Spirit of Christ.”
Pause for a few breaths, letting the glow of the light fill your awareness.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.