THREE WORDS OF WISDOM

 LIGHT YOUR LAMPS

(photo: R.Massaro, Poor Clare Monastery, Canton,Oh.)

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.

Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have the servants recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.

Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Luke 12:35-40

In today's Gospel, the Lord exhorts us to "light your lamps." Jesus told the Apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide them in all things. As Christians, we must look to the Holy Spirit to be our light and our guide. How do we keep the lamp of our soul lit and in a state of grace? By frequent reception of the sacraments.

As Secular Carmelites, we know that a point of our Rule is to have frequent recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Why? Because it makes spiritual common sense, doesn't it?  When one gets away from the Sacraments, the spiritual life is harder to live. We cannot make progress to reach purity of heart on our own, we need the light of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God to help us reach spiritual perfection.


We must obey the Holy Father and the teachings of the Church: the universal Sacrament of salvation.  Here is a beautiful quote from the Catechism on the nature of the Church as Sacrament:


The Church, in Christ, is like a sacrament--a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men.
Excerpt from #775


As sacrament, the Church is Christ's instrument. She is taken up by him also as the instrument for the salvation of all, the universal sacrament of salvation, by which Christ is "at once manifesting and actualizing the mystery of God's love for men. "
Excerpt from #776

In our Carmelite tradition and teaching we are familiar with St. John's famous poem, "The Dark Night."  In this poem he writes,

...On that glad night
in secret, for no one saw me,
nor did I look at anything
with no other light or guide
than the one that burned in my heart.

This beautiful stanza describes a soul that is on fire with love for God and steps out into the dark night of faith to seek the Beloved.

We can examine ourselves and discern if our hearts are on fire with love of God that manifests itself by charity toward our neighbor. When we become Christlike we will be like a shining light that others are drawn to. 

Life is so short...Let us keep our lamps lit, for we know not the day nor the hour when the Master will return.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie, OCDS
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