Anchors of Hope - Notice the Light Come Into the World

Fall might be my favorite time of year. Usually, lower humidity and cooler temperatures bring a breath of fresh air, reviving my soul. However, in late summer, I became preoccupied with monitoring the diminishing daylight hours. The weight of darkness bearing down felt heavy with anticipatory grief. I looked ahead on my weather app to determine the exact day Chicago would have fewer minutes of daytime than night—September 26. Now, in October, I have coffee with morning prayer before the sun rises. It sets well before I walk over to church for choir rehearsal on Wednesday evenings.

On Sunday, September 28, I read about the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Sitting in the dark the next morning in prayer, I received a text from a distressed friend that prompted me to turn on the morning news. Videos of ICE invading an apartment building on the south side of my city were shocking. I was angry and despairing. Turning those feelings into prayer, words that had begun to surface as the days grew shorter now began to flash like a neon sign in my heart: “The Light IS come into the world. Darkness shall NOT overcome it.”

I paused to look up the scripture and be reminded of the fuller context. Saint John the Evangelist thought this message about the Light and darkness was so important that he included it in both chapters 1 and 3 of his Gospel. Continuing to deepen my prayer, the Holy Spirit shifted my focus: “See! Notice the Light come to life in the world.” This practice of noticing sources of Light throughout the day has become an anchor of hope.

This practice does not deny that the power of darkness is real. For some, the darkness can be a seduction to assert power disguised as doing something they believe to be good. Recalling an American West expression from my childhood, I acknowledge this desire to to “circle the wagons” exists within me too—to draw people I love closer, to defend and protect them. I also acknowledge a temptation to circle the wagons around my heart, to shield myself from bad news or having difficult conversations.

Anchored in hope, I’m praying for the graces of courage to not withdraw to my circle of wagons, to step out in trust, to draw strength from noticing the Christ Light shining in others: a young man hopping up to help a young mother with a stroller get settled on the bus; a neighbor who faithfully checks in on others in our building, bringing food to one who awaits surgery and consoling another whose spouse has recently passed; a senior center instructor who teaches line dancing steps to her class with humor and patience.

Alongside me in prayer, the Holy Spirit is deepening this invitation to “notice the Light.” Noticing is only the first step. “God sent a messenger to tell others so all could hear and believe” (The Message, John 1:6-8). Being a prophetic witness is part of who we are called to be by virtue of our baptism. As my list of sources of Light grows, my heart feels the tug of this anchor of hope when I begin to drift. I pray for the courage to be a source of Christ’s light to others too—showing up to love and serve. Together, our witness is shining the Light who has come into the world. The darkness shall not overcome it.

Going Deeper:

• Explore your own ways of noticing moments of Light. Offer a prayer of gratitude for each you encounter, and ask God for the grace to become ever more deeply anchored in hope.

• Read and reflect on Cardinal McElroy’s homily given during Mass for the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

• Pray with a Scripture Meditation: Pope Francis and the Parable of the Good Samaritan as you ponder Jesus’ question, “Who was neighbor to the one in need?”

• Jesus doesn’t send us out on our own or without the gifts we need. Use the prayer method of Lectio Divina to pray with the Sending of the Twelve in the Gospel of Mark 6:7-13.

• Revisit the Easter Exultet, savoring the images of light and this concluding prayer to God:

May this flame be found still burning by the Morning Star:

the one Morning Star who never sets, Christ your Son,

who, coming back from death’s domain,

has shed his peaceful light on humanity,

and lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Photo by Jenene Francis.

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Jenéne Francis

Jenéne Francis is an aspiring contemplative in action who finds writing creative non-fiction and short fiction a fruitful spiritual practice. She also enjoys adapting and offering the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius for days of reflection and retreats. Jenéne recently retired from the Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus after many years supporting Jesuits and colleagues who serve retreat houses, spirituality programs, parishes, and as hospital chaplains and other pastoral ministers. Having spent her first career at the Procter and Gamble Company in product development and manufacturing, followed by more than 20 years in Jesuit ministry, Jenéne gets great satisfaction offering her engineer’s head and poet’s heart for “the greater glory of God.”