Walk Always as Children of the Light and Keep the Flame of Faith Alive in Your Heart

Reflection based upon readings for the Thirty-second in Ordinary Time- Year A: Wisdom 6:12-16; Psalm 63; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25: 1-13.

There is a hymn, called “This Little Light of Mine,” that I think just about every school child knows, which goes like this:

This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine,
let it shine, let it shine, oh let it shine.

Ev'rywhere I go,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Ev'rywhere I go,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Ev'rywhere I go,
I'm gonna let it shine,
let it shine, let it shine, oh let it shine.

Jesus gave it to me,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Jesus gave it to me,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Jesus gave it to me,
I'm gonna let it shine,
let it shine, let it shine, oh let it shine.

Whenever I hear this hymn, I cannot help but think of the candle that is given to each of us on the day of our baptism.

Whether we are baptized as children or adults, on the day of our baptism, we are presented with a candle that has been lit from the larger pascal candle at the Easter Vigil. For those of you who have ever attended the Easter Vigil, you will know that it begins with a liturgy of fire and the blessing of the Easter Candle. In the darkness of the night, the Easter Candle represents the Risen Christ, whom the Church professes has destroyed the darkness of death to become the light of the world. As the Easter Candle is brought into the Church, those who have already been baptized, light their candles and help to illumine the entire Church. It is a beautiful sight to see the entire Church lit up by the candles of all the baptized. It represents the way in which we baptized are called to let Christ’s light illumine our paths, that we might follow Him, and the reality that we are also to let His light shine out before us to enlighten the world. Those who are going to be baptized at the Easter Vigil do not hold a candle, as they will receive one after they are baptized.

After those who are to be baptized at the Easter Vigil have been baptized, they are presented with a candle, which has been lit from the larger Easter Candle, and a prayer is said that offers the perfect summary of today’s Gospel message. The prayer that accompanies the presentation of the candle to the baptized is as follows:
“You have been enlightened by Christ.
Walk always as children of the light
And keep the flame of faith alive in your hearts.
When the Lord comes, may you go out to meet him
With all the saints in the heavenly kingdom.”

Just as the Gospel presents the lanterns of the virgins in this Sunday’s reading, so too this prayer speaks of our faith as a gift that we are to care for and nurture. In each of our lives, how we receive the faith is both a mystery and a gift. Some of us are raised in the faith by a very devoted family. Others are baptized as infants and do not take the faith seriously until some kind of crisis or questioning later in life leads them to embrace it more faithfully. Others come to the faith as adults as they search to find meaning in life. Once we have received the gift of faith, it is to become the light by which we guide our lives. Christ is to be that wisdom that we hear spoken of in the First Reading that we search for in pursuit of the truth. We are also called to witness to His presence in our lives. We do this by speaking about His love and allowing His Gospel values to guide us. As the song says, we are to let our light shine out in our actions and words.

There are many ways by which we as Christians can let our lights shine. We can speak of our faith in our conversations with friends. When people speak of their own uncertainty and despair, we can speak of the hope that we find in Christ. When people are mourning the death of a loved one, we can refer to our Christian faith, expressed so beautifully in this Sunday’s second reading, and our belief in eternal life and the resurrection. By our acts of charity, we proclaim our faith that others are made in the image and likeness of God and our desire to respond to God’s love for us by loving others as He has loved us. We are also called to let our lights shine by the way that we contribute to the public discourse in our society. Many Catholic teachers speak to me of their frustration by the lack of Catholic faith found in our Catholic school system. They claim it is not different from the public school system. We can support these teachers and thank them for their efforts. When called upon to vote, Catholics also ought to do so according to the teaching of the Church and their faith. We are called upon to vote according to our Catholic values and belief in the sacredness of life at all stages. New to the reality of our times in the past fifty or so years is the call to treat our environment as a sacred gift to be passed on to future generations, as Pope Francis has consistently reminded us in his teaching in “Laudato si.” There are many ways that we are called to let our light shine in the world today by our actions, words and deeds. We are to do so in order that the Lord may find us with our candles lit and burning when He returns.

However, just as the Gospel reminds us of the call to have out lanterns burning with the flame of faith when the Lord returns, it also acknowledges that this task might be a challenge. It might seem rather selfish that those with oil do not share with the others. But the fact that the Gospel is attempting to communicate, is that each one of us is responsible for our own faith life. No one else can keep the flame of faith burning in our hearts. Nor can anyone else be blamed if we choose to let the flame of faith go out in our hearts.

Perhaps, I will start by dealing with the blame game. The other day I was talking to someone who has not gone to Church in more than twenty years. He stared off by telling me that the reason why he was not going to Church was because he did not like the priest who had been at his parish the past five years. So, I reassured him by telling him that the priest probably wouldn’t like him either, and yet I was certain the priest would not let that keep him from showing up to serve him and others in the community.  However, I raised the observation that he had not been in Church for about twenty years and this priest had only been at his parish the past five years. I also pointed out that since he lived downtown, he could easily get to any number of other Churches. The truth is the only reason that he was not going to Church was because he did not want to. It just made him feel better to have someone else to blame. Unfortunately, when people do this they risk receiving the same response from Jesus when they go knocking on His door when their life is over. His answer to those in today’s Gospel was simple: “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.”

A more concerning challenge in regard to keeping our candles burning has to do with the challenges that life can present to our faith. Many good people do want to follow their faith and allow it to nurture them. However, life may bring different challenges and struggles that can make it difficult for some people to see how to apply their faith to the challenging situations that they confront. An illness, the loss of a loved one, the presence of sin and suffering in the world: for many, these are huge challenges to their faith and their ability for them to allow it to sustain them through life. This is when we are challenged to carefully feed and nurture the gift of faith that we have received. The faith that we had as children will never sustain the questions we have as adults. Each of us needs to look to provide the oil that is needed to keep our own lanterns burning. Just as a flame can be blown out by a wind, and yet requires oxygen to continue burning, there is so much in the world that can extinguish our faith, and yet we must keep feeding it to adjust to the changing times and seasons of life. I cannot emphasize enough the importance for all of us to continue to nurture our faith with good material and content. This is why Sunday Mass attendance is so important. Here we listen to God’s word and are fed by His sacraments. Checking the veracity of what we read and hear about in the world regarding our faith is also important. Ongoing education by attending parish talks, listening to good podcasts, and watching good videos about our faith are important ways to nourish the faith. Right now, there are some wonderful shows and things to watch to learn about the faith. Bishop Robert Barron has created a series of videos called “Catholicism,” which present the reality of the faith beautifully. There is also a show available on different mediums called “The Chosen,” which presents the life of Christ in a beautiful and powerful way. A priest by the name of Fr. Michael Schmitz has done some amazing podcasts called “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year.” We all need to protect and nourish our faith with positive and truthful presentations of what we profess to believe. In a world with so much garbage available, we need to be very careful and prudent about what we watch and believe.

Children have an easy time singing that hymn, “This little light of mine.” The challenges that life can bring to adults makes us understand that it is not so easy to let our light shine out at all times. And yet, as the Gospel warns, when Jesus comes, He will be looking to see that our flame of faith will be burning brightly. By it He will recognize us and grant us admission to the banquet. This week, I would challenge you to ask yourself, “What are you doing to keep the flame of faith burning brightly in your heart.” If it has been extinguished or diminished by the winds of time and the world, what must you do to strengthen it. Advent is coming, and this would be a wonderful time to take up some spiritual project to prepare to welcome Christ joyfully as He comes at Christmas.

The readings that we hear proclaimed this Sunday are intended to remind all of us of the prayer that was said when we were baptized and presented with the candle: You have been enlightened by Christ. You are to walk always as a child of the light, so that when the Lord comes you may go out to meet Him and be admitted with all the Saints to the Heavenly Kingdom.

I pray that all of us may let our lights shine.

Fr. Michael McGourty is Pastor of St. Peter’s Church in downtown Toronto.