THE LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS

All living organism​s, with the exception of some bacteria, need light to survive.  Aside from the scientific reasons, human beings are less comfortable in the dark and telling ghost stories in the dark as children cements that at an early age.  Light provides us the opportunity to see our surroundings and our instinct is to be aware of any danger that we may encounter.  That gives us a sense of security that protects us when we are alerted from imminent danger.   Spiritual darkness is also a real phenomenon.  Mystics such as St. John of the Cross and St. Theresa of Avila have written of their own experiences.  It was recently revealed that St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta suffered for almost 50 years without experiencing the light of the presence of God in her dark night of her soul.  The miracle is that she was able to do so much work with so much love in the midst of her own deep personal suffering.   She left a great lesson for me on faith/fulness.  Faith is not a feeling or an emotion but a gift that is freely given to us if we use it.  We don't have to feel it but with it we can produce great fruit.  Faith cannot be seen but it can be witnessed by the acts of those who choose to receive the gift.  Yes, those who live in faith can and probably will experience darkness, but "the light of faith shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it."  John 1:5