Monthly Archives: April 2010

Live in the Light

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Mary| 1 Comment

When I was 15, my uncle gave me a piece of advice that I can honestly still hear echoing in my head to this day.

If you’ve been following my blog at all (or if you know me well), you may know that I have a pretty black and white view of romantic relationships.  In my opinion, there’s no reason why a romantic relationship needs to be “complicated”.  The way I see it, if you want to be with someone, it’s not complicated; you make it work.  Well, I don’t speak about that without experience.  The whole reason this particular conversation with my uncle came up when I was 15 was because I was in the midst of a “complicated” relationship with some boy from school.  We weren’t sure we wanted to put the title on the relationship because there were all these other factors at play.  It just seemed so “complicated”.

After explaining the situation to my uncle, he reminded me of something that just sort of made everything I was stressing over fall into place.  Drawing from Ephesians, he just said 4 simple words:

“Live in the light”.

“…You are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth…Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light.”

-Ephesians 5:8-9, 11-14

If the relationship I wanted to have with this boy from school wasn’t “shameful” or somehow outside of God’s will for our lives, then there was no reason why we shouldn’t call it what it was.  And if it was one of the two descriptors above, then it shouldn’t have even been a question at all.

It seems like the most simplistic lesson ever.  To be honest, it was.  I just needed someone to point it out to me.

But I didn’t write this post to talk about the unnecessary “complications” we throw into romantic relationships.  As I quickly realized, this advice applied to a lot more aspects in my life than just 15-year-old puppy love.  On the most basic level, it dealt with who we are called to be in the day to day.

To “live in the light” has since become a sort of motto I try to live by.  I won’t claim I never fall into the shadows, but I will say that ever since my uncle said that to me, I find myself hearing his voice in my head often when I am tempted to.

I think we all can relate to the temptation to sometimes hide in the shadows.  Think about the instances throughout the week when we censor ourselves around certain “types” of people.  The justifications we give for not being totally honest with someone we maybe would feel “judged” by if we were completely honest (“they just wouldn’t understand..”).  Think about those times we feel God calling us to say something, to stand up for Him, and we are afraid.

The light can be a scary place.  It may reveal things about ourselves that we’re not ready to come to terms with.  Being in the light means we have to wake up and face the obstacles of the day; so we prefer it in the darkness where we can rest easily in our ignorance.

But being in the light also means being a complete person.  Being in the light means you know who you are and you are unashamed of it.  Isn’t that the kind of person we should all want to be?  The kind of person that doesn’t have to hide any part of who they are from anyone at any time?  If we are finding ourselves wanting to settle back in the shadows, maybe it’s time to start asking why.


Posted in Stuff Catholics Do, You & God

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Roma!!

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Mary| 2 Comments

I just landed back in the states last night from a week in Rome with my Catholic University.  There were about 15 of us students and we were shown around by our Theology/Art professor.  I have to say, it was incredible.

It was actually my third time visiting Rome and, of course, each time I get to go it is a wonderful blessing.  This time, we all stayed in a seminary within walking distance of just about everything (Saint Peter’s Basilica was just a brief walk over the Tiber!).  Breakfast was at 8, we met outside at 9 for a full day of “class” around the city, and the nights we had to ourselves to explore Rome with awesome friends.  To give you an idea, here are just some of the things we got to see:

  • The 4 major Basilicas (St. Peter’s, Santa Maria Maggiore, St. Paul Outside the Wall, & St. John Lateran),
  • The Colosseum, the Vatican Museums (i.e. Sistine Chapel, Raphael Rooms, etc.),
  • and a ton of other sites and smaller churches.

It’s funny though.  I could write a book about all of the cool things I learned about the places we visited, the experiences I had praying at places like where St. Paul is physically buried (yes, the real St. Paul.  The guy who literally wrote the Letters to the Corinthians, Ephesians, etc.), or seeing the enormity of structures like the Colosseum in real life.  However, I’m thinking it’ll be the seemingly minor memories that stick with me the most.

…For example:

On our first full day in Rome, we visited St. Peter’s Basilica.  After spending about 20 minutes in the adoration chapel, I really wanted to go to confession.  Because I had been there before, I was comfortable enough excusing myself without telling anyone and walking over to where the confessionals are.  I figured I’d just meet up with my classmates later.

So I went to confession and was finishing up my penance in one of the side chapels.  I stood up to leave and go find my classmates, only to turn around and see them all kneeling in the back of the chapel waiting in line for confession as well.  It seems like such a small thing and not a big deal at all.  Of course my Catholic friends from school would be going to Reconciliation in St. Peter’s.  But even at a Catholic school, and even in Rome, sometimes I can forget the role God wants my friends play in my spiritual journey.  That instance for me after confession was just a great reminder of the blessings God has given me in the people He has put in my life even in just the past year.

The above picture is from another God-incidence I had on the trip.  It was the end of the day and we had just left from the Vatican Museums and were heading back to our place to get ready for a night at the Trevi Fountain.  We had to stop and wait up for some people so there were 5 of us standing on the street in front of St. Peter’s.  All of a sudden, a group of 2 priests and some other young adults walk by carrying this massive wooden cross and a guitar.  Turns out they were carrying the World Youth Day cross.  They stopped off to talk to us (they spoke English!) and invited us to pray with them.  So we stood there for about 10 or 15 minutes in front of this cross in front of St. Peter’s singing praise to God with our voices and guitar.  What are the chances?

Anyway, I could write a lot more about different experiences we all had.  Suffice it to say that it was a great time and a spiritual journey all the same.  It is amazing the way God chooses to reveal Himself to you in every moment of your life.  All we have to do is open our eyes to see Him.

…Oh and P.S. – I got to go to mass with the Pope….TWICE! :-)

Have a blessed Triduum and a Happy Easter!

Posted in Other Rants, You & God

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