What a powerful and literally luminous prayer and antiphon on the day of the winter solstice, the day when there is the least light and the most night! On this very day with a very long night, the Church prays for the light of Christ, Himself the Rising Star in the East, to dawn upon us. It is this light that gives us joy and hope, for in them Christ comes, the Radiant Dawn rising on the horizon of this world, coming to set things right in justice and truth. We are those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death, and Christ comes that we may walk in the light, even unto eternal life.

This light even pervades the two comings mentioned in the collect: His first coming “in our flesh” is often depicted in art by the Christ Child’s radiant and life-giving glow, and His second coming “in glory” is the moment when light will definitively triumph over darkness, and there will be no more death for those who dwell in His blazing and brilliant Presence. This is why we await both of these comings, the first at Christmas and the second at the end of all things, with such eagerness.

All of this brings to mind an ancient story of one of the desert fathers, dealing with the light of fire. “Abba Lot went to Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?” Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, “If you will, you can become all flame” (from The Sayings of the Desert Fathers). Saint Catherine of Siena has a similar sentiment in her famous phrase, “if you are who God made you to be, you will set the world on fire.”

The point of this all is to recognize that we are meant to be and spread the light of God: we cannot keep this light to ourselves, nor hide it under the bushel basket! Others need to bathe in its light, and we help them do so first by remaining in the light ourselves (avoiding sin, error, and deception), and then by being who God made us to be and living as He desires, i.e. by following His will and commandments. By being and doing so, we become shining conduits of grace in a world darkened by sin. Saint Paul summarizes it all well.

You know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Rom. 13:11-14)

Today let us conclude with a beautiful and fitting prayer from St. John Henry Newman.

Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go. Flood our souls with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess our whole being, so utterly, that our lives may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through us, and be so in us, that every soul we come in contact with may feel your presence in our soul. Let them look up and see no longer us but only Jesus! Stay with us, and then we shall begin to shine as you shine; so to shine as to be a light to others. The light, O Jesus will be all from you. None of it will be ours; it will be you shining on others through us. Let us thus praise you in the way that you love best by shining on those around us. Let us preach you with preaching: not by words but by our example, by the catching force, by sympathetic influence of what we do, the evident fullness of the love our hearts bear to you. Amen.

Reflection Questions

• Am I seeking to live in the light or choosing to stay in the darkness?
• Does the coming of Christ bring me joy and hope or fear and dread? If the latter, why?
• Do I seek to spread the light, or am I content to let others languish in the dark?

The Cristeros Rule of Life

As Cristeros, we dedicate ourselves to a a life of true devotion to Jesus through Mary, particularly in the form of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for Us.

We begin our days with a Morning Offering dedicating our day:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

At a high or low point during the day, we pray to the Holy Spirit, handing over our accomplishments or sufferings:

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful, and enkindle in us the fire of thy love, send forth thy spirit and we shall be created, and though shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.

At some point each day, on our own or with our family or friends, we pray to our Mother Mary in the form of Guadalupe, giving all that we have and are to Jesus through Mary by reciting one of the following:

• A daily Rosary, focusing on the Fruits of the Mystery.
• The Hail Holy Queen

Every night before we go to sleep, by ourselves or with our wife, we pray a nightly examine using the ACTS formula:

• Adoration: We adore you and Christ and we bless You, because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
• Contrition: Ask God for forgiveness for all the times you have sinned or fallen short that day,
• Thanksgiving: Thank God for all the gifts he has given you that day, including the grace for those moments you have acted virtuously and towards the Good.
• Supplication: We ask God for his blessings that night and the next day, either with particular requests or in general, and end with a prayer dedicating ourselves to Him through Our Lady of Guadalupe: All that we have and all that we are, we give to your hands Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Our Lady of Gudalupe, Pray For us.