Monday, September 25, 2006

letting the light shine

Today's Gospel message was that no one lights a lamp in order to hide it. That goes so well with what I have been reading, courtesy of my Dad's newly-shelved library: Thomas Merton's "The Seven Storey Mountain."
While I have read essays and the like by Merton, and even read his Wartime Journals (again, courtesy of Dad's library, some years back), I must admit to my shame that I have never read Seven Storey Mountain. And now I really regret that. It really does seem like the perfect book for an unbeliever or a fallen-away-into-the-predominating-culture Catholic. (I can think of a few of those.) And for a lifelong Catholic, it is a helpful reminder about noticing the lights that God has lit and continues to light along the way. He does not put them in hiding places, and he does not want me to tuck them away, either.
Let your light shine.
 
And, giving glory where glory is due, our prayers continue to strengthen Dad's morale. He is a bit better today, though we will find out tomorrow if the infection is still present. Thanks for continuing your prayers.

3 comments:

Lisa said...

Prayers continue...

Anonymous said...

I too am a life long Catholic and spend my childhood looking at my father's copy of "The Seven Story Mountain" The cover was in pulp fiction fashion of the day and quite interesting to a boy of 9 or 10. Thirty years later I finally read it. Shortly after I read another good book about Merton, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage" by Paul Elie. He discusses Merton, Day, Walker and O'connor and what roads they took in embracing their faith and putting it in words on paper.

Prays are said for your father in this house.

Sister Anne said...

I've read the Elie book. Dad's also a bit of a Walker Percy fan--when I was putting the flood-rescued books on the family bookshelf, I noticed a whole "Walker Percy section."
Thanks for the prayers: please continue!