Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Michael J. O’LoughlinDecember 14, 2022
Photo from Unsplash.

A Reflection for the Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church

Find today’s readings here.

I am the LORD, there is no other;
I form the light, and create the darkness,
I make well-being and create woe;
I, the LORD, do all these things. (Is 45:6-7)

Perhaps given the time of year, it’s a bit predictable to focus on these phrases from Isaiah. We are, after all, approaching the shortest day on the calendar. In Chicago, where I live, the sun will rise next Wednesday at 7:14am and set at 4:22pm. Sunlight for just nine hours and eight minutes.

Darkness is on my mind.

Like others preparing to endure these darker days, I’ve strung up colored bulbs, inside and out. I light candles in the afternoon and it might soon be cold enough to warrant burning wood in the fireplace. Fighting the darkness, while futile, can nonetheless be beautiful.

After I read this passage, I decided to explore what others have written about this passage. It seems many Christians are focused on the darkness and the woe, curious if God creates evil and suffering. That’s an understandable line of inquiry, but it’s not what caught my attention.

Fighting the darkness, while futile, can nonetheless be beautiful.

Instead I was drawn to the inevitable darkness that can be present at times, both physical and metaphorical.

An episode of The Americans came to mind. One of the main characters, Elizabeth, as an undercover nurse, befriends an artist. The artist, dying from cancer, explains how she approaches her charcoal drawings. All explorations of light and darkness. That’s it. Look closely, and whatever is in front of you can be broken down into light and darkness. Most people just don’t take the time to notice.

I’ve thought about that episode from time to time over the years, in moments that were vibrant with light and some that felt filled with shadow. It’s offered me a sense of balance. I’m attuned to the challenges that sometimes accompany moments of light. I’ve also been comforted in knowing that even the darker moments, if you look closely, they also contain light. And in these final, dark days before Christmas, Isaiah offers us a timely reminder of the light that awaits us.

More: Scripture

The latest from america

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with other members of the House July 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington after final passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”
Kevin ClarkeJuly 03, 2025
It was one of the first times Leo has spoken unscripted at length in public, responding to questions posed to him by the children.
The Vatican has named the judges that will preside over the trial of disgraced Father Marko Rupnik.
For so many of us, Roger Haight marked off a breathtakingly wide horizon in which we, agreeing with him or not, could fulfill our mission for God’s people.