Light of faith
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| Light of Faith-Abraham Hunter |
"Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th' encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me." (John Henry Newman).
Recently I have decided to re-read the encyclical
‘Lumen fidei’ (Light of faith), written by both Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI. For me there was a common thread: the concept of the faith
journey. I could hear the words of the melodic ‘Lead, kindly light’ playing in
my mind as I read- ‘one step enough for me…’ This prayer of Cardinal Newman is
one which has been set to music and found its way into the Roman Breviary and
is one with which we often conclude our Evening Prayer with.
It is interesting to read the text of Lumen fidei
and see those passages which typically are of Benedict’s style and those which
are of Francis’. Such is the creativity of the Holy Spirit which allowed these
two shepherds to come together with their experience of faith so that they
could encourage those on the pilgrim path.
Surprisingly
enough, the encyclical in its opening paragraphs quotes Nietzsche (yes, the
same Nietzsche who infamously wrote ‘God is dead!’), in reference to his advice
to his younger sister Elisabeth. He encourages her to take risks, to tread “new
paths… with all the uncertainty of one who must find his own way”, adding that
“this is where humanity’s paths part: if you want peace of soul and happiness,
then believe, but if you want to be a follower of truth, then seek”. (LF 2).
Faith is a journey that is often formed in our
weakness. It is formed and nourished in
those spaces where we can ask questions that lead us forward- questions about Jesus,
our relationship with him, about death, about life, about tragedy, about pain
and so many other things. As we ponder, we walk. We need to continuously keep
walking onwards, even when it would be easier to stop, stagnate and wallow in
the difficulties that can often surround us.
Fourteen years ago, the course in preparation for
Perpetual Vows birthed the blog ‘Pilgrim Progress’ of which the undersigned was
the scribe. Hailing from 8 different countries, it became a way for us to stay
in touch with our respective communities by sharing with them what we were
living during this three-month course. However, the journey didn’t finish there,
and I find myself on occasions, still blogging. I also still find myself very
consciously, being a pilgrim!
As evening falls, it is fitting that we ask the Lord
to guide our feet along the path, especially when the haze of life descends and
we trust that indeed ‘one step enough for me’ is all it takes to continue the pilgrimage.
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