Fifth Sunday of Easter
Dante’s Divine Comedy begins, “In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself, in a dark wood, where the direct way was lost.” When have you been lost in a dark wood of your life? God has “called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” according to the First Letter of Peter. It is not we who have freed ourselves from darkness. God has freed us. It is not we who have found a light. God has given us a light. This light is His Son, who in all humility proclaims, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
Can we imagine the light of Christ’s face shining upon us, bringing us out of darkness? Christ’s Face shows us the Face of God, so that Christ says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Pope Francis has preached that “Jesus’ gaze always lifts us up…The gaze makes you feel that He loves you. This gives the courage to follow Him…” As we pray, let us imagine Christ’s Face. May we receive the light of his Face as surely as the moon receives the light of the sun. Moreover, let us reflect this light and love in our lives.