September 23, 2007

Photo Negatives (Part 2)

In my last meditation I compared the merely secular understanding of life to a photo negative. Only by faith do we see things as they really are, like the full color photograph. This will be completely true when we arrive in heaven (please God). I would like to extend the analogy further.

If we have weak faith, then we need to cooperate with the grace of God to strengthen it. A daily prayer life and good works are indispensable means to this end. In order to develop a photo negative, it must be taken into a dark room. There it is treated with a chemical process in order to produce the full color photograph. Something similar happens in the life of faith.

God allows trials and suffering in this world. When we bear the cross with faith, these experiences strengthen the soul. Saint John of the Cross described this process as a dark night. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta experienced much darkness and aridity in her interior life. God exchanges the sweetness of spiritual desserts for the spiritual dryness of the desert. Frequent the sacraments, especially Confession and the presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Prayer and the sacraments are the oasis in this journey to heaven, our true homeland.

Pray, pray, pray,

Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR

St. Leopold Friary, Yonkers, NY

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