Month: March 2023

On the last day of our 2023 Novena of Grace, Fr. Gary Smith, SJ, deftly weaves scripture, story, and imagery in a beautiful reflection to light our path forward.

From fireflies lighting up the night in New York to Sudanese refugees carrying kerosene lamps and singing him home through the Ugandan bush, Fr. Gary recounts the evocative memories that spoke to him of our Novena theme. 

We also become light to other people, and other people become lights to us, Fr. Gary says, like the sex worker who lived in darkness but who found a safe space in the shelter where Fr. Gary worked — and friendship with him. Two years later, he officiated her wedding. 

But most importantly, Fr. Gary finds light in the Eucharist — in Christ, the light of the world, who brings God’s light to each one of us.

Listen to his beautiful reflection, and may his words help you see the light shining the way forward on your path as our Novena draws to a close.

Greg Carpinello begins his reflection today by describing the experience of being in the darkness: at its root, it a complete and utter powerlessness. And yet Greg says he believes that before we can find the light, we have to learn to be comfortable in the darkness.

Today’s first reading paints a picture of what this darkness looks like for Esther as she was “seized with mortal anguish” and “lay prostrate upon the ground.”

Greg thought that he knew darkness in its various forms (heartbreak, loss, disappointment) until in 2017, he experienced a “slow, building ocean wave of overwhelm” crashing across his life. When he was able to embrace his own “Queen Esther moment” of darkness, Greg found that his faith gave him a way back to the light.

Hear Greg’s linking his own wandering through the darkness to the Gospel call to “ask, seek, knock” — a countercultural message in a time of self-sufficiency and control.

Irene Powch shares her story today, as a first-generation immigrant from Ukraine and a young woman who thrived in academia, but also as one who had to go into the wilderness to truly find her call.

“God always has a seat at the table waiting for us,” Irene says. For her, it took wandering across Alaska, Guatemala, and returning home to New York to find her seat in her career, in her faith, and in her family heritage.

If God is the light that shines in the darkness, Irene says, “What matters to God is a pure, sincere, open heart, not a pedigree.”

Listen to Irene’s story, and consider how it asks you to reflect on the places where you are meant to amplify God’s light.