Luminaries - The Lights of 2023

People Who Lighted the Way

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:4

As we approach the New Year, there’s a lot of looking back at the great events and personalities of the outgoing year. The people who are usually overlooked are the people who have brought hope and light in times of darkness. Their lights are guiding stars.

Peace Makers in the Crossfire

My first choice for Luminaries of 2023 are the aid workers in the war zones of Gaza. This work is dangerous in the best of times and very high risk in war time. Viola, a 26-year-old laboratory technician working with CARITAS, was killed along with her husband and infant daughter when the parish hall where they were sheltering was bombed. For many readers this was a dark and very sad post. However, I think that we should focus on its light. Viola’s story and that of thousands of aid workers around the world is a story of bringing hope and witnessing to the light of human compassion. They are the guiding stars in the utter darkness.

Asylum Seekers in the Land of Promise

We tend to think of refugees and asylum seekers as a type of victim. We see them as people who were forced to flee. We see them as so much flotsam and jetsam in the tides of world events. However, they are the best witnesses to the light. I have gotten to know many asylum seekers. They have seen the star of freedom and safety and followed it across the Darien Gap, ridden on top of train cars, and faced squalor and violence at the camps outside “The Wall.” They are amazingly self-reliant and do not arrive here as defeated people. Not knowing the language or the labyrinthine ways of the country’s immigration non-system, they are hopeful. Managing the discomfort of ankle bracelets chafing their skin, mothers walk their children more than two miles to schools and doctors’ appointments. Getting rides from friends, they travel hundreds of miles for their court hearings. Men and women are denied work permits for a year or more and must take work as they can find it for cash payment. Despite all this, they are optimistic. They are safe. Their children are safe. There are possibilities.

Christian Wiman – A Poet’s Sojourn in the Divine

Why do bad things happen to good people? This is an age-old question and is often used as an argument against belief in God. It is often the first question that comes to mind when we see the traumas and tragedies served up in our news feeds. This all becomes very personal when we suffer from acute or chronic health problems. Where is the guiding star? How does one even read the stars? Christian Wiman takes on a deeper, nuanced notion of God as he leaves the semi-agnostic phase of his life. He doesn’t return to the literalist God of his upbringing. His vocation – his poetry – takes him to a new level of appreciating God as a verb. Wiman does not follow the stars as much as he cares for his internal light. He journeys in the Divine, as opposed to defining it or searching for it over the horizon. In an age of deep suffering without meaning, Wiman finds meaning in his prolonged painful illness and the love of his family.

Pope Francis – Blessing Same Sex Couples

On December 18, 2023, Pope Francis issued a Declaration on the Pastoral Meaning of Blessing – Fiducia Suplicans. Despite its innocuous title, it has caused tidal waves in the Catholic Church because it addresses blessing same sex couples. The Pope upheld traditional teaching against same sex marriage. The blessing is a prayer for each person and not for the couple. Nevertheless, there was significant opposition to the idea of blessing people who are “living in sin” because it appears to condone a sinful, or in the case of homosexuality, an abhorrent lifestyle of continuous sin.  The Pope’s position is that everyone is worthy of a blessing because of God’s unconditional love. How does one bring light, hope, and encouragement to those dealing with rejection by their families, those who need to hide in plain sight, and those condemned by the ministers of their faith?  The Pope’s famous statement, “Who am I to judge?” is a pastoral orientation that is not shared by many in ministry. The Pope uses conservative principles of Catholic moral theology that guide but neither coerce nor condemn.

The List of Light

This is our first annual luminaries list. It does not focus on the rich and powerful but on constellations of guidance in the darkness of evil, conflict, and disregard. These awardees do not have the answers, but they live the answers: acts of faith, hope and love. Together, they make a bright star rising in the east.

Thanks again to all of you for your encouragement and support. Best wishes for a Happy and Peaceful New Year. - Randy