I have another reflection in Plough today. This time it is titled “Just Enough Light for the Next Step.” It reflects on how we often only have a little light to know the right path, but that is not always bad. My original title was “The Little Light of Fidelity,” but I respect the new title the editors gave it. It is a reflection about always being faithful and not judging ourselves too harshly over past errors. You can read the text over there, but here are some opening lines:
We often think of fidelity to God’s will in the big things, but it is shown most clearly in the little things. If a husband is faithful, not only does he not cheat on his wife, but he is faithful in daily life: he works hard to provide for his family, joins them for dinner, plays with his kids, and chats with his wife before bed – only to do it all over again the next day.
When I first joined the Legionaries of Christ, a Catholic religious community, I wanted to be a faithful priest. But how did I train for that? In the novitiate, it included cleaning the communal bathrooms for thirty minutes right after breakfast every day. I don’t enjoy cleaning bathrooms (who does?), but I saw the purpose in the wider sense of the vocation to be a priest in this community. Sometimes God only provides us with so much vision. We have to go on in the right direction despite not knowing the whole way. Let me give you a picture of this.
You can read the rest over there. I want to encourage my readers to subscribe to Plough: recently, it has become one of my favorite publications (not a paid promotion although they paid me for the article).
