Sunday in the Easter Octave: "As stars illumine the night..."

Astrophotography 

Lot's of people write about the sadness they feel living in a world that's so dark and fearsome. Sister Faustina (1905-1938) wrote her diary as Hitler (German Chancellor 1933-45) was gearing up and accruing power to himself. She wrote in her diary:

"Chosen souls are, in my hand, lights which I cast into the darkness of the world and with which I illumine it. As stars illumine the night, so chosen souls illumine the earth. And the more perfect a soul is, the stronger and the more far reaching is the light shed by it. It can be hidden and unknown, even to those closest to it, and yet its holiness is reflected in souls even to the most distant extremities of the world."

We don't talk much about our souls anymore. And that's a shame because soul is our innermost part. We could say it's the part of us that is most real. But distracted as we are by so much outer life, our souls are often unattended and un-evolved. But Faustina uses the word soul generously in her writing. In this entry she likens souls to stars shining in a dark world. What did she know about the spreading darkness coming out of Germany? She died in 1938, the year before her country, Poland, was invaded by Germany.

I have an extra thought though about Faustina's use of the word chosen. As if some souls are chosen and other souls not? I'd say, as God's children, we're all chosen to be lights in a dark world. But we're free to do with that divine honor as we will. So, as stars illumine the night...

let your compassion shine.
let your generosity shine.
let your smile shine.
let your eyes shine.
let your hospitality shine.
let your availability shine.

Like Paul Simon sings in The Only Living Boy in New York, "Hey, let your honesty shine, shine, shine..."

And then let God do with it as God wills.