Better to light one candle than curse the darkness advises Offaly influencer

Lighting a candle for someone holds deep symbolic and emotional significance across various cultures and contexts. It is a ritual that transcends religious or spiritual beliefs and is often used to convey a range of sentiments and intentions. The act of lighting a candle for someone can represent: Remembrance and Honour, Prayer and Hope, Celebration, Peace and Tranquility, Unity and Solidarity, Love and Romance, Symbol of Guidance, A Gesture of Support, Cultural and Religious Practices, Personal Reflection and Intention. 

Beautiful act

Lighting a candle is a mysteriously beautiful action. Where there is total, complete darkness, one lit candle becomes crucially indispensable. The spiritual meaning of a candle encompasses a range of symbolisms, including illumination, enlightenment, and reverence. It represents the light in the darkness, guiding us through uncertainties and symbolizing our spiritual selves.

Candles also signify a calm presence and connection to God. In spiritual terms, a candle’s light is often seen as representing divine light, helping to manifest our intentions and desires in the universe. It’s said that each flame has a specific frequency and resonates with certain energies, aiding in healing, meditation, and rituals. It’s a universal symbol of peace and hope, used widely in religious and spiritual practices worldwide.

My candles

Recall the quote, “It is better to light one candle, than to curse the darkness.” The candles I light each day for people who ask me too are the luminous reminder of my daily vow as much as I can to muster up the courage to follow the Light of Christ, the Jesus we read about and hear about in the Gospel readings each day, to the end. My thought for the week prayer candle sits in front of me daily as I write this thought for the week column each week. It is the living memory of the light in my soul that brought me to where I am now at this present moment of my journey through life.

This candle that I light for everyone daily including for myself is a reminder to me that its light and warmth must help others to find their own ways through life. Candles, for all their fragility, are, in fact, the overwhelming image of what it means to be spiritually alive. In them is an ancient energy, eternal light, ceaseless prayer, sign of possibility, of help, love, prayer and hope on the horizons of our lives.

My favourite prayer

To light a candle by myself is one of my favorite prayers. I am not talking about reading prayers by candlelight. The very act of lighting a candle is prayer. There is the sound of striking the match, the whiff of smoke after blowing it out, the way the flame flares up and then sinks, almost goes out until a drop of melted wax gives it strength to grow to its proper size and to steady itself. All this and the darkness beyond my small circle of light is prayer. I enter it as one enters a room. My being alone is essential to this prayer.

This burning candle is a celebration of my belief in and love of life and of God. I am asking that all shall be well, not just for myself, but for everyone who cries out for God, for everyone who prays, and for everyone who would pray if they could but find the heart to do so. My candle lighting is filled with hope and gratitude. That is my prayer. I pray mostly without words. I enter into the mystery of life. My love and my lighted candle is in my prayer.

Candle of hope

The motto I mentioned above is a good one, “It is far better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Jesus said something like that but in a different way. He said, “You are a lamp. And a lamp must shed its light upon those who are around so that when they see your good works, they will give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” T

he great writer A. J. Cronin tells of travelling through the European continent immediately after the second World War encountering the terrible destruction there. He came to the romantic, once beautiful city of Vienna and was stunned by what he saw. The destruction was so complete. And as he moved through the ruined streets of that city, he felt deep resentment beginning to build up within him. He was downright angry that such terrible desolation could have occurred in such a magnificent place. He began to curse the darkness which had caused it all.
It was late afternoon. A freezing rain was falling. And in order to take refuge for just a few moments from the elements, Cronin stepped into the door of a little church, a church which somehow had managed to escape severe damage. Only minor damage was incurred. And as he stood there, he watched as a shabbily-dressed old man walked through the door of that church and inside.

He was carrying a little girl in his arms. She looked to be about six years old, and it was obvious to Cronin that she was terribly crippled. The old man carried the little girl over to the altar rail, and there, he helped her to kneel down in front of the altar, and then he knelt beside her. And then the old man took a coin, and he dropped it into a box, and he took a candle and lit it. And then he took that single candle, and he handed it to the little girl. And she took it in her hands, and for a few moments there, she just held the candle in front of her looking at the flame.

And Cronin noticed that the light from that candle illuminated a look of sheer pleasure on her face. And then the two of them prayed for a few moments. Then they placed the candle up on the altar, leaving it burning, and they got up. The old man picked up the little girl, and they turned to walk away. Cronin walked up to them at that point and stopped them.  Looking at the little girl, he addressed the question to the old man. “War?” And the old man replied, “Yes, I’m her grandfather. The same bomb that did this to her killed her mother and her father.”

Cronin said, “Do you come here often?” And the old man said, “Yes. Oh, yes. We come here every day, every single day to pray. You see, we want our gracious God to know that we are not angry with him.” The old man then turned and walked out the door. But Cronin didn’t leave. Instead, he walked back to the altar and stood for a long while in front of that single candle burning brightly. It was later on that he wrote these words, “It was just one little candle burning in the midst of a ruined city. But somehow, the light of that one candle gave me hope for the world.”

Light together

It is far better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. And there’s a lot of darkness in this world of ours at this moment in time. Oh, yes, make no mistake about that. There is the darkness of sin and evil and disease and death and war and hatred and poverty and despair. It’s all about us, and sometimes the darkness threatens to choke us out. And all about us, there are many people, oh so many people who are willing to curse that darkness. But wouldn’t it be better to shed something of the light of faith and hope and joy rather than simply to curse the darkness? The world appears pretty dark right now. It feels natural to curse the darkness, to add my voice to the cacophony of criticism. But I am to be an ambassador of Jesus, a light-bearer, a living invitation to new creation. Let us bring our light together and join God’s life-giving work of transforming the world. Humanity is living through a difficult and dangerous time.

Wars are breaking out across the world, even in places we thought had learned to avoid resorting to war to settle differences. Wars further aggravate the deterioration of the environment and delay urgent and necessary action. The need for justice and reconciliation to achieve peace is ever-more pressing. As humanity we are once again at a turning point. We need to awaken our deepest strength. A different narrative is possible. We can live this moment as an opportunity to go beyond as individuals, as communities, as Humanity. As a sign of hope renewed by our lived and faith journey experiences, I invite all people who are wholeheartedly committed to justice, reconciliation and peace to light a candle during these coming days and weeks. A candle is a symbol of light; it is a symbol that illuminates our gaze, helps us to see, in order to better find our way. It symbolizes Jesus, the crucified-resurrected one.

Kindle a light for reconciliation and peace in your parish church, in the chapel you attend, in the spiritual center where you retreat, in your home, in your social center or in your workplace. This light that I am kindling now will be burning throughout this coming year as a sign of reconciliation and of our longing for peace in our lives and in our world. We want to prevent the destruction of humanity, of the whole world. We want to contribute to stop the destruction of brothers and sisters against each other. We want to help the survival of vulnerable people: mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, boys, girls, the elderly. Each one of us can do something. Let us ignite the flame, a small but important gesture of hope; a protest against injustice. With it we unite our voice with so many of our brothers and sisters who say “enough”. Together we ask for justice and for the truth to shine. We commit ourselves to contribute to the reconciliation that opens the doors to societies of people living in freedom.

Thought for the week

As your thought for the week, we must remember that the most fundamental vocation and purpose of our lives is to love. However, love without sacrifice is empty, and love without pain is vain. Mother Teresa once said that humanity has cured so many incurable diseases, but one disease that afflicts humanity today is that there are many people who feel unwanted and unloved. May each and every one of us become God’s light and hand in the world to touch a wounded soul and heal a broken heart through acts of kindness, love, charity, mercy and forgiveness that flows from a deep place. May we remember the immortal words of St. Therese of Lisieux: “My life is for a moment, I am only the breath of God. O, my God teach me that for loving you and loving my neighbor, I have only today for my life is only for a moment.”

Let me leave you with a daily prayer recited by Mother Teresa and attributed to St. John Henry Newman, it was said to be among her favorites. "Dear Jesus, help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others. Amen." Whatever talents, gifts, and creative ideas you have, there is an unlimited number of ways to let your light shine. So go ahead, light your candle and spread your light for you might be the bright light that others need to see through darkness and find their way home. A candle symbolizes light in the darkness of life especially for a loved one or significant person. Lighting a candle represents the light of Christ who gives us hope and heals us. Lighting a candle is a way to let Christ, the Light, into our lives; it is a way to let our light of care, concern, hope, love, compassion, interconnectedness and peace shine into the world;   it is an invitation to warmth; the fire of a candle ascends, like our prayer; it can be an offering of self, “our souls and bodies” to   God’s glory. The lit candle can be our continuing prayer, even when our conscious praying is interrupted or distracted into oblivion. The lit candle, especially in the darkest part of the night, is a symbol of an unquenchable hope; it is a symbol of a life-giving trust in God. I encourage you this week and always to light a candle, offer a prayer and   give the Light of Jesus you know to the world.