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 GOD
OF DARKNESS?
- By Philip Yuson
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“And there was the
cloud and the darkness; and the night passed without one coming near the
other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the
LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea
dry land, and the waters were divided.” (Exodus 14:20-21)
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We have always thought of God as the God of Light. Jesus
Himself is the Light. We always associate light with God and darkness with
the evil one.
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However, when
St. John of the Cross,
a doctor of the Church says that God is a God of darkness, he has to have
a reason for saying this. And as we look at this verse in Exodus, he does
have a point.
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The Jerusalem Bible comments that the Hebrew Bible
translates this as 'there was cloud and darkness and it lit up the
night.' This is even a more profound description. How can darkness give
off light?
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If we look at how
St. John of the Cross
explained this, the passage becomes clearer.
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He said that in our faith, God often blinds us from
everything that is not He so that we can detach ourselves from them and
remain focused on Him through faith. This is what He called as the dark
night of the senses. (There is another darker night of the soul, which (I
hope) will be another topic in the future. Some people use these two
nights as if they are the same but they are totally different. The dark
night of the senses increases our faith while the dark night of the soul
increases our love.)
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He also said that a man who is not blind would tend to rely
on his sight - imperfect as it is. This will eventually lead him to fall.
This reminds me of the Mr. Magoo cartoons where a near-sighted Mr. Magoo
always gets in trouble because of his poor eyesight. But if a person is
entirely blind, that person has no choice but to trust someone else.
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Similarly in our faith, God blinds us - puts us in darkness
so that we can detach ourselves from our senses and abilities. The
Israelites probably were scared when the Lord was drying up the land.
Imagine hearing the wind and the waves all night in the dark, knowing that
the Egyptians were behind them, wanting to kill them and before them was
strong winds and waves. Anywhere they go, they will surely be killed.
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Yet, when morning came, they were probably surprised to
find that the Lord has dried up the sea - and they could pass through it.
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So in our faith, seeing brings us distractions. It blinds
us to God. We see things that lead us away from God, but blindness of the
senses allows us to see God - because by trusting in the Lord, we become
united with Him.
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During this Season of Lent, let us then pray that we may
learn not to trust our senses but instead, allow the Lord to blind us so
that we can be united with Him.
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My new website is up and running.
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Please check it out and give me some feedback.
- [
http://refuge.conceptsolutionsbc.com ]
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Thank you and may the Lord be glorified always.
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TELL US LIKE IT IS!
- Has something
wonderful and unique happened in your life lately? Did God answer your
prayer in a very unexpected way? Did you, like Isaiah, meet God’s
whisper?
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His powerful hand working in your life recently?
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people are experiencing God’s mighty Word in their lives and it is a
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News to share?
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or fax us (021-6627384), and tell us about it. That’s right! You don’t
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IN THIS ISSUE:
HIS Servant
by Bro. Pete Lapid
The Father Speaks
By Fr. S. Binzler, SJ
Our Faith
By Fr. KJ Veeger, MSC
Place of Refuge
By Philip Yuson
Reflection
By Fr. Agustinus Tupen Belo, PR
Community Life
By Tintin Magbitang
Straight from the Heart
By Carolle Bautist
God Answers Prayers
By Beth Manibog
On Focus
By Sansu Garin
Saint for the Month
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