These were the words our 7 year old son said as we were getting ready to have dinner a few weeks back. His comment left my husband and I wondering what exactly he was talking about. He repeated the phrase again. "Light Spreads, darkness stays where it is." Thinking that such a philosophical comment was odd for a first grader somehow the bustle of getting dinner ready for all the children broke our train of thought for nothing more was said about the topic.
Yet little Asher's words seemed to come back to mind the next day and an interesting contemplation of the idea began. On many levels the idea intrigued me. For so often one thinks of light as an imagery for good. It was an uplifting thought to think of light spreading.
The thought of our children taking a nap and trying to block out the sun in the afternoon with shades, yet despite all best efforts, it seems impossible to keep all light out. Yes, it was true, when one is in a dark room during the day it surly is hard to block all light out. It was a comforting thought to think of light or in the case of goodness or God as spreading and pervasive. So often today there is a tendency to see the dark and think such ways are overtaking us but in fact it is light that spreads more naturally.
Several days later an interesting discovery. A school worksheet on shadows and light in Asher's folder. A simple answer for why he was thinking about these things.
Yet last night as I lay down in bed a bright light shown through the tiny gap between the shade and the window. It perfectly hit me right in the eye. Sitting up I could see it was the moon. Indeed it was a full moon. With such light there would be no way to darken the room. Asher's words returned but another thought also...Our Lady is often compared to the moon.
The moon has no light of its own but is a reflection of the light of the sun. Our Blessed Mother has also been described as a mirror as she reflects her Son so beautifully. None of the light is her own it is perfectly reflected from God. The moon was doing what the sun had done during the day. The light was entering from every crack and illuminating the room. When one is a mirror of God, as Our Lady shows us, then we can help to spread the light. It is our hope and prayer that the Children's Rosary may be such a mirror of Good in this world. For even Pope Francis said, "The face of the child is the face of Our Lord."
