Isaiah 58:10
and your gloom be like noonday…

Reflection by Br. Angel Gabriel Roque, BSG

Daily when we open our eyes, we are not completely sure how the day or night will be, and that uncertainty is not pleasant. By faith and in God’s providence, we rest our hope that all will be well or at least better than the day before. Even though we cannot control absolutely everything in our lives we can at least trust that God will guide us out from those days that seem to be so gloomy. Daily, God gives us an opportunity to move forward with him in faith. It is easy and at times and even comfortable to keep ourselves in the dark because it seems familiar or when we have lost hope because the journey is difficult and painful. But we must try not to forget that God provides us with daily tools for us to use in our journey. The tools can be patience, perseverance, strength, faith and love. Those tools can help us to open the windows of our hearts to let the Light of God’s love shine through us and make our gloom to be like noonday. Every day is an opportunity to do this slowly and carefully and share with others. We are not alone in this life journey and God is with us every step of the way. On the most difficult days where the light seems dim, God is even closer to us making sure we are not afraid. Let the light of God in and may our hearts be as bright as the noonday. Share the light.

Questions for reflection:

  • When you open your eyes after sleeping, do you pray or give thanks for another day?
  • How do you keep the Light of Christ in your heart on days that are a bit gloomy?
  • Do you share the light in your heart with others?

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Br. Angel Gabriel Roque, BSG is Director of Parish Ministries, preacher, spiritual director, and subdeacon in his home parish of Saint Bernard de Clairvaux Episcopal Church and Ancient Spanish Monastery and Gardens in North Miami Beach Florida. He is an active member of the Diocesan Young Adult Ministry and a member of Council. Angel also serves as a member of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music of The Episcopal Church. He resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and is currently in the process of relocating to Albuquerque, New Mexico to serve as the new Diocesan Youth and Young Adult Missioner for the Diocese of Rio Grande. 

EMM Book Kit: The Girl Who Smiled Beads

Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder. In 1994, she and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, fled the Rwandan massacre and spent the next six years migrating through seven African countries, searching for safety—perpetually hungry, imprisoned and abused, enduring and escaping refugee camps, finding unexpected kindness, witnessing inhuman cruelty. In The Girl Who Smiled Beads, Clemantine provokes us to look beyond the label of “victim” and recognize the power of the imagination to transcend even the most profound injuries and aftershocks.

Request the discussion kit for The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After.