Light from Light

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This was the theme of 2013 Srodowisko events.

Project Teams

First Event (July 7-13, 2013)
Fiat lux
Genetheto phos
Yehi 'or
Second Event (July 28-August 3, 2013)
Gloria
Doxa
Kabod
Third Event (August 11-15, 2013)
Prudentia
Iustitia
Temperantia
Fortitudo

Theme

"God is light" — this is what the first letter of John tells us. Light is a powerful analogy for the mystery of Faith, and science confirms that the study of light creates more questions than it is capable of answering. Inspired by the profound meaning of the Gospel image transmitted by light, gothic cathedrals used stained glass windows to reflect the mysteries. The theme "Light from Light" will explore the metaphor of light in Scripture, what it has meant for the Church's pilgrimage of thought, and what it means for our own pilgrimage. We will look at how light is used in video, the optics that make seeing possible, and the art of three-point lighting in the studio. Of course, nothing could be more appropriate than to learn the supremely ecclesial craft of stained glass windows! As we create our own stained glass windows, we will also make a reflection on how we can grow in faith and how our own faith can be a light for the culture around us. Infusing culture with light means building a more human world (cf. Gaudium et spes, 57). Pope Francis reminds us: "There is no human experience, no journey of man to God, which cannot be taken up, illumined and purified by [God's] light." (Lumen Fidei, 35)

COME to LIGHT

When something comes to light, it's discovered or revealed. Think of when we say, "the truth came to light." There's also a metaphorical passage from darkness to light in our understanding. As we come into light, the truth comes to light. It happens over time; it happens while we're on pilgrimage.

«God is light and he can be found also by those who seek him with a sincere heart. (...) For [the Magi] God's light appeared as a journey to be undertaken, a star which led them on a path of discovery. The star is a sign of God's patience with our eyes which need to grow accustomed to his brightness. Religious man is a wayfarer; he must be ready to let himself be led, to come out of himself and to find the God of perpetual surprises. This respect on God's part for our human eyes shows us that when we draw near to God, our human lights are not dissolved in the immensity of his light, as a star is engulfed by the dawn, but shine all the more brightly the closer they approach the primordial fire, like a mirror which reflects light.» (Lumen Fidei, 35)

SHEDDING LIGHT on the MATTER

The Council of Nicaea (Nicea) is part of the Church's pilgrimage of thought. In 325 AD, bishops gathered together in Nicaea to settle an issue that was tearing the Roman Empire apart. A priest named Arius was teaching that Jesus was not co-eternal with the Father (that there was a time when the Father existed and the Son did not) and that he was simply divine by participation (that he was not consubstantial with the Father). When the bishops wrote the Church's profession of faith, they included "Light from Light" as part of their response to Arius. As a sunbeam is distinct from the sun, but remains one in substance with the sun, so the Son is distinct from the Father, yet remains one in substance with Him. Christ is «the Splendour of the unbegotten Light, with that very Light as his beginning and source, (...) but there was not [a time] when he was not.» (Origen) Using created light to explain the uncreated God has its limits, but it's one way of shedding light on the mystery.

the WORD which SHINES FORTH within

In Genesis, God is the creator of light. In Old Testament theophanies (visible manifestations of God), light is associated with His divine presence — «the glory of the Lord». The psalmist knows that the Lord is our light and our salvation (cf. Ps. 27:1) and that in His light we see light (cf. Ps. 36: 9). The Apostle John tells us that Jesus is the «true light, which enlightens everyone» (cf. Jn. 1:9), and Jesus proclaims: «I came into the world as light» (Jn. 12:46).

By way of the Greek philosophy of light, St. Augustine came to understand God as light. He understood; he saw. But the decisive moment in his journey was an experience of hearing, an encounter with the Word in Scripture. In his thought pilgrimage, he brought seeing and hearing together: «The light becomes, so to speak, the light of a word, because it is the light of a personal countenance, a light which, even as it enlightens us, calls us and seeks to be reflected on our faces and to shine from within us.» (Lumen Fidei, 33)

WALK in LIGHT

A source of light and a light backpack are essential when you're on a walking pilgrimage. Keeping it light is essential on a spiritual pilgrimage, too. Simplicity and keeping our lives free of clutter make walking in light easier. What are criteria for decluttering and simplifying? How do you find yourself enslaved or ensnared? What are steps you can take to be free?

«Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey.» Lumen Fidei, 57

THE NIGHT SHALL BE NO MORE

«Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.» (Rev. 22:5)

We journey toward the eschaton; we pilgrimage together as the Body of Christ, the People of God, a community of Light.

«Faith is necessarily ecclesial; it is professed from within the body of Christ as a concrete communion of believers. It is against this ecclesial backdrop that faith opens the individual Christian towards all others. (...) Faith becomes operative in the Christian on the basis of the gift received, the love which attracts our hearts to Christ (cf. Gal 5:6), and enables us to become part of the Church's great pilgrimage through history until the end of the world. For those who have been transformed in this way, a new way of seeing opens up, faith becomes light for their eyes.» (Lumen Fidei, 22)