Recently, I went with some students and the FOCUS missionaries to the Polish Embassy to see a screening of a documentary, "Nine Days That Changed the World". It is a film that narrates and analyzes Pope John Paul II's trip to his native Poland in 1979. The film is very well done; you feel like you're there! You see the huge crowds - millions of people were there everywhere the Holy Father went. Poland was in darkness then, under the regime of communism. The pope was a great light! The Polish people connected with the message of their hero - a message of freedom, faith, the Cross, and solidarity. The people united around this message and the regime was in trouble. Amazingly, this led to the fall of communism in Poland, the Soviet Union, and all of Eastern Europe. Nine days that changed the world.
Poland was in darkness - the darkness of communism. College can bring darkness for some people in a few ways: the darkness of sadness or depression, the darkness of sin, and the darkness of ignorance. When I was in college, I had all three going on! I remember being 20 years old on a college campus and saying to myself, 'I'm in darkness'. At that time, I didn't know Christ. I knew about Christ but I didn't know Him. At that time, my light was Juliette O'Hare. I knew her in high school. She was a beautiful and sweet girl. She moved to California and became Miss San Diego! We talked on the phone a lot. Then, she invited me to move out there. I was like, "um, yeah". I had my light - California, Miss San Diego, all that. My bags were packed.
God must have had a good laugh over this. The saying is, "if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans". I had my plan and was ready to go. Then, He intervened. Long story short, I unpacked my bags, and He began to show me the real light, His Son, Jesus Christ. You know what's it like when the lights go out in your house or room. It's a little scary. You can't see things as they really are You think you know what's in front of you and then jam your knee into something...ouch. That was me the first part of college. I was in the dark. God showed me the light, mainly through Truth. It started with the Eucharist. He turned on the light switch when a priest said to me, "'this is my body' means this is my body". That's when the light went on. I started to see the Truth about Confession and all the teachings of the Church. God showed me the light which is His Son.
Christ is the light! He is the light of the world. It was His light that came to Poland in 1979. It was His light that came to Corinth when St Paul preached to people who didn't know about Jesus. It was His light that came to me in college. He wants to bring light to Foggy Bottom. He wants to bring light to this campus. But, He needs your help. He's actually given you his title of "light of the world". He says you are "salt of the earth and light of the world". He wants you to bring to others. You know people who are in darkness. You know people who are in sadness - bring them joy! Bring them a smile...you never know how much that can help someone who's having a tough day. You know people who are in sin - bring them to Confession! Bring them to mercy and healing. You know people who are in ignorance - bring them the Truth! Show them the Gospel.
How do you do that? It's quite simple. It's a simple invitation. Jesus invites the Apostles to the light with two words: "follow me". He says two words and they leave everything to follow Him. Invite people to the light. Invite them to Mass, to Bible Study, to Tuesday dinner. You'll be surprised at the response. People in darkness ate desperate for light. In your dark house or room, we immediately go for our cell phone light, candles, or a flashlight. Your invitation could be exactly what people are looking for. Invite those who are in darkness to come to the light...from sadness to joy...from death to life. Bring them to the light...the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.
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