Out of the Dark

I am generally a happy person, an optimist, and see the good in most things. My disposition does not negate the fact that darkness and depression are around us. This past weekend, our parish had a Confirmation retreat for our sixty second year confirmation students, who will be confirmed by the Bishop in mid-May. The retreat staff included a dozen kids who put on retreats for other kids in the Diocese.

Part of the experience was for these dozen kids to put on skits regarding a topic, then discuss the topic, and then one of the kids would give a testimonial on the topic. Small group discussions would follow. A skit on depression took place, and it was very dark and haunting. At least one Confirmation student had to run out of the room due to the intensity. Or, perhaps the topic hit too close to home, and stirred up emotions that this student could not handle. Depression is real. The covid pandemic and the isolation have not helped our mental health. World events are not helping, either.

Secret Weapon

Our lives can be dark for many reasons, which are too numerous to list here. We may be given trials in life which seem too much to bear. However, we have access to a secret weapon, which many fail to call in to action. It can be called in to service anytime, anywhere, and as many times it is needed.

Today’s Responsorial Psalm tells us what the secret weapon is…. The Lord! In fact, the famous sentence, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” is written for us today.

He offers us rest, refreshes our soul, guides us, and gives us the power to fear no evil. The Lord provides food. He offers to anoint our heads with oil (like Kings or Bishops). Goodness and kindness will prevail with Him. With the Lord, there will be no more darkness, there will be light. The Lord is our shepherd, we shall not want. This should cover most of what we need, if not all, to avoid the darkness.

Shepherd

We can envision a shepherd, with his staff, working to keep the sheep heading in the right direction. He catches the stragglers, untangles the ones who get caught in the fence, and de-escalates any fighting amongst the sheep. The sheep are fed and watered, given pastures and food, and kept safe most of the time. When wolves or other carnivores come around, he’s there to protect them. All these things are done by a shepherd for simple animals like sheep. Take that next step to think about how much better the Lord can be as our shepherd, a shepherd of human beings, created in His likeness and image.

Remember that as we walk in the dark valley of these troubling times, or we experience “dark nights” of doubting our faith, we should fear no evil, because He is at our side. We can be in the Light, and out of the dark.

[Readings: Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 or 13:41c-62; Jn 8:12-20]