The Feast of St Peter Canisius SJ | Wednesday 27 April 2022

Today is Wednesday the 27th of April, the feast of St Peter Canisius SJ, in the second week of Easter.
Tenebrae, directed by Nigel Short, sing “joyful light” from Rachmaninoff’s Vespers. “Joyful light of the holy glory of the immortal one.” As I look around me now, can I sense that light, that presence here, and invite God’s joyful light into my life?

Svete tikhyi svyatyya slavy, Bezsmertnago, Otsa Nebesnago,
Svyatago Blazhennago, Iisuse Khriste!
Prishedshe na zapad solntsa, videvshe svet vechernii,
poyem Otsa, Syna i Svyatago Dukha, Boga!
Dostoin esi vo vsya vremena pet byti glasi prepodobnymi,
Syne Bozhii, zhivot dayai, temzhe mir Tya slavit.
Gladsome light of the holy glory of the Immortal One,
the Heavenly Father, holy and blessed, O Jesus Christ.
Now that we have come to the setting of the sun and behold the light of evening,
we praise the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God.
Thou art worthy at every moment to be praised in hymns by reverent voices.
O Son of God, thou art the giver of life; therefore all the world glorifies thee.


Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John.
John 3:16-21
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’

Notice the contrast between “light” and “darkness” in today’s passage; how does this imagery speak to you?
“Those who do what is true come to the light”. Is this true, do you think? And what does it mean to you today?

Now listen as the passage is read once more, and ask yourself: “what is God doing in this story?”
Lastly can you see where your thoughts have gone during this period of prayer? Can you turn those thoughts, and their direction, into a prayer to God?

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.