Celebrating Light

[Nancy]

Light perfectly symbolizes the life-giving attributes of the Creator, the debut of creation in the great eye of God, the ecstatic vibrating of the immortal soul, and the flame of consciousness itself.

"This is the message which we have heard of him and
proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness
at all." John 1:5


Prayer for Light

I give thanks unto you O Lord,
For you have illumined my face
With the light of your covenant.
Day by day I seek you,
And ever you shine upon me
Bright as the perfect dawn.

--from the Qumran scrolls, Book of Hymns, IV 5-V, 5


Benediction of the Feast

We invoke the spirit of God, creator of all life
and giver of all gifts. Fill us with the light that
opened the eyes of the prophets and the saints;
ignite within us the light of understanding, tolerance,
and gratitude. Let this Feast of Light signify our
devotion to the light of truth wherever it manifests;
within our brothers and sisters and within ourselves.
Bless this meal, with which we nourish ourselves
with the light from the sun in mindfulness of the
Source of all life.


Prayer of Gratitude for the Light

For each new morning with its light
Forest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson


Nancy

[Nancy]

More on Light, from Nelson Mandela...

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our Light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?"
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that
other people won't feel insecure around you.
You were born to make manifest the glory of God
that is within us.
It's not just in some of us. It's in everyone --
And as we let our own Light shine, we unconsciously
give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence
automatically liberates others."

Nelson Mandela, Winner of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize,
Former President of South Africa, in his 1994 Inaugural
Speech.

Nancy

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