O Dayspring

As the sun rises, (today is not the day to see it), fresh light floods the world. South Dakota, with its flat plains and grasslands as far as the eye can see is the place to watch and really appreciate this daily miracle. For fifteen or twenty minutes the sky brightens heralding the coming of the first rays which break upon the horizon which are followed by a pinpoint of strong light which grows into the fireball of the sun. It's almost blinding. Our "O" antiphon today compares this daily gift of light to brightness of eternal Light and Sun of Justice, and begs enlightenment to those who "sit in darkenss and in the shadow of death." A Christmas greeting from one of our brothers in India, Brother Shanthi Liyanage, once the director of the school we run in Sargoda, Pakistan, and now the Provincial of the province which encompasses India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, translates the message of Light to Love: "God is Love and it is by Love alone we can reach Him. Dedicate your life in all humility to the loving service of youth."
He quotes a Guru:
I have turned my heart into a boat,
I have searched in every sea;
I have dwelt by rivers and streams;
I have bathed at places of pilgrimage;
I have eaten bitter and sweet;
I have seen the remotest regions.
And this I have learnt that he is the True Man
Who loveth God and loveth man,
And serving all abideth in Eternal Love.

Bro. Rene