The sun needs only the smallest breach in order to spread its rays amidst the darkness. However, how often do we build walls that prevent this light from penetrating ambiences, edifices and even our own souls?
Let us imagine an imposing fortress that enjoys the privilege of being a vantage point for the most beautiful sunrises. Every day, without exception, while the sun silently tints the sky with the radiance of the dawn, it casts its first rays upon the walls of the structure, covering them with a golden light that adorns them with rare beauty.
As it appears on the horizon, the sun spreads its light so powerfully over this edifice that it reaches even its interior. Its glow is felt not only on the rough stones of the outer walls, but also in the rooms and by the inhabitants of the castle. However, this penetrating generosity is not indiscreet, for its luminosity only enters where it encounters some opening through which to pour its benefits.
Not every castle is willing to open gates and windows for the sun to reign within them… Barriers are often built in order to prevent such beneficial influence. But not even then does the king of stars fail to exercise its majestic action on the walls of the building: all it needs is a small breach in order for the light to dominate the ambiences where there had been only darkness.
At nightfall, the sun is no longer present in the firmament. The cold wind blows mercilessly against the fortress. However, the stones of the walls notice in themselves something peculiar… At that moment, they feel a characteristic that is not inherent to them: heat. Clearly, even if it is prevented from illuminating the castle, the sunlight does not stop warming it.
How delicate on the part of the noble daystar! It could have melted the rocks with its fire and inundated the fortress with its blazing rays. But it prefers the modesty of heating it discreetly, so that in the hours of darkness the stones would be left with the lingering remembrance of its marvellous effect. Thus it invites them, when the first signs of sunrise appear, to break down any barrier that rudely blocks the light.
Let us apply this metaphor to our spiritual life:
Is it not true that we often build up walls in our soul that close it to grace, to the action of God and Mary? Indeed, it is not unusual for us to set up barriers not of stone, but of banalities, whims, faults and attachments. And, unfortunately, such obstacles prevent the supernatural from penetrating our interior and the divine work from being realized.
When contrition and longing are aroused in us by God’s gentle and insistent invitation, let us waste no time in breaking the yokes that subject us to the tyranny of the devil, the world and the flesh. Let us embrace with a generous and grateful heart so many gifts that Providence offers us, so that the depths of our souls may be a palace of light and splendour for the Most High. ◊
