Christ Be Our Light… And RCIA

Christ Be Our Light is one of my favorite hymns. It starts off with the phrases “Longing for light, we wait in
darkness” and “Longing for peace, our world is troubled.” How well these lines describe our
contemporary experience. But the song goes on to say, “Your word alone can save us” and “Let us
be servants to one another.”

Each of us, in our own lives, experiences the confusion of our times. We can easily turn to anxiety
and depression and fear. Only in Christ can we rise out of the darkness and live in peace. The
words of Jesus can be such a comfort. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the
world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid”. (John 14:27).

We all know friends, relatives, and co-workers who are seeking for this peace, but not knowing
Christ, they don’t know where to find it. What a precious gift it would be to share this gift with them.
Leading another to Christ is the most precious thing you can do for another.

Right now we are gathering a group of “inquirers”. We will help these individuals listen to God’s
word and eventually join us at Eucharist. So far our group is at ten, and we invite others to come
join us. At this point we are meeting informally on Sunday mornings. In September we will move to
more formal classes.

What should you do? First, pray. Ask the Lord to place in your heart the name of someone you
should ask. Second, pray that that person will be open to the invitation. Third, invite them. If
someone does show an interest, let us know in the parish offices. We will immediately contact
them.

In faith we know that the Lord is calling many people to follow him. “Come follow me.” I ask all in
the parish to pray that these individuals will take the first step and reach out to us. We pray that they
will experience the peace that only Christ can give.

Dr. Don Emge is the Director of Religious Education at St. Joseph Parish, Springfield Missouri.