It has been a hard week at City Light Community
Ministries, many of our neighbors displaced
to the streets, friends gathering MWF
for the noon meal and solace.
I know they count on me. I count on them,
companions of Light shedding a measure of Darkness.
Most days, a measure is all I need. This week
I understood Saint John of the Cross’s Dark Night
of the Soul. Wednesday was the worst. Friday, better.
Trevor, a senior staff member, and one of the kindest,
most Christ-like, people I know, thanked me
for talking with a lady who was distraught
over the tumult of warring voices
in her head. All I did was listen and tell her
I understood. That seemed enough.
She was able to finish her meal.
Trevor asked me to explain. I should have told him
it wasn’t anything I said. It must have been
the Holy Spirit comforting our friend.
What I said, instead, was, “Trevor, I can’t explain;
you aren’t insane” (meaning, like me). I thought
he would laugh. He didn’t, but the concerned look
on his face made me laugh. I felt better.
I told him, “Thank you.”
So, I’m offering my confession,
solace, should you need it,
for the Season.
A Thin Silence 