Dear Friends,

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. All claimed that they were the best … the most important … the most useful … the favorite.

GREEN said: “Clearly, I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside, and you will see that I am in the majority.”

BLUE interrupted: “You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing.”

YELLOW chuckled: “You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me, there would be no fun.”

RED could stand it no longer, he shouted out: “I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood – life’s blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia, and the poppy.”

PURPLE rose to his full height. He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: “I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me, for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey.”

And so, the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarrelling became louder and louder. Suddenly, there was a startling flash of bright lightning, and thunder rolled and boomed. RAIN started to pour down relentlessly. The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort. In the midst of the clamor, RAIN began to speak: “You, foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me.”

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. The rain continued: “From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow.” And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a Rainbow appears in the sky, let us all remember to appreciate, accept, love and learn from one another.

The fable explains the phenomenon of when pure light is diffracted through rain on earth; however, when all the colors on the spectrum are together their difference is united in pure white light. In today’s Gospel, Jesus exhorts us to be who we are according to God the Creator’s loving and eternal design; rather than the one of our own narrow-minded making … solely built with the limited things of this world and our own perspective. Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth … you are the light of the world …” It’s not a would of … could of … should of. He uses a declarative sentence to speak the reality of our lives from God’s perspective … in God’s world … in God’s kingdom. As each of us reflects a different aspect of God in His creation; we only make sense when we realize that we are the image and reflection of the Source of Life and Love and that no one of us reflects Him perfectly in this world, except Jesus.

St. Ignatius of Loyola in his “Spiritual Exercises,” says that when we truly believe that God created us out of love; we can then move to the realization that God made every human being out of love. Not our love … His Love … His very Nature. Thus, no one human being is better than the other in the sight of God. It is we, humans, who compare and contrast. Each Sunday, we come together to this table of love and humility at the invitation of Jesus, the Lord. He is the One who tells us that because of our capacity to love, as God loves, we are the light of the world. Let us also pray for the grace and wisdom to see the beauty of diversity, as it is the basis of our unity. In diversity, we see ourselves being fully alive rather than being afraid, not having to have all the answers or responsibilities. We need to pray for the grace of this appreciation of God’s perspective … in this world a sign of hope, and for eternity, our holy communion with God. If our focus is only on this world, rarely may we see the beauty of a rainbow and settle; however, until we are willing to yield to and reflect the Light, who created the world, our lives will continue to be filled with the darkness, indifference, the chaos of our emotions and the void of our self-made destinies. “I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows Me will have the light of life.” (Jn 8: 12) “Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Mt 5: 16)

Be of good cheer and have a blessed week!

Msgr. Grous