In the opening prayer for today’s Mass we prayed: “O God, who through the grace of adoption chose us to be children of light, grant, we pray, that we may not be wrapped in the darkness of error but always be seen to stand in the bright light of truth.”

We often use the images of light and darkness to describe our lives. The bright times in life are times of happiness, when things go well for us and our life is free from great worries or challenges. Love and harmony in our relationships light up our lives. Goodness, truth, and beauty are the things of light.

And we are equally familiar with the dark times as well, when we face great challenges in our life, upsets in our families, the threat of illness, discouragement and above all our fears and anxieties which can make life seem hopeless.

The prayer for today’s Mass reminds us that we are created by God to be “children of light.” St Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians wrote: “⁵for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.” (1 Thess 5:5) And in his letter to the Ephesians he wrote: “⁸For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light.” (Eph 5:5)

In the First Reading of the Mass today, the Book of Wisdom reminds us that God created us for life. Death and darkness were not part of God’s plan for us. This Word of God says in very powerful words: “God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity.” Our future in God’s eyes has always been life, life forever in the brightness of God’s love.”

But when our first parents rejected God and separated themselves from God, then death and darkness entered the world. For only with God do we find fullness of life. And so the world that each of us lives in is threatened by death and darkness. They menace us as we live our lives. But in the face of all this, we have great hope none the less.

In the Gospel reading we heard this message of hope. Jesus showed his great power over darkness and death as he healed people whose lives were in turmoil because of sickness and pain and worry. Jesus had power even over death, for he restored the little daughter of the synagogue official to life simply by taking her by the hand and saying “Little girl, get up.”

And so in our lives, when we are brought low by the dark moments of life, we know that Jesus is with us, and he takes us by the hand and raises us up from those dark moments to the bright light of life. Jesus’ power defeats even death itself. So our faith in Jesus, our Saviour, gives us great hope and great confidence as we live our lives day after day.

God calls us now to share that gift. Many around us are wrapped in darkness: meaninglessness of life, no real hope in their lives, bearing heavy burdens alone. We have good news for them. We are called to let people see that we stand in the bright light of God’s love and salvation. Jesus calls us to let our light shine into the darkness that exists around us

We are followers of Jesus, God’s only Son, our Saviour and the Saviour of the world. Before Jesus returned to his Father’s side in heaven, he said to his followers: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.” St. Peter, in his letter, put this command of Jesus in other words. Peter said that we must always be ready to give an account of the hope that is within us to all who seek it.

To be witnesses, to be ready to give an account of the gifts of God that are within us means that we have not been given the great gifts of grace just for our own benefit. The gifts we have received are meant to be shared with others. And so when we are dismissed at the end of the Mass, we are told: Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

Sometimes we might think that when we have finished Sunday Mass, we have completed our obligation to the Lord and we are all set for another week. But the words of Jesus in Scripture indicate otherwise. We are not finished, now we must go out and announce to all around us the good news of what God has done for us in Jesus. Now we are to give witness to others of what wonderful things Jesus has done for us, now we are to be ready to give an account of the hope that fills us to any who ask: why are you so hopeful in this difficult world, where do you get this joy that is always shinning through in you. And then we tell them what our faith in Jesus, the Son of God means to us.

As we celebrate this Canada Day as citizens of a marvelous and great country, a country of great freedom and opportunity, we are aware that we are citizens who are Catholic Christians. Our religious faith forms our lives and our values. And in this country of ours we have freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. Great treasures that are enshrined in our Constitution along with freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression.

Within these freedoms we practice and live out our Catholic faith. In the Eucharist today we offer to God our thanksgiving for these freedoms and we pray for the courage and strength to defend these freedoms for ourselves and those who come after us.

Our Country today struggles to find ways to treat people of all religious beliefs with equal respect and dignity. In these attempts for equality there are some who erroneously say that religious beliefs and practices must remain private and not be manifested publicly. Religion belongs in the home, in private and has no place in the public forum.

This view has serious problems for it pushes people to the margins of Canadian living. Far more healthy is the view that all religious beliefs must be treated with equal respect and dignity and this can be done in a way that encourages the practice of all religions fully and publicly.

As we in our country build a society of freedom of religion, freedom of conscience and freedom of expression, Catholic people need to stand up and maintain our right to be witnesses of Jesus’ good news to all around us, in private and in public. Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI has called upon our western society to appreciate not only the rights of believers to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, but also the legitimate role of religion in the public square.

Christian people have much to contribute to our society in our promotion of justice, our pursuit of honesty and integrity in daily and professional life and in our insistence that the dignity of human life is to be valued and protected across the board. Our Catholic people need to raise their voices in this discussion and debate. In this way we can fill Christ’s command that we be his witnesses in our world and so “be seen to stand in the bright light of truth.”