What Color is this ... ?

It is known as the dress that broke the internet.  A few weeks ago, a London dress appeared on the internet site Tumblr along with a simple question: What color is this dress?  Millions of people weighed in, some claiming it was white and gold, others claiming it was blue and black.  (It was blue and black). To say that the question polarized the internet audience would be an understatement.   The debate over the color of the dress nearly started a world war on cyberspace.  Amidst the consternation, one thing became clear:  we all see things differently.

This is not only true in the case of a dress on the internet.  It is also true in the liturgy.  We perceive the same words, the same rituals, the same symbols and the same music in different ways.  Some might perceive Gregorian chant as monotonous and tiresome while others perceive it as a vehicle to transcendence.  Some perceive the cross as a symbol of suffering and pain while others see it as a sign of resurrection and hope.   These differences in perception go beyond the elements of the liturgy.   We all have a different perception of God and we have different perceptions of each other.  So how does the unity to which we are called by the liturgy happen with so many different perceptions?

Scientists, lending their expertise to the dress debate, say our perceptions depend on light—how much light exists around the object at which we are looking and how our eyes interpret that  light.  It is no different in liturgy.  We are called to see the words, the rituals, the symbols, the music—even God and each other--through the light of faith.  Only when we look at life with a vision illumined by faith can we see as God sees—with eyes of hope and joy.

This weekend, our Elect will experience the second Scrutiny.  They will be asked to look deeply at those areas in their lives where they most need the light of God.  Our Elect are also called  illuminandi, or “those who will be enlightened” by Baptism.  May we, who have been enlightened in Baptism, look at everything through the light of faith.  Only then can we see the true colors of life as God sees them.