“Firelight”
If I’m ever known for anything, let it be I ran into the night running with a firelight.
“Captures” may be too strong, but Matt Maher’s “Firelight” at least enters into the mystery of the (soon-to-be-official) saint’s enduring darkness that was revealed after her death. For over fifty years the little Albanian nun known for her work with the poor in Calcutta was wandering in a spiritual desert. On the outside she radiated joy, but on the inside she felt lonely and abandoned.
She once said, “If I ever do become a saint, I will surely be one of darkness. For I will not be content to roam the streets of heaven while there’s one soul who still longs for God.”
“Her quote captures that hunger of a person, who in the midst of struggle, still loves the marginalized and still loves the oppressed,” says Maher. “‘Firelight’ is a song about disillusionment and that very frail prayer of asking God to burn and shine in the midst of that and to continue to light the way through darkness.”
You can purchase “Firelight” on iTunes. And for more on Mother Teresa’s darkness and what it meant, take a look at this article.
Libby Reichert
