The Light of the Annunciation

With her “yes,” Our Lady, Star of the Sea, illumines our path through a darkened world

By Carrie Gress3/1/2022

Light. It is something to which we are all drawn. It punctuates our most solemn, sacred and festive events, from birthday candles and fireworks to the Easter fire. St. Bonaventure, writing in the 13th century, noted that “light cleanses, illuminates, perfects and fortifies.” It can also heat and cook. Light is vital.

There is a reason homes bathed in natural light sell well, while the cavernous do not. Add candles to a dinner table or drape a string of lights around a deck and the space feels festive and elevated. These are not new ideas or mere preferences of taste. Gothic architecture took off in the 12th century because of innovative structural elements that bathed churches in light, in sharp contrast to their Romanesque predecessors. Renaissance churches went a step further by incorporating domes to let in even more light... Read Full Article Here