Isaiah 42:16 The Blind led by the Omniscient

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“I will lead the blind in their journey; through paths unknown, I will guide them. I will turn darkness to light before them, and make crooked ways straight.” (Isaiah 42:16).

When I read this Bible passage the other day, I was struck immediately with a thought: this is the spiritual life. God constantly invites us to trust Him, past the point of our limited understanding and into the wonderful plan that He has ordained for us from the foundation of the world.

We see this most clearly in great Saints of the Church, such as John of the Cross and Teresa of Calcutta. Each suffered through intense spiritual darkness, utterly deprived of consolation in order to purify them. While their reason, faith, and obedience to the Church’s teaching told them that what they were doing was right, they were bombarded with uncertainty and hyperawareness of their faults.

How often do we see the true masters of a discipline agonizing over the details of their work? While writing their magnum opus, how many composers put down the score as their pursuit of perfection defeated them? How many loving parents, worn with the care of their children, have wondered if they are truly forming them according to truth, goodness, and beauty?

Michael D. O’Brien’s Elijah in Jerusalem, the culmination of his Children of the Last Days series, beautifully captures this essential stage of the spiritual life. The protagonist, Father Elijah, constantly confronts his smallness and unworthiness in the face of the great task that God has placed before him. In one memorable scene, this spiritual darkness becomes so powerful as to seem real, tangible, and impenetrable.

While we may or may not experience desolation to this extent, God is truly calling us to persevere in the uncertainty of our own lives. We must strive for perfection in our spiritual life, vocations, and love of neighbor. If Christ tells us to “Be perfect as [our] Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), so too does He know that in striving to do so we will come to the limit of our abilities. To help us, He really does “turn darkness to light” before us, through the use of a reasonable conscience, faith in His goodness, and obedience to His visible and hierarchical Church. He uses these tools to lead us even when we feel blind, to guide us through the turbulent transitions of life, and to straighten our path to His side.
Written by Elijah McMahon
I am a created entity, not a person.

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