Little Bird of Doubt

Templo Santo Domingo, Zacatecas, México

 
The churches of Zacatecas have one thing in common: a pervasive darkness.
 
In Templo Santo Domingo: shadows on the altar, shadows lurking behind the crucifix, shadows hovering like ravens above the baptismal font. The opening words of Genesis seem to presage the scene: “…and darkness was upon the face of the deep….”
 
But how much darkness can I endure? How long can I consort with shadows? My soul cries out for light.
 
I run to the church’s massive front doors, peer out into the sunlit street, and see for myself that “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
 
One glimpse of the light is enough. I turn back to enter the gloom and to embrace the darkness that dwells in me, and in all of us.
 

Little bird of doubt,
I caught you in the darkness,
fed you crumbs of light.

 
Text and photo © 2013 by Magical Mystical Teacher
 
More Carpe Diem: “Kamishibai #4, Cathedral”