By Wendy Kachermeyer
Director of Religious Education

Wendy Kachermeyer

I am one of those silly people who love to look at the sky in the evening and I guess just soak myself into the wonder of our Creator. Even when the sky is black and you need light to get to the porch, I still am captivated with Him Who is being itself.

A few weeks ago the sky was clear and filled with stars and one of those gigantic moons, and then a memory, hit me square in the depths of my soul. When I was a child, I asked my grandfather what was the name of the brightest star in the sky while pointing into the darkness. He said, “It’s the North Star. Sailors use that star to figure out where they are going and find out where they are when they are lost.” That was interesting to me, but something my grandmother said from the kitchen sink, “That star tells us that Jesus was born.” Those small bits of information from my grandparents came flooding back because all of the stars looked the same. The moon may have been enormous but the stars were lackluster. There was no excitement and no thought about Christ.

I wonder when the North Star left the sky. How could I have missed this occasion? Have I been so involved in myself that I have not noticed such an event? I keep searching for this perpetual light of Christ in the sky. Is it my imagination? Is the North Star still there or have I become ignorant and blinded to Christ in this world right here, right now, on earth, with us?

It took me a surprisingly long time to realize I needed to go to the Sacrament of Penance. To get myself back to where I need to be with Christ and see Him once again as the brightest light. It is so amazing how clear your mind can become and how much this grace filled sacrament can turn the light on yourself and see the darkness that is hanging on your soul. This darkness can cause spiritual blindness and even a decay that brings a kind of death to the soul. The separation from Christ, do to sin, causes sickness that is cleared up and cured by this Sacrament.

I am truly grateful to Christ for allowing me to realize this truth about who He is and what He is in this world. He is so much more than that star. He is so much more than this life. He is the Way, the Truth and the Light who gives true life! Just get on your knees, fold your hands and look up. Who is it that you see?

Wendy Kachermeyer is Director of Religious Education and R.C.I.A (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Dunkirk, NY.