IN EVERY DARKNESS

THERE WILL BE LIGHT

Observations and Reflections of the Experience of Faith

MARCH 21, 2020

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NL Williams
Darkness. The partial or total absence of light. All human beings experience darkness.
Even those lacking vision experience the day and the night as the earth rotates in its
orbit around the sun. At any given time, as one person finds themselves bathed in the
rays of that brilliant star, others are left in the blackness of the planet’s shadow.
Darkness comes in many forms, as does light. It is in how we identify and respond to
each that promotes our path of existence.

For some, their darkness is easily apparent, manifesting itself as a struggle or burden
so powerful that it intrudes on light’s place in our lives. Surely, few would disagree that
type of darkness was a constant companion in life as a prisoner in the Nazi
concentration camps. Victor Frankl’s perspective, shared in his account, Man’s Search
for Meaning, provides a backdrop to explore how different individual’s perspective on
darkness restricts or allows the sight of the unique opportunities to find light in the form
of hope, faith, and purpose. The same can be said of each one of us.

Frankl details man’s acceptance of fate and its suffering gives him opportunity to add
deeper meaning to his life. (Frankl, 2002, p. 67) I considered this as a defined ‘light’.
We see this opportunity appearing in our readings of Elizabeth Seton, Vincent DePaul.
Each struggling with adversity, but finding a light in their faith to push back the darkness
of the hurdles in their lives transposing them into opportunities to contribute to the lives
of others. In our faith journey task, I found light in the dark spaces of my own life when
reflecting back and finding that, yes, even in those most painful places I found a trust in
myself, in others, and way to become a light for others through the purpose of simple
kindness.

Frankl explores the importance of purpose in the Greek word, “finis”, defined as the end
or finish, or as a goal to reach. If we do not have purpose, our lives become ended
even before our bodies have expired; tumbling on in an unreal existence, not finding
any ‘light’ at the end of our ‘tunnel’. While not as distressing as the lives of the Nazi
prisoners, we see a modern example of this in Wallace’s, This is Water. (Wallace,
2020). Similar to the prisoner with retrospective thoughts (Frankl, 2002, p. 71), Wallace

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describes the modern day unawareness of our surroundings as being “slaves to our
heads”; not acknowledging any other purpose but our own intentions’ This very
egocentric position, blinds us to opportunities of choice to think differently, feel
differently, and treat others differently.

My own purpose was found in raising my children as was my own mother’s and can be
seen in Elizabeth Seton’s love for her children. This purpose in the form of love is
profoundly described in Frankl’s passage, “A man who becomes conscious of the
responsibility toward a human being…will never be able to throw his life away. He
knows the “why” for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any “how””. (Frankl,
2002, page 80) The “how” to bear through the dark times in life is more easily
recognized where there is faith.

Throughout the concentration camp we can see different forms of faith adding light to
the grim life of the prisoners. We can find correlations with our text, Faith, Religion, &
Theology to the prisoners’ glimmers of faith. Demonstration of faith through the heart
can be felt in Frankl’s description of his comforting interaction with thoughts of his wife
even in in the realization that she was likely dead, the physical condition no longer
mattering. In the passing of my grandparents I have felt something similar myself, those
moments that their presence in memory, or possibly in true spirit, lifting me from a
sadness or even in sharing in a smile spreading across my face during moments of joy.

Faith in the form of freedom can also be found even in the minds of the camp prisoners.
Agreeing with Wallace’s account of choosing how we react to situation, Frankl recalls a
dying woman meeting her impending death with good spirits, choosing to understand
her circumstances brought her lessons in spirituality, finding comfort in a tree that she
could glimpse each day. The tree, I believe, was a vehicle for her faith, she reached out
to daily, providing a source of comfort and easing into her final days of earthly life.

Frankl not only finds, but provides the power of human faith. He speaks of finding a ray
of kindness in a foreman’s secretly passed piece of bread a “human “something” which

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this man also gave to me – the word and look which accompanied the gift. (Frankl,
2002, page 86) In the dark, with particularly low moods, Frankl, ignoring his own
feelings of discomfort, provides words of encouragement. Similar to Wallace’s
challenge put forth to listeners today, Frankl understood and reacted to the ‘water’
around him.

I look back on the reading of Man’s Search for Meaning, with a much better
understanding of the power and complexity of faith. We are given choices at any given
moment in how we react to the events of life and the people that we encounter. These
choices are provided in even the darkest moments. Faith in all of its forms assists in
guiding our actions and overcoming unimaginable circumstances. While Frankl does
not emphasize faith through religion, there is evidence of spirituality in connecting with
something more powerful than ourselves that allows our beliefs to extend into actions
thought to be beyond our abilities. This allows us to see down the darkest paths of our
lives because in every darkness there will be the light of faith.

Bibliography
Frankl, V. E. (2002). Man's Search for Meaning. Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press.
Hill, B. R., Knitter, P., & Madges, W. (2016). Faith, Theology, & Religion. New London, CT:
Twenty-Third Publications.
Wallace, D. F. (2020, March 20). This Is Water - Full version-David Foster Wallace
Commencement Speech. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=8CrOL-ydFMI

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