light in the darkness

[see larger image on flickr]

"darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
- martin luther king, jr.

i took these photos at st. pat's in NYC right before christmas.  my parents took me into the city to see a broadway show for my birthday and we had the perfect day in the city!  we stopped at the beautiful st. pat's cathedral to listen to mass and light a few prayer candles.

i've always loved the prayer candles in church ...hundreds of tiny, flickering lights ... each it's own silent prayer nestled among other silent prayers.  when you step back and look at all of the candles together, they illuminate the church in a warm, hopeful glow.  it's proof that many tiny, individual lights really can eliminate darkness.

so, in honor of MLK day and this inspired man's beautiful quote...i think it's important to remember that we should all be a light in the darkness.

we should choose to love and not hate.

we should be a source of that warm, hopeful glow that illuminates our world.