INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Light Amidst Darkness

From my point of view, God is the light that illuminates the darkness, even if it does not dissolve it,
and a spark of divine light is within each of us. – Pope Francis

Artists and spiritual writers through the millennia have reminded us of and evoked the spark of the Divine within each of us. Indeed, we are created in the image and likeness of God. Yet, we often get embroiled in the ups and downs and crises that surround us. With wars, turmoil in our relationships, boredom and emptiness – we can feel immersed in darkness. The prophet Isaiah reminds us of God’s presence within the darkness: “I will give you the treasure of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so you will know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.” – Is. 45:3.
The films of this series summon and inspire the spark of the Divine among us:

“No matter what form God takes for each of us – we all carry a piece of that divinity, that Source of life, inside us. . . . So long as life endures in a person, that spark, the fragment of divinity, glows. [And] in our lifetimes, when we notice the spark in each other, when we breathe on it, when we fan it with the motion of our own beating heart, the spark is enlivened.” – Cynthia Trenshaw, Meeting in the Margins, 2015, pp. 79-80.

Films will be introduced and followed by a brief discussion facilitated by a Maryknoll missioner. Come, enjoy and reflect on our faith through the art of film.