Matters of Interpretation

Books, for instance, like of the Bible

“Lux umbra dei”

“God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is a niche, wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as a shining star kindled from a blessed olive tree, neither of the East nor of the West. Its oil would well-nigh shine forth, even if no fire had touched it. Light upon light. …”
Quran 24:35

Going through the mail that has been piling up for the past several weeks; skimmed through a publisher’s catalog (Paulist Press), and ran across the description of Home by Another Route: A Journal of Art, Music and Faith, by Charles Scribner, III; in the course of this, was introduced to the Latin proverb – evidently, ancient – “lux umbra dei”: “light is the shadow of God.”

It’s a breathtaking thought.

For one thing, someone with this in mind would only forget the presence of God about as often as they forget the presence of light.