"Get off your high horse. The world doesn’t revolve around you.”

That’s true unless you’re a certain G-type main-sequence star: the Sun.

Holding about 99.86% mass of the solar system, the Sun is a giant mammoth that could easily fit in more than 1,000,000 Earths. It has got enough nuclear fuel to keep it running at least for the next 5,000,000,000 years. Whew! And, needless to mention, without the heat and light from the Sun, life would vanish on Earth.

Now, let’s talk about the lamp.

The insignificant lamp.

If the Sun’s grandeur would occupy the whole of Burj Khalifa, the lamp’s grandeur would fit on the top of a pinhead. How irrelevant and puny is the lamp in front of the Sun’s immensity, glory, and energy!

You can almost dismiss it as if it were a 0.1 in front of 1,000,000. With its tiny mass and petty size, the heat and light given off by the lamp seem unimpressive when compared to the brilliance of the Sun.

But hold on.

Because there’s something the lilliputian lamp can do that the supercolossal Sun cannot.

The little lamp can dispel the darkness of the night.

When the glorious Sun walks away giving way to night, the lamp stands still and burns bright.

It was the little lamp that illumined the path of the shepherds who went in search of the newborn king at night. It was the little lamp that helped the woman find her lost silver coin. And it is the little lamp by the tabernacle that tirelessly burns round the clock signifying the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

What an honor it is to be a sanctuary lamp, close to Christ day and night!

The Sun and the lamp, both are marvelous. And they shine best when they realize their unique purposes.

Woof too has his own big mission. A divine calling. He is small like the sanctuary lamp, but his calling to spread the Good News makes him special. He may not have the immensity and grandeur of the Sun, but he is here to dispel the darkness of the night in his own little, impactful way.

You too have your own beautiful purpose in life.

And you too can dazzle in your own unique way.

Woof says:

"Should the daisy hang its head in shame because the rose looks breathtakingly beautiful?

Should the violet stop giving off its scent because the rose is the queen of all flowers?

And what about the white lily?

Should it bathe itself in carotenoids and anthocyanins so it could turn as red as the rose?"

Reflect.

Join him as he prays:

“Master, I thank you for having wonderfully made each of us.

As St. Thérèse of Lisieux says, ‘The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.’

As I contemplate her words, I thank you for blessing us all abundantly with wonderful gifts. By your grace, may we employ these gifts to serve you and the common good.

Amen.”

Woof is right.

Maybe we’re not that G-type main-sequence star around which the world revolves. But we’ve got our own distinct place and purpose in God’s grand scheme of things.

“Arise! Shine, for your light has come, the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
The least one shall become a clan, the smallest, a mighty nation.
I, the Lord, will swiftly accomplish these things when the time comes.”
Isaiah 60:1, 22

Trust God.

And let your light shine!