Shine, Jesus, Shine

Shine, Jesus, Shine

Lord, the light of your love is shining

In the midst of the darkness shining.

Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us

Set us free by the truth you know bring us

Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, Shine

Fill this land with the Father's glory

Blaze, Spirit, blaze

Set our hearts on fire.

Flow, river, flow

Flood the nations with grace and mercy

Send for Your word, Lord, and let there be light.

September 11, 2001... a day that we will never forget.  I was teaching at St. Joseph and I remember going into the office and seeing the second plane hit the towers on the tiny TV in the principal's office.  For some reason I can't seem to remember, we did not have our usual 8:00 Mass that morning and I was in my room until my first class with eyes glued to my TV.  It did not take long for us to get an impromptu prayer service together and we were quickly in church with all the students praying for our nation and the many victims.  We didn't tell the students much, but let them know that there prayers were needed for our nation.  Just a few weeks earlier I had been teaching the kids this song, Shine, Jesus, Shine.  It immediately came to my mind when I was asked to come up with some songs to open and close the service.  We opened with this song and I remember barely being able to sing those first two lines.  There was so much darkness, loss and not knowing.  Was it over, was anywhere safe?  But through it all, Jesus did shine. He came to heal, to save and to show us His truth. 

I cannot believe that is has been 10 years since that morning.  I know that Jesus is still filling this land, and all lands with his glory.  I pray that we don't forget and that we always strive to flood all the nations with his grace and mercy.