Welcome to The Light, your quiet hour of reflection.
In eastern Uganda, a Christian man's hands were severed by his own Muslim relatives following his conversion from Islam. They cited Sharia law as their justification. It is a story that sits heavy — faith as both the wound and the reason given for wounding, family turned instrument of doctrine.
Half a world away in Colombia, Christian communities are raising urgent voices for the protection of their pastors. Armed groups have been killing and kidnapping religious leaders, and a new campaign now calls for the restoration of formal protections. When those who tend the flock become targets, something essential in civil life begins to unravel.
And then, something luminous from a different kind of darkness — the darkness of deep space. A Chilean artist named Alejandra Acosta has brought to life the world's first book theorizing life on other worlds, written at the sunset of the sixteen hundreds, when the universe was thought no larger than our solar system. Her embroidered illustrations remind us that wonder has always preceded knowledge, and that imagining life beyond our own is among humanity's oldest and most generous instincts.
That's this hour's reflection. Carry the light gently.
