S1 Ep. 37: How the Light Gets In

Transcript

Carol Vassar:

From SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut, I'm Carol Vassar, and this is Living in Faith, Hope, and Love. Each week, our Pastor, Father Mark Suslenko, delves into Scripture, shares insights from the saints, prophets, and theologians, and discusses practical ways to cultivate faith, strengthen hope, and embody love in the world around us. Through his reflections and spiritual encouragement, this podcast aims to inspire you to live your Catholic faith with joy and purpose. Welcome. 

This episode is a little different—and very special. It was recorded during Father Mark Suslenko’s retirement Mass—a moment of reflection and gratitude, though not his final celebration with our parish community.

In his homily that day, Father Mark spoke directly to the heart of what it means to live faithfully amid life’s imperfections. He reminded us that faith is not about perfection or performance—it’s about knowing that we are profoundly loved by God, just as we are.

Drawing inspiration from Leonard Cohen’s timeless lyric—“There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in”—Father Mark invites us to see our own cracks, our weaknesses and flaws, as the very places where God’s grace can shine through.

So today, we share his message of humility, tenderness, and hope—a reminder that even in our brokenness, God’s light still gets in.

Here’s Father Mark.

“How the Light Gets In,” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut

Father Mark Suslenko:

At various times in our life, we really struggle with faith. And sometimes that's happening because of circumstances that are going on around us and we can't quite see where God is in the midst of those circumstances. Some of you today may be just struggling with faith in general. What do I believe? Why do I believe it? Is there something to believe?

Now, faith, when it's truly rooted in the truth of our souls, doesn't happen because of an ascent to a body of teachings. It's not just that we believe certain things. Faith really begins to make sense and take flesh in our lives when we realize something incredibly important about ourselves: that we are profoundly loved by God - profoundly loved by God.

You see, we only have two choices for thinking about our existence here on Earth. After all, we just find ourselves here. Two things that happen to us in our lives over which we have absolutely no control is whether we want to be born and we want to die. Those two things are gonna happen regardless of how much influence we think we can have over them. So, what about that middle piece? What's it all about?

Well, I guess we can look at it and say, well, it's all just random. We are here. The goal is to make the best of it, and when this random life is over, we just simply return to the ground and it's no more. Or we can think through the lens of faith, and begin to realize that, no, there's nothing random to any of this at all. It all has purpose, direction, and meaning because I am profoundly loved by God.

As we consider ourselves, with all of our barnacles, with all of our weaknesses, with all of our idiosyncrasies, at the end of the day, God looks at us with love, and he's pleased about what he has created in each one of his children. And beyond that, he accepts us as we are. We don't have to polish ourselves up. We don't have to change. We simply have to be who we are.

But yet, as we go through life, we have this obsession with wanting to be perfect. We want everything to be perfect. We want to be the perfect brother, the perfect sister, the perfect mother, the perfect friend, the perfect father, the perfect priest, the perfect pastor, the perfect teacher, and the list goes on and on of our perfections. And if we can't be perfect, then we carry within ourselves this sense of not having enough to give, because if I can't give it perfectly, then what's the point? We even look at our church, and we expect our church to be perfect, but it's not.

So, what do we do with our imperfections? What do we do with our idiosyncrasies? What do we do with our brokenness? We have to accept it in humility with a knowledge that there are some things in our lives we cannot change, but in that brokenness, if I open myself to be a vessel of God, he can do wondrous things.

Leonard Cohen, who many of you would know by his work, Hallelujah, also wrote a whole body of other music. I found myself somewhat attracted to what he had to say because he really wrestles with the human condition and how God fits into that, and where faith is and how it all gets put together. And he has this song, it's called Anthem. Anthem. If you ever get a chance, listen to it, because it's not only intriguing, but it's extremely profound. And there's a couple of lines in there that are so relevant to today. He says, "Do not dwell on what is passed away or on what is yet to be. Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There's a crack. There's a crack in everything." And this is the profound part: "That's how the light gets in."

There's a crack in everything, and that's how the light gets in.

If we're perfect and all put together, how does God get in? You know, I think that's why he was so attracted to the poor and the lame and the outcasts and those people who struggled because they were broken, and his light could shine through them, and they knew the depth of compassion and mercy, and tenderness. Gosh, as we look out at our world, our world needs tenderness. Our world needs mercy, and God uses us and our brokenness to bring his gift of love and of peace to those who need it most.

You know, we celebrate today the gift of the church. It's not just the building over in Rome, that's a symbolic celebration. But today's really about the living church, you and I, who come together in faith; a living church seeking to do what God wants us to do. But that institutional church, which is also embodied by its beautiful buildings, is a church that is weak, sometimes sinful, broken, imperfect, grace-filled, a beacon of hope, a vessel of love, and in its brokenness, it is also very, very human. But God uses that broken church to bring his love to all corners of the world because that broken church is also one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic. It is that place where we can encounter, profoundly, the presence of God, which cannot be found anywhere else, until we come together and celebrate that gift of the Eucharist.

And this church may not always be what we want it to be, but it will always be what we need it to be. And that's the point that we take away today as we celebrate the gift of this church. We come with our broken lives. We're asked to ring our bells, however many or however we can do so. Some of us have more bells to ring, and others have less. But nonetheless, we all have bells. To ring those bells and forget being perfect, to allow God to use you so that you can go into this very disjointed and conflicting world with a message of hope, with a message of tenderness, with a message of peace, and then, as you go through life and live out your vocation as a child of God, allowing God to shine through your cracks, not attempting to hide them, but use them, you will find yourself with greater faith, a more fervent hope and a more generous love.

God bless you.

Carol Vassar:

Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. If you like what you've heard today, please subscribe to Living in Faith, Hope, and Love on your favorite podcast app and take a moment to leave a review.

SS. Isidore and Maria is an active parish community, so whether you’re a long-time parishioner or are just getting to know us through this podcast, we welcome you to join us at Masses or any of our other community events and services. Visit our parish website - isidoreandmaria.org - for a full schedule of Masses, services and other happenings. That's isidoreandmaria.org. We're also active on Facebook and Instagram.

On behalf of Father Mark, I'm Carol Vassar, and we thank you for listening to this episode of Living in Faith, Hope, and Love.