--- title: "Spiritual Radiance: Being a Prism of Light" description: Seeing ourselves as a light for God, Margaret Rose Realy, Obl OSB, offers an analogy of colorful Fruits of the Spirit. --- [![catholic-mom-logo-v2](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/images/catholic-mom-logo-v2.svg "catholic-mom-logo-v2")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) [![search-icon](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/search-icon.svg)](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2015/09/05/spiritual-radiance-being-a-prism-of-light#) # Spiritual Radiance: Being a Prism of Light Sep 5, 2015 5:00:05 PM  |  by [Margaret Rose Realy, Obl. OSB](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/margaret-rose-realy-obl-osb) [![Prism file0001140432683](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Prism-file0001140432683-550x365.jpg?width=550&height=365&name=Prism-file0001140432683-550x365.jpg)](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Prism-file0001140432683.jpg) Image by ricrels (2008) via [Morguefile.com.](http://mrg.bz/UwVO0c) All rights reserved. The upstairs windows are washed, and the glass and crystal knick-knacks on the top of the sash and sill have been wiped off. Looking out, I notice the seventy-foot maple in the neighbor’s yard is tipped in dark red. Soon it will flash its fall color, a glowing dark-orange. In front of the east window, hanging from the curtain rod just below the valance is a nylon string with clear multi-faceted prisms and hand-made beads. Dozens of vibrant rainbows are drifting across the butter-yellow walls in the gabled room. The prisms are bending the crisp sunlight into splashes of color, and my office feels bright, cheery and warmed. I have been working on a manuscript for another book and find myself reflecting on the Fruits of the Spirit, and there are twelve: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity (CCC1832). I see the Fruits of the Spirit in much the same way as the colors resulting from the prism in my window. When sunlight enters into the prism and bends as it exits, a rainbow is seen. In this rainbow, I see an analogy: we are the prism in which God bends himself, his Holy Spirit, through us. We have read in the Bible, in both Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-12, how each of us has unique gifts but are all of one body. Depending on how we are gifted by His design, and shaped by our rearing, we will change or bend the light of God’s Holy Spirit, dispersing His Light into spiritual colors through faith, hope, and charity, the virtues that are infused into our souls. We are mentally and spiritually altered when we realize the Light of God is within us. With this awareness, we interact in a new way to the people around us. Those who see this light, or spiritual fruitfulness in us, may also be changed. They may open their hearts to His Light, and, once open, they too become a prism revealing the warmth and brightness of faith. I think God wants us to be spiritually radiant, to bring His Light into a world grown dim. In order to be, as Gandhi said, the change we wish to see in the world, we first need to accept how we are changed to reveal the spectrum of this Holy Light. I delight when I see colors and how they play about in my world, and I find joy in the colors of God’s Light. You, dear reader, are part of that glow.   *Copyright 2015 Margaret Rose Realy, Obl. OSB* *Image by ricrels (2008) via [Morguefile.com](http://mrg.bz/UwVO0c). All rights reserved.*   ### Share this article [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2015%2F09%2F05%2Fspiritual-radiance-being-a-prism-of-light%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2015%2F09%2F05%2Fspiritual-radiance-being-a-prism-of-light%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2015%2F09%2F05%2Fspiritual-radiance-being-a-prism-of-light%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Spiritual%20Radiance%3A%20Being%20a%20Prism%20of%20Light) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2015%2F09%2F05%2Fspiritual-radiance-being-a-prism-of-light%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2015%2F09%2F05%2Fspiritual-radiance-being-a-prism-of-light%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ** #### About the Author ![Margaret Rose Realy, Obl. OSB](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/Margaret%20Rose%20Realy%202022.jpg) ### [Margaret Rose Realy, Obl. OSB](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/margaret-rose-realy-obl-osb) Margaret Rose Realy, Obl. OSB lives an eremitic life and authored [A Garden Catechism](https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Catechism-Plants-Christian-Tradition/dp/1681925567), [A Catholic Gardener’s Spiritual Almanac](http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Gardeners-Spiritual-Almanac-Cultivating/dp/1594714843/linkCode=as2%26tag=patheoscom04-20),  [A Garden of Visible Prayer: Creating a Personal Sacred Space One Step at a Time](http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Visible-Prayer-Creating-Personal/dp/1939221234/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425010682&sr=1-1&keywords=9781939221230), and  [Cultivating God’s Garden through Lent](http://www.amazon.com/Cultivating-Gods-Garden-through-Lent/dp/1939221099/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359826349&sr=8-1&keywords=cultivating+gods+garden+through+lent). An award-winning author, Margaret has a master’s degree in communications, is a Certified Greenhouse Grower, Master Gardener, liturgical garden consultant, and workshop/retreat leader. ## Related Blog Articles [ Bulbs Part 3: Forcing Bulbs for Preseason Color: Practical Gardening Series Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2014/10/25/practical-gardening-bulbs-part-3-forcing-bulbs-for-preseason-color) [ This is for the Birds! Practical Gardening Series Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2014/11/01/practical-gardening-this-is-for-the-birds) [ Roots and Shoots Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2013/01/05/roots-and-shoots) ## Comments ## Donate now [![Support Catholic Mom](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545) [![CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png?width=1806&height=731&name=CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png "CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) ##### Subscribe to Catholic Momcast on iTunes or Spotify [![itunes-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/itunes-logo-black.svg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-momcast/id1362352357)[![spotify-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/spotify-logo-black.svg)](https://open.spotify.com/show/15CoipHL7z61IDcYErV0b8?si=hqaQJSxDQgq7S1hxCwsoxQ) ##### CatholicMom on Social Networks [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) ##### About Catholic Mom [Who We Are](https://www.catholicmom.com/about-us) [Contact Us](https://www.catholicmom.com/contact) [Support CatholicMom.com](https://www.catholicmom.com/support-us)   ##### Associated Links [Holy Cross Family Ministries](https://www.hcfm.org/) [Family Rosary](https://www.familyrosary.org/) [Family Theater Productions](https://www.familytheater.org/) [Congregation of the Holy Cross](https://www.holycrossusa.org/) [Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C.](https://www.fatherpeyton.org/) [The Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life](https://www.peytonfamilyinstitute.org/) ### **Stay connected!** Don’t miss a thing! 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