How to find Grace in the Darkness: Reflections from Flannery O'Connor
By Anna Laughery
The news are painful to watch. Corrupted politicians, murdered children, scandal in the boy scouts, scandal in the Church; the list seems to go on forever. Sometimes it seems too overwhelming to even open up a news site and begin to scroll through the breaking stories. As a woman of faith, I believe that the Lord will make good out of it all, and Divine Providence has a hand in all that occurs. But even with the light of faith, it is often extremely difficult to square this belief with the harsh reality that stares us in the face.
Sometimes it is enough to know we are not alone in this struggle to see grace active in the world. When despair and darkness seem to become too much, I have found a sister and a prophet in the writer Flannery O’Connor, and I hope you, dear sister can too.
Flannery O’Connor was a southern born Catholic American writer who for me, turned on its head my view of grace and life. Called the ‘hillbilly Thomist’, Flannery’s masterful use of theology, philosophy, humor and raw human experience has transformed the way I see the hand of Divine Providence in the world. Though she died at the young age of 39, Flannery O’Connor was wise beyond her years and has many lessons to teach us about pain, love, death and life.
O’Connor is best known for her short stories, and for good reason. Though they need to be read for themselves, so Flannery can speak for herself through her words, I will give you some tips for reading and interpreting them:
Don’t be surprised by the raw.
Flannery’s stories are not rated G. Sometimes, they aren’t even PG. Honestly, they can even be R. But that does not lessen their worth or beauty because though they sometimes aren’t nice, they are always real.
Always look for the light.
In many of her stories, the sun plays a powerful role in indicating the presence of grace in the story. Whether it is rising, setting or breaking through the branches of trees, the sun illuminates the lives of the characters, the same way the Son illuminates our lives. Watch for the way she works with fire and light to parallel the way she works with grace and the Holy Spirit into the lives of her characters.
Notice the penetration of grace.
There are key moments in every story where grace penetrates into the lives of the wayward characters, giving them the opportunity to repent and see the hand of God. Whether they respond to that grace or not is a different question, but training your eye to see the penetration of grace in the lives of Flannery’s characters can help you see the moments of grace in your own day to day existence.
Don’t expect answers, but don’t ignore the questions.
Often the conversion of the characters is left uncertain in the perception of the reader. It is often frustrating not to get a cut and dry ‘yes, they converted to belief in God’, or ‘no, they rejected salvation’, but in my eyes this is one of the most powerful parts of Flannery’s stories. In life we can’t read the hearts of those we encounter, nor is conversion an instantaneous act. Rather, it takes time, patience and love to see the movement of God’s grace in the world, and Flannery’s stories teach us this reality.
Most importantly, read her stories for yourself. Flannery’s perspective has the power to help you cope with the tragedy of this world, but unless you give her the time, you won’t be able to hear her voice. I recommend all her stories, but some good ones to start with are A Good Man is Hard to Find, The River, Greenleaf, or, my personal favorite -Parker’s Back. Let her show you the unexpected ways grace can intervene in the worst of situations, and you might just begin to see the grace the Lord has placed before you in your own daily experiences in a new way.
