Gigapixels of grace

Jerry excitedly showed me his brand-new camera. “It’s not the top of the line, but it has all the features I need to get started with my own little photography and video business, Father!” Ever since he was a child, Jerry had always been passionate with photography.

A decade ago, getting into the hobby meant having to invest a lot on the equipment and developing the pictures. Today’s digital technology has changed all that. Now, one can shoot an infinite number of photos, then calmly “develop” the best ones in a computer and print or upload them out in no time.

“So what can this new camera do, Jerry?” I asked.

“Well, Father, basically like all cameras it captures images,” he joked.

“DUH! Wow, you’re talking to a genuine Neanderthal man, dude! Go on, I’m following you with my club.”

“Just kidding, Father. I bought this to replace my old camera. It allows you to take sharper pictures even while you’re moving. It also has some other automatic functions that adjust more precisely to light and other variable changes.”

“That makes photography child’s play. Everyone can now be an expert,” I said.

“Ehem,” he cleared his throat to show his disagreement. “Not quite, if you allow me to say so, Father. The experienced photographer has an eye for the best compositions to shoot, the angles to take and, of course, to put the camera’s features to their maximum potential.”

“Okay, I take back what I just said.” The pastoral caveman began scratching his head.

“Imagine what I can do with the 25 megapixels of quality images, Father?”

“I can’t and besides how does one really tell the difference? My phone has 5 and the pictures seem no different from the ones you take. Moreover, they occupy less storage space.”

“True, but they get pixilated when you blow them up. My photos won’t!” Jerry corrected me.

“But isn’t it enough to simply see and enjoy life’s best moments? Unless you’re shooting for National Geographic where you may need to zoom into some insect or microscopic plant?” I contested.

“That’s precisely what I mean!”

“Huh?”

“Fewer pixels allow you only so much, but when you want to develop for other mediums like billboards and magazines, you will need more megapixels—even maybe gigapixels in the future—so that the quality of your ‘moments’ are not lost.”

“In layman’s terms please?” I begged.

“I thought you were a techie, Father?”

“Yeah, sort of, but not when you treat me like a caveman,” I joked.

“Okay, let’s use vocabulary you’re familiar with,” Jerry rubbed his chin.

“I’m ready to swing my club!”

“Remember, the other day you said that ‘a second of grace could spell a great difference in one’s life’?”

“Yeah, so what, Mr. Sapiens?”

“Well, photography deals with capturing light. So I guess in digital photography, we can somehow say that the greater a camera’s capacity to capture light, then the better the quality of the shot.”

“Okay, I’m beginning to evolve now.” I grinned. “Go on!”

“So I guess like you explained before: Holiness depends on the person’s openness or receptivity to God’s grace. God’s grace is like light. The lesser obstacles one places, the more He captures God’s will in his life. One’s sins, for example, lessen his capacity to ‘capture’ more of God’s grace. Is this all making some sense now?”

“Yes, definitely the club that’s going to hit your head will make some sense! But I think the amoeba has now evolved into a jellyfish. Go on, some light might just knock me off and bring me back to Homo sapiens mode, dude!”

“It’s pretty much there is to it, Father. But before you swing your club, I could just go so far to say that our souls are like negatives that capture God’s loving grace. The lesser pixels we have—maybe like virtues or good desires—then God’s image won’t be faithfully developed in us.”

“Wow! I’m finally a human being! Thanks so much, dude! I think you’ve just given me a wonderful analogy on how to help people learn how to capture their best moments with God through prayer, the Sacraments and of course through their work well done for God and neighbor.”

“You’re welcome, Father,” he chuckled.

“Now where did I place that giga-club to hit your head with?”