Faithlinks

Today we have a liturgical 3 in 1 celebration. We have the Purification of Our Lady, the Candelaria —the Candlemas, and the Presentation of our Lord at the Temple.

Under the Law of Moses as found in the Torah, a mother who had given birth to a male-child was considered unclean for forty days. At the end of forty days, she was to present herself to the priest and offer a sacrifice—her purification.

The Candlemass therefore corresponds to the day on which Mary, according to Jewish law, should have attended a ceremony of ritual purification (Leiticus 12:2-8).

It was the first time that Jesus entered the temple and the prophet Simeon proclaimed: "... a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel." Jesus proclaimed himself later as "I am the light of the world." John refers to him as "the light shines in the darkness."

In the Candlemass, we bless the candles to be used during the year.

The Gospel of Luke 2: 22-39 relates that Mary was purified according to the religious law, followed by Jesus' presentation in the Jerusalem temple. This explains the formal names given to the festival, as well as its taking place 40 days after the Nativity.

Until Vatican II, the liturgical feast focused on the Purification of the Virgin and the Candlemas, where the priest blessed the candles to be used during the year.

Vatican II shifted the focus to the Presentation of Our Lord and the prophecy of Simeon.

Simeon waited a lifetime for the Messiah. He lived a good and holy life guided by the Holy Spirit. He knew he would not die until he had seen the Anointed One of the Lord.

Like Simeon we can ask ourselves: What are we waiting for in our lives? We have just waited for Christmas. Maybe awaited the New Year or look forward to the year 2014, or graduation.

Perhaps you're waiting to get married, the birth of a baby, or wedding anniversary, or jubilee. Perhaps you're waiting for a new job, romance, recovery from injury or sickness, or going abroad. Some even await death.

Simeon gives a model for waiting in our lives. He had probably waited for his meals, for a caravan to pass before he crossed the street, for a cut or bruise to heal, for his laundered robe to dry, for a rare rain to settle the dusty landscape.

All Simeon's small waitings in life were in line to his major goal - waiting for the Messiah.

In our modern age of rush and speed, Simeon's waiting is a model of patience.

It is difficult to imagine him pacing around in the temple murmuring, "When will that Messiah get here?!"

He was patient because his focus was on God's plan, not on his own desire.

Simeon's waiting speaks of gentleness as we hear of his listening to the Spirit, cradling the baby Jesus in his arms, blessing the family.

He was gentle because he allowed God's grace to fill his life.

What can we learn from Simeon?

We can expect to experience God's goodness just as Simeon anticipated God's goodness in the Messiah. We can expect with great confidence that God will come to us. Simeon's wait was not in vain. Neither is ours.

But what does this triple celebration say to us today?

Today's liturgy invites us to renew our own baptismal commitment to be a light with Christ to the darkened world around us, to be with Christ promoting the culture of life in a world promoting the culture of death, to be a loving and caring person, especially to those in need.

Today's liturgy invites us to know Christ more intimately, personally, by praying with the Gospels, to love him more totally with our whole heart, and to follow him more closely and faithfully.

Today's celebration reminds us of the Easter Vigil, where the ceremony begins with total darkness in the church, to symbolize the world in sin without Christ.

The first thing the Celebrant does is to bless the new fire and the Paschal Candle. The Paschal Candle is then lighted from the new fire. And the Celebrant or a Deacon carries the lighted Paschal Candle into the darkened church proclaiming: "Lumen Christi," (the Light of Christ).

The people in he church would light their candles from the Paschal Candle, so that the church slowly brightens up to symbolize Christ coming into the world to dispel the darkness of sin.

Today, let us be inflamed again by Christ, the Light of the world, so that we too can be lights to the darkened world around us.