Shine the Light to the World
On 2nd February, the church celebrated the feast of the Presentation of the Lord- 40 days after the birth of Christ. On this day, we also have our candles blessed. What does this feast tell us? Here are some reflections from the homilies of our two shepherds:
During the sunset mass, Fr. Louis explained that the scene of the presentation of the Lord speaks of true happiness that comes from living simply like the Holy Family. They did not have much but had the greatest wealth of knowing and loving God. They led a life accepting ‘come what come may”, surrendering to God completely. It is about accepting whatever life has to offer- joy, pain and suffering. Finally it is listening to the prompting of the spirit. To be a people of prayer like Simeon and Anna who identified the child Jesus and leapt with joy.
Fr. Dom, in his Sunday homily spoke on the significance of the feast – Christ as the Light of the world and whoever follows him shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life (Jn 8: 12). He said that the candle symbolizes sacrificial love. The wax represents Christ’s body born without corruption and that melts to provide light to others. The wick represents Jesus’ most pure soul hidden in his body and the fire represents God’s everlasting source of light. No amount darkness can overcome a burning candle. Our response should be to walk in the light of Christ and shine that light to the world.
In short we are called to be the children of the light through the prompting of the spirit by living a life of simplicity and accepting God’s will.