Feast of the Presentation

 

We celebrate February 2nd the Feast of the Presentation or traditionally called "Candlemas" or "Candle Mass."  This is an ancient feast in the Roman Catholic Church dating back to as far back as 312 with some historical homilies by bishops.  This feast falls 40 days after Christmas and commemorates the Purification of Mary in the temple in Jerusalem following the mandate of the Law of Moses in the Book of Leviticus (Leviticus 12:2-8).  According to this Mosaic Law, any woman who had given birth to her first-born son is considered impure, and would have to go through a process of ritual purification.  Consequently, the Child Jesus was also presented to the temple to be consecrated to God according to the same Law.  Candle Mass was originally a celebration of the blessing of candles.  These candles were blessed and were reserved for the use of the Church in its different liturgical celebrations throughout the year.  In the liturgy, we still have the part of Simple or Solemn procession and blessing of the candles.  After Vatican II, the emphasis was refocused on the feast of the Presentation itself.  It traditionally became the day when Religious renew their vows as a symbol of renewing their religious consecration.  This year the Catholic Church will celebrate the World Day of Consecrated Life on February 5th.

This feast presents to us many points for personal reflection.  There are many things which come to my mind and among these are the following:
A lesson on poverty:  This feast recalls to mind how Mary and Joseph were really poor.  They offered to God what was prescribed in the Law as the offering of poor people: turtle doves.  Sometimes we may be tempted to think that the Holy Family's poverty was a pious tradition to exalt the virtue of poverty to those who were born poor in this world. Or to pacify the restless hearts of peasants during the middle ages by the backing of religion.  But this Gospel event proves to us that they were materially poor in the true sense of the word.  It is so consoling to think that material possessions are not always a badge of God's favor and the lack of them is not a sign of God's disfavor.
We are all consecrated:    By virtue of our baptism, we are consecrated to God.  We are set apart to do a particular mission in life to bring about the Kingdom.  Consecration is lived out in many ways.  Religious are consecrated by a certain ritual in the Church which sets them aside for a particular ministry following a particular charism, within a particular Religious Order.  Ordained Priests are consecrated to be God's ministers of Word and Sacraments for the life of one's soul.  A baptized Christian in the world is consecrated to be a leaven, a salt of the earth, to make present the presence of God in the market-places of the world.  No one is exempted.  We just do not exist, we live for a purpose.  The Presentation of the Child Jesus was a statement of this truth.
God lives in His temple and because of that we ought to give the House of God the respect it deserves.  The drama of Mary's purification, Jesus' consecration, the prophecy made by Simeon and the love of the prophetess Anna, all demonstrate to us how holy the temple or Church is.  In our Catholic Churches is present, day and night, the Son of God, Lord of Heaven and earth, who chose to remain in that little piece of bread we call the Eucharist so that He can be with us always.  And yet, for one reason or other, we take it for granted.  We need to recapture the reverence and awe we once had for the House of God.  Everyone of us can cite examples of how people can be so disrespectful of God's temple.
Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and as such should be treated with respect and reverence.  Our body is the instrument to render homage to God by acts of good deeds and virtues or to be used as an instrument to offend Him.  This feast reminds us to be conscious of this reality.
The sword piercing Mary's heart was a prophecy of the Cross.  Along with the joy of having given birth to God, the joy was lined with sorrow because the prophecy foretells  rejection, hate and death.  Isn't this a consequence of following Jesus, of discipleship?  The Cross is never far away from those who truly follow God.  That is one reason why people are afraid to follow Christ, "it is difficult, too complicated" many would say.  It entails dying: to self, selfish desires, life of sin.
As we celebrate this feast of the Presentation, let us again be mindful of these truths and ponder the insights which God reveals to those who seek Him.  "And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek (Malachi 3:1-4).  "Are you not aware that you are God's temple?"  Let us enter in, into the temple of our soul.  Let us remain in silence before the Lord our God.  Nothing is needed for this journey except the desire to be united with Him. As St. John of the Cross would say, the language God hears best is the silent language of love.

St. Elijah, First Prolifer

Some things don't change even with the passage of time. During the time of Elijah, human sacrifice was in vogue. Baal was a fertility god and sacrificing human lives went with the worship of this popular god. The Romans were no different. During Roman times, unwanted babies were taken outside the city walls and were left to die. Centuries later, we are no better. The following is an excerpt from the Book of 2 Kings:

"So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and the prophets of Baal to meet at Mount Carmel. Elijah went up to the people and said, "How much longer will it take you to make up your minds? If the LORD is God, worship him; but if Baal is God, worship him!" But the people didn't say a word. Then Elijah said, "I am the only prophet of the LORD still left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. Bring two bulls; let the prophets of Baal take one, kill it, cut it in pieces, and put it on the wood--but don't light the fire. I will do the same with the other bull. Then let the prophets of Baal pray to their god, and I will pray to the LORD, and the god who answers by sending fire--he is God." The people shouted their approval. Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal. "Since there are so many of you, you take a bull and prepare it first. Pray to your god, but don't set fire to the wood." They took the bull that was brought to them, prepared it, and prayed to Baal until noon. They shouted. "Answer us. Baal!" and kept dancing around the altar they had built. But no answer came. At noon Elijah started making fun of them; "Pray louder! He is a god! Maybe he is day-dreaming or relieving himself, or perhaps he's gone off on a trip! Or maybe he's sleeping, and you've got to wake him up!" So the prophets prayed louder and cut themselves with knives and daggers, according to their ritual, until blood flowed. They kept on ranting and raving until the middle of the afternoon; but no answer came, not sound was heard. Then Elijah said to the people, "Come closer to me." and they all gathered around him. He set about repairing the altar of the LORD which had been torn down. He took twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes named for the sons of Jacob, the man to whom the LORD had given the name Israel With these stones he rebuilt the altar for the worship of the LORD. He dug a trench around it, large enough to hold about four gallons of water. Then he placed the wood on the altar, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, "Fill four jars with water and pour it on the offering and the wood." They did so, and the said, "Do it again"--and they did. "Do it once more," he said--and they did. The water ran down around the altar and filled the trench. At the hour of the afternoon sacrifice the prophet Elijah approached the altar and prayed, "O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove now that you are the God of Israel. and that I am your servant and have done all this at your command. Answer me, LORD, answer me, so that this people will know that you, the LORD, are God and that you are bringing them back to yourself. The LORD sent fire down, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, scorched the earth and dried up the water in the trench. When the people saw this, they threw themselves on the ground and exclaimed. "The LORD is God; the LORD alone is God!"

The Cause for Life requires courageous men and women who will once again voice the most critical question of our times: "How long shall we straddle the issue?"

Which Prolifer Are You?

photo: Lifenews.com

Just below was an article I posted a couple of years ago on 4marks, a social networking site for Catholics.  It generated long (and some angry) discussions.  Some thought that I was critical of people's motives and they replied justifying their reasons for joining the cause.  Some were grateful because they felt the article led them to examine their consciences and their motives and came out of the process stronger and more focused.  My intention was simple and non-malicious.  I merely wanted to pose questions inspired by comments I hear everyday from people on both sides of the aisle.  With the anniversary of Roe v. Wade coming up on 22nd of January, I decided to re-post it and challenge the readers once again.  I don't exclude myself from this examination.  Like some people, my motives for doing the things I do, are not always pure.  I do want to quickly say that it would be naive and misleading to say that we only act when we're sure our motives are pure.  That would be paralyzing!  We are fallen creatures and we often don't start off right. I remember an incident in St. Teresa of Avila's autobiography where she stated the reason for her entering the convent.  It wasn't because she loved God enough to turn her back on the world, but it was because she feared going to hell!  It wasn't such a bad motive but she was motivated more by fear than by love, and Teresa herself was her own greatest  critic.  And as in any Christian spirituality, the heart of the Carmelite spirituality is love, and St. Teresa was a true daughter of Carmel,  and she would look upon this desire as imperfect.  But look what God did with her imperfect desire?  It was purified and now she's a Doctor of the Church and a Teacher on prayer par excellence.  And so it is with us.  It doesn't hurt us either to once in a while engage in self-examination so that we would grow spiritually and be more effective ambassadors for the cause of such importance.

"The Cause for Life is a noble and godly cause. It is a crusade against the power of darkness and the shadow of death. I admire people who are so committed to the sanctity of life. Their commitment takes them to places they probably did not dream of going and met people they did not dream meeting or did things they never dreamed doing. For many, it has become the main purpose of their existence, a vocation, and reason for being here on earth. But how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? The sheep from goats? When does the Prolife Movement become for some,  just another wagon to jump into, just another cause to rally, just another issue to scream about? Some people may just be there because they enjoy the fight and confrontations? Are they naturally argumentative and opinionated that the pro-life debates are just another way of exercising their war muscles? Or is a deeper motivation really present, a pure, unadulterated desire to correct the wrong done, promote justice for all and reclaim the right that belongs solely to God?"

My Star Shines Everyday

The Feast of Epiphany is sometimes called "little Christmas."  The word "Epiphany" means "manifestation."  The liturgy readings narrate the revelation of the Christ-Child to the world of the gentiles in the form of a star.  The Christmas Season captures the two forms of one reality- God came to earth to be with His people.  The first form of this manifestation was on Christmas day when "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" (Prologue of St. John).  The Word assumed a human nature and became like us.  God the Father manifested Himself to us through the Son, Jesus.  This is the first manifestation.  Then on the feast of Epiphany, God manifested Himself again, not in the silence of the night in some hidden cave in Bethlehem, but to the world, through the persons of the Magi, and in them, to the Gentiles.  This is the second manifestation.

Saint Peter Thomas

Feast Day:  January 8th

The Carmelite Order celebrates the feast of St. Peter Thomas on the 8th of January.  St. Peter is probably known only in the Order.  He had a most significant contribution within the Order and lived an illustrious role in Carmel:

"Born about 1305 in southern Perigord in France, Peter Thomas entered the Carmelites when he was twenty-one.  He was chosen by the Order as its procurator general to the Papal Court at Avignon in 1345.  After being made bishop of Patti and Lipari in 1354, he was entrusted with many Papal missions to promote peace and unity with the Eastern Churches.  He was translated to the see of Corone in the Peloponnesus in 1359 and made Papal Legate for the East.  In 1363 he was appointed Archbishop of Crete and in 1364 Latin Patriarch of Constantinople.  He won a reputation as an apostle of church unity before he died at Famagosta on Cyprus in 1366."

Prayer:
Lord,  you inspired in your bishop St Peter Thomas an intense desire to promote peace and Christian unity.
Following his example may we live steadfast in the faith and work perseveringly for peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
(Carmelite Liturgy of the Hours)

MARY, MOTHER OF GOD, MOTHER OF MINE

January 1st is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Of all the titles of Mary, her motherhood is the title I like best. I love to collect photos of Mary showing her with the Child Jesus. There is something in that mystery that draws me. Of course, it gives me much delight to know that I was also born on the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome - August 5th. The Basilica is the largest basilica in the West dedicated to the Mother of God. It was erected, as the story goes, at the site where Our Lady of the Snows appeared.

The Holy Family

Today is the feast of the Holy Family.  It is a celebration of the dignity of that age-old institution we call the human family. It is a celebration of life, of relationships, and of the bond which make us individually unique and with our own sense of identity and history. Every family, that unit of human relations and origins, derives its source from God. We are born into a family and whether we like it or not, we are tied to this family for life until death.  Blessed John Paul II called the family the “sanctuary of life.” It is in the family that life starts in all its aspects. It is a miniature form of society where you have hierarchical roles to establish order. There is no equality in a society as far as roles and responsibilities go. Not everyone can be presidents, mayors, governors, etc. Specific responsibilities are assumed by people appointed to the position either by due process of law or by Divine Providence. Each has a role to play and responsibilities to assume. In a family everyone assumes a place. Not all can be mothers, fathers or children as far as the physical reality goes. Special circumstances can sometimes demand that one assumes different roles and we must admit the stress this creates and the confusion it can sometimes entails. We are individual members of a body. The Book of Sirach talks about an exhortation for each member of the family. It carries a promise of a long life and abundant blessings. Love is the engine which must be at the heart of each family. It is the love St. Paul talks about, a love which sacrifices, forgives, bears with limitations, respects and believes in the other. We cannot have a dialogue in our families if it is not first of all inspired by a true love for each other. Dialogues not motivated by a true desire to listen and understand will just be an excuse to vent out problems, assign blame on someone and end up in even more frustrations. Taking the time is just the beginning. The real test is our ability and willingness to listen. We can use an abundance of words without really engaging in real communication. Often times paying more attention to what is not said in words could take us more into the heart of the matter. This is why St. Paul explains that we need the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s gifts are not just to be received but are exercised so that they can develop in us. The art of listening is an acquired gift. The Holy Family invites us to celebrate life . To celebrate life can mean upholding values which promote beauty, joy, openness, growth, appreciating the gift of each other, unity, loyalty and the like. Parents complain about the present generation without so much as acknowledging that the present generation is being short-changed. There is a cause and effect in everything. Money cannot replace what parents can give their children. It is not giving to our children what they want but what they need. If they cannot find what they need at home, they will seek for them somewhere else. The West is affluent in everything material but we are the most impoverished in relationships. Mother Teresa stated that we suffer from a different poverty here, the poverty of true love and self-sacrificing relationships. The Holy Family was materially poor but it was rich in love for God and each other. It was a family which lived in total trust in God. Joseph and Mary lived in faith, not understanding the works of God, but allowed themselves to be used by His Providence and in the end became the ideal home for the Child Jesus. Does it mean that the holiness of the Holy Family came to be because they were always happy, always provided for, always sure of what the future was? You and I know that this was not so. Holiness is conformity to the Will of God in whatever shape or form it manifests itself. It is seeing God’s hand in everything which happens to us. It is the “fiat” of Mary, the acceptance of Joseph, the subjection of Jesus to authority. These are all virtues which can be imitated, albeit with difficulty sometimes, but all possible with the help of God. The family is a holy institution. In the mind of God it is to be the sanctuary of life. Marriage is the bond which keeps it together. It is a bond which unites a man and woman together before God. But this bond is not magical, it needs to be worked at, it needs nurturing, it needs to be kept alive by mutual sacrifices and self- forgetfulness. Family life is the stage where the drama of human existence unfolds. It is the stage where stories of pain, sufferings, infidelities, betrayals, unhappiness, can unfold. Let’s face it, there were times we wished we were born into a different family! But it is also a stage where the grace of God can manifest itself if we are open to it and open to the sacrifices the solutions to problems entail. I am also thinking here of religious family where I belong. Saint Teresa of Avila had no patience with those who complained about the state of their religious Orders. Instead of complaining, she exhorted to do something about it. It is the same with our own human family. We have to find solutions to human problems, not just complain about them. And if they cannot be fixed, we must have the faith to trust that God knows what he is doing.

Christmas Message from Pope Benedict

Dear Brothers and Sisters!
The reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to Titus that we have just heard begins solemnly with the word “apparuit”, which then comes back again in the reading at the Dawn Mass: apparuit – “there has appeared”. This is a programmatic word, by which the Church seeks to express synthetically the essence of Christmas. Formerly, people had spoken of God and formed human images of him in all sorts of different ways. God himself had spoken in many and various ways to mankind (cf. Heb 1:1 – Mass during the Day). But now something new has happened: he has appeared. He has revealed himself. He has emerged from the inaccessible light in which he dwells. He himself has come into our midst. This was the great joy of Christmas for the early Church: God has appeared. No longer is he merely an idea, no longer do we have to form a picture of him on the basis of mere words. He has “appeared”. But now we ask: how has he appeared? Who is he in reality? The reading at the Dawn Mass goes on to say: “the kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed” (Tit 3:4). For the people of pre-Christian times, whose response to the terrors and contradictions of the world was to fear that God himself might not be good either, that he too might well be cruel and arbitrary, this was a real “epiphany”, the great light that has appeared to us: God is pure goodness. Today too, people who are no longer able to recognize God through faith are asking whether the ultimate power that underpins and sustains the world is truly good, or whether evil is just as powerful and primordial as the good and the beautiful which we encounter in radiant moments in our world. “The kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed”: this is the new, consoling certainty that is granted to us at Christmas.

Christmas Reflection

Christmas is my favorite liturgical season.  The joy of anticipation and the joy of realization, when the Child Jesus is finally in our midst, creates a feeling of both wonder and nostalgia.  I realize the fact that Christmas can mean different things to different people.  For our elderly residents living in the Home, it is a moment of loneliness and pain.  The loss of physical independence and the loss of family and friends, both because of distance and death, can bring about feelings of depression.  For most people, Christmas can also mean work, lots of head-spinning work.  Either because of unavoidable circumstances, such as one's means of livelihood, or one's duties and obligations, or either one's vocation or state in life, Christmas can mean a string of customers to be entertained, employees to be thanked, and friends to show love and gratitude to.  But despite all these, when the dust finally settles, when the last box of gifts is wrapped, and the soul finally gets itself down to adore and listen to church-bells ringing, the full reality of the hustle and bustle, is brought home to consciousness- it is Christmas, a Child is born, Jesus.

Then our hearts begin to quicken and our eyes open to the awesome gift given to us.  We begin to have an understanding, limited as it may be, of the wonder and miracle of love.  Love is the fuel that keeps Christmas burning.  It is the love of God from the very beginning of time, the love of the Son who came to fulfill the Father's wish, the love of Mary who accepted the call to be the vessel of the Incarnate, and the love that burns in our hearts for those we hold dear.  That is why we endure the discomforts of work and toil, that is why we forgive and forget wrongs done to us, why we patch up tattered relationships - all because we love.  The love shown us by the Father and Love made Incarnate, is the same flame of love that burns in our sinful hearts.  Imperfect as this love may be, tainted as it may seem, we share in the Divine Sonship.

As I behold in love and muted wonder at the crib in my cell a few days before Christmas, my heart expands at the thought that this Child, celebrated by Kings, Popes, Saints, and all people alike, came just for me.  Here in my cell, He and I alone, exchange intimacies of the heart, hidden from all others.  At the sight of Him lying in this crib of hay, the wonderful Pandora box of promises is opened - Peace, Surrender, Sacrifice, Joy, humility, new beginning, eternal happiness-  all promises of a New Year.  Whatever was in our life's slate this past 2011, the promise of 2012 opens wide.  Yes, the darkness has now passed, the rays of dawn had cast its full light, the Morning Star of our lives, has finally come.  Oh what joy! What gift! The whole world is grateful!  In the inner recesses of our hearts- we are speechless.  We can only accept it with loving disbelief.

Lord Jesus, as you have given us much, grant us the joy of giving you something this Christmas and all the days of our lives.  Bring to fruition all the good desires you have inspired in us.  Just as you gave yourself for us because of your inestimable love, help us to extend ourselves to love others more.  Just as you were Gift to us, undeserving as we are, let us be gifts for others, undeserving we may think them to be.  As the New Year opens wide its door upon us, let us enter in confidently, hopefully and joyfully, with full expectations, realizing that we can always begin again.  Help us to hold on to the joys and graces of these days.  Imperfect as we are, you know that we love You and desire only to follow You, all the days of our lives.  "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life!"