Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Candlemass)

One purpose of our weekly Pastor’s Bench is to highlight the importance of the liturgical feasts or other liturgical celebrations. The beautiful feast of the Presentation of the Lord is a day of both shadow and light. But it is not limited to today. Shadow and light are the reality of our lives and our world. We could all tell a story of what it was like to live in the shadowy places. Sometimes we go there by our own choices or actions and other times as a result of someone else’s action or simply through the circumstances of life. Sometimes we hide in the darkness avoiding the light because of our shame or guilt. We do not want to admit the truth of our lives to ourselves and we sure do not want another to see that truth about us – our thoughts or the things we have done and left undone. The shadows, we tell ourselves, will hide us. Other times we live in the night of fear not knowing what will come next or how we will handle it. There is s sense of powerlessness and life seems out of control. There are those times when the black hole of sorrow and grief sucks out the life and the light of our world and we seem unable too escape the darkness. Sometimes we experience the darkness of ignorance and confusion. We are blind to our own identity, lost on the path of life, seemingly without meaning or direction. Even when we choose the shadowy places they are always uncomfortable. That discomfort is the light shining in the darkness. No matter how large the shadows or how dark the night the light is still present. It was symbolized on this feast by the candles. That little flickering flame is the reminder that Christ –a light for revelation – is with you. Christ is both the Light we see and the Illumination by which we see. That Light and that Illumination are revelatory. They reveal mercy and forgiveness in the shadows of guilt and shame, presence and courage in the night of fear, compassion and hope in the black holes of sorrow and loss, a way forward in the blindness of ignorance and confusion, and life in the darkness of death. The flame of God’s love consumes the darkness, fills us, and frees us to go in peace just as God promised. We have seen salvation and Simeon’s song now becomes our song for the rest of our lives and for all the eternity! ■ Fr. Agustin, pastor.