DAY OF CONSECRATED LIFE

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On today’s Feast we contemplate the Lord Jesus, whom Mary and Joseph bring to the Temple “to present him to the Lord” (Lk 2:22). This Gospel scene reveals the mystery of the Son of the Virgin, the consecrated One of the Father who came into the world to do his will faithfully (cf. Heb 10:5-7).

Simeon identifies him as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Lk 2:32) and announces with prophetic words his supreme offering to God and his final victory (cf. Lk 2:32-35). This is the meeting point of the two Testaments, Old and New. Jesus enters the ancient temple; he who is the new Temple of God: he comes to visit his people, thus bringing to fulfilment obedience to the Law and ushering in the last times of salvation. 

It is interesting to take a close look at this entrance of the Child Jesus into the solemnity of the temple, in the great comings and goings of many people, busy with their work: priests and Levites taking turns to be on duty, the numerous devout people and pilgrims anxious to encounter the Holy God of Israel. Yet none of them noticed anything. Jesus was a child like the others, a first-born son of very simple parents. 

Even the priests proved incapable of recognizing the signs of the new and special presence of the Messiah and Saviour. Alone two elderly people, Simeon and Anna, discover this great newness. Led by the Holy Spirit, in this Child they find the fulfilment of their long waiting and watchfulness. They both contemplate the light of God that comes to illuminate the world and their prophetic gaze is opened to the future in the proclamation of the Messiah: “Lumen ad revelationem gentium!” (Lk 2:32). The prophetic attitude of the two elderly people contains the entire Old Covenant which expresses the joy of the encounter with the Redeemer. Upon seeing the Child, Simeon and Anna understood that he was the Awaited One.

The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is an eloquent image of the total gift of one’s life for all those, men and women, who are called to represent “the characteristic features of Jesus — the chaste, poor and obedient one” (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Vita Consecrata, n. 1) in the Church and in the world, through the evangelical counsels. For this reason Venerable John Paul II chose today’s Feast to celebrate the Annual World Day of Consecrated Life. 

In this context, I would like to offer a cordial and appreciative greeting to Archbishop João Braz de Aviz, whom I recently appointed Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, along with the Secretary and the co-workers. I also greet with affection the Superiors General present and all the consecrated people.

I would like to suggest three brief thoughts for reflection on this Feast. The first: the evangelical image of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple contains the fundamental symbol of light; the light that comes from Christ and shines on Mary and Joseph, on Simeon and Anna, and through them, on everyone. The Fathers of the Church connected this radiance with the spiritual journey. The consecrated life expresses this journey, in a special way, as “philokalia”, love of the divine beauty, a reflection of God’s divine goodness (cf. ibid., n. 19). On Christ’s Face the light of such beauty shines forth.

“The Church contemplates the transfigured face of Christ in order to be confirmed in faith and to avoid being dismayed at his disfigured face on the Cross.... she is the Bride before her Spouse, sharing in his mystery and surrounded by his light. This light shines on all the Church’s children.... But those who are called to the consecrated life have a special experience of the light which shines forth from the Incarnate Word. For the profession of the evangelical counsels makes them a kind of sign and prophetic statement for the community of the breth-ren and for the world” (ibid., n. 15).

Secondly, the evangelical image portrays the prophecy, a gift of the Holy Spirit. In contemplating the Child Jesus, Simeon and Anna foresee his destiny of death and Resurrection for the salvation of all peoples and they proclaim this mystery as universal salvation.

The consecrated life is called to bear this prophetic witness, linked to its two-fold contemplative and active approach. Indeed consecrated men and women are granted to show the primacy of God, passion for the Gospel practised as a form of life and proclaimed to the poor and the lowliest of the earth. 

“Because of this pre-eminence nothing can come before personal love of Christ and of the poor in whom he lives.... True prophecy is born of God, from friendship with him, from attentive listening to his word in the different circumstances of history” (ibid., n. 84). 

In this way the consecrated life in its daily experience on the roads of humanity, displays the Gospel and the Kingdom, already present and active. 

Thirdly, the evangelical image of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple demonstrates the wisdom of Simeon and Anna, the wisdom of a life completely dedicated to the search for God’s Face, for his signs, for his will; a life dedicated to listening to and proclaiming his word. “Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram: ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek’ (Ps 27 [26]:8).... Consecrated life in the world and in the Church is a visible sign of this search for the face of the Lord and of the ways that lead to the Lord (cf. Jn 14:8) .... The consecrated person, therefore, gives witness to the task, at once joyful and laborious, of the diligent search for the divine will” (cf. Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Instruction The Service of Authority and Obedience. Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram [2008], n. 1). 

Dear brothers and sisters, may you be assiduous listeners to the word, because all wisdom concerning life comes from the word of the Lord! May you seek the word, through lectio divina, since consecrated life “is born from hearing the word of God and embracing the Gospel as its rule of life. A life devoted to following Christ in his chastity, poverty and obedience thus becomes a living ‘exegesis’ of God’s word. The Holy Spirit, in whom the Bible was written, is the same Spirit who illumines the word of God with new light for the Founders and Foundresses. Every charism and every Rule springs from it and seeks to be an expression of it, thus opening up new pathways of Christian living marked by the radicalism of the Gospel” (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, n. 83).

Today, especially in the more developed societies, we live in a condition often marked by a radical plurality, by the progressive marginalization of religion in the public sphere and by relativism which touches the fundamental values. This demands that our Christian witness be luminous and consistent and that our educational effort be ever more attentive and generous. 

May your apostolic action, in particular, dear brothers and sisters, become a commitment of life that with persevering enthusiasm attains to Wisdom as truth and as beauty, the “splendour of the truth”. May you, with the wisdom of your life and with trust in the inexhaustible possibilities of true education, guide the minds and hearts of the men and women of our time towards a “good life according to the Gospel”.

At this moment, my thoughts turn with special affection to all of the consecrated men and women throughout the world and I entrust them to the Blessed Virgin Mary:

O, Mary, Mother of the Church,
I entrust all consecrated people to you,
that you may obtain for them the fullness of divine light:
may they live in listening to the Word of God,
in the humility of following Jesus, your Son and our Lord,
in the acceptance of the visit of the Holy Spirit,
in the daily joy of the Magnificat,
so that the Church may be edified by the holy lives of these sons and daughters of yours,
in the commandment of love. Amen.

We are CHRIST-BEARERS: Thoughts on the Mystery of the Feast of the Purification

Holy Church puts a burning candle into our hand on the feast of the Purification. In this way she appoints us to the task of being Christ-bearers, to bear Christ in our soul and in our will.

We bear Christ in our soul, i.e., in our thoughts, judgments, and principles of actions. We know that we are filled with the light and spirit of Christ. Therefore, we view life no more with the eyes of the earthly-minded, merely natural man, but with the eyes of Jesus. We look at great and little events in world history, as well as in our daily lives, no longer from an external viewpoint, but from within, that is, in their relationship to the will of God, or as manifestations of His wisdom, power, and love. We see everywhere and everything, with the eyes of Jesus, the hand of the ever-active Father. We look beyond the outer appearances and contingencies of things beyond the trials and tempests of life, and we direct our gaze upwards to the Father and to His eternally benevolent activity, to his designs and decrees. He and His plans become for us, just as they were for Christ, the primary reality, the hidden meaning of all things and all happenings - the true reality. With the eyes of Jesus, we look out beyond the present to the future world; we stand honestly and faithfully by the principles of the beatitudes: Blessed are the poor in spirit, the patient, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for holiness, the clean of heart, those who suffer persecution in the cause of the right (cf. Mt. 5:3). We are glad and lighthearted, because we believe that a rich reward awaits us in heaven. There is an eternity, and there is justice. Everyone will receive what he deserves. Before every decision, we will ask ourselves: "How is a man the better for it, if he gains the whole world at the cost of losing his own soul?" (Mt. 16:26); we will live according to the principle, "Only one thing is necessary" (Lk. 10:42). Thus do we bear Christ as the light in our soul.

We bear Christ in our will, in our heart, in our deeds and omissions, in our life. We live for Him, mindful of the word, the example, and the living union with us, of Him who lives and works in us as head of his members. "Nothing is beyond my powers, thanks to the strength God gives me" (Phil. 4:13). He works in me; He upholds and permeates me with His power. We live for Him and bear Him in our hearts with the holy passion of a glowing, enthusiastic love. On the strength of this love, we joyfully offer our sacrifices and troubles; we overcome the force of sin and of evil passions. We live for Him with a steadfast trust in His love, in His guidance, in His government of, and operations in us. In the face of every task, we say with St. Peter: "Master,...at Your word" (Lk. 5:5).

It is our vocation to be apostles of Christ, each after his own fashion. This is what the candle which we carry in our hand on Candlemas means for us. We have so much to give!

If only we ourselves were upright, true Christians! Here we have been found wanting! Our Christianity is so often a Christianity of anxiety, doubts, fear, and slavish attachment to formulas and methods. There is so great a lack of freedom, so much narrowness and restraint! We are Christians of learning, rules, formulas, activity, calculations, anxiety and pedantry; Christians of accounts and records. There are all too few Christians with glowing hearts, with great, compelling, kindling ideas, with a burning passion for Christ; too few Christians of the stature of St. Paul. "So may the peace of Christ... reign in your hearts. May all the wealth of Christ's inspiration (the Gospel) have its shrine among you: now there will psalms... and hymns, and spiritual music, as you sing with gratitude in your hearts to God" (Col. 3:15, 16). This thankful psalm-singing, jubilant Christianity has become unfamiliar to us!

PRAYER: Send down upon me, O Lord, Your light and Your truth, so that they might direct me to Your holy mountain and lead me into Your dwelling. Amen.

CANDLEMAS! We are going on a pilgrimage, light in hand, with Mary to the temple. We are bearing Christ in our souls by FAITH, Christ in our hearts by CHARITY, Christ in our deeds by our SURRENDER to His commands, to His Will, to His decrees. We are going, hand in hand, with Mary, the Church, toward the temple of the heavenly Jerusalem. The Church leads us safely and wisely. Our Christ, our LIGHT, is waiting for us in heaven, in His full splendor. There we shall forever give thanks and rejoice: "My own eyes have seen that saving power of Yours" (Tract).

SOURCE: Baur, Rt. Rev. Benedict, OSB. Saints of the Missal, Volume I. Missouri, B. Herder Book Co., 1958.

A CANDLE PRAYER

From the Pieta prayer book, a prayer to be said while burning a blessed candle during storms and troubles:

Jesus Christ a King of Glory has come in Peace.
God became man,
and the Word was made flesh.
Christ was born of a Virgin.
Christ suffered.
Christ was crucified.
Christ died.
Christ rose from the dead.
Christ ascended into Heaven.
Christ conquers.
Christ reigns.
Christ commands.
May Christ protect us from all storms and lightning.
Christ went through their midst in Peace,
and the Word was made Flesh.
Christ is with us with Mary.
Flee you enemy spirits because the Lion of the Generation of Juda, the Root David, has won.
Holy God!
Holy Powerful God!
Holy Immortal God!
Have mercy on us. Amen.

DISSOLVED IN CHRIST: St. Ambrose's Homily on the Presentation of the Lord

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon. He was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. The birth of the Lord is attested not only by Angels, prophets, and shepherds, but also by elders and just men. Every age, and both sexes, as well as the miracles of the events themselves, are here to strengthen our faith. A virgin conceives, a barren woman bears, a dumb man speaks, Elizabeth prophesies the wise man worships, the unborn child leaps, the widow praises, and the just man waits.

Well he is called just, who looked not for favor for himself, but for consolation for his people. He desired to be set free from the bondage of this frail body, but he waited to see the Promised One for he knew that blessed are the eyes that see Him. Then he took Him up in his arms, blessed God, and said "Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word." Behold a just man, confined in the weary prison of the body, desiring to be dissolved and to begin to be with Christ. For to be dissolved and to be with Christ is much better. (Phil. i. 23.)

Whosoever will be dissolved and be with Christ, let him come into the Temple, let him come to Jerusalem, let him wait for the Lord's Christ, let him take hold on the Word of God, let him embrace it with good works, as it were with arms of faith and then let him depart in peace, for he shall not see death, who has seen life. Behold how the Lord's Birth overflows with abounding grace for all, and prophecy is not denied to the just, but to the unbelieving. Behold, Simeon prophesies that the Lord Jesus Christ has come for the fall and rising again of many yea, He shall separate the just from the unjust by their deserts, and according as our work shall be, so shall the true and righteous Judge command us to be punished or rewarded.

FEBRUARY 2: The Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas Day)

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Candlemas Day

On this day the Church solemnly celebrates the presentation of Jesus in the temple, and the obedience and humility both of Mary and her divine Son, who, though not subject to the law in regard to purification and presentation, yet subjected themselves to it. Hence this feast is called the Purification of the Virgin Mary. In common speech we call it also Candlemas, because on this day the candles required for the divine service are blessed and carried in procession.

What is the design of this custom?

1. It is to remind us that Jesus, the light of the world, was offered up to His heavenly Father, by Mary, in the temple at Jerusalem, where He was called by Simeon a light for the revelation of the gentiles, and the glory of the people of Israel.

2. To remind us, also, of several important truths, to which the priest refers in the prayers at the blessings. Thus he prays that as the earthly light dispels the darkness of night, so Jesus, with the light of His divine doctrine, may clear away our spiritual blindness and ignorance, and lead us in the way of virtue; that as the Holy Ghost enlightened Simeon, so He may also enlighten us to acknowledge Jesus as the true light, to love Him and follow Him, to keep our hearts from the way of sin, and to guide them in the way of virtue, and to kindle them with the fire of holy love; finally, that God may preserve, in soul and body, those who use blessed candles with devotion, may hear their prayers, and grant them entrance into the kingdom of the eternal and ever-blessed light.

In the Introit of the Mass the Church sings:

    "We have received Thy mercy, O God, in the midst of Thy temple; according to Thy name, O God, so also is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth; Thy right hand is full of justice. Great is the Lord and exceedingly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain."

Prayer (Extraordinary Form)

Almighty, everlasting God, we suppliantly beseech Thy majesty that, as Thy only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the substance of our flesh, so Thou wouldst grant us to be presented to Thee with purified souls, Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, etc.

(Ordinary Form – New Translation)

Almighty everlasting God, we humbly implore your majesty that, as your Only Begotten Son was presented in the Temple on this day in the substance of our flesh, so you will have us presented to you with minds made pure. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Epistle: Malachi 3:1-4 (Extraordinary Form)

Thus saith the Lord: Behold I send My angel, and he shall prepare the way before My face. And presently the Lord Whom you seek, and the angel of the testament whom you desire, shall come to his temple. Behold he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts: and who shall be able to think of the day of his coming? and who shall stand to see him? for he is like a refining fire, and like the fullers' herb: and he shall sit refining and cleansing the silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall refine them as gold, and as silver, and they shall offer sacrifices to the Lord in justice. And the sacrifice of Juda and of Jerusalem shall please the Lord, as in the days of old, and in the ancient years, saith the Lord Almighty.

Gospel: Luke 2:22-32

At that time: After the days of Mary's purification according to the law of Mostls were accomplished, they carried Jesus to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord; and to offer a sacrifice according as it is written in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons. And behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was in him. And he had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when His parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law: he also took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said: Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word, in peace; because my eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; a light to the revelation of the gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.

Explanation

The Blessed Virgin presented herself and her divine Son at the temple so as not to give scandal to such as were ignorant of their being exempt from the law, to show from the first that Jesus was come to redeem sinners, and to leave us an example of humility and obedience. Mary offered the gift of a pair of doves, like the poor, because she was poor, and was not ashamed to acknowledge it before the world. 

From the Homily of Pope Benedict XVI (Feb. 2, 2010)

On the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple we are celebrating a mystery of Christ's life linked to the precept of Mosaic Law which prescribed that 40 days after the birth of their first-born child parents should go to the Temple of Jerusalem to offer the infant to the Lord and for the ritual purification of the mother (cf. Ex 13:1-2, 11-16; Lv 12:1-8). Mary and Joseph also fulfilled this rite, offering to comply with the law a couple of turtle doves or pigeons. In giving a deeper interpretation to these things we understand that at this moment it is God himself who is presenting his Only-Begotten Son to humanity through the words of the elderly Simeon and the Prophetess Anna. Simeon, in fact, proclaimed Jesus as the "salvation" of humanity, a "light" for all the nations and a "sign that is spoken against", because he would reveal the thoughts of hearts (cf. Lk 2:29-35). In the East this Feast was called Hypapante, a feast of encounter. In fact, Simeon and Anna, who met Jesus in the Temple and recognized him as the Messiah so long awaited, represent humanity that encounters its Lord in the Church. Subsequently, this Feast also spread to the West, where above all the symbol of light and the procession with candles which gave rise to the term "Candlemas" developed. This visible sign is intended to mean that the Church encounters in faith the One who is "the light of men" and in order to bring this "light" into the world, receives him with the full dynamism of her faith.

Prayer (Blessing of Candles – Ordinary Form / New Translation)

O God, the true light, who radiate and create light eternal, pour into the hearts of the faithful, the brilliance of perpetual light, so that everyone in your holy temple who is graced by the splendor of these lights may succeed in coming happily to the light of your glory. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.