Ashes for Infants?

Q:On Ash Wednesday, the priest in our parish did not distribute ashes to small children. He explained to the people who were present that ashes are an outward sign of our inner intention to enter into the penitential discipline of Lent. He said that, even though ashes are a sacramental of the Church, it does not make sense to impose them on the foreheads of little children who are innocent and have no need to repent. He said a child should have some awareness of sin to be a recipient of ashes.

I felt his explanation made sense, but I cannot seem to find any “official” support for his position. In a neighboring parish, ashes were distributed to everyone, including infants. Could you shed some light on the question?

A: I found your letter and question quite interesting. There is a certain logic in the position taken by your parish priest. After all, we do not administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation to children who haven’t started school or expect preschoolers to participate in penitential services. Liturgical directions in the Sacramentary, after the blessing of ashes, say, “The priest then places ashes on those who come forward.”

That instruction seems to indicate a conscious decision to receive the sacramental, a personal declaration of the intention to change for the better and a prayer for God’s assistance. It doesn’t seem to suggest putting ashes on a baby carried to the altar or a toddler pulled there by his mother or father.

Yet there is a line in the Book of Blessings that says the season of Lent begins with the ancient practice of marking the baptized with ashes as “a public and communal sign of penance.”

From that I think it possible to argue that marking the child with ashes could be an expression of human solidarity and a reminder we are all marked by the sin of Adam and need redemption.

I’m not sure how much of a question this is in most places. You don’t usually find many babies or preschoolers at Masses on Ash Wednesday when their parents are between home and work.

Irrelevant:

Stop trying to be relevant. It is a trap. Only God is relevant.

Attachments – Faith:

The "rich young man" in today's Gospel kept all the Commandments. However, he was too "attached" to his material riches. So he turned away from the "treasures" of heaven that Jesus offered him. Do we have any attachments that are preventing us from growing in God’s ways?

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I will attempt day by day to break my will into pieces. I want to do God's Holy Will, not my own!

- St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother (1838-1862)

Act of Humility:

Prayer is an act of humility, stemming from a mindfulness of our inadequacy.

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As two pieces of wax fused together make one, so he who receives Holy Communion is so united with Christ that Christ is in him and he is in Christ.

- Saint Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Hos 2:16b, 17b, 21-22
Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13
2 Cor 3:1b-6
Mk 2:18-22

Have you ever asked someone for a letter of recommendation? According to St. Paul, that's what we Christians are supposed to be for others. Hello, I'm Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, with the "Sunday Soundbite" for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

St. Paul tells the Corinthians in today's second reading that they—parishioners in his missionary parish at Corinth—are "human letters of recommendation" for all to see. The Corinthians have been "written by the Spirit" witnessing to what God has done for them.

Wow! If it's true for the Corinthians, isn't it true for the people in my parish and yours? Which leads me to ask: What are people "reading" when they see us Christians out in the world?

As our first reading and our Gospel today suggest, we've been embraced in love by God as husband and wife join in a loving marriage together, espoused—as the prophet Hosea declares—in right, and justice and love and fidelity.

The beautiful imagery of Hosea is at once easy for all of us to grasp. We know what's called for in a truly loving, self-giving relationship of husband and wife. We also know how difficult it is at times to make a truly loving response to another. But as usual, God has acted first, loving us and continuing to forgive us when we fall short.

That's what the Spirit has written in each of us. How will others read that letter?

Scripture:

•I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart. (Hosea 2:16b)

•As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)

•You are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by all, shown to be a letter of Christ ministered by us, written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are hearts of flesh. (2 Cor 3:6)

•Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins. (Mark 2:22)

Reflection:

•Do you see God in the everyday, family, friends and community? Where else?

•Can you be a “letter” from God to those seeking God?

•Can you, “Preach the gospel without using words”?

•Where (how) does God speak to you?

But above all the Gospels help me in my prayers. They are always showing me new ways of looking at things, and I am always finding hidden and mysterious meaning in them. I understand and I know that the kingdom of God is within us. Jesus has no need of books of Doctors of the Church to guide souls. He, the Doctor of Doctors, can teach without words. I have never heard him speak, but I know that he is within me. He guides and inspires me every moment of every day. Just when I need it, a new light shines on my problems. (St. Thérèse of Lisieux)

Awareness:

We experience God’s love in proportion to our experience of our own weakness.

Ready:

The more you pray, the more you will become poor, plain and empty. And ready for God.

Marriage – Vocation:

Marriage is a bond between the spouses and God. As God unites the spouses in His Love, thus marriage is a vocation that is divinely sanctified. While spouses have many crosses to carry, Our Lord too carried His Cross. Unite your pains with Our Lord's and find strength in Him.

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May work and suffering for God always be your glory and in your work and suffering, may God be your consolation on this earth, and your recompense in heaven. Patience is the safeguard and pillar of all the virtues.

- Blessed Thomas Maria Fusco (1831-1891)

Just as the soul now finds it impossible to desire unhappiness, so in heaven it shall be wholly impossible for it to desire sin.

- St. Augustine

The Lessons of Silence:

Silence is a schoolroom. It teaches me about longing and loneliness, about desire and emptiness. It teaches me to listen…to God, to myself, to others. Silence creates stillness within me, a stillness that refreshes and invigorates me.

God's Attentive Love:

In today's Gospel we see how God is very attentive to everything we do; nothing escapes His loving and merciful care. Thus, Jesus challenges us to live more responsibly daily. Be assured that He is always there for you. Seek His guidance and strength to live in His ways.

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Stand fast, therefore, in this conduct and follow the example of the Lord, firm and unchangeable in faith, lovers of the brotherhood, loving each other, united in truth, helping each other with the mildness of the Lord, despising no man.

- St. Polycarp of Smyrna (66-155)

Do Priests Wear Skullcaps?

Q: Jewish rabbis wear a skullcap. But I have never noticed Catholic priests or bishops wear any. Do they? If so, did this come from the Jewish people?

A: Any Catholic priest may wear a skullcap. This head covering goes by different names. It is sometimes called a solideo, calotte, pilleolus or sub-mitrale. It is most often spoken of as a zucchetto.

Originally, it had a very practical purpose. Clerics wore a hairstyle called the tonsure. The hair on the crown of the head was cut and shaved. A skullcap was then often worn to keep the head warm.

While some priests may continue to use a skullcap for utilitarian reasons, members of the hierarchy must use the zucchetto as a liturgical vestment. Its color will tell you the person’s office.

The pope wears a white zucchetto; cardinals, red; bishops, purple; and abbots and other clergy, black. Prelates must remove the zucchetto from the Sanctus of Mass until after Communion and whenever the Blessed Sacrament is exposed.

According to James-Charles Noonan, Jr., in The Church Visible (Viking), the zucchetto did not develop from the Jewish yarmulke, but has a development all its own.

Jesus’ Gift:

Jesus does not promise happiness. He proclaims the beatitudes.

Peter's Faith:

Peter the Apostle was "not perfect;" he denied Jesus. Yet, Jesus chose him to be the head of the Church. Jesus also does not expect us to love Him "perfectly." He only wants us to love Him and His people as sincerely and as much as we can. Love God more attentively and fervently.

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Without inner renewal and without a commitment to overcome evil and sin in our hearts, and especially without love, man will never achieve inner peace. Such peace will be lasting only when it is rooted in the highest values, when it is based on moral norms and is open to God.

- Pope John Paul II

Chair of Peter the Apostle

This feast commemorates Christ’s choosing Peter to sit in his place as the servant-authority of the whole Church (see June 29).

After the “lost weekend” of pain, doubt and self-torment, Peter hears the Good News. Angels at the tomb say to Magdalene, “The Lord has risen! Go, tell his disciples and Peter.” John relates that when he and Peter ran to the tomb, the younger outraced the older, then waited for him. Peter entered, saw the wrappings on the ground, the headpiece rolled up in a place by itself. John saw and believed. But he adds a reminder: “..[T]hey did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (John 20:9). They went home. There the slowly exploding, impossible idea became reality. Jesus appeared to them as they waited fearfully behind locked doors. “Peace be with you,” he said (John 20:21b), and they rejoiced.

The Pentecost event completed Peter’s experience of the risen Christ. “...[T]hey were all filled with the holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4a) and began to express themselves in foreign tongues and make bold proclamation as the Spirit prompted them.

Only then can Peter fulfill the task Jesus had given him: “... [O]nce you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). He at once becomes the spokesman for the Twelve about their experience of the Holy Spirit—before the civil authorities who wished to quash their preaching, before the council of Jerusalem, for the community in the problem of Ananias and Sapphira. He is the first to preach the Good News to the Gentiles. The healing power of Jesus in him is well attested: the raising of Tabitha from the dead, the cure of the crippled beggar. People carry the sick into the streets so that when Peter passed his shadow might fall on them.

Even a saint experiences difficulty in Christian living. When Peter stopped eating with Gentile converts because he did not want to wound the sensibilities of Jewish Christians, Paul says, “...I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong.... [T]hey were not on the right road in line with the truth of the gospel...” (Galatians 2:11b, 14a).

At the end of John’s Gospel, Jesus says to Peter, “Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). What Jesus said indicated the sort of death by which Peter was to glorify God. On Vatican Hill, in Rome, during the reign of Nero, Peter did glorify his Lord with a martyr’s death, probably in the company of many Christians.

Comment:

Like the committee chair, this chair refers to the occupant, not the furniture. Its first occupant stumbled a bit, denying Jesus three times and hesitating to welcome gentiles into the new Church. Some of its later occupants have also stumbled a bit, sometimes even failed scandalously. As individuals, we may sometimes think a particular pope has let us down. Still, the office endures as a sign of the long tradition we cherish and as a focus for the universal Church.

Quote:

Peter described our Christian calling in the opening of his First Letter, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...” (1 Peter 1:3a).

Show Me The Way

Sometimes when I'm tired and weary,
Feel I can't face another day,
I ask You to lift my spirits, God;
Guide me and show me the way.

Without You walking beside me
My life has no meaning at all,
I know You will take my hand
Should I ever stumble and fall.

You are my courage and strength
When I'm tempted to go astray,
And through your grace and mercy
I know You'll show me the way.

Because of Your love and devotion
Your trust I'll never betray,
You are the One I lean on,
The One who will show me the way.

Breaking the Chain:

Our first reaction to those who hate us, hurt us, cheat us, steal from us and quarrel with us, is often far more human than divine. Those habits—thoughtless, unloving, selfish acts—are broken only by prayer and a deepening awareness of the divinity within.

Jesus - Mystery of His Sufferings:

Why must the Son of God suffer so grievously like a criminal? Why did Jesus not use His divine power to "defeat His enemies"? God's Ways are beyond us. In times of pain, remember Jesus' sufferings and trust Him totally to give you the graces you need.

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Let us faithfully transmit to posterity the example of virtue which we have received from our forefathers.

- Saint Peter Damian (1007-1072)

Dedication of Days and Months

Q:When I grew up I learned what or to whom each month of the year was dedicated. A lot of years have passed. Can you tell me if the months still have a special dedication? How are they dedicated?

A: According to Catholic Source Book (The Printers), the months of the year are dedicated to:

January: The Holy Childhood

February: The Holy Family

March: St. Joseph

Apri:l The Holy Spirit

(also the Eucharist)

May: Mary

June: The Sacred Heart

July: The Precious Blood

August: The Blessed Sacrament

September: The Seven Sorrows

October: The Holy Rosary

November: The Souls in Purgatory

December: The Immaculate Conception

Days of the week are dedicated to:

Sunday: The Holy Trinity

Monday: The Souls in Purgatory

(The Holy Spirit)

Tuesday: Guardian Angel

Wednesday: St. Joseph

Thursday: The Blessed Sacrament

Friday: His Precious Blood

Saturday: Mary

I have not been able to discover who determined the dedication of the days and months in this fashion. But according to the Dictionary of Catholic Devotions, the first month of the Sacred Heart was observed in 1833. Incidentally, Catholic Source Book also notes the connection between the First Fridays and the Sacred Heart.

Pope Leo XIII extended the custom of October devotions to all parish churches who were to pray for the normalization of relations between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy after the desegregation of the Papal States. The linking of Mary with May goes back to Spain as far as the 13th century. A Jesuit author had produced a small book, The Month of Mary, or the Month of May, describing customs around the world.

Gospel Ways:

The gospel really isn’t difficult. It is surprising, in that the behavior it requires is so unexpected. Our human nature, corrupted by our sinfulness, does not respond to events of life in a divine way. But when we throw off our old self and put on our new self, our responses to people and situations we encounter slowly begin to resemble the divine way God treats us.

God's - Power:

Today's Gospel tells us that faith in Jesus healed a man, who had been possessed by Evil Spirits since childhood. Jesus assures us that if our Faith in God is strong, then Evil Spirits have no power over us. So, if we focus on building our relationship with Our Lord, nothing can harm us. We will find lasting peace.

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A person must be born before he can begin to lead his physical life. So he must be born to lead a divine life, and that birth occurs in the Sacrament of Baptism.

- Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

And the top 10 worst presidential blunders are...

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) -- From engaging in sexual relations with an intern to letting the Vietnam War escalate, U.S. presidents have been blamed for some egregious errors.

So who had the worst blunder? President James Buchanan, for failing to avert the Civil War, according to a survey of presidential historians organized by the University of Louisville's McConnell Center.

The survey's top 10 presidential blunders were announced Saturday during a President's Day weekend conference called "Presidential Moments."

"We can probably learn just as much -- or maybe even more -- by looking at the mistakes rather than looking at why they were great," said political scientist and McConnell Center Director Gary Gregg.

Scholars who participated said Buchanan did not do enough to oppose efforts by Southern states to secede from the Union before the Civil War.

The second worst mistake, the survey found, was Andrew Johnson's decision just after the Civil War to side with Southern whites and oppose improvements in justice for Southern blacks beyond abolishing slavery.

"We continue to pay" for Johnson's errors, wrote Michael Les Benedict, an Ohio State University history professor emeritus.

Lyndon Johnson earned the No. 3 spot by allowing the Vietnam War to intensify, Gregg said.

Where does Bill Clinton's Monica Lewinsky scandal rank? Many scholars said it belonged at No. 10, saying that it probably affected Clinton's presidency more than it did American history and the public.

The rest of the top 10 blunders:

4: Woodrow Wilson's refusal to compromise on the Treaty of Versailles after World War I.

5: Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate cover-up.

6: James Madison's failure to keep the United States out of the War of 1812 with Britain.

7: Thomas Jefferson's Embargo Act of 1807, a self-imposed prohibition on trade with Europe during the Napoleonic Wars.

8: John F. Kennedy allowing the Bay of Pigs Invasion that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

9: Ronald Reagan and the Iran-Contra Affair, the effort to sell arms to Iran and use the money to finance an armed anti-communist group in Nicaragua.

interesting stuff..... =)

**courtesy of www.cnn.com**

Starting Off Right:

Morning prayer is the most important prayer of the day. It sets the tone for all that will follow.

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Imitate the holy man Job, who blessed the name of the Lord in all the troubles which befell him, and you will receive the same graces as he did.

- St. John Vianney

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Is 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25
Ps 41:2-3, 4-5, 13-14
2 Cor 1:18-22
Mk 2:1-12

Hello, I'm Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, with the "Sunday Soundbite" for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We live in a skeptical age. When something is advertised as "new" we want proof. So today's first reading is challenging: God says, "See, I'm doing something new!" If you heard God say that to you today—besides wondering where the voice was coming from—would you believe it?

As usual, today's Gospel helps. Jesus is confronted by a paralyzed man, lowered through the roof and laid at his feet. When he offers to forgive the man's sins, his critics are scandalized: Is Jesus claiming divine authority? That would be blasphemy!

But something new is at work here. Jesus is the power of God, present in the midst of human life. He overcomes suffering and sin and earns the praise of the bystanders, who profess that they are indeed witnessing something new.

So what about you and me? Can we admit that God can do something new in our lives, in our day and age, in the midst of the suffering and sin all around us? The challenge is as real today as it was in the time of Isaiah or the time of Jesus.

We need a breakthrough as dramatic as when the friends of the paralyzed man broke through the roof to bring him to Jesus. Let today's Scripture shatter our skepticism and reveal something really new!

Scripture:

•It is I, I, who wipe out, for my own sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more. (Isaiah 43:25)

•Once I said, “O LORD, have pity on me; heal me, though I have sinned against you.” (Psalm 41:5)

•For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him; (2 Corinthians 1:20)

•“…I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.” (Mark 2:11)

Reflection:

•Do you have something in your past that you would like to be free from but cannot leave behind?

•Is there anything that God may forgive or help you to be freed from so you are released from its hold on you?

•Have you asked to be forgiven and accepted the Lord’s grace to forgive?

The Greek word for forgiveness is asphesis, which means to liberate, to release from bondage; it means remission of debt, guilt and punishment. It is used when the prison door is opened and the prisoner can go free. We humans are called to become free, to free others, to nurture life, to look for the worth and the beauty in each and every one of us, and to make our world a beautiful garden where each person and each society can create a harvest of flowers and fruits, and so prepare the seeds of peace for tomorrow.

Spiritual Steps:

Spiritual truth cannot be taught…it must be experienced. If you want a deeper experience of God, pray for it, search for it. For every sincere step we take toward God, God takes 10 toward us.

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What will be the crown of those who, humble within and humiliated without, have imitated the humility of our Savior in all its fullness.

- Saint Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879)

Getting at the Truth:

Knowing ourselves is the first step toward knowing the truth. True self-knowledge is the father of humility, which is the foundation of all virtues. Sadly, we hate humility.

"Self or Jesus?":

If we truly love someone, we will be most happy to make sacrifices for that person e.g. mother's love for her child. The person we should love most is God. Jesus is saying to us today, "renounce yourself, take up your cross and follow me." Do we love Him enough to say, "yes"?

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A lukewarm soul is not yet quite dead in the eyes of God because the faith, the hope, and the charity which are its spiritual life are not altogether extinct. But it is a faith without zeal, a hope without resolution, a charity without adoration.

- St. John Vianney

the clock is counting down...the days are proceeding as scheduled....

tick tock...




tick tock...




tick tock...




tick tock...

8 more months to ORD !!!

lalalalalalalalalala.... =D

Kneelers in Church

Q: When did kneelers come into common use in churches?

A: When asked your question, liturgist Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M., replied, "I would refer you to The Postures of the Assembly During the Eucharistic Prayer, by John K. Leonard and Nathan D. Mitchell (Liturgy Training Publications), regarding the practice of kneeling at prayer.

"Regarding kneelers as furniture, I would presume they were relatively late. Originally there were no pieces of furniture for the 'circumstantes' (those standing about), simply a chair for the president. As a concession to the infirm, stone seats began to be attached to pillars, or to the walls. By the end of the 13th century many churches in England appear to have some wooden benches—often called pews.

"When kneelers began to be attached to the pews, I do not know. Pews become common as printing becomes more common and we pass from a manuscript culture [where books were rare and more often heard than read] to a print culture [with wide distribution of books]. People line up in pews in churches as words line up on a page.

"As public worship expresses who we are as a community in the presence of God, I find it interesting that Leonard and Mitchell say, 'It is not for no reason that the Orthodox have been characterized as "the Church standing," the Roman Catholics as "the Church kneeling" and the Protestants as "the Church sitting."'

"'These basic bodily postures communicate a great deal about the self-identity of these Christian communions. Though none of these postures is exclusive to the Church that it characterizes, each one tells us something about basic attitudes: standing as praising God with upright bodies, kneeling as an act either of adoration or of penitence, and sitting as an act of receptivity, listening and participating in a common meal. Each posture certainly has its advantages, and each makes a great deal of difference in the self-understanding of the Church.'"

Hanging On:

The key to happiness is to give it away. But we love hanging on to what we’ve got.

"Do you know Jesus?":

"Do you know your spouse?" Your answer will reveal the depth of your love for him/her. Ask yourself today, "Do you know Jesus?" What does your answer reveal about your relationship with Jesus? Is it deep or superficial? What is the Lord saying to you today?

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Let the loving thought of the Bridegroom be constantly in your mind. And as his eyes are upon
you, do all you can to make your beauty perfect before him. Rid yourself of any stain or blemish however small that might sully it and offend his divine gaze. Let there be purity in your hearts and innocence in your lives.

- St. Jordan of Saxony (d. 1237

Mary and the Snake

Q: During an illness I was gifted with two statues of the Blessed Virgin (Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal?). They portray Mary stepping on a snake. Why is she stepping on a snake and what does it mean?

A: Around 1830 St. Catherine Labouré received a vision of the Blessed Virgin and was told to have a medal struck. On the front of the medal was to be the figure of Mary standing atop a globe representing the earth. And she was to be shown crushing the head of a serpent with her feet.

From Mary’s hands were to appear rays of light representing grace. Around the rim of the medal were to be the words, “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” On the reverse side of the medal would be a cross surmounting the letter M and the sacred hearts of Jesus and Mary. The medal was made and because of the miracles associated with it has come to be known as the Miraculous Medal.

I do not know of a statue that is called the Miraculous Medal statue. But in the catalogs of religious articles, you will find statues called Our Lady of Grace. They picture Mary standing on a globe with a serpent beneath her feet.

These statues (and the Miraculous Medal) associate Mary with the woman in Chapter 3 of Genesis and the woman clothed with the sun in Chapter 12 of Revelation. Genesis 3:14-16 contains the words of God condemning the serpent for leading Eve and Adam into sin. There God pronounces he will “put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.”

Chapter 12 of Revelation speaks of the woman clothed with the sun whose son the dragon seeks to devour. In both instances the serpent or snake represents the devil and evil. Both passages are applied to Mary as the woman whose offspring will conquer Satan.

Ultimate Challenge:

To love others as Jesus loves them is difficult, if not impossible, yet it must be our primary goal as Christians.

Blindness – Cure:

After Jesus had cured him, the blind man, "could see everything plainly and distinctly." Pray to Jesus today to help us "see" His presence more "plainly and distinctly" in our daily lives. Be more grateful to Him for all the abundant blessings you are receiving daily.

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Lord, I am in this world to show Your mercy to others. Other people will glorify You by making visible the power of Your grace by their fidelity and constancy to You. For my part I will glorify You by making known how good You are to sinners, that Your mercy is boundless and that no sinner no matter how great his offences should have reason to despair of pardon. If I have grievously offended You, My Redeemer, let me not offend You even more by thinking that You are not kind enough to pardon Me. Amen.

- Saint Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682)

Valentine's Day

14th feb....valentine's day....nothing much for me.....just another day in camp...cleaning up the mess left by people and trying my best to remain "alive" until i ORD....the fire fighting against the problems never seems to end...it seems so natural for everyone to tackle the problem only when it happens....and not take efforts to pre-empt or prevent it....oh well....

camp stuff aside....today is also the day whereby attached couples celebrate their love for each other...the whole streets just seems to be filled with love today.....ladies with flowers in hand....guys dressing up smartly for the dinner dates...there's just this big commercial whoo ha about this day.....a quick look around you will set you back with 1001 ideas on how to spend this day with your loved ones.....

not forgetting the many singles around.....some just yearn that next year..they'll be celebrating it with that someone...while some just live through this day like any other days....while some just sit at one corner ...whining and lamenting .....filling themselves full with envy and jealousy at the many others who are not attached any more...

for me.....valentine's day is a day where you show your appreciation and love for that special someone on top of doing it all the time..only that for this day..perhaps one could just do something more special or surprising for the other half....its alright to join in the fun and festivities....however...the show of appreciation and love should not be just confined to this day....it should be an everyday thing..i mean....2 people don't get together and only love each other on 14th feb rite? what about the other days of the year??

another point of reflection....love is not just confined between boyfriend and girlfriend...husband and wife.....boy and girl....love is something that exists in many forms ....let's not forget the family love that we have with our family members.....parent and child love....the love between friends....the love between brother and sisters united in Christ Jesus....

ask yourself...when was the last time you showed love to the above mentioned categories of people..other than just your wife or girlfriend / husband or boyfriend....

how about love for God? we always and forever seem to put him at the back of our heads....invisible and readily forgetten.....and when troubles or suffering comes our way....God suddenly becomes visible and remembered again...we'll then throw ourselves before his altar....crying and weeping....chant or pray all kinds/methods or prayer available...all this to beg for his intervention...

oh well...those are just some random thoughts running through my head today.....and since the statistical count on the topic of relationship is at its annual high today...it spurred me to think for myself...what kind of relationship do i want?

well..for a start...i'm not into casual dating....i never believed in fooling around with many different partners....i believe that when you develop feelings for that particular person..it happens for a reason...there's something that attracts and brings you to that person....otherwise..it would just be a foolish fantasy that will best be limited to your mind....

i look for long term relationship....true long relationship.....one that most probably goes into a life long partner...stupid me? some people might ask..."why stop so quickly? there are many other people waiting for you to know and etc".....no thanks i would say....this globe has so many people....are we gona look through each and every person before deciding?

i believe such chances do not come all the time....and it must be taken to the fullest when it does presents itself....to try my very best...and put in everything i have to make it work....so that at least...if by God's will...that relationship is not the one for me to keep...at least..i can walk away from it..knowing that i have gave my best..and i didnt not short change the other party....

and ya..i dont ask for any fantastic ...drama mama happenings.....just a simple..true...happy.....loving relationship..with honesty...openess..respect....true care and concern for each other is all i ask for.....sounds too much to ask for? not really.....if one put his or her heart into it.....

ever heard of the saying...."if its something we dont wana do...no matter how much the reward...we'll remain unmotivated....but if its something tat we endear most...even if we have to lose or sacrifice something in order to achieve it....we'll most gladly jump in and get our hands dirty.."

i'm not a gifted multi-tasker...so my attention, my heart, my everything on such matters...has space only for one person....yup...i guess that explains my views and thoughts on this issue....

ok....i guess that's all i have to say for now....to sign off....here's a prayer for everyone....attached or single....that we might all love and treat everyone around us sincerely..from the bottom of our hearts...

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
you have given the world its true light,
Jesus, your Son – the Son of God.
You abandoned yourself completely
to God's call
and thus became a wellspring
of the goodness which flows forth from him.
Show us Jesus. Lead us to him.
Teach us to know and love him,
so that we too can become
capable of true love
and be fountains of living water
in the midst of a thirsting world.

~Prayer taken from Pope Benedict XVI 1st Encyclical Leter "Deus Caritas Est (God is Love)"~

Why No Baptism?

Q: Our whole family has been very upset since a priest refused to baptize my nephew’s baby. Every generation of our family has been raised Catholic.

Since becoming adults, however, my sister’s children are not practicing Catholics. One of her sons had a job transfer out of state. When he and his wife took their new baby to be baptized, the priest said he would have to have a letter from my nephew’s previous parish, stating that he was a member in good standing.

My nephew offered to take instructions, or whatever is necessary, if the priest would baptize their baby, but the priest refused.

Is this the new practice of the Church and, if so, why? I’ve been told by a friend that the reason is the Church wants to be sure the child is raised Catholic. I find refusing Baptism to an infant very hard to accept.

A: I am sorry for the problem that has arisen, but there may be a happy ending to this story.

The Rite for Baptism of Infants includes questions to the parents about their readiness to raise this child as a Catholic. The priest or deacon asks two questions: What name have you given the child? What do you ask of God’s Church for this child?

After the parents give the child’s name and respond, “Baptism,” the priest or deacon says: “You have asked to have your child baptized. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of raising him/her in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring him/her up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?”

At the end of the rite, after a blessing for the child’s mother, this blessing for the father follows: “God is the giver of all life, human and divine. May he bless the father of this child. He and his wife will be the first teachers of their child in the ways of faith. May they be also the best of teachers, bearing witness to the faith by what they say and do, in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We baptize infants when there is a reasonable hope that they will be raised in the Catholic faith. Priests should be prudent about this, not delaying Baptism without a good reason, but also not placing parents in a situation where they would have to lie about their intention to raise the child in a faith which the parents do not intend to practice.

The best way for your nephew to have this child baptized is to resume the practice of his faith, join a parish and attend Sunday Mass regularly, then approach the pastor or parish staff and request Baptism.

Pathways:

From the very beginning, Jesus identified himself with the poor and the rejected, showing us that divine truth and power lie waiting where the world never thinks to look. Seeking the compassionate response of God is the only path to peace.

"Rich Harvest":

Jesus has great hopes in the goodness of all people to accept His Teachings and His gift of salvation. That is why Jesus says that there is a "rich harvest." Affirm your faith and your goodness today. The Holy Spirit within you will continue to help you grow in holiness and in God's ways.

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O Lord, my God, you have created the choirs of angels and spiritual powers; you have stretched forth the heavens and established the earth, creating all that exists from nothing. You hear those who obey your will and keep your commands in holy fear. Hear my prayer and protect your faithful people, for you have established me as their unsuitable and unworthy servant.

- St. Cyril (826-869)

Likeness of Christ:

Every sister and brother ought to grow in the likeness of Christ so that Christ may live his life of compassion and humility in today’s world.

Demanding Signs:

The Pharisees demanded signs from Jesus. Such demands showed that they either had no faith of who Jesus is or they were downright arrogant. Who are we to make demands from God? We are mere creatures: weak and sinful. In fact, we all need to beg for God's Mercy and Forgiveness.

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We must force ourselves to detach our heart and will from all earthly loves, except for the love of God. We must love no fleeting thing. Above all, we must not love God selfishly for our own sake, but with a love as pure as his own goodness.

- St. Catherine Dei Ricci (1522-1590)

Why Not Benediction?

Q: Recently I asked one of our parish priests why we no longer hold Benediction following the Stations of the Cross. He explained that the practice was felt to be inappropriate (this came from the chancery). Is this true for all parishes? When is Benediction appropriate? I truly miss this eucharistic devotion.

A: I know of no rule for all parishes that Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is not to follow making the Stations of the Cross. However, Benediction presupposes a period of prayer and exposition before it takes place.

The Roman Ritual (The Rites of the Catholic Church, Published by Authority of Pope Paul VI, Pueblo) says in the section on exposition of the holy Eucharist (#89): "Exposition which is held exclusively for the giving of Benediction is prohibited."

The Instruction on Certain Norms Concerning the Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery (from the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship, April 3, 1980) states it must not be forgotten that "before the blessing with the Sacrament an appropriate time should be devoted to readings of the Word of God, to songs and prayers and to some silent prayer."

In other words, Benediction should not be given as something like an afterthought to other devotions or occasions of worship. The Blessed Sacrament is not to be taken out of the tabernacle for a few brief moments just to give Benediction with it. Whenever Benediction takes place, it should be preceded by some period of prayer, readings, homilies and/or silent worship with due attention given to the Blessed Sacrament itself.

Finally, it may be that the chancery officials think putting the Way of the Cross together with Benediction is something like celebrating Christmas and Easter on the same day. Each mystery deserves some special reflection and attention.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Lv 13:1-2, 44-46
Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11
1 Cor 10:31--11:1
Mk 1:40-45

Hello, I'm Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, with the "Sunday Soundbite" for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. A common experience of human illness—no matter how serious—is isolation. A simple cold or the flu can cut us off from other people. A common experience of healing comes when the human touch of another shatters our isolation: the touch of professional healers or the embrace of friends.

Mark's Gospel knows this human experience. In today's story, Mark shows Jesus reaching across a huge cultural barrier to touch and heal a leper. For Mark, this story is one of many that identify the mission of Jesus as a struggle against evil, manifested partly in human sickness and suffering. Sickness doesn't mean the sick person has necessarily sinned, rather illness is part of the evil that Jesus is battling.

The story of the healing of the leper is full of emotion. We sense God's power at work. The man is invited to re-connect with the community, signaling the end of his isolation through a ritual visit to the priests. The power at work in Jesus cannot be kept secret. Word spreads far and wide.

How have you or I become isolated from the community of believers? How is Jesus calling us to re-connect? At Sunday Eucharist we're invited to lay aside our isolation, and to witness to one another what Christ has done for us.

Scripture:

•He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp. (Leviticus 13:46b)

•Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile. (Psalm 32:2)

•Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

•A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” (Mark 1:40)

Reflection:

•Is it necessary or required for any follower of Jesus to make “his abode outside the camp”?

•Who is completely free from guile (duplicity)?

•How is the leper transformed? How did he know that Jesus could make him clean?

Again, that expression, le point vierge, (I cannot translate it) comes in here. At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes of our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us. It is so to speak his name written in us, as our poverty, as our indigence, as our dependence, as our sonship. It is like a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely.…I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere.

God Fills Our Hearts:

Riches, both material and spiritual, can choke you if you do not use them fairly. Let us remain as empty as possible so that God can fill us up. For not even God can put anything in a heart that is already full. God does not impose himself on us.

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Let it be with chaste body and humble heart, because proud chastity and vain humility are not acceptable to God.

- St. Benedict of Aniane (751-821)

Our Lady of Lourdes

On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus. A little more than three years later, on February 11, 1858, a young lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous. This began a series of visions. During the apparition on March 25, the lady identified herself with the words: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

Bernadette was a sickly child of poor parents. Their practice of the Catholic faith was scarcely more than lukewarm. Bernadette could pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Creed. She also knew the prayer of the Miraculous Medal: “O Mary conceived without sin.”

During interrogations Bernadette gave an account of what she saw. It was “something white in the shape of a girl.” She used the word aquero, a dialect term meaning “this thing.” It was “a pretty young girl with a rosary over her arm.” Her white robe was encircled by a blue girdle. She wore a white veil. There was a yellow rose on each foot. A rosary was in her hand. Bernadette was also impressed by the fact that the lady did not use the informal form of address (tu), but the polite form (vous). The humble virgin appeared to a humble girl and treated her with dignity.

Through that humble girl, Mary revitalized and continues to revitalize the faith of millions of people. People began to flock to Lourdes from other parts of France and from all over the world. In 1862 Church authorities confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions and authorized the cult of Our Lady of Lourdes for the diocese. The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes became worldwide in 1907.

Comment:

Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and healing, but even more of faith. Church authorities have recognized over 60 miraculous cures, although there have probably been many more. To people of faith this is not surprising. It is a continuation of Jesus’ healing miracles—now performed at the intercession of his mother. Some would say that the greater miracles are hidden. Many who visit Lourdes return home with renewed faith and a readiness to serve God in their needy brothers and sisters. There still may be people who doubt the apparitions of Lourdes. Perhaps the best that can be said to them are the words that introduce the film Song of Bernadette: “For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”

Quote:

“Lo! Mary is exempt from stain of sin, Proclaims the Pontiff high; And earth applauding celebrates with joy Her triumph, far and high. Unto a lowly timid maid she shows Her form in beauty fair, And the Immaculate Conception truth Her sacred lips declare.” (Unattributed hymn from the Roman Breviary)

Our Strength:

In order to spread joy, joy needs to reign in the family. Peace and war start within one’s home. If we really want peace for the world, let us start by loving one another within our families. We will thus have Christ’s joy, which is our strength.

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Our Lady of Lourdes has a message for everyone. Be men and women of freedom!

- Pope John Paul II (Our Lady of Lourdes, August 14, 2004)

What Is Its Origin?

Q: I was recently asked where the Sign of the Cross comes from, but I could not give an answer. We all bless ourselves without thinking how this tradition started.

A: The words are the second half of Matthew 28:19, part of Jesus’ final words to the apostles.

I am not sure when and where this gesture was first used. My guess is that it was not until Christianity had become a legal religion in the Roman Empire (313 A.D.).

Artistic depictions of the crucified Jesus come after that date. I suspect this gesture was used soon after Christianity became first a legal religion and later the empire’s state religion (fifth century).

In the Eastern Churches (both Orthodox and Catholic), people touch the right shoulder first and then the left—the opposite of the Western custom. There are different explanations for this variation.

The cross symbolizes Jesus’ generous love, which makes our salvation possible.

A Net of Love:

The best way to show our gratitude to God and to our neighbor is to accept their gifts with joy. Joy is a net of love in which souls can be caught. Joy can multiply itself in a heart that overflows with love.

"Deafness":

"Physical deafness," can be congenital or inflicted on us externally due to an accident, loud explosions, etc. "Spiritual deafness" is more serious. This can only come about if we habitually and freely choose to reject God's Word and Christ's Teachings in the Church.

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I know what my duty is. With the grace of God, I will carry it out to the end without hatred towards anyone, and without fear from anyone.

- Blessed Alojzije Stepinac (1898-1960)

Joy Overflows:

If you are joyful…joy will shine in your eyes and in your look, in your conversation and in your countenance. You will not be able to hide it because joy overflows. When people see happiness in your eyes, they will become aware of their nature as children of God.

Faith in Jesus:

The deep faith of the Syro-Phoenician woman led Jesus to expel the devil in her daughter. A person with deep faith is one who trusts God totally and at all times. Do we trust God totally or do we tell Him how to answer our needs? If our needs become our main focus, then God cannot be our focus in life.

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The heart is rich when it is content, and it is always content when its desires are fixed on God.

- St. Miguel Febres Cordero Munoz (1854-1910)

Let Us Be Like Christ:

Let us be like a genuine and fruitful branch of the vine, which is Christ, accepting him in our lives the way he gives himself: as truth, which must be spoken; as life, which must be lived;…as sacrifice, which must be offered in our families, to our closest neighbors, and to those who live far away.

Faith – Heart:

Jesus reminds us to pay attention to the feelings that "come out of our heart." Jesus wants us to develop a quality heart. If our heart is full of hatred, anger and pride, then our attitudes would be self-centered and our needs self-gratifying. But, if our hearts are filled with God's love, then we will be Christ-like.

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When a person loves another dearly, he desires strongly to be close to the other: Therefore, why be afraid to die? Death brings us to God!

- Saint Josephine Bakhita (1868-1947)

When I Whine

~~~~~~~
Today, upon a bus, I saw a girl with golden hair I looked at her and
sighed and wished I was as fair.
When suddenly she rose to leave,
I saw her hobble down the aisle.
She had one leg and used a crutch
But as she passed, she passed a smile.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine
I have 2 legs, the world is mine.
~~~
I stopped to buy some candy
The lad who sold it had such charm
I talked with him a while,
he seemed so very glad If I were late, it'd do no harm.
And as I left, he said to me,
"I thank you, you've been so kind.
It's nice to talk with folks like you.
You see," he said, "I'm blind."
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I have 2 eyes, the world is mine.
~~~
Later while walking down the street,
I saw a child with eyes of blue
He stood and watched the others play
He did not know what to do.
I stopped a moment and then I said,
"Why don't you join the others, dear?"
He looked ahead without a word.
And then I knew, he couldn't hear.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I have 2 ears, the world is mine.
~~~
With feet to take me where I'd go.
With eyes to see the sunset's glow.
With ears to hear what I would know.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I've been blessed indeed, The world is mine.
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Sorrow looks back,
Worry looks around,
Faith looks up.

Why Ashes on Ash Wednesday?

Q: Last February, on Ash Wednesday, I was wondering where the tradition of putting ashes on our foreheads started. The only answers I got, whenever I asked someone, was that it reminds us of our mortality. But I want to know where it started.

A: The use of ashes and dust with religious, magical or medical meanings was common among the ancients, says the New Catholic Encyclopedia. Ashes were often symbolic of mortality, mourning or penance.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, after Jonah has announced the destruction of Nineveh and the news reaches the king, he rises from the throne, lays aside his robe, puts on sackcloth and sits in ashes. The king then proclaims a fast. Nineveh mourns its sins and does penance (Jonah 3:1-6).

In foreseeing the destruction to come upon Israel, Jeremiah says, "O daughter of my people,...roll in the ashes. Mourn as for an only child with bitter wailing, for sudden upon us comes the destroyer" (6:26). Jeremiah calls Israel to conversion.

In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus reproaches Chorazin and Bethsaida saying, "For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes" (11:21).

Christians, then, seem to have taken the use of ashes as a sign of penance from Jewish tradition. According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, ashes were originally signs of private penance. But early on they became part of the ritual for public penance.

Adolf Adam, in The Liturgical Year (Pueblo Publishing Company), points to Tertullian and Cyprian, in the third century, as evidence early Christians were familiar with ashes as a sign and part of the ritual for public penance.

As early as the 300's, local churches had a ritual for the beginning of public penance at the start of Lent. Those who had been guilty of public serious sins like murder, apostasy, heresy or adultery were clothed in a penitential garment and sprinkled with ashes.

The sinner was then expelled and led from the church as Adam had been cast out of Paradise. Later those ending their penance (which could go for years) were received back into the Church on Maundy Thursday. They were led back into the church in procession as part of a rite of reconciliation.

According to Herman Wegman in Christian Worship in East and West (Pueblo Press), texts and ceremonies were added to the rite for the reception of penitents in the ninth century, and carried over into the Pontificale Romanum of the Council of Trent.

Adolf Adam says public ecclesiastical penance disappeared around the end of the first millennium. Wegman suggests that the severity of the practice was at least partially the reason for its disappearance. But there was also a growing conviction that every person is a sinner and must do penance.

Pope Urban II (1088-1099) recommended the custom of all receiving ashes to all the churches. Ashes were put on the heads of men and the sign of the cross traced with ashes on the foreheads of women, presumably because their heads were covered.

In the 11th century there appeared a special prayer for the blessing of ashes. And the 12th century gave rise to the rule that the ashes used on Ash Wednesday are to be made from the palm branches of the previous year.

Love:

At the time of death, when we meet God face-to-face, we will be judged concerning love, concerning how much we have loved. Not concerning how much we have accomplished, but rather how much love we have put into what we have done.

"Stress-Free Life":

One of the secrets of living a "stress-free" life is to give up all unimportant preoccupations in our lives. Give your energy and attention to the essentials of life e.g. building up family unity, loving God, being compassionate to the poor, developing a meaningful prayer life, etc.

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You must be especially watchful that young people of both sexes be educated in fear of the Lord and His law and that they be trained in moral integrity.

- Blessed Pope Pius IX (1792-1878)

Love of Jesus:

Let us deepen our love of Jesus. Let us deepen our knowledge of God. This knowledge will lead us to love him, and love will lead us to serve him.

Martyr:

A martyr is a believer who prefers to sacrifice his/her life instead of his/her faith in God. If we look back on our past life and at our present life how much sacrifices have we made out of love for God? The only way to live a meaningful life is to put God at the centre of all our decisions.

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The Work is God's; I am His worker; God began it. For God I shall continue it. God wanted this Work done. He obliged me to do it. God will provide.

- Blessed Alfonso Maria Fusco (1839-1910)

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Jb 7:1-4, 6-7
Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23
Mk 1:29-39

When disasters—personal or communal—occur in our world, it's likely that religious people will be asked: What does God have to do with this? Hello, I'm Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, with the "Sunday Soundbite" for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

This 90-second soundbite can't hope to answer that question, but perhaps today's Sunday readings can help. In the first reading, we hear from that Biblical expert on suffering—Job. It's a short description of Job's—and humankind's—miserable condition. If we read more of the Book of Job, we discover that it doesn't try to resolve the question of human suffering either. Rather it ends by bringing us face-to-face with the very mystery of God. With Job, we're invited to turn ourselves over to God and to trust in God's infinite wisdom and care for us.

The Gospel personalizes that invitation. Mark depicts Jesus embarked on a journey that again and again brings him face-to-face with evil: manifested in the sin and suffering, sickness and death Jesus encounters in the world. Each time, he proves himself master over evil, the one who brings God's forgiveness, the healer of human suffering. Eventually, he conquers death itself on the Cross.

What does God have to do with human suffering? The best answer I know is God's answer, Jesus himself—the only answer we need.

Scripture:

•Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of hirelings? He is a slave who longs for the shade, a hireling who waits for his wages. (Job 7:1,2)

•He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)

•I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. (1 Corinthians 9:19)

•He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. (Mark 1:31)

Reflection:

•What is Jesus’ mission?

•What is Paul’s mission?

•What is your mission?

This is crucial: we must be converted—and we must continue to be converted! We must let the Holy Spirit change our lives! We must respond to Jesus Christ. And we must be open to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit who will continue to convert as we follow Christ. If our faith is alive, it will be aroused again and again as we mature as disciples.

Trust:

Jesus wants us to put all our trust in him. We have to renounce all our desires in order to work for our own perfection. Even if we feel like a boat without a compass on the high seas, we are to commit ourselves fully to him, without trying to control his actions.

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Every Christian must be a living book wherein one can read the teaching of the gospel. Our heart is the parchment; through my ministry the Holy Spirit is the writer because my tongue is nimble as the pen of a skillful scribe.

- St. Joseph of Leonissa (1556-1612)

Lord, my Creator, you have protected me since I was in the cradle. You have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience in suffering.

- St. Agatha (d. 250)

Reconciliation:

Reconciliation begins with ourselves. It begins with a pure heart, a heart that is able to see God in others.

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St. Blaise, gracious benefactor of mankind and faithful servant of God, who for the love of our Savior did suffer so many tortures with patience and resignation; I invoke thy powerful intercession. Preserve me from all evils of soul and body.

- Invocation of St. Blaise (d 316)

Presentation of the Lord

At the end of the fourth century, a woman named Etheria made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Her journal, discovered in 1887, gives an unprecedented glimpse of liturgical life there. Among the celebrations she describes is the Epiphany (January 6), the observance of Christ’s birth, and the gala procession in honor of his Presentation in the Temple 40 days later—February 15. (Under the Mosaic Law, a woman was ritually “unclean” for 40 days after childbirth, when she was to present herself to the priests and offer sacrifice—her “purification.” Contact with anyone who had brushed against mystery—birth or death—excluded a person from Jewish worship.) This feast emphasizes Jesus’ first appearance in the Temple more than Mary’s purification.

The observance spread throughout the Western Church in the fifth and sixth centuries. Because the Church in the West celebrated Jesus’ birth on December 25, the Presentation was moved to February 2, 40 days after Christmas.

At the beginning of the eighth century, Pope Sergius inaugurated a candlelight procession; at the end of the same century the blessing and distribution of candles which continues to this day became part of the celebration, giving the feast its popular name: Candlemas.

Comment:

In Luke’s account, Jesus was welcomed in the temple by two elderly people, Simeon and the widow Anna. They embody Israel in their patient expectation; they acknowledge the infant Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. Early references to the Roman feast dub it the feast of St. Simeon, the old man who burst into a song of joy which the Church still sings at day’s end.

Quote:

“Christ himself says, ‘I am the light of the world.’ And we are the light, we ourselves, if we receive it from him.... But how do we receive it, how do we make it shine? ...[T]he candle tells us: by burning, and being consumed in the burning. A spark of fire, a ray of love, an inevitable immolation are celebrated over that pure, straight candle, as, pouring forth its gift of light, it exhausts itself in silent sacrifice” (Paul VI).