Currently, we offer Eucharistic Adoration on Fridays between Labor Day and Memorial Day from 9 am to 6 pm. We have a difficult time getting people to sign up for an hour of prayer in the afternoon and evening. I am convinced that Eucharistic Adoration is important for the life of the parish because the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.
I would like to extend the hours of adoration from 9 am to 9 pm throughout the entire year, and I am calling on you in order to get a core of adorers who will commit to one hour of prayer on Fridays each week. I would like to get a team of 24 adorers (two for each hour) who will take the same time slot every week. Having two people commit to each hour will make it easier if and when someone needs to be gone to ensure that someone else will be there with the Lord during that time.
If you are willing to commit to this, please use the Sign Up Genius accessible by clicking here. As always, drop in adorers are still welcome and encouraged in addition to those who have committed to a time each week.
Parish Mission
A reminder and an encouragement to mark your calendars and attend our Parish Mission with Fr. on March 16,17, and 18. More details to forthcoming…
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
It might seem odd that today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. After all, we’ve moved through Christmas, celebrated Epiphany, and ended the Christmas season celebrating the Baptism of the Lord when, in adulthood, Jesus began his public ministry. Now, we seemingly move back into Jesus’s infancy. There is, however, some logic behind the dates of these feasts.
The Feast of the Presentation is celebrated forty days after Christmas in order to fulfill the Mosaic Law of redeeming the firstborn son. More on that later…
The Feast of the Annunciation is celebrated nine months before Christmas given the general amount of time it would take to bear a child up to birth.
Pentecost is celebrated fifty days after Easter, as described in Acts of the Apostles, and ten days after the Feast of the Ascension.
So, in some ways, it seems that some of our feasts are celebrated out of chronological order. Yet, our celebration of major feasts and solemnities are celebrated such that they are chronologically in accord with scripture.
According to the Mosaic Law (Exodus 13), the firstborn males were the possession of the Lord and would be required to serve in the Temple. When the Levites assumed their priestly role, however, the prescription to serve in the Temple was no longer necessary. The first born males still had to be redeemed with a monetary offering of five shekels in order to maintain the priests. Because Mary and Joseph were poor, they redeemed the Lord with two turtle doves per the prescription of the Law. The presentation of Jesus to the priests of the Temple by Mary and Joseph is significant in that it shows that Jesus, as Messiah, fulfills the Old Covenant of Moses.
Pope St. John Paul II writes:
He who had been awaited for centuries enters the temple of Jerusalem, he who fulfils the promise of the Old Covenant: the Messiah foretold. The psalmist calls him “the king of glory”. Only later will it become clear that his kingdom is not of this world (cf. Jn 18:36) and that those who belong to this world are not preparing a royal crown for him, but a crown of thorns.
However, the liturgy looks beyond. In that 40-day-old infant it sees the “light” destined to illumine the nations, and presents him as the “glory” of the people of Israel (cf. Lk 2:32). It is he who must conquer death, as the Letter to the Hebrews proclaims, explaining the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption: “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature” (Heb 2:14), having taken on human nature.
In our Gospel today, we hear the great Canticle of Simeon, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for the revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-31). It is because of these words that today’s feast is also called Candlemas and we bless candles at the beginning of Mass for use in the liturgy and in our homes.
For centuries, God remained hidden. In Exodus, He was “seen” in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. Moses would speak with God, for example on Mount Sinai. But, when Moses requested to see God face to face in all his glory, Moses was only allowed to see God from the back as he passed by (Exodus 33). Whenever Moses spoke with God, his face would become radiant, a foreshadowing of the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor. Now, in the context of the Temple, as the Son is presented to the Father, God could be seen. Most in the Temple that day paid no attention to what was taking place because they themselves could not see, but the elderly Simeon and Anna were able to see Jesus for who he was - the one who would be responsible for the rise and fall of many and a sign that would be contradicted.
Pope Benedict XVI writes:
…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. In both cases, 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. All are equally called to follow Christ, to discover in him the ultimate meaning of their lives, until they are able to say with the Apostle: “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21) (Vita Consecrata, n. 15).
From the very birth of Christ, we see this interplay between light and darkness. We see the forces of darkness pressing in and we see those dark forces attempting to disrupt, cause conflict, and confuse primarily because people are complacent in their sins. Even today, many people bristle at the illumination of Christ’s light especially if that light is allowed to come close to them. Nonetheless, Christ is the light of the world and his light continually shines on each one of us. “What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5).
As we pray today, let us pray to be people of light, allowing the Lord to continually purify the totality of our lives and converting our lives all the more to Christ through repentance. Let us also pray that we bring the light of Christ to everyone around us even if that light has to be dimmed at first, giving people the time and capacity to both understand and accept Him.