From this weeks bulletin... ¡La Candelaria! or, in English, Candlemas (but somehow the Spanish sounds more loquent). Although we are out of the Christmas season this is a Christmas celebration, 40 days after the birth of Christ (Luke 2,22ff) his parents take him to the Temple in Jerusalem in order to fulfill the Law of Moses. In our Christian theology we see this feast as the conclusion of the “season of lights” (hence the name Candlemas). As early as the 4th century this feast was already being celebrated in Jerusalem as the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary after the birth of her child, Jesus, although theologically since both Jesus and Mary are completely without sin (original and personal) there is no need for any purification, but adherence to the ritual itself shows to the world that Mary and Joseph were faithful to the Law of Moses. 300 years later this feast was being observed in Rome with candlelit processions, and hence the association of candles with this feast; with the reforms of the last century it is now called “The Presentation of the Lord” but the connexion of candles to this feast is immutable. If you bring candles to Mass this weekend at St Catherines we shall be blessing them at all Masses. For us we can reflect a bit on the last Christmas season, and see just how much it was a holy season (as opposed to a commercial one); what did we do – over and above the fun and festivities of the world – to show the world that Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas? Were our parties and meals blessed with prayer? Did our gift giving (and receiving) result in thanks to God? Were we ourselves more conscious of the gift that God gave us in his son? As we close out the Christmas season with its overindulgences and enter the Lenten season with its call to fast and almsgiving we thank God for the wonders and mysteries of the annual cycle of feasts and fasts that allow us to enjoy Christ’s life among us, whilst still remembering the poor and the lonely, the sick and the immigrant, and all those in need of our love and concern. This weekend is also Boy Scout Sunday, and I am very happy to announce that St Catherine’s will soon be chartering Rialto Pack #103, Troop #110 and Crew # 1110. This is an exciting time for us at St Catherine’s as we renew our acquaintance with scouting and offer to all the young men (and women, because the Venture Crew #1110 is co-ed) the opportunities of scouting to help build good citizens for the next generation. Blessings Fr Steve
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 01:22:07 +0000