Dear friends in Christ
On Wednesday—feast of Our Lord's Presentation in the Temple—we conclude the celebration of the Christmas mysteries. Mass begins at the Crib with the blessing and procession of candles. It is the feast of light, as we are reminded as we sing the words of Simeon: Lord, you can let your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation. It is a moment full of symbolism and beauty as Mary and Joseph present Jesus to the Father. We may see ourselves in this Gospel picture which is a reminder that we were presented to God at our Baptism. At the moment of our Baptism, we were presented to God and incorporated into the life of the Blessed Trinity. Our vocation is to live this offering first made on that occasion, so as to live as children of God in the light.
The fourth Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary is a meditation on the Presentation of Jesus; we see it every time we are in our church depicted to the right of the Adoration of the Magi. The current restoration and decoration work being undertaken on the Rood and Calvary will further harmonise these elements so that we will see something of the original beauty of these figures as when they were unveiled almost one hundred years ago.
On Thursday we celebrate the double feasts of St Anne Line—a native of Essex— and St Blaise, fourth century bishop in Armenia. Saint Blaise is believed to have been a physician who eventually became a "physician of souls." People often turned to Saint Blaise for healing miracles. In 316, the Governor of Cappadocia arrested then-bishop Blaise for being a Christian. On their way to the jail, a woman set her only son, who was choking to death on a fish bone, before Blaise and he cured him. Later when he was imprisoned the woman came to him and brought two fine wax candles in an attempt to dispel the gloom of his darkened cell. From this grew the custom of seeking his intercession for protection against diseases of the throat and so we may receive a special blessing for this—using blessed candles—on Thursday after Mass.
I wish you all a blessed week ahead!
Msgr Kevin Hale