On Sunday 2nd February the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Lord which occurs forty days after the birth of Jesus and is also known as Candlemas day, since the blessing and procession of candles is included in its liturgy.
Today we had a special Candlemas at our school to celebrate this feast day.
Fr. Christopher read to us from The Gospel of Luke (2:21):
There was a man named Simeon who lived in Jerusalem. He was a righteous man and very devout. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he eagerly expected the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
“Lord, now I can die in peace!
As you promised me,
I have seen the Savior
You have given to all people.
He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
And he is the glory of your people Israel!”
Just like Simeon and Anna all of us who believe God’s promise for Jesus’ return are waiting and watching for that promise to come true. How are you going to wait for that promise? Are we going to live each day learning more about God by studying and reading our Bibles? Are we going to pray for our friends and family and those in need? Are we living our lives in a way that is pleasing to God? Since Jesus could come at any moment we should always ask ourselves, is this what I want to be doing if Jesus were to come back right at this moment?
Let’s be like Simeon and Anna and live with an attitude of worship and listening to God everyday. Let’s have an attitude of praising Him and thanking Him for all that He has done and will do for us as we believe Him by faith. (Hebrews 11:13)
Thank you to all the family members who joined us at today’s mass.