Pope celebrates Mass for feast of the Presentation of
the Lord
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday celebrated
Mass for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in St Peter’s
Basilica in Rome. Members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and of Societies of
Apostolic Life participated in the Liturgy.
The Mass also commemorates the World Day for Consecrated
Life. On this day, the Church celebrates and prays for those who have
consecrated their lives to God by the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience.
The World Day for Consecrated Life was established in 1997 by Pope Saint John Paul
II; 2017 marks the twenty-first annual observance of the Day.
The liturgical feast chosen for the commemoration celebrates
the presentation of the newborn Jesus in the Temple by Joseph and Mary forty
days after His birth, in accordance with the law of the Old Testament. The
feast is also known as “Candlemas” on account of the blessing of candles and
the procession that takes place at the beginning of the Mass.
The candles blessed during the Liturgy thus symbolize both
Christ, who is the Light of the World; and the lives of consecrated women and
men who are called to reflect the light of Christ for all peoples.
In his homily for
during the Mass, Pope Francis spoke of the “hymn of hope” pronounced by Simeon
and Anna when they saw the Saviour appearing in the Temple. We, too, the Pope
said, “have inherited this hymn of hope from our elders… We would do well to
take up the dreams of our elders, so that we can prophesy in our day, and once
more encounter what originally set our hearts on fire.”
But he also warned of a “temptation” that can make the
consecrated life barren: the temptation of “survival”, which urges us to
protect ourselves at the expense of our dreams. “The temptation of survival,”
Pope Francis said, “makes us forget grace.”
The Holy Father reminded consecrated women and men, that
they are called to put themselves “with Jesus in the midst of His people.”
Pope Francis concluded his homily with the exhortation: “Let
us accompany Jesus as He goes forth to meet His people, to be in the midst of
His people.”
This year’s celebration of the World Day for Consecrated
Life has a particular significance, being devoted to thanksgiving and prayer
for the give of vocations, especially in view of the upcoming Synod of Bishops,
which will be dedicated to the theme: “Youth, faith and vocational
discernment.” The Synod is expected to meet in October 2018.
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