Presentation of the Lord 2013

Sixty seven years ago, the first of the founders arrived at Nunraw from Roscrea, our Mother House.  

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Fr. Mark . . .

Sent: Saturday, 2 February 2013, 8:26
Subject:  Presentation of the Lord

Introduction to the Presentation of the Lord.    Feb 2, 2013

Today’s celebration of the Presentation of the Lord in the temple is not simply a single feast.  It is the conclusion of the Christmas season, during which we celebrated the joy of the coming of the Lord as man into our world.

I had the good fortune to be in Rome two years ago and saw for myself the various cribs still in place in the middle of St Peter’s Square.  They were from various parts of the world and from different cultures and, naturally, attracted crowds of people.

Christ came at Christmas – a light shining in the dark – and today we light candles to celebrate that same light that has been given to us to brighten up our lives and prevent us from stumbling, from falling because of the darkness that can overshadow us..

Sixty seven years ago, the first of the founders arrived at Nunraw from Roscrea, our Mother House.  Those were difficult and hard times settling in. - There are always hard times.  And so we need to continue trusting in the guiding hand of God.

Simeon praised God in the temple because he saw that light - long expected - had finally come into the world.  That same light has been handed on to us.  But he also gave a warning to Mary that there would be sorrow in her life because the power of the darkness had not yet been fully overcome.  We celebrate the joy of Christ’s coming to us in the flesh, therefore, but remain aware of our constant need of his help in our human weakness.

We extinguish our candles now, but they will be relit for the duration of the gospel, creed and Pr of the Faithful.

After the Prayer of the Faithful

This is the point where we take our lighted candles, symbols of God’s light in us, and offer them back to God before the altar.  There they will remain shining throughout our celebration of the Eucharist, our Thanksgiving to God.