Find what you’re looking for
As you say a prayer for all those in distress today, open your heart as wide as you can. Let your prayer grow and grow, touching all the branches of our common tree.
Popularly known as the saint who protects from ailments of the throat, Saint Blaise was a bishop and martyr of the fourth century. We know little else about him, except that he suffered persecution even after the Edict of Toleration was to have freed the Roman world for worship.
The disciples’ message was one of repentance–a call to change of heart, to acceptance of the kingdom that Jesus offered. God wants to give you a new life. Be open to it.
When Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, they brought a small offering of turtledoves. This humble offering was one that poorer families could afford to bring with them. The Holy Family brought the little they had when consecrating their son to God.
In this week’s Gospel, Jesus fills the nets of Peter and his fellow fisherman until they are overflowing. He then tells them that going forward they will be fishers of men.
Being an observant Jewish couple, it stands to reason that Mary and Joseph went to the Temple for Mary’s purification—as prescribed by Mosaic Law—40 days after Jesus’ birth. The blessing of candles and the procession of light were added to this feast, giving it the popular name “Candlemas.”
The fact of our baptism means that we have a vocation–a call–that’s just as certain as our Biblical heroes today.
The encounter in the temple with Simeon and Anna show us people finding God in their midst where they had been looking all along.
The purpose of spiritual law is simply to sharpen our awareness about who we are and who God is, so that we can name our own insufficiency and find God’s fullness.
Like David, we too are called to love those who have done us wrong, perhaps in demanding dimensions. Interpersonal relations are seldom simple.
