FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
On the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord last Thursday, forty days after the birth of Christ, we celebrated the moment when the infant Jesus was brought to the Temple and Mary was purified after childbirth. According to Luke 2:22-40, Mary came to fulfil the requirements of the Torah (Ex.13:2.12; Lev.12:6-8). Simeon greeted them and pronounced the prayer that came to be known as the Nunc Dimittis. Simeon’s words,
“… for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared for all nations, the light to enlighten the Gentiles and give glory to Israel your people”
were symbolically actualised with the Rite of Blessing Candles.
And so the Christmas season concluded and we dismantled our crib. But that’s not the end …
In today’s Gospel, the theme of light continues as Jesus says to us,
“You are the light of the world”.
May our encounter with the Lord in prayer, in the Mass and in the scriptures, so enlighten us that we too may bring the light of Christ to those we meet.
Fr Philip Sainter
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