Feb 2 Candlemas Day

John and Thommy


Good morning
I love you

Saturday morning prayer with you through the feasts…. Written for us, for me, for later as well [bloggable too.]

February 2. Candlemas day – Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple; Feast of the Purification of Mary

Mosaic law, Hebrew tradition. The holy family – the husband and wife with their infant; Joseph and Mary now one, deciding together with and for their family, to agree with God that the best way to show their love for God, for each other, for their family, their extended family [community] would be to follow the law, to live the traditions. Do no, at great peril to do otherwise, do not short circuit don’t even think about skipping/ignoring/disdaining the rites, rituals, traditions of church, family, community. [and watch Fiddler over and over and over again.]

What did Mary, the teen mother of this miracle child, know about what was happening, what would happen. If Mary grew in understanding, starting with faith, so too Joseph, and even Jesus, too, if the holy family had to go through this process of growth and learning, of faith fulfilling in their experiences, then imagine what that means to us, even after two thousand years of evolving collective understanding and generations of faith with much more knowledge to enhance our faith…. So much for us to do better as we emulate the Holy Family’s commitment to faith, religion, each other, family, et al. based in faith and their love of God thus one another. The law, the covenants, the rituals were not are not limiting but freeing, giving us, clearly, instruction on how to best show our love. To love, to show your love, it is necessary to hear from the loved one [not so much the novel but it (The Loved One) is worth a gander] how to best express that love so it is best received.

For Mary [and Joseph – we too commonly forget the husband. There are expectations of the mother/wife each and every one of which have a direct and lasting impact on the husband/father as well as the children and mostso [that’s more than moreso] on the Family. As guys we are less likely to forget the impact of the male in the family. For Mary to choose to comply with, to fulfill, the law, to express her love of God, husband, family, community, as delineated by the law is an expression of commitment to all of these, not least of whom is the husband. If Mary had decided not to comply, she would not only be rejecting God’s love, maybe conceivably a ‘personal choice’ with no [apparent, or one would falsely assert] impact on anyone else…. Such a choice by Mary, to renege on her marriage vows [to God, husband, church/community], would have been detrimental to all of her relationships; no “personal choice” is without consequences for those to whom we are necessarily and always connected. If she had chosen t no longer live her faith, to no longer raise her son in their faith, that’s not a personal choice that’s a rejection of her vow to God and her husband, it’d be a rejection of God and husband personally, it would also be a seismic severance of her son from God and their father, a choice for them not only for herself….

Mary and Joseph chose to fulfill the Mosaic law, their expression of love of God, each other, family, and community.

The purification part of the ritual had a direct impact on the spousal relations. The intimacies of spousal love are embedded [a pun?] our faith and our living together the admonitions and guidelines of our church. This is one reason why having the same faith, the True Faith being the best, is important for a man and woman who consider marriage. The faith helps to bond the spouses [adds to the spice  ]; or, when different, creates between the man and woman a separation detrimental to the marriage, to their individual as well as spousal well being.

[Leviticus 12:2-8; Numbers 18:15]]. The first born is presented to the temple, to be given to the temple, to the community. And the rites of purification of the woman are not only for her but for the child and the family – for the forgiveness of sin; to make all holy and whole once again. Try some Leviticus, it’s different. Lotsa shoulds. How we can best love and serve God. How in doing so we learn to best love and serve one another even into the intimacies of marriage. The sacrifice of the doves represents the sacrifice of selves, the sacrifice of the child to God [abram’s gift accepted in sacrifice not in actuality]. It’s all connected… learn the connections.

Then take a new testament experience of the presentation. See the holy family in the temple through the eyes of Catholicism. See the purification and sacrificial rituals through the eyes of the blind Simeon. [Luke2:22ff - read this story from Luke. Read the prophesies; which are now our prayers at Compton and in the nightly office. This is a story that, like so many in Luke, that we revisit often – a touchstone for all of us baptized for all of us who bring our children to be baptized for all of us brought to witness a baptism.]

The prayers of Anna and Simeon should be our prayers – not only in our relationship with God [Father, Son, Spirit] but also our prayers to remind us of our relationships with father mother church family and children. Do the gestalt thing – take each role in the scene and meditate upon that person’s experience as your own – because each person’s experience is your own. You have been there. And you will be there again and again. Let it inform your feeloughts as well as your experiences yet to come.

The example of the Holy Family – husband and wife [parents too] and child should be our example too. I think I’ll write some more about the Luke passage later. I’m going to take a walk around Greensboro College today as well as around the park…. Videbimus qua videbimus.


I love you
dad