PART XXXVII
The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light
Today on 2nd Feb 2024 we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord in the temple. God is showing His Light(Jesus) to the whole world to bring them to the salvation, which He planned since beginning of this world. Isaiah 9:1 (NJB): ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; on the inhabitants of a country in shadow dark as death light has blazed forth.’ How we approach the light of Jesus is amazing as the whole world is in darkness and our good Lord allow us to meet Him in all the walks of our life.
A beautiful reflection on today’s Feast by St Sophronius.‘This, then, is our feast, and we join in procession with lighted candles to reveal the light that has shone upon us and the glory that is yet to come to us through him. So let us hasten all together to meet our God. The true light has come, the light that enlightens every man who is born into this world. Let all of us, my brethren, be enlightened and made radiant by this light. Let all of us share in its splendour, and be so filled with it that no one remains in the darkness. Let us be shining ourselves as we go together to meet and to receive with the aged Simeon the light whose brilliance is eternal. Rejoicing with Simeon, let us sing a hymn of thanksgiving to God, the Father of the light, who sent the true light to dispel the darkness and to give us all a share in his splendour. Through Simeon’s eyes we too have seen the salvation of God which he prepared for all the nations and revealed as the glory of the new Israel, which is ourselves. As Simeon was released from the bonds of this life when he had seen Christ, so we too were at once freed from our old state of sinfulness.’ Saint Sophronius, bishop.
God loves the world so much that He sacrificed His only Son on the Cross for our salvation. Jesus gave us his life by shedding his own blood for us as a libation to establish the New Everlasting Covenant forever. Heavenly Father has been pleased with this sacrifice because it ensures that we shall all live eternally. Today, at the start of Holy Mass, the priest blessed the candles as part of the feast. John 3:16–17 (NJB): For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 For God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.
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