Pope celebrates Presentation of Lord, World Day of Consecrated Life
On Thursday evening, Pope Benedict celebrated Solemn Vespers for the Feast of the
Presentation of the Lord at Saint Peter’s Basilica. The Feast celebrates the presentation
of Jesus in the Temple forty days after his birth, and is also known as Candlemas
on account of the Blessing of Candles and Procession that take place during the liturgy.
In his homily during Vespers, the Holy Father noted that the liturgical significance
of the Feast, and especially the idea of Christ the Light: “This is one of those cases
in which liturgical time follows historical time, because today we mark precisely
forty days from the feast of Christmas; the theme of Christ the Light, which has characterized
the series of Christmas feasts and culminated in the Feast of the Epiphany, is taken
up and extended to the celebration today."
The Feast of the Presentation of
the Lord also marks the observance of World Day for Consecrated Life. The Holy Father
connected the Gospel story of the Presentation of Christ with the consecration of
men and women who have dedicated their lives to the Church: “On today’s feast we therefore
celebrate the mystery of consecration: the consecration of Christ, the consecration
of Mary, the consecration of all those who commit themselves to following Jesus for
the sake of the Kingdom of God.” The yearly celebration is an opportunity to express
gratitude for the work of those who have dedicated their lives to the service of God
and of their neighbour by embracing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity,
and obedience. At the same time, it offers a chance to promote vocations to consecrated
life, especially through prayer.
Father Bernd Hagenkord – a Jesuit for almost
twenty years – spoke about the meaning of the “It means a couple of things: praising
God for the gift of vocations, of having this particular kind of vocation… and praying
for more of them – it’s also a day of prayer for vocations… and renewal, we need constant
renewal … of the charism we try to live. So these three things come together in celebrating
this day.”
Consecrated life, he said, is one of the ways in which men and women
try to recognise Jesus Christ in the world: “We try to do that… it is one way of recognising
Jesus Christ in the world so that’s what we try to do, and try to be – or we are called
to be, I should rather say. And this is what connects this particular charism to this
Feast of today.”
Listen to the complete interview of Fr. Hagenkord with Christopher
Wells: