Jesus Christ is the Light of God’s world! He enlightens those in the world so that they can say “Yes” to God and follow after him, as his Mother Mary chose to do.
Today we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem. We learn from the Gospel of Luke that some of the faithful Jews were fasting and praying for the coming of the Messiah, like Simeon and Anna, who prepared themselves for this revelation and practically lived in the Temple of Jerusalem.
When Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the Temple in accordance with the Law of Moses, Simeon and Anna were the first to recognize that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus would be the one to enlighten the nations – the gentiles – that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is the One, true God. Jesus Christ would also be the glory of God’s chosen people because he would fulfill all the prophecies of the Old Testament.
Simeon prophesied that Jesus would be the cause of the rise and fall of many in Israel. That is to say, the corrupt leadership among the Jews would give way to Je-sus’ Apostles and Saints. Yet, for this to be accomplished, Jesus had to suffer.
Simeon also prophesied that Mary would have to suffer since he said to her, “And you yourself a sword will pierce, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
When we think of all the good Jesus did in his life, and how he was led to the cross to be crucified in front of his Mother, we Catholic Christians feel a sadness for the world that does not love God and his holy command-ments.
Yet, because Jesus was willing to take on the sins of the world and offer forgiveness from the cross to those who would confess their sins, we can see with hope how God is trying to enlighten the hearts of all people to open to his merciful forgiveness.
We who come to Mass and are sorry for our sins, realize that we are being cleansed and enlightened, our faith strengthened through Jesus Christ in the Holy Mass. We sing out in praise to God for the mercy and the promise of everlasting happiness. We, like Simeon and Anna, want to share this happiness by sharing God’s com-passion for the world, but sometimes our faith and love are weak.
We might wonder, “Why does God not reveal his glory completely so that we would no longer struggle with temptation, or struggle in understanding of what God wants us to do with our life?”
It is okay to have these questions and to pray that God illumine your soul to his way of holiness. However, we must admit that if God were to reveal the fullness of his glory our wounded souls would not be able to receive it. It would be like the Sun becoming 100 times brighter. Our natural eyes could never handle that, unless they were made supernaturally powerful.
This is why the journey of our faith takes time. We need to super naturalize our souls by his grace through fasting, daily prayer, worthy recep-tion of the sacraments and witnessing to Je-sus Christ so that God’s grace can bring us to a supernatural perfection in the fullness of his heaven.
St. John Vianney is a good example of what I mean, for he is known for his fasting, praying and service. He would rise at 2 a.m. and begin a day of prayer and fasting, having only one potato and a glass of water daily during Lent.
Although he struggled with his studies, he was ordained a priest August 12, 1815, and lived an austere life of prayer, penance, service and study. He spent hours in the confessional everyday praying that his people would return to God. The fame of his holiness spread and by 1827 he would assist about 20,000 people a year back to God through the Sacrament of Confession.
At one point on his spiritual journey, he asked God to illumine his soul to show him how close he was to the heaven. God granted his wish and he was shocked and deeply humbled when he saw how far he was from the full-ness of heaven. He did not despair but was inspired to press on by loving God more fervently. He died in 1859 and was canonized a Saint in 1925.
This private illumination humbled a very holy priest. Other saintly people have written about their private illuminations, while others have written about an il-lumination of the soul that will occur in the souls of every-one on the same day, “The Day of Universal Illumination.”
St. Maria Faustina, who died in 1938, thought that this Day of Illumination would be coming soon, since World War II and the rise of Nazism and Communism did not shock people back to their authentic Catholic life.
St. Maria Faustina and other saints believed that on the Day of Illumination everyone will see their relation-ship to God with clarity. Those who are in the state of grace will rejoice that they are on the way and become more fervent in attending to their spiritual life of prayer, penance, praise, service, study and evangelization. Others will fall into dismay or anger at the thought of having to leave their sinful lives behind and follow Christ in his Church to enter heaven.
I hope this “Illumination” happens in this Jubilee Year 2025, which is a mere eight years from the year 2033, in which we will celebrate Jesus’ 2,000th anniversary of his redeeming crucifixion, resurrection, ascension into heaven and his sending forth, with the Father, the Holy Spirit upon the faithful at Pentecost.
The Good News is that Jesus Christ is the light of God’s saving love and truth for the world, and even now His Catholic Church has the grace for everyone to be saved. That is why we celebrate the Holy Mass and the other sacraments worthily with humble and joyful hearts, and are prepared to help others understand the necessity of growing in the light of grace.
Peace in Christ through Mary and Joseph,
Fr. Thomas McCabe