Shining Christ's light on a cold February night

This Wednesday, February 2nd, we celebrated the feast of Candlemas together again, this time inviting the parish to join us. Junior high and high school students played various roles in the prayer service, as readers, musicians, procession leaders and candle lighters.

I love the symbolism of the youth being the leaders of this evening of prayer which celebrates light and hope in one of the coldest months of the winter, because they are the future of the Church. They are the ones who will continue to carry the light after older generations are gone.

There's a centuries-old tradition in many countries to have an outdoor procession with candles on this feast, and we did our best but the weather didn't cooperate. The wind kept our candles from lighting, so we used our imaginations and walked to the church in the dark, then lit the candles inside and carried them to our pews. We did light the candles inside and then walked into the church with them lit. Some people kept their candle lit for the entire service, which was beautiful to see.

Each of the two Scripture readings was followed by a reflection, a piece of music chosen and performed by one of our high school youth, and a set of responsory prayers based on Scripture verses about light. At the end we had a short time of Eucharistic Adoration at the end, which gave people an opportunity to process and pray over what they had heard. Participants' candles were re-lit at the end of the service so they could be reminded of carrying the light of Christ within themselves as they walked to their cars.