You know, there are times when I miss being an altar boy, even though I wasn’t very good at it. Of course, when I was an altar boy, Masses were said in Latin. I had a hell of a time with the language. I never could say all of the required prayers correctly. Father Stroup said he would say them with me in a loud voice so that if I did stumble, no one would notice—“All I ask is that you try,” he said. And I did. And I was very uncomfortable every time I had to serve by myself. But now that we say the Mass in English, how I wish I were 10 years old again! On the other side of that coin, I wish Masses still had the old “bells and smells” feeling of reverence.
What made me think of this was Mass today. Today was the Feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple. Another word for it is “Candlemas”. It is 40 days after Christmas and traditionally the day when all of the candles in the church are blessed. I attended Mass at the Cathedral and Father Armistead celebrated. I really like him. He celebrates a good, orthodox Mass (except when he comes down to the foot of the altar to give his homilies—I think this is supposed to be a no-no), and he always has a good homily that helps me relate the readings to my own life. I digress. Father Armistead likes to preside at the Masses where traditional observances are celebrated. We said a quick blessing over the candles at the start of Mass today, and then Father said we could take some home with us, so I grabbed a couple.
Anyway, we got to the readings and I was thinking about the set of New Testament readings we’ve been listening to lately—Hebrews. It might just be me, but the author of Hebrews really seems to be a “down-to-earth”, tell-it-like-it-is sort of person. It’s almost like a textbook, explaining the parallels between the Old and the New Testaments. I really get a lot of good stuff out of Hebrews.
Today’s Gospel has been a real good one for meditation. Especially the part about Anna:
Luke 2:36-38
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
Think about it. Anna lived seven years with her husband after marriage. In those days they got married at about 12 or 13 years old. Let’s assume she was a good catch in her heyday, so she was a bride at 12. That means she became a widow at 19 years old. She lived that way until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer for 63 years! What patience! How many times must she have been frustrated in her search for the Messiah, wondering if He would ever come! But she persisted in prayer and thanksgiving to the Almighty God day after day, month after month, and year after year, trusting that He would answer her prayers. What was her reward? She was allowed to see our Lord while He was still an infant! Being a new grandfather with a pretty special baby in the house, I can only imagine the joy Anna felt!
Dear God, how many times have I neglected to pray simply because I was too tired or lazy? This woman persisted for 63 years! Sounds a lot like Mom, doesn’t it? Or Grandma? Or Aunt Jenny, Aunt Teresa, Aunt Barbara? No one could hold a candle to the faith they gave me through their examples—pun intended on Candlemas Day.
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