Fr. Adolph Guy sx
Good morning, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Consecrated life remains an enigma to most of the young people in nowadays. In my short experience as a religious male and priest so far, it has become normal to hear from young people and answer to questions such as: Why did you choose to become a religious priest? Why not start your own family and get married? From the side of the youth, these questions and the likes surmise a lack of understanding of the relevance of religious life in the church and in the society in general. Besides, evangelical values like celibacy, virginity, religious vows, that is, obedience, chastity, and poverty, are now at odd with the aspiration of youth, that is, freedom, pleasure, and enjoyment.
From the side of the Church, consecrated life is so crucial that a specific day is set aside to celebrate it, that is, the feast of the presentation of the Lord that we celebrate every year on the second day of the month February, coincidentally this year it has fallen on a Sunday, today. In the following lines, I am going to share briefly about the feast of today in the light of today’s readings. And then, I will highlight the relevance of religious male and female in our society today.
In the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the temple we discover the sense of the word Gospel, that is, good news. By the way the feast of Presentation of the Lord occurs 40 days after the celebration of Christmas. Why is this feast the good news to us now? Our brothers and sisters who did higher studies in the field of sacred scriptures tell us that Luke is the only evangelist who mentions the Presentation of the Lord and his intent is to show us that God’s promise to Israel, fulfilled in Jesus, extends to Gentiles. Once again, the good news is that God’s promise to Israel, fulfilled in Jesus is extended to all of us.
In today’s first reading, prophet Malachy (3:1-4) states that the Lord you seek will come to the temple. It is a good news. At the same time, we need to look at ourselves to know whether we are worthy to encounter the Lord because he is a refiner. In the Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, pope Francis says: “The evil we have done cannot remain hidden; it needs to be purified in order to enable this definitive encounter with God’s love. For this, the pope urges all of us, saying: “Let us not neglect Confession, but rediscover the beauty of this sacrament of healing and joy, the beauty of God’s forgiveness of our sins (Spes non confundit 22, 23). While psalm 24 reminds us repeatedly through responses that: The Lord is the king of glory, the letter to Hebrews (2:14-18) we have listened to in the second reading continues in the same vein with the first reading by emphasizing that the Lord Jesus became like us in order to save us. The Holy Gospel brings us at the core of today’s feast: The Presentation of the Lord. In the word presentation we see another word, that is, present or gift. Literally, the Lord Jesus is the gift of God to his people. Again, a good news. The gospel says two persons were able to recognize the Lord Jesus as the gift of God to us: Simeon and the prophetess Anna. These two were always in the temple and the Holy Spirit was on them. Every first Sunday of the month, our churches are full with people. I have the impression that among us, are found the catholic members of the first Sunday of the month only. My dear brother and sister, you need to be a regular and active member in the church for you to be able to see in the Lord Jesus the gift of God to you.
Lastly, the Presentation of the Lord paved the way to Consecrated Life as Lord Jesus himself was consecrated to God by the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. As I said earlier, it is this perspective that the feast of today is also feast of all consecrated men and women. To young people who frown at the call to become a consecrated male or female, we ask: what would our country have become without the involvement of religious male and female in our sectors of social life such education, health, justice and peace, interreligious dialogue, and the likes? Who would our parents become if they were not beneficiaries of the ministry of these consecrated men and women? It is good to remind ourselves that the arrival of foreign consecrated men and female in the African soil improved a lot the life quality of our grandparents, the status of women, lower infant mortality, and the likes. They worked hard to bring in education, enkindle the awareness in matters concerning, health, hygiene, house chores, learning of practical skills in some schools and formation centers. Now time has changed and we see that most of the foreign consecrated males and females are leaving the African soil for various reasons. The work is now left to us, sons and daughters of this soil. May the admonition of Saint Paul VI on the 31 July 1969 ring still anew in our ears: “Missionaries to yourselves”: in others words, you Africans must now continue, upon this Continent, the building up of the Church.”
As we continue the celebration of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the temple, we pray that Lord God may grant eternal rest to all the consecrated males and females who have given their lives for our people. May today’s feast help our young people see the relevance of consecrated life in the life of our society and enkindle in them vocation to religious life. Finally, through the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, may God grant to our faithful people a strong faith that will help see the Lord Jesus as the gift of God for them. May God bless us all!
Good morning, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Consecrated life remains an enigma to most of the young people in nowadays. In my short experience as a religious male and priest so far, it has become normal to hear from young people and answer to questions such as: Why did you choose to become a religious priest? Why not start your own family and get married? From the side of the youth, these questions and the likes surmise a lack of understanding of the relevance of religious life in the church and in the society in general. Besides, evangelical values like celibacy, virginity, religious vows, that is, obedience, chastity, and poverty, are now at odd with the aspiration of youth, that is, freedom, pleasure, and enjoyment.
From the side of the Church, consecrated life is so crucial that a specific day is set aside to celebrate it, that is, the feast of the presentation of the Lord that we celebrate every year on the second day of the month February, coincidentally this year it has fallen on a Sunday, today. In the following lines, I am going to share briefly about the feast of today in the light of today’s readings. And then, I will highlight the relevance of religious male and female in our society today.
In the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the temple we discover the sense of the word Gospel, that is, good news. By the way the feast of Presentation of the Lord occurs 40 days after the celebration of Christmas. Why is this feast the good news to us now? Our brothers and sisters who did higher studies in the field of sacred scriptures tell us that Luke is the only evangelist who mentions the Presentation of the Lord and his intent is to show us that God’s promise to Israel, fulfilled in Jesus, extends to Gentiles. Once again, the good news is that God’s promise to Israel, fulfilled in Jesus is extended to all of us.
In today’s first reading, prophet Malachy (3:1-4) states that the Lord you seek will come to the temple. It is a good news. At the same time, we need to look at ourselves to know whether we are worthy to encounter the Lord because he is a refiner. In the Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, pope Francis says: “The evil we have done cannot remain hidden; it needs to be purified in order to enable this definitive encounter with God’s love. For this, the pope urges all of us, saying: “Let us not neglect Confession, but rediscover the beauty of this sacrament of healing and joy, the beauty of God’s forgiveness of our sins (Spes non confundit 22, 23). While psalm 24 reminds us repeatedly through responses that: The Lord is the king of glory, the letter to Hebrews (2:14-18) we have listened to in the second reading continues in the same vein with the first reading by emphasizing that the Lord Jesus became like us in order to save us. The Holy Gospel brings us at the core of today’s feast: The Presentation of the Lord. In the word presentation we see another word, that is, present or gift. Literally, the Lord Jesus is the gift of God to his people. Again, a good news. The gospel says two persons were able to recognize the Lord Jesus as the gift of God to us: Simeon and the prophetess Anna. These two were always in the temple and the Holy Spirit was on them. Every first Sunday of the month, our churches are full with people. I have the impression that among us, are found the catholic members of the first Sunday of the month only. My dear brother and sister, you need to be a regular and active member in the church for you to be able to see in the Lord Jesus the gift of God to you.
Lastly, the Presentation of the Lord paved the way to Consecrated Life as Lord Jesus himself was consecrated to God by the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. As I said earlier, it is this perspective that the feast of today is also feast of all consecrated men and women. To young people who frown at the call to become a consecrated male or female, we ask: what would our country have become without the involvement of religious male and female in our sectors of social life such education, health, justice and peace, interreligious dialogue, and the likes? Who would our parents become if they were not beneficiaries of the ministry of these consecrated men and women? It is good to remind ourselves that the arrival of foreign consecrated men and female in the African soil improved a lot the life quality of our grandparents, the status of women, lower infant mortality, and the likes. They worked hard to bring in education, enkindle the awareness in matters concerning, health, hygiene, house chores, learning of practical skills in some schools and formation centers. Now time has changed and we see that most of the foreign consecrated males and females are leaving the African soil for various reasons. The work is now left to us, sons and daughters of this soil. May the admonition of Saint Paul VI on the 31 July 1969 ring still anew in our ears: “Missionaries to yourselves”: in others words, you Africans must now continue, upon this Continent, the building up of the Church.”
As we continue the celebration of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the temple, we pray that Lord God may grant eternal rest to all the consecrated males and females who have given their lives for our people. May today’s feast help our young people see the relevance of consecrated life in the life of our society and enkindle in them vocation to religious life. Finally, through the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, may God grant to our faithful people a strong faith that will help see the Lord Jesus as the gift of God for them. May God bless us all!