School Celebrates the Light of Christ at Today's Feast

Today we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, hailing Christ as that true light in the midst of darkness. So often images such as this can become meaningless. Yet with no little thought, one can immediately identify the darkness in ourselves, our communities and our world: the growing gap between the rich and poor, the corruption that prevents any progress in so many nations, two billion without clean water, one billion without daily meals, and much more. It would be only the most insensitive and sociopathic individual who could deny the challenges of impinging darkness.

Some would deny Christianity's relevance for anything in this modern era, seeing human progress only in the growing enlightened and intelligent human being. But this has fallen short. In the 20th century alone, we slaughtered 188 million fellow human beings in war.

Pope Benedict spoke about the light of Christ recently, words well worth reflecting upon on this feast day of light:

"The faithful and tenacious love of God, whose covenant never fails from generation to generation, ... represents the hope of history", said the Pope. "In this mystery of God's faithfulness, the Church fully accomplishes her mission only when she reflects in herself the light of Christ the Lord and thus helps the people of the world on the road of peace and true progress."

"Greater hope is needed", he added, "to as to permit the common good of everyone to prevail over the luxury of the few and the poverty of the many. 'This great hope can only be God, ... not any god, but the God who has a human face'".

"If there is great hope, it becomes possible to persevere in sobriety. If true hope is lacking, happiness is sought in inebriation, in superfluity, in excess, in the ruination of oneself and of the world.