Advent: Turning Towards the Light!

The gale-force wind and heavy, freezing rain cause such a chill to pierce your body on this winter day that you briskly walk toward the building that lay ahead in the distance.

A blast of wind causes you to quicken the pace, head down with one hand tightly gripping the front of your coat and the other trying to hold some form of head covering atop your head. Your thoughts are to reach the building, in hope that it will provide you with shelter from this raging storm.

Breathlessly you cross the threshold, and the sturdy door closes leaving the shrieking wind to be smothered and turned away.

A hush falls as the doors firmly close behind you. Some of the tension in your body releases a bit now that you have reached safety inside the church building, and you grope for the holy water font to give thanks to the Lord for getting you here safely.

?Silence envelopes you as your eyes try to adjust to the dimly lit prayer space…

As best you can, you seek the light… Very gradually, you move toward the only light that your eyes can find, the red shielded light next to the tabernacle.

Ahh… a sigh of relief gives way, as you can almost hear our Lord whisper, “Be still…I am with you…” Again, you move towards the light.

But it’s Advent, so other lights attract your eyes as they are also burning brightly on the eternal wreath. The lights of hope, and love you have felt… The rose candle is glimmering…what JOY!

And now the candle of peace… Oh yes… Christmas is almost here… Christ’s Mass is almost here!

On the altar you notice the candles… hmmm.. four candles today, it’s almost full, you think.

You genuflect and thank our Lord for bringing you to his holy space today. And as you find a place to sit, your heart turns to wonder… The words of Scripture come to mind, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.” (Is. 9:2)

The candles on the altar announce the arrival of the One who is to come. This arrival is announced just as it has been announced for ages past.

Beeswax has been traditionally used to produce these candles as it comes from virgin bees, which means the symbolic Light of the world is cloaked in virginity. It is produced as these bees intentionally consume honey, digesting it and then a gland found in their abdomen produces the wax to store new deposits of honey.

This whole process is likened to that of pondering the Word of God. A historical method known as Lectio Divina could be described in this way, as honey itself symbolizes the optimum sweetness, the sweetness of the Word of God.

From ancient tradition, in a Jewish home one can expect to experience each Friday evening candles being lit, and prayers being spoken to welcome in the Shabbat (Sabbath) light. “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the light of the holy Shabbat.”

This is the traditional ceremony and prayer Jewish women of the ancient past have prayed and continue to pray even to this day. Their eyes are closed and shielded with their hand as they pray for health, happiness, children, and family; but ultimately redemption which will be ushered in by the Messiah.

Why do the women pray this prayer you may wonder? It’s because of the original fall of mankind in the garden, where the light was lost, and darkness came upon the earth.

The restoration of this light being promised through the curative…the seed…the One who is to come! So, a long grace period to return to the light has been given, a period to welcome the light, and to wait…

Could it have been on just such a Friday, during just such a prayer that the Angel appeared to Mary to make the great announcement? It is certainly reasonable, possible, something to ponder…

These candles begin the Shabbat (Sabbath) meal and are not extinguished. The same light was lit, and prayers were prayed on the night of the Last Supper (Neither the Shabbat nor any other major feast can be celebrated without the women lighting these candles… in the same way the Mass cannot be celebrated without the altar candles being lit.)

The candles on the altar have a remarkable resemblance to the ancient Jewish Menorah, the seven-horned lampstand that stood in the Holy of Holies burning brightly before God and was never extinguished.

For the period that these candles burn, it was thought that the souls in Sheol (In Jewish tradition this is the place that contains both the Bosom of Abraham and Purgatory.) would receive some relief from their sufferings. Praying for the blessed souls in Purgatory during the lighting or extinguishing of these candles is a charitable practice kept to this day.

If you look closely during the Solemnities most altars have six very tall candles. They are positioned three on one side and three on the other side, much like the lighted branches of the Menorah.

In ancient Jewish history, the center lamp was reserved to be lit when the Messiah arrived. When Jesus Christ, our Lord, and the Messiah did arrive, he said, “I am the light of the world.” (Jn. 8:12)

When the Archbishop or Bishop is celebrating Mass in any of the churches of his diocese, the seventh candle is lit. This is because he represents the fullness of the Priesthood, the fullness of Christ truly present. We might even see this in a very large procession in which each candle is carried in the procession and placed on the altar.

There is a secondary unveiling in which we recognize the fullness of Christ’s presence when we see only two candles carried in the procession. These two candles reveal the two natures of Christ. One candle represents the fullness of his humanity and the other the fullness of his divinity.

Again, we orient our body to face these lights along with the high cross which is Christ’s Standard, the Book of the Gospels, and the celebrant during the procession at the beginning of the Mass. No matter where we are in the church, we know where Christ is entering, and we orient ourselves to face the Light.

If we prayerfully consider the beeswax candles, as was done by many of the saints during the Middle Ages, we will find new rich, and detailed symbolism of Christ’s presence.

The pale wax of the candle symbolizes Christ’s flesh, his sacred humanity. The wick, embedded in the center of the candle, represents his soul. The flame, as it burns down the wick, consumes the wax to give us light. It burns, expending itself. The burning candle is aesthetically pleasing, and it gives a sweet aroma as it burns, another reminder of the presence of our Lord.

Jesus, the Light of the world, wants all souls to be drawn to his saving grace, as he said, “when I am lifted up, I will call all to myself”. The Easter Vigil shows this when the new flame is lit, blessed, and touched to the tapers held by members of the congregation, and the Light spreads from one person to the next.

For this reason, the newly baptized, the newly ordained, and the newly professed are given candles as they are drawn more deeply into Christ, they turn to the Light. Even the votive candles flickering in the distance, stand in for the believer at prayer.

“I have come to light a fire on the Earth. How I wish the blaze were ignited!” (Lk 12:49) A spark becomes a flame, and the flame will spread to what it touches eventually, spreading the Light of Christ throughout the whole world.

“Peace, I leave you. My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you.” (Jn 14:27) … a hush, a peace fills you as you ponder the Light.?