Consecrated Life Is Light To the Nations

The article and a short movie are available on the webpage of Christian Information Center: HERE.

H. E. Mgr. WILLIAM SHOMALI (Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine):

We know that Jesus is the Light of the world. When Simeon carried the baby Jesus in his arms, he points to him as the "light to enlighten the nations," which means that he is the Savior. St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary presented the baby Jesus to the Lord to fulfill the law of Moses.

Fr. BENEDETTO DI BITONTO (Head of the Kehilla of Jerusalem):

The Jewish family had to offer the firstborn son to the priest, who was to be redeemed. The roots of this tradition are very ancient, dating back to the Exodus from 'Egypt.

God asked Moses to offer every firstborn so that he would be redeemed by animal sacrifice. According to the Patriarchal Vicar, the elder Simeon, who longed to see salvation and carried Jesus in his arms, represented the Old Testament.

H. E. Mgr. WILLIAM SHOMALI (Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine):

In the Eastern liturgy, the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is called the Feast of the Encounter: it is a meeting of two eras, an ancient era that ends and a new one that begins.

Fr. BENEDETTO DI BITONTO (Head of the Kehilla of Jerusalem):

Yes, this can be considered a bridge and continuity through which we enter salvation.

The earliest written records of this celebration date back to the 4th century.

Fr. BENEDETTO DI BITONTO (Head of the Kehilla of Jerusalem):

We have traces of this in the accounts of the pilgrim Egeria, during her journey to Jerusalem. She herself relates how 40 days after Christmas, all the priests with the bishop read a passage from the Gospel of Luke together in the Holy Sepulcher, and how after all the readings a Mass was celebrated.

It was Bishop Shomali together with some priests who presided over the solemn Mass.

In his Homily he wanted to emphasize how, "The consecrated person is the one who has witnessed and experienced that only Jesus deserves to be loved first and served first; the one who has experienced that Jesus is the precious treasure who deserves to be acquired by selling all one's possessions. The consecrated person is the one who has experienced the beauty of the covenant with God.

A celebration," the Patriarchal Vicar continued, "that is an opportunity to renew one's offering to God with the same enthusiasm and joy as in the early days.

During the celebration, all consecrated persons present stood up to renew their "yes," each in their own language.

Sr. GHADA NEMEH (Holy Rosary Congregation of Jerusalem):

At this moment I feel inspired by the role of Simeon, the man who had such an intimate relationship with God, the man who was attentive to the signs of the times, to God's presence and to his incarnation.

Today we offer ourselves completely to Jesus to serve humanity with him and through him.

H. E. Mgr. WILLIAM SHOMALI (Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine):

It can be said metaphorically that Jesus offered himself to God, referring to the sacrifice on the cross, when Jesus offered himself for the life of man.

In the Holy Land, as pointed out by Bishop Shomali, the numbers of vocations are growing.

H. E. Mgr. WILLIAM SHOMALI (Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine):

I believe that the increase in vocations is by the good example of many religious men and women. Their good example is like light.