By Evelyn Jock
The Presentation of the Lord commemorates the day Joseph and Mary presented Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem where Simeon and Anna were waiting. Jesus was consecrated as required by the Law of Moses, to fulfil the Old Testament.
St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sandakan celebrated the Presentation of the Lord and also the World Day of Consecrated Life during the evening mass on 2 February 2023 at 7.30pm. Rev. Fr. Raymond Lee presided over this mass. The congregation gathered at the St. Mary’s Parish Hall and witness the rites of the blessing of candles. After the blessing, candles were lit and the priest, altar servers, choir and the people holding lit candles processed into the cathedral.
In his homily Fr. Raymond explained that consecrated refers to men and women set aside especially for God so that God may use them to fulfil his plan to realise his kingdom here on earth. Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of the promise in the Old Testament. He said that many people tried to follow the footsteps of Jesus by consecrating themselves to God and to be God’s disciples to spread the good news. These are the priests, religious sisters and brothers. In their everyday living they try to achieve holiness and sacredness by following the will and teaching of God. They try to build a strong personal relationship with God.
Just as Jesus was consecrated at the temple, during the mass, religious sisters of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception renewed their vow and their promise to live their consecrated life faithfully. Fr Raymond reminded that everyone, and not only the religious sisters and brothers, are called to follow Jesus Christ and that they should consecrate themselves to God, to seek his will and to live it out every day in order to achieve their salvation.
He exclaimed that everyone is created in God’s image and likeness and it is the natural desire to return to God, the Creator of the people. Everything that they do should reflect on who God is. Consecrated life is a way of life to live like Jesus and he encouraged the people to ask God to give them a heart full of zeal and dedication to live a consecrated life in order to achieve a life of holiness.