Almost everyone has a candle at home, or a torch.

When there is a sudden power failure and the lights go out,
we fumble in the dark,
searching for matches,
or reaching for the modern torch.

But in Sacred Liturgy,
the candle is more than a source of light.
It is a symbol of Your presence.

Not the torch,
but the old-fashioned candle.

A candle must be lit.
It carries a real flame,
a flame that burns only
with the help of oxygen.

And that is our faith.
The flame does not sustain itself.
It is fanned by the Ruah,
the Holy Spirit,
the breath of God.

Today, as I reflect on the Presentation of the Lord,
I realise how little control Mary and Joseph exercised.
They did not explain the Light.
They did not manage it.
They simply presented You
and allowed others to recognise what they carried.

Like Mary and Joseph,
I am not asked to control the light,
only to present You,
and to let Your Spirit keep the flame alive.