lord, please light our candles - candelaria fiesta 2018

Sa masami nagakadto kita diri sa Jaro ilabi na gid sa piesta ni Candelaria sa pagsimba, sa pagduaw sa aton Mahal nga Iloy, sa pagbakal sang perdon nga dal-on naton pauli, kag sa pagsindi sang kandila.  Nagasiling kita, masindi ako sang kandila sa Candelaria.  Apang tuloka ninyo karon ang nasulat sa guwa sang Chapel of Lights kon sa diin ikaw magasindi sang imo kandila.  Makita mo ang nasulat nga dinalan gikan sa Salmo 18 nga nagasiling "For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness."  Sa salmo we are not lighting our candles for God or for Mary.  Instead we are asking God to light our candles so that it will enlighten us in our darkness.

And so we ask, what is light?  What is darkness?

Duha ka butang.

Una nadumduman ko anay sang naga-iskwela pa ako, kon nag-blangko gani paminsaron mo, wala ka may madumduman sa imo tinun-an, zero imo exams kay wala ka gid may nasabat bisan isa, ginasiling kita nga nablack-out ka.  Blackout – dulom, wala sing kasanag

Darkness means I do not know, I am at a lost, I do not know what to say, I do not know what to do, there is no hope, everything is dark.

Light means I know, I know the way, I know what to say, I know what to do, there is hope, there is a bright promise.

And so when we are in darkness we ask for the light. 

I see so many students especially during exams coming here in the cathedral to light candles praying that they can answer their exams with ease, and to past the test.

But we need enlightenment not just in taking exams but most especially in our day to day life.  For example subong to ask the girl to marry him, the man would go to many dramatic feats – may maluhod, may madala sang banda, may eroplano nga magasulat sa clouds, will you marry me?  Nami man na, but before saying yes and before even asking will you marry me, have you come to God to ask him, is this the right man for me, is this the right woman, are we meant for each other?  May times we make decisions at the spur of the moment, we make choices based on reactions to things, we fail to discern what pleases God, making decisions without really thinking things over, without praying over our choices, without asking for enlightenment from God.  Psalm 18 however prays, Lord Thou wilt light my candle and enlighten my darkness.

I was really touched last night when seminarians after the coronation gathered around the Candelaria touching her urna and praying in silence.  Mary is the bearer of light, she holds the light and the light is Jesus, and it is Jesus who will enlighten us, he will lead us to the truth..

Ikaduha, some of our seminarians came to talk to a man who was sentenced to a life in prison for the murder to three friends.  Why did he do it?  And he said, nadulman ako.  To be in the dark, to be covered by darkness can move one to murder.  Darkness is evil – it leads us to slander and calumny, it leads us to steal, to do injustice, to harm, to lie, to inflict pain on others by being bullies, it leads us to greed.   In his letter to the Ephesians Paul said, Yes you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live then as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.  And that is what we are asking God when we bring our candles to Him and to his Mother saying with Psalm 18, “For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness."

Jesus is the light on Mary’s candle.  Mary is bearer of Jesus and thus she is also the bearer of the Light.  Jesus is that same light in our candles.  And that little light reminds us to live always as children of the light.