Prepare the Way - Advent 4

I can think of no better day to post about the Light of the world, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, than on the shortest day of the year. Take heart, my friend, we have almost come to the end of our waiting for the celebration of His coming! Today, in Winnipeg where I live, the sun rose at 8:24 a.m. and set at 4:29 p.m. I am quite happy to know that the days will now get longer again.

It is common to reserve the image of light in carols to those used around Epiphany. For example, We Three Kings - "guide us to Thy perfect light." Or, Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light. However, we also have Silent Night - "Son of God, love's pure light" and O come, all ye faithful - "God of God, Light of light, born unto Mary, the virgin blest". Let us rejoice, not just on the day with the least amount of daylight, but every day of the year that we can trust the Light of all lights to guide us on our way!

Making Candles (2)

I'm new to blogging and didn't get these photos attached to the blog below. Some of the 'equipment' I use for making candles is what my Mom used 30-40 years ago, like the pan holding the water on the left of the photo. The hexagon and round molds are my own and less than 10 years old.

Making Candles = Epiphany?

All of last week seemed to fly by and I missed posting something for Epiphany. (I thought about it, but that was about as far as I got.) To begin writing today, I thought I'd look up the Oxford Dictionary definition of the word 'epiphany' - and I was a little surprised at what I found:

"Epiphany = manifestation of Christ to the Magi, festival of this (6 Jan.); (epiphany) manifestation of a supernatural being."

What surprised me was what wasn't there - no mention of 'having an epiphany' or of 'epiphany moments' or any of those expressions we sometimes hear. That got me thinking; what do we mean when we use those phrases in common speech? The way I've used them, or heard others use them, is to mean that I've had an 'aha' moment. The light has dawned! I understand! To the Magi this revelation of Christ was much more than an 'aha' moment. Their realization of who Christ was and their dream afterward was a life changing experience which even made them alter their route home to avoid telling Herod what they had discovered.

By now perhaps you are wondering how all this connects to candle making. I usually make candles before Christmas, sometimes for gifts. I couldn't let the (extended) season go by without making any, so I began a couple days ago. Somehow it seems appropriate to be creating a source of light when we are celebrating that the light has dawned -the Light of God's love, Jesus.