{"id":105,"date":"2016-02-02T01:08:10","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T17:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/?p=105"},"modified":"2016-02-03T03:29:24","modified_gmt":"2016-02-02T19:29:24","slug":"a-xavier-teachers-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/2016\/02\/02\/a-xavier-teachers-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"A Xavier Teacher’s Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, 2 February 2016, marks 40 days after Christmas. Called Candlemas in Catholicism, it is more importantly also\u00a0the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. In Eastern Orthodox tradition, it is one of the 12 major feasts.<\/p>\n

\"jesus-presentation-temple\"<\/a>
Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. PVRIFICATIO by Jerome Nadal, SJ. Commissioned by St Ignatius Loyola as part of Evangelicae Historiae Imagines<\/a>, published in 1593. Enhancements mine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Scripture recounts this event through the Gospel according to St Luke, chapter\u00a02, verses 22-40. When Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple, they encounter Simeon<\/a>, the “just and devout man” of Jerusalem. In verse 32, Simeon declares Jesus as “A Light of revelation to the Gentiles,<\/em>” (NASB).<\/p>\n

The Gospel reading for today’s feast, some of the readings I’ve done in the past few days and weeks, the lectures I’ve watched, and some of the events that have transpired, reminded me of a prayer that was crafted especially for the teachers of Xavier School. Simeon’s declaration reminds us that we don’t just nurse the light for “the chosen ones,” but we do so for everyone, regardless of who they are, in the hope of creating a community that can be a light to the world.<\/p>\n

Below is A\u00a0Xavier Teacher’s Prayer<\/em> *:<\/p>\n

Dearest Lord,<\/p>\n

You
\nWho are the Light of the World,
\nHelp me
\nto spread your radiance today.<\/p>\n

Guide me
\nso that I may be a light to others,
\nespecially to those
\nwho find themselves
\nin pain and in darkness:<\/p>\n

That through my words,
\nthey may hear Your voice;<\/p>\n

That through my actions,
\nthey may feel Your touch;<\/p>\n

That through my presence,
\nthey may catch a glimpse
\nof Your shining face.<\/p>\n

Grant me the light
\nto recognize
\nYour goodness in others
\nespecially in those whom
\nYou have entrusted to my care:<\/p>\n

Help me
\nto nurse the light in them,
\nNo matter how small the flicker,
\nNo matter how hard to find,<\/p>\n

So that in time,
\nthey themselves may discover
\nYour light within them
\nand through their words
\nand their deeds,
\nthey may let Your light shine
\nin a world
\nin such great need of You.<\/p>\n

AMEN.<\/p>\n

St. Francis Xavier, pray for us.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

* Source: Xavier School Faculty Manual, 2013<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, 2 February 2016, marks 40 days after Christmas. Called Candlemas in Catholicism, it is more importantly also\u00a0the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. In Eastern Orthodox tradition, it is one of the 12 major feasts. Scripture recounts this … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7928,"featured_media":113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[134,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-religion"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/files\/2016\/02\/jesus-presentation-temple-thumb.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7928"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105\/revisions\/115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/pmgomez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}