On the second weekend of Advent, on a cold, dark early dawn, more than 100 faithful gathered in the old St. Patrick Shrine Church in Carlisle for the annual Rorate Caeli Mass – a Holy Mass celebrated by Father Chiedozie Ononuju, parochial vicar, among candlelight that subtly bathed the centuries-old church.
The Rorate Mass is a votive Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and is celebrated in Advent to signify the coming of Christ and also mark the anticipation of Mary as an expectant mother of the Son of God. The name comes from the Latin Rorate Caeli: “Drop down dew from above, you heavens, and let the clouds rain down the Just One; let the earth be opened and bring forth a Savior.” (Isaiah 45:8)
In his homily, Father Ononuju spoke to Mary as being without sin and how her model of saying yes to being the “handmaid of the Lord” should be our model, no matter how apprehensive or scared we may be. “Mary found favor with God, was immaculately conceived, and gave birth to Jesus full of grace – meaning she was without sin,” he said.
“Light shines through all darkness, just like Christ does,” Father Ononuju said.
The candlelight in the church represented light as a symbol of the light Christ brings into a fallen world and to be our salvation.
(Photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness.)
By Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness
