February 2, 2025 - Pastor Message
February 23, 2025“But now ask the beasts to teach you, the birds of the air to tell you; or speak to the earth to instruct you, and the fish of the sea to inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of God has done this? In his hand is the soul of every liv
“But now ask the beasts to teach you, the birds of the air to tell you; or speak to the earth to instruct you, and the fish of the sea to inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of God has done this? In his hand is the soul of every living thing, and the life breath of all mortal flesh” (Job 12:7-10).
Happy Groundhog Day! Of all the secular holiday traditions we celebrate as Americans, Groundhog Day has to be the most bizarre. People in full tuxedos, including a 19th century-style top hat, trudge out in the cold every February 2nd to a prepared, stumpy little hill called Gobbler’s Knob, pull a terrified groundhog out of a hole, hoist it in the air for all to see, and then declare that the groundhog told them whether or not winter was over. And thousands upon thousands of people flock to the small, Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney to witness this event and engage in all kinds of frivolity every year. We human beings certainly are strange creatures.
You might be wondering what any of this has to do with anything even remotely religious and why I’m writing about it in my weekly column. The answer is that, like many of our secular traditions, Groundhog Day started with another, very religious tradition, Candlemas. The tradition of celebrating a special Mass on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (February 2nd) and blessing candles that people would take home and use to light and bless their house throughout the year goes back to at least the fourth century. It became popular in Europe by the early middle ages, where the image of the light of the candles driving away the darkness of winter was expressed in a nursery rhyme:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, winter, have another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go, winter, and come not again.
In Germany, this became associated with the custom of predicting the end of winter based on seeing hibernating creatures, such as badgers, hedgehogs, or bears, emerge from their winter sleep. German immigrants who settled in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, brought the custom with them. Without badgers or bears, however, they pinned it on another, common creature - the groundhog. Thus we see how this bizarre secular tradition has its roots in the religious feast we celebrate today. I would not advise attaching too much significance to whatever revelations Phil may utter, but we can absolutely place our faith in Christ, the light of the world. May our celebration of his sacred feast light and warm our faith throughout the year, whatever winter weather may come.
Fr. Marc Stockton
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