On February 11 we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. In 1858, Blessed Mother appeared 18 times to St. Bernadette Soubirous in the cave at Massabielle in Lourdes. In her final apparition Blessed Virgin proclaimed herself as “The Immaculate Conception”. Even today about 4 t0 6 million pilgrim visit the Shrine for healing and comfort.

This Tuesday we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord. In the Eastern tradition of the Church it was called ‘Feast of Encounter’. Encounter because it was the meeting of God in incarnate and the humanity which was presented by Simeon and Anna, the old couple in the Temple.

We are finishing the Advent season and entering Christmas. If Advent was a time to prepare the rooms, by our ‘garage sale’ Christmas is a time to fill in with new gifts. We need to tune up our spiritual life at the beginning of this liturgical season as we tune up a guitar or replace our house roof. To begin anew we must throw off a few things in life.