Image: A New Constellation
© Jan Richardson
The outset of February meets us with back-to-back days of celebration that I love. Today, February 1, holds the Feast of Saint Brigid (the remarkable and beloved holy woman who was a pivotal figure in early Christianity in Ireland), along with the more ancient Celtic festival of Imbolc. February 2 (aside from being Groundhog Day!) is the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus, also known as Candlemas Day.
The stories that are part of these celebrations hold rich images of light, of fire, of threshold crossings and new beginnings. Weeks after the Christmas season has ended, these days offer their own sort of festival of lights. In all that is happening around us, they invite us to notice and celebrate light that is present, light that is hoped for, light that is carried deep in us and that we are called to bring forth for such a time as this. In these days and beyond, this blessing is for you.
THOSE STARS THAT TURN IN US
I do not know
how to keep it all together
or by what patterns
this world might
finally hold.
What I know is
our hearts are bigger
than this sky
that wheels above us
and what shines
through all this darkness
shines through us,
setting every shattered thing
into a new constellation,
and we can turn
our faces
to that light,
to the grace of
those stars
that turn in us.
—Jan Richardson
from How the Stars Get in Your Bones: A Book of Blessings
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