‘Night of the Little Candles’

MADISON  For a moment, the thoughts of Adriana Best of St. Ann Parish in Parsippany drifted back to the religious traditions of her native Colombia on a cold, clear night Dec. 6 in front of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization here.

That evening, Best huddled with her husband, John, and more than 60 other faithful of the Diocese and beyond to pray and sing to the Blessed Virgin Mary in a candlelight rosary procession on the grounds of St. Paul’s in celebration of “Noche de Las Velitas” or “Night of the Little Candles.” It is a religious tradition widely celebrated in Best’s native Colombia. Sponsored by the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry, the event — the third-annual observance in the Diocese — commemorates the Feasts of the Immacu­late Conception on Dec. 8 and of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12.

“I love to see the lights and the candles and to pray the rosary,” said Adriana Best, a Catholic young adult, while John, a non-Hispanic, told The Beacon, “We usually say the rosary at home by ourselves so it’s nice to say it together out here with other people.”

Participating faithful, who included both Spanish- and non­Spanish speakers, joined in a candlelight procession guided by rows of lit candles in mason jars and electronic candles on the ground on both sides of walkways that lead to the mansion of the evangelization center. At its front entrance stood a large image of Our Lady of Guada­lupe where the faithful stop­ped to pray. Joining in the celebration were St. Paul’s staff and volunteers and faithful of all ages from the Diocese, including young adults, families and people from the Church of Paterson’s many Spanish-speaking faith communities.

The 5 p.m. event started on the patio in front of St. Paul’s with an introduction by Maria Moncaleano, coordinator of faith and leadership formation for the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry, and continued with the start of the rosary. Then in the cold, the faithful — many of them holding rosaries and electric candles — processed around the front grounds of the center, praying the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary. They listened to reflections in Spanish and English about each mystery, which emphasized our call to be a “kind and welcoming community.”

Leading the walk were two of the faithful carrying a banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a white crucifix from V Encuentro, a movement that helps Hispanics in the Diocese become missionaries and leaders and improve their ministerial practices in the spirit of the New Evangelization. They also sang traditional songs in Span­ish to the Blessed Mother and others about the Three Kings and the Shepherds, along with the “Ave Maria.”

“Welcome to the Night of the Little Candles, a tradition from Latin America. For the Latin American people, the Christmas season starts with the Feast of the Immacu­late Conception on Dec. 8,” Moncaleano, parishioner of St. Anthony of Padua in Passaic who came to the U.S. from Colombia in 1986, said in English at the start of the event.

Then in Spanish, Moncaleano said, “We pray to the Blessed Mother for people who are suffering physically and spiritually during this difficult year. When we get together to pray for and love each other, we enable people to experience the love of God, the comfort of the Holy Spirit and hope,” she said.

Together, they all prayed the rosary and listened to reflections on each Luminous Mystery both in Spanish and in English, including the following:

• The First Mystery, Baptism in the Jordan (Mk 1:9–11). “When John baptized Jesus, the heavens opened, the Spirit descended and a heavenly voice proclaimed: ‘You are my beloved Son.’ Yet many still refused to recognize Jesus as the anointed one of God. Today, many still fail to recognize the signs of our Christ’s presence in our sisters and brothers. We pray for the grace to open ourselves to welcome Christ,” and

• The Third Mystery, Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (Mt 5–7). “In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaimed a Kingdom that turns the world’s traditional wisdom on end. In the Kingdom of God, it is the poor, the meek, the peacemakers and the oppressed who are blessed, while the rich and powerful turn away sad. We pray for the grace to create this Peaceable Kingdom in our age, by welcoming the poor, oppressed who turn to us seeking assistance.”

Afterward, participants enjoyed fellowship, along with hot chocolate and Smores, in front of several fire pits on the patio of St. Paul’s.

In Colombia, The Night of the Little Candles is celebrated on Dec. 7 on the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a public holiday there, and is considered the unofficial start of the Christmas season. People put out candles and paper lanterns on windowsills, balconies, porches, sidewalks and streets and in parks and raise a white flag with images of the Virgin Mary, according to various accounts of the event.

The Night of the Little Candles dates back to Dec. 7, 1854, when Pope Pius IX published his apostolic constitution “Ineffabilis Deus,” which defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. People in Colombia lit candles and paper lanterns in celebration of the announcement — an annual tradition that Colombians have observed ever since, state various histories.

At St. Paul’s, Juan Reyes of Holy Trinity Parish in Passaic, was proud to see the presence of Our Lady of Guadalupe, called the “Mother of Mexico,” his native country. He told the story of St. Juan Diego, a peasant whose visions of the Blessed Mother and imparting of a miraculous image of her in the 1500s helped spread the Catholic faith in Mexico and formed the basis of the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Raised without faith, Reyes said he experienced a religious conversion six years ago, inspired by Our Lady.

“The Blessed Virgin taught me to believe, not to follow the people but because she brought so many people to the Church,” said Reyes who came to the U.S. from Mexico 20 years ago. “Faith starts small and grows,” he said.