Light has always had an important place in the Christian liturgy. At sunrise, the Church gathered to glorify the Lord and thank him for the gift of the new day and for salvation, and at sunset she concluded the day with thanksgiving for the gifts received, with repentance over the sins committed and with a request for protection in the near Night. Lucernarium was an integral part of this evening prayer in the first centuries of Christianity, but today it is better known in the Eastern Churches. It is above all a hymn to Christ, who is the true light of the world, for he has illuminated the darkness of death by his resurrection.
With Advent, we begin a new ecclesiastical year, when with Christ we will walk the path from his incarnation to the birth of the Church on Pentecost. The image of light and the word of God invite us to open up to the Lord and let him enlighten us from within.
Luč je imela v krščanski liturgiji vedno pomembno mesto. Ob sončnem vzhodu se je Cerkev zbrala, da bi slavila Gospoda in se mu zahvalila za dar novega dneva in za odrešenje, ob sončnem zahodu pa je sklenila dan z zahvalo za prejete darove, s kesanjem nad storjenimi grehi in s prošnjo za varstvo v bližnji noči. Lucernarij je bil v prvih stoletjih krščanstva sestavni del te večerne molitve, danes pa je bolj poznan v vzhodnih Cerkvah. Je predvsem hvalnica Kristusu, ki je resnična luč sveta, saj je z vstajenjem razsvetlil temine smrti.
Z adventom začenjamo novo cerkveno leto, ko bomo s Kristusom prehodili pot od njegovega učlovečenja do rojstva Cerkve na binkošti. Podoba luči in Božja beseda nas vabita, da se odpremo bližini Gospoda in mu pustimo, da nas od znotraj razsvetli.