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February 2
Presentation
of the Lord
At the end of the fourth century, a
woman named Etheria made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Her journal, discovered in 1887, gives an unprecedented glimpse of liturgical
life there. Among the celebrations she describes is the Epiphany (January 6),
the observance of Christ’s birth, and the gala procession in honor of his
Presentation in the Temple 40 days later—February 15. (Under the Mosaic Law, a
woman was ritually “unclean” for 40 days after childbirth, when she was to
present herself to the priests and offer sacrifice—her “purification.” Contact
with anyone who had brushed against mystery—birth or death—excluded a person
from Jewish worship.) This feast emphasizes Jesus’ first appearance in the
Temple more than Mary’s purification.
The observance spread throughout the
Western Church in the fifth and sixth centuries. Because the Church in the West
celebrated Jesus’ birth on December 25, the Presentation was moved to February
2, 40 days after Christmas.
At the beginning of the eighth century,
Pope Sergius inaugurated a candlelight procession; at
the end of the same century the blessing and distribution of candles which
continues to this day became part of the celebration, giving the feast its
popular name: Candlemas.
Comment:
In Luke’s account, Jesus was welcomed in the temple
by two elderly people, Simeon and the widow Anna. They embody Israel in their
patient expectation; they acknowledge the infant Jesus as the long-awaited
Messiah. Early references to the Roman feast dub it the feast of St. Simeon,
the old man who burst into a song of joy which the Church still sings at day’s
end.
Quote:
“Christ himself says, ‘I am the light of the world.’
And we are the light, we ourselves, if we receive it from him.... But how do we
receive it, how do we make it shine? ...[T]he candle
tells us: by burning, and being consumed in the burning. A spark of fire, a ray
of love, an inevitable immolation are celebrated over that pure, straight
candle, as, pouring forth its gift of light, it exhausts itself in silent
sacrifice” (Paul VI).
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