February 2, 2011

• Candlemas

  Candlemas is the celebration of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple and the Purification of our Blessed Mother.  It derives it's name from the traditional blessing of the candles which prompt us to remember the words of Simeon in the Gospel of Luke when he says to the infant Jesus, "A light to lighten the gentiles and the glory of your people, Israel."

  The Feast of Candlemas, which derives its origin from the local observance of Jerusalem, marks the end of the Feasts included in the Christmas cycle of the liturgy. It is perhaps the most ancient festival of Our Lady. It commemorates, however, not only the obedience of the Blessed Virgin to the Mosaic Law in going to Jersualem forty days after the birth of her Child and making the accustomed offerings, but also the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, and the meeting of the Infant Jesus with the old man Simeon -- the Occursus Domini, as the Feast was originally termed. This is the principal theme of the liturgy on this day: Jesus is taken into the Temple "to present Him to the Lord." So the Lord comes to His own Temple, and is met by the aged Simeon with joy and recognition.  Tridentine Latin Rite Missal Project

  Like last year, I've been looking forward to today since Advent.  This year, unlike last year, we are getting a huge snow storm, the second in two days, and my day is not going to go as I had hoped.  Mass isn't an option with snow coming down 1-2 inches an hour for a huge part of the day.  So no candles are getting blessed.  We had a storm yesterday and an unplanned appointment so I didn't make it to the store to get what I needed for the Candlemas Tea that I had wanted to do.  So we'll be staying in, enjoying the beauty of the falling snow and we'll celebrate with fresh crepes for dinner.

  I'm looking at the snow and it's pure white beauty as a symbol of our Blessed Mother's purity and holiness and this feast day.

   

  • 10:37 am
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