Today, February 2nd, is a wonderful feast day in our liturgical year — actually two feasts are celebrated today — the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus and the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These two celebrations are combined in the more familiar nomenclature of Candlemas. It was a blessing today to have overcast skies in normally sunny Southern California. As parishioners crowded around the baptismal font, candlelight, instead of sunlight, took center-stage. Parishioners were passing around single candles and sharing each flame’s light with one another, as the glow of candlelight grew stronger and stronger. Many families had placed baskets of candles by the baptismal font, and, after an opening prayer, Father Anthony blessed these candles, which are to be used in our homes throughout the coming year. The voices of the congregation then lifted together in song as we processed back to our pews to celebrate Holy Mass. So lovely!
There is much symbolism that we are reminded of today. It has been 40 days since the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord, and, for me, brings to completion the full observance of the Christmas season. Christ was born into the world as a gift from God for all humanity, and now Joseph and Mary offer the Infant Jesus as a sacrificial gift back to God —- a premonition of the Sacrifice that Christ will be offering himself in time to come. Candlemas is a celebration of the reality that the Messiah, the Light of the World, has truly come, and the prophetic utterances by both Simeon and Anna confirm this reality in the Temple at Jerusalem, the very place where Jesus will suffer his sorrowful Passion. Candlemas is a also a reminder of the joyful reality that the Messiah, the Light of the World, wants to be present in our daily lives, lighting the way of holiness in the midst of adversity as a candle lights the way in the midst of darkness. Living liturgically means remembering to celebrate these very significant moments, such as Candlemas, as a family, and asking God to reveal Himself and His will for us even more fully today than yesterday.