Skip to content

Cart

Your cart is empty

Article: February 2 + The Presentation of the Lord

February 2 + The Presentation of the Lord - VENXARA®

February 2 + The Presentation of the Lord

The Church celebrates the Feast of The Presentation of the Lord which occurs forty days after the birth of Jesus and is also known as Candlemas Day, since the blessing and procession of candles is included in today's liturgy. According to the 1962 Missal of Saint John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is referred to as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is known as a Christmas feast since it points back to the Solemnity of Christmas.

The feast was first observed in the Eastern Church as The Encounter. In the sixth century, it began to be observed in the West: in Rome with a more penitential character and in France with solemn blessings and processions of candles, popularly known as Candlemas. The Presentation of the Lord concludes the celebration of the Nativity and with the offerings of the Virgin Mother and the prophecy of Simeon, the events now point toward Easter.

In obedience to the Old Law, the Lord Jesus was presented in the Temple by His Blessed Mother and His foster father, Joseph. This is another epiphany celebration insofar as the Christ Child is revealed as the Messiah through the canticle and words of Simeon and the testimony of Anna the prophetess. Christ is the light of the nations, hence the blessing and procession of candles on this day. In the Middle Ages, this feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or Candlemas, was of great importance.

Leave a comment

This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

All comments are moderated before being published.

Read more

February 1 + Saint Brigid of Ireland - VENXARA®

February 1 + Saint Brigid of Ireland

Brigid was a monastic foundress who is – together with Saint Patrick and Saint Columcille – one of Ireland’s three patron saints. She directly influenced several other future saints of Ireland and ...

Read more
February 3 + Saint Blaise - VENXARA®

February 3 + Saint Blaise

Blaise was a doctor and the Bishop of Sebastea in Lesser Armenia (modern day Sivas, Turkey). The first known record of his life comes from the medical writings of Aëtius Amidenus, where Blaise is r...

Read more