PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD

Day 266: February 2

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple

and of the Purification of Our Lady – Candlemas



In addition to commemorating the presentation of Christ in the Temple, this day has another meaning, because it is called Candlemas. The candle is one of the most used items in the Church; one blessed at a special Mass.

We use candles at Baptism, Holy Mass, and other church services, in particular, at the ordination of a priest, the consecration of a bishop, at Easter, at Christmas to signify in various events the coming and presence of Christ in our midst. Blessed candles should be in every home, to be used in times of illness, death, storms and calamities.

In the blessing of candles, the Church reminds us that candles signify light; they are blessed for the service of men, for the health of body and soul. Honor also for those who wish to carry them in their hands because it means carrying Christ, the true light and fire of charity. All of us are invited to bless these candles to dispel the darkness of "night," to free us from the blindness of vice and to discern that which is pleasing to Him and fruitful for our salvation.

On the feast of Mary's Purification, we greet her with lighted candles, shining with faith and understanding, burning with love and zeal, as Zion, the people of Israel, welcomes Christ the King; today we go to Christ through Mary, to Christ, the new Light that gives Faith, Hope and Charity to all of us.

The two Jewish rites to which the Holy Family underwent on this occasion were the legal purification of the mother after childbirth and the offering of the firstborn male child to the Lord. Although these laws were not meant for them, they showed throughout their lives, a great reverence for the Father's Law by fulfilling its obligations, and so the Immaculate Mother, all pure, submitted to the Purification in all humility. At the Presentation, the Son of God made man, took possession of the Temple built for the glory of His Father and thus ratified the worship that is offered to God in sacred courts and churches.

This simple ceremony is the link between the mystery of the Incarnation and the Redemption; here the Savior renews the oblation of Himself; "You did not want sacrifice or offering, but you prepared a body for me. You have not been pleased with burnt offerings or sin offerings. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come, for it is written of me in the scroll of the book, to do thy will, O God'" (Hebrews 10: 5-7).

Jesus truly begins His passion in this mystery of the presentation; and so Mary also begins her sorrows. It is through Mary's hands that Jesus makes the oblation that is a prelude to His Sacrifice. We consider the Presentation among the joyful mysteries, but it is also in first place among the Sorrows of Mary. Simeon, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, understood the mystery and so did Mary. After his first transports of joy at seeing the Messiah, he blessed them and said to His Mother: "Behold, this Child is set for the fall and resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign that will be contradicted, and your own soul will pierce a sword, that from many hearts, thoughts may be revealed" (Lk. 2: 35).

This prophecy reminds us that Mary is always to be associated with the destiny of Jesus, the only solitary partner in her destiny, chosen to suffer with Him. The heresies and sins that pierced the Son also pierced the Mother. The early Church guarded the doctrines of Jesus by defining and defending the titles and honor of Mary; Today those who repudiate the honor of Mary, also repudiate the honor of the Son, because in the mind of Satan as in the mind of the Church, the honor of the Son and Mother go together.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"Through your hands, O Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus wanted to be offered to the Father for the first time; likewise, at the end, on the cross, He sacrificed Himself to the Father, presented and offered by your heart, O Virgin Mary."

(St Justin Russolillo, Devotional, Thrissur, Vocationist Fathers, 2009, pp. 131-132)

Comments

Post a Comment

Hot Picks

OUR LADY OF MELIAPORE

Image
Day 47: June 26 This is the shrine in the East Indies, where Saint Francis Xavier often retired to pray during his eleven years with the people of India. The Blessed Virgin Mary was Francis’ constant source of strength and inspiration. The image before which Saint Francis used to pray is called Mylai Matha in Tamil, or Our Lady of Mylapore in English. It is an ancient statue about three feet tall, Our Lady of Meliapore can still be venerated at the church. The church of Saint Thomas of Mylapore – spelled somewhat differently from the above – contains Mary’s shrine. According to tradition, the Apostle Saint Thomas came to India in 52 AD. Due to his success making converts to the True Faith, he was persecuted and finally martyred in the year 72 AD. Saint Thomas is buried at the shrine of Our Lady of Meliapore, and there are relics of Saint Francis Xavier. There was a church known to be in Mylapore going back to the 1st century, and built by St Thomas. According to tradition, there was a ...
Read more

Marian Year 2025-26

Image
  MARIAN YEAR The year 2026 marks the first centenary of the apparition of Our Lady to St Justin Russolillo, the Founder of the Vocationists. As the feast of Our Lady of Divine Vocations falls on May 11, the year preceding to that year (May 11 2025 – May 11 2026) has been declared to be celebrated as Marian Year by the Vocationists. The reason behind this year-long celebration is, as Pope Pius XII decreed prior to the Marian Year in 1953 on the occasion of the first centenary of the definition of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother, “that the faith of the people may be increased and their devotion to the Virgin Mother of God become daily more inflamed.” As Rev. Fr. Louis Caputo SDV rightly points out, “the life of Fr. Justin here on earth began with the…apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary…, it developed in the shadow of Mary and ended in union with Mary.” The birth of Justin was preceded by an announcement by the Blessed Virgin Mary to Fr. Sa...
Read more

OUR LADY OF DIVINE VOCATIONS

Image
The Devotion to Our Lady of Divine Vocations The devotion to Our Lady of Divine Vocations has its foundation on the Marian Apparition that St Justin Russolillo had on May 10, 1926. He was praying breviary near a hut made of straws called pagliarella. St. Justin describes it in his diary (Book of the Soul) "May 10, 1926, first day of the Rogations. It was given to me the certainty that the Blessed Trinity has given the Blessed Lady the Office of the Immediate Superior of the Society of Divine Vocations and therefore of all the offices, mansions, studies, works, spheres and everything. She is the authority of the Society. Glory and thanks to God and Mary. Therefore, the established practice of having one person always present and on guard in the room dedicated to Our Lady to honor and venerate her perpetually." After the Marian Apparition, St Justin rushed to the rectory of St George's parish in Pianura where he used to be the parish priest. He asked Fr Luigi Diodato to pre...
Read more