Blessing of Candles and Mass of the Day
(English and Latin)
“A light
of revelation to the gentiles,
and the glory of Thy people Israel.”
Today, February 2nd, is the end
of the Christmas season, the fortieth day after our Lord's birth. Two
thousand odd years ago on this day the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint
Joseph carried her Son into the Temple at Jerusalem to offer the
sacrifices ordered by the Law of Moses.
Jesus was a firstborn child, and
according to the Law every first born male—animal or human
being—belonged to God and had to be bought back from God with a
sacrificial offering (Exodus 13:1-3; 13:11-13 and 34:19).
The woman who gave birth to a male child was ritually unclean until the
fortieth day.
If a
woman having received seed shall bear a man child, she shall be unclean
seven days ... 3 - And on the eighth day the infant shall be
circumcised: 4 - But she shall remain three and thirty days in the
blood of her purification. She shall touch no holy thing, neither shall
she enter into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification be
fulfilled. (Leviticus xii:2-4)
When the boy was forty days old
she was to go to the Temple to offer a yearling lamb and a pigeon or
dove in sacrifice--if she were poor, two pigeons or doves would suffice,
with no lamb:
6 - And when the days of her purification are expired, for a son, or for
a daughter, she shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of the
testimony, a lamb of a year old for a holocaust, and a young pigeon or a
turtle for sin, and shall deliver them to the priest:
7 -
Who shall offer them before the Lord, and shall pray for her, and so she
shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her
that beareth a man child or a maid child. 8 - And if her hand find not
sufficiency, and she is not able to offer a lamb, she shall take two
turtles, or two young pigeons, one for a holocaust, and another for sin:
and the priest shall pray for her, and so she shall be cleansed.
(Leviticus xii:6-8).
The birth of Jesus in no way
made Mary “unclean.” Mary conceived as a virgin, by the overshadowing
of the Holy Ghost, so there was no “seed,” as the Scripture went. And,
by virtue of her Immaculate Conception, she did not “bring forth her
child in travail” as all other women do since the fall of Eve—there was
no pain, no physical damage, and none of the blood which would render
her ritually unclean under the Law of Moses.
When we consider Saint Matthew's
account of the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary had a very good reason
for wanting to leave the area of Bethlehem and Jerusalem as quickly as
possible to avoid the danger presented by the mad King Herod and his
men. Waiting for the fortieth day was tactically unwise.
But Joseph and Mary were
observant Jews and would not even think to exempt themselves from the
Law. It probably didn't occur to them to run through the brief analysis
of the law as I just did. In this they serve as a good example for
Catholics who might otherwise look for trivial reasons to exempt
themselves from the laws and customs of the Church.
In God's providence, Mary and
Joseph carried out the ceremonies of the presentation and purification
just as though they would have if the Law had obliged them. I say it
was God's providence because it enabled us to hear the testimony of two
prophets that would have otherwise been lost to us. We hear the words
of Simeon in today's Gospel reading, and we heard the prophetess Anna on
the Sunday after Christmas.
Anna, you will recall, “was of
great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her
maidenhood, and by herself as a widow to eighty four years.”
(Luke ii:36-37). Anna spent all of her time at
the Temple, continually fasting and praying. She came up it the very
hour the Joseph and Mary came to present Jesus. The knowledge of who
this child might be was clearly revealed to her by God, and “she began
to give praise to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all that were awaiting
the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke ii:38). So,
through the prophetess Anna, we have the very first sermon proclaiming
Jesus as the Messias in Israel. Quite fittingly, it was proclaimed to
the faithful people who frequented the house of God.
We should recall, from the
Sunday after Christmas, that like Anna, Simeon was an elderly prophet,
and it is he who told Mary that our Lord was “set for the fall, and for
the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be
contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many
hearts, thoughts may be revealed.” (Luke ii:35-35).
Our Lord would be rejected by many who refused to believe, and were more
concerned with the politics of Israel than with eternal salvation; but
He would also raise many more to salvation through His Church. Mary
would suffer with Jesus through her sorrow—though the mother of a King,
she did not expect to live the life of a queen. Many souls would
manifest their good intentions to God by sharing the anguish of His
sorrowful Mother. The prayers and aspirations of many souls would be
made known through Mary as a powerful intercessor with Jesus.
Simeon, had been promised by
“the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the
Christ of the Lord.” (Luke ii:26) We have to
imagine that he came daily to the Temple in search of the promised
Redeemer, and on this day his search was rewarded. Thus, he was
fulfilled, and ready to be taken to meet his maker. Saint Luke records
that he uttered the beautiful prayer that we say every evening at the
hour of Compline, the bed-time Office of the Church:
Now, Lord, Thou mayest dismiss Thy servant, in peace, according to Thy
word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast set before
the face of all the nations: A light to the revelation of the Gentiles,
and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke
ii:29-32)
This “light of revelation to the
gentiles,” suggests the reason why the Church has us Bless candles on
this particular day. The candles used on the altar are made from the
pure wax of virgin bees, and is therefore taken as a symbol of the
sinless body of Christ acquired from the Virgin Mary. The flame is
sometimes said to symbolize His divinity, hypostatically united to His
humanity in the symbol of the wick running through the length of the
candle. The candle is thus a particularly apt symbol of Jesus Christ
lighting the path with His divine fire, and calling all to faith in Him.
Finally, the candles remind us
that we—each and every one of us, men and women—are called to be lights
of revelation to all those around us. We are called to be like Anna,
speaking about Jesus to any who will listen to our words, and speaking
about Him through our good works and good example to all the rest. Like
Simeon, waiting patiently for the Kingdom of God. Like the Blessed
Virgin, in shining purity, ever obedient to God’s holy Law. Like Saint
Joseph, ever ready to protect Christ and His holy Church. When our time
on earth is done, if we hope to leave this life with the cheerful
assurance of Simeon, “in peace according to thy word, O Lord,” we must
make the effort to shine “as a light of revelation to the gentiles.”
NOTES:
Citations are embedded
