Yesterday was of course the Feast of Saint Brigid and the first day of Spring. The days are now lengthening noticeably and we have begun the climb out of the long dark days of winter. Today is the Feast of the Presentation, or Candlemas Day. This is a very ancient feast, first mentioned in 3rd century documents from the Jerusalem church. Originally, this was the Feast of the Purification of Our Lady. In the Jewish tradition, the mother went along to the temple 30 days after the birth of her child to be ritually purified. This element survived up to relatively recent times in the Catholic ritual of the Churching of the Mother after Childbirth.. So today the emphasis falls on the act of the presentation of the child rather than the purification of the Mother. Both acts seem to have been part of the one ritual. Mary is depicted the gospel as handing the child over to the Temple. But this handing over or presentation is a transition: Simeon and Anna recognise the transition. In these two people the old Temple worship gives way to the new temple, the person of Jesus Christ. His body will be the new temple and the privileged meeting place with God.

However, there is a third element to this feast which has, down through the ages, emerged to dominate the other two elements: and the third element is Light. This actually has its origins in a Roman pagan feast. The Romans had many pagan Gods. A different God is worshipped each month of the year. February is also the month of Purification in ancient Rome. On the first day of the month, the lights or candles are carried from the temple of Janus to the Temple of June. It is reasonable to assume that the Christian Candlemas Day was introduced to christianise this pagan feast of the moving lights. Traditionally in the church, this feast was seen as the climax of the incarnation, the final chapter of the Christmas story. It is a most appropriate time for such a celebration, marking the passing of harsh winter and the onset of lengthening days. The altered meaning is clear from Simeon's pronouncement in the gospel account of the Presentation in the Temple: Simeon welcomes this "light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel." Before electricity entered our world, the life of the church was more clearly and closely linked to the seasons, to the life of nature. On this day, the candles that were to be used throughout the coming year were brought to the church for blessing. They were blessed and lit and many of them were taken to the homes to be lighted again at times of prayer, at times of celebration, at times of danger and at the hour of death. In this way the Christmas message was carried from the churches into everyday life. The light of Christ was literally brought into the homes of the early Christians. The connection with the Christmas story was now obvious. The sun which first shone in the cave at Bethlehem is now scattered throughout the world as countless star-like candles. Christ is truly the light of the nations. The love of God, like light itself, will not be obstructed or confined by natural or man made barriers or borders. The divine child was not meant just for the glory of Israel alone, but for all nations. Just as the Epiphany was a little Christmas, Candlemas is a 'little epiphany.

This feast of course was personalised for each of us at our baptisms: our sponsors lighted the baptismal candle from the paschal candle on our behalf and was urged while doing it to ensure that this light of faith was kept burning brightly.

Home