Word to the Wise
Wednesday, February 2, 2022 - Feb. 2: The Presentation of the Lord
[Mal 3:1-4; Heb 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22-32,60]"Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel." [Luke]
Once upon a liturgical time this feast was known as "the Purification of Mary." Now it is called "the Presentation of the Lord." Like January 1st, once called "the feast of the Circumcision" and now called "Mary the Mother of God," there has been a shift away from the significance of a physical event to a more theological emphasis. So, the Mosaic requirement of "purification" of a woman who has recently given birth gives way to a celebration of revelation and light. Some of us who remember Catholic custom before Vatican II can recall the ceremony (after a baptism) of "churching the mother" which was a kind of recollection of the Mosaic foundation of the feast. Now the "physical" emphasis is represented by the blessing of candles (hence the medieval title of the feast as "Candlemas Day") which will be part of the blessing of throats on the next day, Feb. 3, the feast of St. Blaise!
The meaning of today's feast is summed up beautifully in the "Canticle of Simeon," (quoted in full above). This canticle is celebrated every day at the end of the day in the Liturgy of the Hours day in "Compline." Christ is revealed not only to the Jews as in the temple, but to the whole world: "a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel." The hints of a dark future in Simeon's prophecy (in the longer version of today's gospel) about the destiny of Jesus are faint in a celebration of light. Candles are blessed and processions take place in some more solemn celebrations. In others, members of religious orders celebrate the day as honoring the consecration of their commitment to the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Because this feast often occurs on a weekday, it tends to be overshadowed by the "blessing of throats" that occurs the next day! But the candles used in that rite can still remind us of Christ, revealed as a light to the nations and to each one of us. AMEN