The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Candlemas)
In Purificatione Beatae Mariae Virginis
Forty days after Christmas, the Church recalls the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple and the Purification of His Mother according to the Law of Moses. Because the day is marked by the blessing and procession of candles, it is popularly known as Candlemas.
According to the Law of Moses, every firstborn son was to be presented to the Lord, and a mother was to come to the Temple forty days after the birth of a son for the rite of purification, offering a lamb, or, if she were poor, two turtledoves or two young pigeons. Though neither the Virgin Mother nor her Divine Son was bound by these prescriptions — she being ever-virgin and He being the Lord of the Law — in humility and obedience the Holy Family fulfilled them. Forty days after Christmas, on 2 February, the Church keeps the memorial of this mystery, recounted in the Gospel of Saint Luke.
A Light to the Gentiles
When Mary and Joseph brought the Child into the Temple, the aged Simeon, to whom it had been revealed that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ, took the Infant into his arms and blessed God, proclaiming Him “a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.” He foretold also to Mary the sword of sorrow that would pierce her own soul. The prophetess Anna, advanced in years and constant in prayer and fasting, likewise gave thanks and spoke of the Child to all who awaited the redemption of Israel.
The Blessing of Candles
Because Simeon hailed Christ as the Light of the nations, the Church on this day blesses candles and carries them in solemn procession before the Mass, while the canticle of Simeon, the Nunc dimittis, is sung. The lighted candle, of pure wax, is an ancient image of Christ Himself: the wax His spotless Body, the wick His soul, the flame His divinity. From this beautiful rite the feast has long been called Candlemas. The blessed candles are kept by the faithful and lit in time of sickness, storm, and at the hour of death, as a sign of the light of Christ who scatters every darkness.
The Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, we humbly beseech Thy Majesty: that, as Thine only-begotten Son was this day presented in the Temple in the substance of our flesh, so Thou wouldst grant us to be presented unto Thee with purified minds. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, maiestatem tuam supplices exoramus: ut, sicut unigenitus Filius tuus hodierna die cum nostrae carnis substantia in templo est praesentatus; ita nos facias purificatis tibi mentibus praesentari. Per eundem Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum: qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Patronage
The blessed candles of this day are traditionally kept in homes and lit in times of storm, sickness, and at the approach of death, as a sacramental of the Light of Christ.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar this feast is observed on the same day, 2 February, under the title of the Presentation of the Lord.
Common Questions
When is Candlemas?
Candlemas, the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is kept on 2 February, forty days after Christmas. In the 1962 Missal it is a feast of the Second Class.
Why is it called Candlemas?
Because of the blessing of candles and the candlelit procession that precede the Mass of the day. The custom flows from Simeon’s words proclaiming the Christ Child “a light to lighten the Gentiles,” so the Church carries blessed candles in His honour.
What is the difference between the Purification and the Presentation?
They are two aspects of the same Gospel event. The older title, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, emphasises Our Lady’s humble fulfilment of the Law; the modern title, the Presentation of the Lord, emphasises the offering of the Child Jesus in the Temple. The feast is the same and is kept on 2 February.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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