Today the
Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Lord which occurs forty
days after the birth of Jesus and is also known as Candlemas day, since the
blessing and procession of candles is included in today's liturgy.
According
to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite,
today is the end of the Christmas season. The reformed calendar has designated
that the Sunday after Epiphany, the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, is the
end. This feast in the Ordinary Form is no longer referred to as the
"Purification of Mary" but the "Presentation of the
Lord".
This day marks the completion of forty days since the birth
of Jesus, when Mary and Joseph took the child to the Temple in Jerusalem. The
requirement in Levitical law was for Mary to be 'cleansed', the completion of
her purification following the birth of a male child. Until that day, she could
touch no holy thing nor enter the sanctuary. Yet on seeing the holy family,
Simeon praised God and acclaimed the infant as 'the light to enlighten the
nations' and the prophet Anna gave thanks and proclaimed him her Redeemer. The
image of Christ as the Light has led to the celebration of light countering
darkness, with candles often taking a central place in the observance.
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