FEAST
OP THE PURIFICATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, COMMONLY CALLED
CANDLEMAS-DAY
by
the Rev. Leonard Goffine
What
is this festival?
This
is the festival on which the Church venerates the humility and
obedience of Mary who, though not subject to the law of Moses, which
required purification and presentation in the temple, yet subjected
herself to it. From this comes the name Purification of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, or the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. It is also
called Candlemas, because before Mass on this day the candles used in
divine service are blessed and carried in procession.
Why
are the candles blessed on this day and carried in procession?
In
remembrance of the presentation of Jesus to His Heavenly Father on
this day, when the aged Simeon called Him: A light to the revelation
of the Gentiles, and the glory of the people of Israel, (Luke II.
32.) and to remind us that, like the five wise virgins, we should go
to meet Christ with the light of faith and good works.
With
what intention are candles blessed?
With
the intention of obtaining from God by their pious use and the
prayers of those who devoutly carry them, health of body and soul;
that our hearts, through the doctrine of Jesus and the grace of the
Holy Ghost, may be interiorly enlightened; and that the fire of the
love of God may be kindled in our hearts, purify them from all
remains of sin, and make us partakers in the joyous light of heaven,
which will never be extinguished.
The
Introit: We have received Thy mercy, O God, in the midst of
Thy temple: according to Thy name, O God, so also is Thy praise, unto
the ends of the earth: Thy right hand is full of justice. Great is
the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised: in the city of our God, in
His holy mountain. (Ps. XLVII.) Glory etc.
COLLECT
Almighty, everliving 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 we also may, with
purified hearts, be presented unto Thee. Thro'. etc.
EPISTLE:
(Malach.
III. 1-4.) Thus Saith The Lord God: Behold, I send my Angel, and he
shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord, whom
you seek, and the Angel of the testament, whom you desire, shall come
to his temple. Behold, he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts, and who
shall be able to think of the day of his coming, and who shall stand
to see him? For he is like a refining fire, and like the fuller's
herb: and he shall sit refining and cleansing the silver, and he
shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall refine them as gold and as
silver: and they shall offer sacrifices to the Lord in justice. And
the sacrifice of Juda and of Jerusalem shall please the Lord, as the
days of old, and the ancient years: saith the Lord Almighty.
EXPLANATION:
The angel or messenger who shall prepare the way for the Lord, is
John the Baptist, (Matt. XI. 10.) and the long desired Ruler
and Messiah is Christ, who on this day comes into his temple. He is
called the Angel of the testament, because He has arranged between
God and man a new and far more excellent covenant than God had made
with the Jews; inasmuch as He has given to the Christians not merely
temporal but eternal good. This Angel of the testament, Christ, came
the first time in all the humility of a little child into the temple,
but His second coming at the end of the world will be terrible. The
prophet likens Him to a fire which purifies the gold, and to that
herb with which cloth is whitened in the fuller's machine; under
which figures he alludes to the severity of judgment, with which
Christ will judge the just and the unjust. Pure as refined gold, and
as the white linen (corporal) on which the Body of Christ is laid in
the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, must be the heart of those who
receive Christ in the blessed Sacrament, or seek worthily to offer
the holy Sacrifice with the priest.
GOSPEL:
(Luke II. 22-32.) At that
time, After the days of Mary's purification, according to the law of
Moses, were accomplished, they carried Jesus to Jerusalem, to present
him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every male
opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. And to offer a
sacrifice, according as it is written in the law of the Lord, a pair
of turtle doves, or two young pigeons. And behold, there was a man in
Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for
the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was in him. And he had
received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death,
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. And he came by the Spirit
into the temple. And when his parents brought in the child Jesus, to
do for him according to the custom of the law: he also took him into
his arms, and blessed God, and said: Now thou dost dismiss thy
servant, O Lord, according to thy word, in peace: Because my eyes
have seen thy salvation: which thou hast prepared before the face of
all peoples: a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory
of thy people Israel.
Why
was Jesus brought into the temple of Jerusalem?
That
He might be offered to God, who had commanded the Jews to offer their
first-born sons to Him in grateful commemoration of the destroying
angel having spared their first-born at the departure from Egypt,
when all the firstborn of the Egyptians were slain. (Exodus XII. 12.)
These children had to be redeemed afterwards by certain gifts.
(Exodus XIII. 13.)
How
soon after birth was this offering to be made?
On
the fortieth day; for according to the law the mother's impurity
lasted for this length of time after the birth of a boy, after which
she went to the temple, and in order to be declared purified, made
her offering of purification. (Lev. XII.)
Was
Mary subject to this law of purification?
No,
for she had not, like other mothers, conceived in sin, and,
therefore, did not need purification; but she placed herself with her
divine Child among sinners and fulfilled the law by which these were
bound. "Nothing", says St. Bernard, "was impure in her
conception, nothing impure in her birth; there was nothing to be
cleansed, for the Child itself was the origin of all purity, and came
into the world to purify it from sin. Truly, O happy Virgin, thou
wast not in need of purification, but thou wouldst pass as a woman
among women, as thy Son also passed for a child among children."
Why
did Mary comply with the law of purification?
She
did this to give us an example of obedience and true humility, for
she interiorly thought little of herself and wished externally to be
so regarded; to teach us to thank God for the favors He has shown to
our ancestors, for the law of the Jews was given to encourage them to
gratitude for the preservation of the first-born of their ancestors
from the hands of the destroying angel; (Exodus XII. 12.) and in
order not to scandalize, by being regardless of this law, those who
did not know that she was not required to observe it.
Learn,
O Christian, from Mary's example to be truly humble and obedient, to
be grateful to God for the benefits which your ancestors and parents
have received, and to be on your guard never to give scandal, by
failing to observe the commandments of God and His Church.
Why
did not Mary offer a lamb as did the rich, (Lev. XII. 6).
but merely, like the poor, a pair of doves?
Because
she was poor, and was not ashamed to appear as such before the world.
Mary loved humility and the poverty connected with it. Be not
ashamed, therefore, if thou art poor, love poverty the more; but if
rich, be poor in spirit, and love the poor and distressed.
How
did it come to pass that Simeon met the Saviour in the temple?
Because
he was a pious and faithful servant of God, it had been promised him
that he should not die, until he had seen the Saviour. When Jesus was
brought into the temple, Simeon was inspired by God to go there also,
and when he found Jesus there, he by divine inspiration knew Him to
be the Messiah, and gave testimony of Him.
See
how God rewards those who sincerely love and serve Him, giving
Himself to them to be known always more and more!
Why
was Simeon ready to die when he had held Jesus in his arms?
Because
his wish was fulfilled; for since he had not only seen with his own
eyes, but had held in his arms the Desired of all nations, for whom
the patriarchs had so vainly longed, what more could he wish than to
leave this miserable world, and commend his spirit into the hands of
his Saviour?
Why
did Simeon call Jesus a light for the revelation of the Gentiles?
Because
Jesus had come into the world as the true light, (John I. 9) which
was to free the Gentiles from the darkness of superstition and
idolatry, and from the blindness and slavery of Satan, as well as to
conduct the Jews out of the bondage of the Mosaic Law into the
liberty of the children of God. (Gal. IV. 31.)
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father! look down from Thy throne of mercy upon
the face of Thy Anointed in whom Thou art well pleased. Behold, He is
this day offered to Thee in the temple for the sins of His brethren.
Let this offering please Thee, and move Thee to have compassion on us
sinners. In consideration of His humility and obedience, forgive us
our pride and disobedience, and grant us, that purified by His blood,
we may one day, having like Simeon departed this life in peace,
behold Thee as the eternal Light which shall never be extinguished in
the temple of Thy glory, be presented to Thee by Mary, our beloved
Mother, and love and praise Thee forever. Amen.
INSTRUCTION ON CHURCHING
In
the Jewish law (Lev. XII.) women for forty days after the
birth of a boy, and for eighty after that of a girl, were regarded as
unclean and kept out of the temple, and required, at the end of that
time, to bring a lamb as a holocaust, and a dove as a propitiatory
sacrifice to the temple, and be pronounced pure by the prayer of the
priest. This law does not, it is true, apply to Christian women,
because the Church has abolished the Jewish ceremonies: but the
Church, nevertheless, permits them to remain absent from church for
six weeks, or so long as circumstances may require, after the birth
of a child, in order to take care of their health. This should be
remembered by husbands, who should see that their wives have the
necessary quiet and attendance which nature requires for recovery
after the birth of a child. The Church desires that at the end of
this time the mother, following Mary's example, should resort to the
church to obtain the blessing of the priest, thank God for her
delivery, offer the child to God, praying with the priest for the
grace to bring up her offspring in sanctity and piety. This comprises
the Churching of women, which is a very old and praiseworthy custom
and should not be neglected. This practice was not instituted to
prevent their being harmed by the devil, by malicious persons, or by
ghosts, and it would be not only a foolish fear, but a superstition
to be condemned, if one were to suppose that a woman were liable to
harm if she should go abroad before she were churched. The delicate
health of women and of children is generally owing to their having
injured themselves by want of proper care and attention.
PRAYER:
Almighty and beneficent God! who didst impose upon our
mother Eve, in punishment for her sin, that she should give birth to
her children in pain: I offer to Thee all the pains which I have thus
suffered in atonement for my sins, and thank Thee, that I have safely
brought a child into the-" world, whom I now offer to Thee,
according to the example of the Mother of Thine only-begotten Son,
for Thy holy service, whom I shall zealously endeavor to educate for
Thy honor. Give me but this grace through the intercession and merits
of this most blessed Mother. Bless me and my child, and grant, that
we may here live in accordance with Thy divine will, and receive
eternal salvation. Through Christ, our Lord, &c. Amen.