February 2 is a feast with a rich heritage in the Catholic Church, involving a wide variety of local cultural customs, including special foods and celebrations. As the Gospel reading for today indicates, the feast commemorates the day when St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary took the baby Jesus to Jerusalem to be presented at the Temple 40 days after his birth. Today, February 2 is known as the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Historically, the day has also been called the Purification of the Virgin Mary, the Feast of the Holy Encounter, and Candlemas - each name emphasizing a different aspect of the same biblical event.
Traditionally, February 2 has also been the end of the Christmas cycle. Families would keep their Christmas decorations up until this feast. A vestige of this tradition continues in the custom of keeping the Nativity scene out until February 2, which is observed especially in Eastern Europe and at the Vatican.
As we reflect on the different aspects of the February 2 feast day, we might wonder why the Church would celebrate the Purification of the Virgin Mary. Our faith teaches us that Mary, the Mother of God, was completely pure and was not in need of cleansing in any way. However, the Mosaic Law considered all pregnant women ritually impure and expected them to be sequestered from society until they went through a purification ceremony.
The reason behind this law was to protect the woman who had just given birth and her newborn baby, as well as to safeguard others from any infections she might have developed. The purification ceremony certified that both mother and child were safe to enter society. Even though the Virgin Mary did not need this ritual, she submitted to the rules of the Mosaic Law, as did Jesus throughout his life.
As the Virgin Mary undergoes the ritual, the baby Jesus is also presented at the Temple, which is why the feast is known today as the Presentation of the Lord. The Mosaic Law required that the firstborn son of every family be consecrated to God. The consecration recalled God's protection of the Israelites during the Exodus, when the angel of death struck down the firstborn male in every household in Egypt, but spared families that had smeared their doorframe with the blood of the lamb they had sacrificed.
Historically, the consecration of the firstborn males pointed toward the coming of Jesus, who would become the Lamb of God, offering himself as the sacrifice to save all from spiritual death. At end of our period of reflection on the infancy of Jesus, we focus on why he came among us - to become our Savior. The Presentation of the Lord anticipates Good Friday, the day our Lord was crucified, and also the victory of Easter.
In the Eastern Churches, the feast has also been called the Holy Encounter. The Temple was the focal point of Judaism, because God was present in a special way in the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the Temple. Only at the Temple could the ritual sacrifices mandated by the Mosaic Law be offered by the priests.
Now Jesus, who is God Incarnate, enters the Temple himself. He is the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law. He is to be the high priest who offers himself up as the ultimate sacrifice for the salvation of humanity. Everything that had been done at the Temple up to that point had been a preparation for his coming. After his sacrifice on the Cross, the old Temple sacrifices would no longer be needed. After the crucifixion, God's special presence would not be reserved for the Temple. God is now intimately present in our lives through the graces we receive through the sacraments, especially through the Eucharist, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the Sacrifice of the Cross presented to us in a mystical way.
In the Gospel passage, Simeon and Anna, a prophet and prophetess representing the Old Testament preparation for Christ, recognize who the baby Jesus is. They understand the greatness of the moment and rejoice at seeing the Messiah. They understand that God has come among his people and is about to fulfill the prophecies that had been the hope of Israel for many generations.
Candlemas, yet another name for this feast, is rooted in the words of Simeon that Jesus would be "a light for revelation" to the people of the world (Luke 2:32). Traditionally, Jesus being the Light of the World was symbolized by the lighting of many candles. On this day, candles are traditionally blessed at Mass, both those used in the church and sometimes candles brought by the faithful. Historically, people have also celebrated Candlemas by lighting candles at home. This is a great day to have a candlelit dinner, for example.
As he prophesies about Jesus, Simeon also addresses the Virgin Mary, saying "you yourself a sword will pierce" (Luke 2:35), which is the basis for the Immaculate Heart of Mary being depicted as pierced with a sword in Catholic sacred art. The words of Simeon point toward how much our Holy Mother would have to suffer too. As the Mother of God, she would feel in her own being all the suffering that her Divine Son would have to undergo, which is why we also call her Our Lady of Sorrows.
As we suffer in the daily struggles of life, we should remember that no human being experienced more suffering than the Virgin Mary, other than the human nature of Christ. Our Holy Mother knows all the depths of human suffering. Therefore, as we suffer, we should turn to her for help and succor. Being our spiritual mother, she will never fail to come to our assistance.
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The readings for the Presentation of the Lord, Cycle C are:
Malachi 3:1-4
Psalm 24:7, 8, 9, 10
Hebrews 2:14-18
Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22-32
The full text can be found at the USCCB website.
Photo Credit: The Temple Mount, where the Jewish Temple used to stand (c) 2016 by Zoltan Abraham.