Editor’s note: The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is on February 2. This year, it will fall on a Sunday. On this day, Mass begins with the blessing of candles and a procession or solemn entrance.
Q: What is the correct name for the feast day on February 2?
A: Over the centuries, the feast celebrated on February 2 has had many names. Since the fourth century, the East has called this the feast of Hypapante or the Feast of the Holy Meeting of Christ with Simeon and Anna. A similar feast, “forty days after epiphany,” is also recorded in the writing of the pilgrim Egeria, who visited Jerusalem around 380 A.D. A feast akin to this has been celebrated in Rome since at least the fifth century. In the West, the feast was called The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and when the practice of blessing candles was added to this feast, it was called Candlemas. Today, on the General Roman Calendar, the feast is called the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, emphasizing the centrality of Christ in this event.
Q: Is this a Marian Feast or a Feast of the Lord?
A: Liturgists are fond of distinguishing between Feasts of Saints and Feasts of the Lord. This is a practical distinction as Feasts of the Lord have precedence over the Sundays in Ordinary Time in the Table of Liturgical Days According to Their Order of Precedence, whereas Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary are ranked below the Sundays of Ordinary Time on this table. Thus, if this feast—which for a time was called the Feast of the Purification of Mary—were a Marian feast day, it would not be celebrated on Sunday. Rather, without detracting from Sunday—which is “the nucleus and foundation of the yearly liturgical cycle by which the Church unfolds the entire mystery of Christ” (Ceremonial of Bishops, no. 228)—a Feast of the Lord has precedence over the normal celebration of Sunday. Other “feasts of the Lord”—such as The Feast of the Triumph of the Cross and The Transfiguration of the Lord—are similarly observed.
Despite the appellation of the feast to Simeon, Anna, and Mary, the celebrated event is centered on Christ. The meeting of Anna and Simeon occurred at the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. The purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary would have occurred forty days after she gave birth (under the Mosaic Law, a woman was ritually “unclean” for 40 days after birth). This “purification” would have been simultaneous with the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. As the Roman Martyrology rightly says, “Indeed, outwardly fulfilling the Mosaic Law, in truth, however, coming to meet his own people—who believe and rejoice—as the Light for the revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of His people Israel” (“February 2,” Roman Martyrology, [translation mine]).
Q: Why are candles blessed?
A: The connection between the presentation of the Lord and candles is found in the canticle of Simeon—Simeon’s response to the presentation of the Lord: “Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).
The light of the candles blessed in this liturgy is a liturgical symbol of Christ’s revelation of the Father to the nations. Christ is the light of the world (see John 1:3-5 and John 8:12), and in the liturgy this light is seen. Liturgical symbols are not signs of absent realities. Because the light of these candles is a symbol of Christ: Christ—the light of the world—is present through the light of these candles.
Q: Why is there a procession?
A: Pope Sergius first established this procession in response to the pagan festival of Juno Februata, which included a candle procession of Ceres, searching for Proserpine. This procession stood in opposition to the pagan festivities, witnessing that Christ is the true light of the world. For this reason, the liturgy begins in a suitable place that is not inside the church and processes through the city. When the candles have been lit (symbolizing Christ), the people of God carry these lights through the city, revealing the light of Christ in profane space.
In every liturgy the faithful journey as pilgrims toward the holy city of Jerusalem (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 8), and in this liturgy that pilgrimage is made visible to all the nations. During this procession in which the faithful reveal Christ to the nations through symbols, they fittingly sing the antiphon, “a light of the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.” This liturgical procession is, par excellence, the Church’s ritual witness of Christ to the world.
Q: Is the blessing of candles and the procession required at every Mass?
A: Yes. In the Proper of Saints, this Mass is prescribed to begin with the “First Form: Procession” or the “Second Form: Solemn Entrance.” This closely resembles the Mass for Palm Sunday, where there are three options for the beginning of Mass: the “First Form: Procession,” the “Second Form: Solemn Entrance,” and the “Third Form: Simple Entrance.” However, there is no simple entrance for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord; either the procession or the solemn entrance must be used.
Q: Which candles should be blessed?
A: The rubrics for this Mass specify that the faithful should hold unlit candles when the priest arrives and light them as the antiphon is chanted. After the introductory rite, the priest blesses candles and sprinkles them with holy water. Is the priest sprinkling the candles that were just lit? Or is he sprinkling other candles? The rubrics do not clearly specify.
Liturgists have written various answers to this question. In Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year, Bishop Peter Elliott suggests that the candles to be used in church for the next year should be placed on a table and covered with a white veil (Elliott, no. 72); he also notes that the priest should sprinkle both the lighted candles and the candles on the table (Elliott, no. 75). Similarly, Msgr. Marc Caron says that candles for the priest and the ministers should be placed on a tray, and a white veil should be placed over them (Caron, Ceremonies for Priests,159).
It is clear that the candles to be used during the procession should be blessed. Additionally, the Roman Ritual specifies that candles blessed on February 2 should be used to bless throats on February 3 (see Book of Blessings, no. 1627). The Roman Missal says that candles are to be blessed, and the Roman Ritual says that some of these candles are to be used the next day. Because neither source specifies whether candles intended for other later liturgies or devotional use are also to be blessed, it is permissible to set these extra candles out for the blessing. However, there is no hint in the current rubrics that the candles should be veiled. The indication to use their veil in the writings of other modern liturgists must be held as a pious custom.
Q: What should be done with the candles after Mass?
A: The faithful who brought their own candles for devotional use should take them home after the liturgy. Those who did not bring their own candles are encouraged to take home the candles distributed before Mass. As the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy states, “The feast of 2 February still retains a popular character…. The candles kept by the faithful in their homes should be seen as a sign of Christ ‘the light of the world’ and an expression of faith” (no. 123).
Q: Where are the ritual guidelines for celebrating The Blessing of Candles and Procession?
A: The rubrics for this liturgy can be found with the orations in the Proper of Saints in the Roman Missal.
When the procession is to occur, the liturgy should start at a nearby chapel or a suitable place outside of the church. The priest may vest in a white cope. A choir or schola should be prepared to sing the opening antiphon. The liturgy will begin with the sign of the cross and the normal greeting. An introduction by either the priest or a deacon will follow this. After this, the priest blesses and sprinkles the candles, and following the announcement, a procession will begin toward the church, and the choir will chant the antiphon for the procession. When the procession arrives at the church, the choir will sing the entrance antiphon. Arriving at the altar, the priest will reverence it and incense it. He will then go to the chair and switch his cope for a chasuble. Mass will continue as normal with the Gloria and Collect.
When it is not possible for a procession to occur, a solemn entrance will take place. In this case, the faithful will assemble in church holding unlit candles. The priest will wear a chasuble. With the ministers and a representative group of the faithful, the priest will stand outside the church door or right inside the church. The same antiphon, greeting, address, blessing, sprinkling, procession, processional antiphon, entrance antiphon, etc. should be observed.
Q: Is it a coincidence that candles are blessed on February 2nd and throats are blessed with candles on February 3rd?
A: The tradition of holding two candles against the throat during the blessing of throats on the optional memorial of St. Blaise developed because his feast falls the day after Candlemas. The Roman Ritual still prescribes that the candles, which are joined in the shape of a cross and touched to the throat of the person being blessed, should be “two candles blessed on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (February 2)” (Book of Blessings, no. 1627).
Q: Is February 2nd the Last Day of the Liturgical Christmas Season?
“Christmas Time runs from First Vespers (Evening Prayer I) of the Nativity of the Lord up to and including the Sunday after Epiphany or after January 6th” (Universal Norms on the Liturgical Calendar and the General Roman Calendar, no. 33). According to the current norms, Christmas Time will end on Sunday, January 12 this year.
—Answered by Jacob Zepp
Diocese of La Crosse
