Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord | Candlemas

Join us for the commemoration of the Presentation of Our Lord and the blessing of the candles.

Almighty and everliving God, we humbly pray that, as your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple, so we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts by Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Feast of the Presentation, celebrated on February 2, recalls the moment when Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, offering him to the Lord in keeping with the law that every firstborn son be dedicated to God. Also known as the Purification of Saint Mary the Virgin, the Meeting of Christ with Simeon, or Candlemas, the feast reveals the rich layers of meaning Christians have found in this event. When Simeon received the child in his arms, the old covenant met the new: the age of sacrifice and offering gave way to the perfect self-offering of God’s own Son. Simeon’s song, the Nunc dimittis, proclaims the light of salvation for all people—a light symbolized by the blessing of candles traditionally observed on this day. Simeon is not alone in recognizing the Messiah in his midst; Anna, a prophet of great age who worshipped at the temple night and day with fasting and prayer, offered testimony on the infant’s behalf: that this child would be a sign for the redemption of Jerusalem. The Presentation reminds the faithful that Christ, the light of the world, has entered the temple of humanity, and invites them to offer their own hearts and lives in gratitude and purity before God.