Dear Fellow Parishioners,

The Feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, which we celebrate on Monday, February 2, is an ancient feast related to an event in the life of Jesus. It arises from a complex biblical and liturgical history. This is intended to cover some of the basic points, and to spur further inquiry for those so inclined. It is a huge “rabbit hole” of inquiry, and I can only scratch the surface, in writing or in homilies.

It is important to keep a few things clear. First, this feast relates back to Chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke when Jesus was presented in the Temple in Jerusalem for both the purification of the mother, and the Jewish rite of redemption of the first-born male. These two objectives were fulfilled at the same time, and relate back at least as far as Leviticus 12 and Exodus 13:12-15. The usual sacrifice was a lamb; Joseph and Mary’s “pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” was a concession to their poverty. Except for the Finding of adolescent Jesus in the Temple – found only in Luke – it is the last episode of Jesus’ life recorded in the Gospels before the beginning of his public ministry some 18 years later.

Second, the calculation of the date is forty days (inclusive) from the traditional date of Christmas, December 25. The significance of the number 40 in the Bible is well attested as a period of testing, discernment, or divine intervention – the 40 days and nights of rain in the flood of Noah, the 40 days Moses spent on Mt. Sinai, the 40 years the Israelites wandered in the desert, the 40 days of Jesus’ fasting in the desert, to name but a few examples. It was carried forth in the liturgy of the Church, in the 40 days of Lent, and “Forty Hours Devotion” of continuous prayers before the Blessed Sacrament, an ancient Italian custom of obscure origins.  It was well-established and used as a prayer liturgy during the deadly Black Plague, rigorously promoted by St. John Neumann, an early American saint and Bishop of Philadelphia, and notably re-deployed in the early and fatal first waves of AIDS.

Third, the Presentation of the Lord is also celebrated as a liturgical feast, traditionally known as “Candlemas.” At the Presentation, the prophetic words of Simeon and Anna spoke of Jesus’ fulfillment of long-awaited prophecies, as Simeon said, …[M]y eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel”. (Luke 2:29–32).

Fourth, Jesus was proclaimed by the Word of God as “a light for revelation the Gentiles.” This feast was chosen by popular association as the day on which candles, used as a primary sources of lighting, should be blessed. That same logical (if fanciful) association was extended to February 3, the Feast of St. Blase, patron of “ailments of the throat, or of any other illness.” The freshly blessed candles were used to bless the throats of those so afflicted. As I struggle with my own disabling ailments of the throat, “St. Blase, pray for me.”

Blessings,

Fr. Bill Donahue