The Mystical Meaning of Candlemas

Fr. Scott Haynes

THE PRAYERS

These prayers are offered on February 2 for the blessing of candles on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

Let us pray. O Holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God, who hast created all things out of nothing, and by Thy command hast caused this liquid to become perfect wax by the labor of bees: and who, on this day didst fulfill the petition of the righteous man Simeon: we humbly entreat Thee, that by the invocation of Thy most holy Name and through the intercession of Blessed Mary ever Virgin whose feast is today devoutly observed, and by the prayers of all Thy Saints, Thou wouldst vouchsafe to bless ✠ and sanctify ✠ these candles for the service of men and for the health of their bodies and souls, whether on land or on sea: and that Thou wouldst hear from Thy holy heaven, and from the throne of Thy Majesty the voices of this Thy people, who desire to carry them in their hands with honor, and to praise Thee with hymns; and wouldst be propitious to all that call upon Thee, whom Thou hast redeemed with the precious Blood of Thy Son: Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

R. Amen.

 

Let us pray. O almighty and everlasting God, who on this day didst present Thine only-begotten Son in Thy holy temple to be received in the arms of holy Simeon: we humbly entreat Thy clemency, that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to bless ✠ and sanctify ✠ and to kindle with the light of Thy heavenly benediction these candles, which we, Thy servants, desire to receive and to bear lighted in the honor of Thy Name: that, by offering them to Thee our Lord God, being worthily inflamed with the holy fire of Thy most sweet charity, we may deserve to be presented in the holy temple of Thy glory. Through the same Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

 

Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, the true Light who enlightenest every man that cometh into this world: pour forth Thy blessing ✠ upon these candles, and sanctify ✠ them with the light of Thy grace, and mercifully grant, that as these lights enkindled with visible fire dispel the darkness of night, so our hearts illumined by invisible fire, that is, by the splendor of the Holy Spirit, may be free from the blindness of all vice, that the eye of our mind being cleansed, we may be able to discern what is pleasing to Thee and profitable to our salvation; so that after the perilous darkness of this life we may deserve to attain to neverfailing light: through Thee, O Christ Jesus, Saviour of the world, who in the perfect Trinity, livest and reignest, God, world without end.

R. Amen.

 

Let us pray. O almighty and everlasting God, who by Thy servant Moses didst command the purest oil to be prepared for lamps to burn continuously before Thee: vouchsafe to pour forth the grace of Thy blessing ✠ upon these candles: that they may so afford us light outwardly that by Thy gift, the gift of Thy Spirit may never be wanting inwardly to our minds. Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

 

Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, who appearing on this day among men in the substance of our flesh, wast presented by Thy parents in the temple: whom the venerable and aged Simeon, illuminated by the light of Thy Spirit, recognized, received into his arms, and blessed: mercifully grant that, enlightened and taught by the grace of the same Holy Ghost, we may truly acknowledge Thee and faithfully love Thee; Who with God the Father in the unity of the same Holy Ghost livest and reignest, God, world without end.

R. Amen.

Here the priest sprinkles the candles three times with holy water saying the Antiphon without chant nor psalm, and he incenses the candles three times.

MEDITATION

This feast commemorates the mystery celebrated forty days after the Nativity of our Lord: the humble obedience of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the Law of Moses, and the solemn presentation of the Infant Jesus to the Eternal Father in the Temple of Jerusalem. According to the Law, every first-born male belonged in a special way to God and was to be offered back to Him, and every mother was to appear for the prescribed rites after childbirth. Though Mary was untouched by the stain that made such a rite necessary, she submitted herself freely to the Law, entering the Temple not to be purified, but to teach obedience by example and humility by silence.

The liturgy of this day unfolds in four solemn movements: the blessing of candles, their distribution to the faithful, the procession with lighted candles, and the Holy Mass that completes the mystery. These ceremonies, especially those that precede the Mass, are rich in symbolism and point with remarkable clarity to Christ Himself. The lighted candles carried by the faithful proclaim what holy Simeon confessed when he took the Child into his aged arms: that this Infant is “a light to the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel.” What Simeon spoke in the Temple, the Church now enacts in ritual, gesture, and flame.

The Feast of the Purification is among the most ancient celebrations in honor of the Blessed Virgin. By the seventh century at Rome it ranked immediately after the Assumption in dignity. It also marks the final echo of the Christmas cycle. Forty days have passed since Bethlehem. The Child who lay in a manger is now carried into the Temple. The joy of Christmas has grown quieter, more contemplative, tinged already with prophecy and shadow. Mary and Joseph ascend to Jerusalem bearing the modest offering of the poor, “two doves or two young pigeons,” a sign of their poverty and their trust. In their arms they carry not only a Child, but the fulfillment of the Law itself.

The Candlemas procession deliberately recalls this journey. As the faithful move in ordered procession, candles burning in their hands, they retrace the steps of Mary and Joseph going up to the Temple to present the true First-born, the Angel of the Covenant foretold by the prophet Malachy, the Light who would enlighten the nations. The Church walks behind the Child she carries, confessing by her movement what she believes with her heart.

The symbolism of the candles themselves is unfolded by the Fathers. “The wax of the candles signifies the virginal flesh of the Divine Infant,” teaches St. Anselm; “the wick figures His soul, and the flame His divinity.” Thus, even before the Gospel is proclaimed, Christ is preached silently in matter and fire. The faithful do not merely watch this mystery; they hold it in their hands.

The liturgy does not place emphasis on the purification of Mary as though she required cleansing. Her divine motherhood stood beyond the reach of ordinary laws. Instead, the Presentation of Jesus stands at the heart of the feast. The Son is offered to the Father. The Victim is shown to the Temple that will one day reject Him. In this moment already lies the seed of Calvary. For Christian mothers, the Church later instituted the ceremony of Churching, not as a purification, nor as a presentation of the child, but as an act of thanksgiving for life received and a blessing for the mother restored to strength.

The prayers of the blessing of candles explain with striking tenderness the purpose and power of these sacramentals. They recall the work of the bees that produce the wax, the obedience of Simeon whose longing was fulfilled on this day, and the offering of Christ Himself in the Temple. The candles are blessed for the service of men and for the health of body and soul, whether on land or on sea. They are to be carried with reverence, lit with faith, and used in times of danger, illness, storm, and darkness. Their light is not superstition, but prayer made visible.

Again and again the prayers return to the same petition: that as these candles drive away the darkness of night, so the invisible fire of the Holy Ghost may banish the darkness of sin from the heart; that minds may be cleansed, eyes opened, and souls guided safely through the perils of this life to the light that never fails. The sanctuary lamp, the candle at the sickbed, the flame held trembling in winter darkness all point back to Christ, the true Light, who once entered His Temple carried in the arms of His Mother.

After the prayers, the priest sprinkles the candles with holy water and incenses them, surrounding them with cleansing and fragrant signs of prayer. The antiphon recalls the plea of the psalmist: “Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.” Matter is purified, light is blessed, and the faithful prepare to meet Christ upon the altar.

Thus Candlemas stands at the threshold between Christmas and Lent, between joy and prophecy, between light given and light resisted. The Church holds the candle in her hands, knowing that this Light will one day be lifted upon a Cross, yet trusting that even then, the darkness will not overcome it.