The following devotions are recited on the Feast of the Presentation
of Our Divine Lord in the temple -- Feb. 2nd
Instruction and Reflection on the Meaning of the Presentation
Jesus, Our Savior, and His Blessed Mother were not bound by the Mosaic Law which required that every first-born son of Israel be presented to God in the Temple forty days after birth, and that the mother undergo the rite of purification after the birth of each child. Nevertheless, Jesus, the Supreme Lawgiver, and Mary, the Virgin most pure and undefiled, complied with every prescription of this law, giving us an example of profound obedience and humility, of love of poverty and holy purity.
Thus the Anointed of the Lord, the Long-desired of nations, is borne for the first time into His Temple, into His Father's house. In Mary's arms He offers Himself to His Heavenly Father to be the Victim of our Redemption, as in future He will continue to do so daily by the hands of countless priests through the centuries. But no one can tell what transpires in the Heart of the Infant Jesus; no one hears the words of self-oblation uttered by the Holy Child. Hidden in His inmost Heart is the glow of the sacrificial flame whose fragrant incense rises Heavenward. But the secret thoughts of the Child are expressed by the lips of the Mother, as she offers her beloved Son for the Redemption of mankind.
Simeon, the aged high priest, enlightened by the Holy Ghost, recognizes in this helpless Babe, the promised Messiah. Joyfully, he takes the Child in his arms and utters the beautiful canticle of the "Nunc Dimittis," which the Church prays daily in her official night prayer. He proclaims this Child to be "a Light to the revelation of the Gentiles." These words have become the motive of the liturgy for the Feast of the Presentation, in which lighted candles play so prominent a part. On this day the Church blesses the candles which are to be used by Her and by the faithful during the coming year.
Light is a symbol of Christ and of His Divine life within us--the life of sanctifying grace. The procession with lighted candles held on this day is an image of the life of a Christian, who should always keep the light of Christ burning in his soul.
"And presently the Lord Whom you seek, and the Angel of the Testament Whom you desire, shall come to His holy Temple." (Roman Breviary)
V. Behold, the Lord, the Ruler, comes to His holy Temple: Rejoice and be glad, O Sion!
R. Go forth to meet thy God!
Hymn: Quem Terra
The God Whom earth and sea and sky adore and laud and magnify,
Who o'er their threefold fabric reigns, the Virgin's spotless womb contains.
The God, Whose Will by moon and sun and all things in due course is done,
Is borne upon a Maiden's breast, by fullest heavenly grace possessed.
How blest that Mother, in whose shrine the great Artificer Divine,
Whose Hand contains the earth and sky, vouchsafed as in His ark to lie.
Blest, in the message Gabriel brought; blest by the work the Holy Ghost wrought;
From whom the Great Desire of earth took human flesh and human Birth.
All honor, laud, and glory be, O Jesu, Virgin-born, to Thee,
All glory, as is ever meet, to Father and to Paraclete. Amen.
V. "We have received Thy mercy, O God, in the midst of Thy Temple;
R. According to Thy Name, O God, so also is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth."
(Ps. 47:10-11)
Let us Pray:
O Almighty and Everlasting God, Who didst this day present Thy only-begotten Son to be received into the arms of holy Simeon in Thy holy Temple, we humbly implore Thy clemency that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to bless, sanctify, and enkindle with the light of Heavenly benediction these candles which we, Thy servants receiving, desire to carry lighted to magnify Thy holy Name; that by offering them to Thee, Our Lord and 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, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, forever, unto ages of ages. Amen.
The Canticle of Simeon
Leader: Now a Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word, in peace;
All: For my eyes have seen Thy salvation,
Leader: Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples:
All: A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and a glory for Thy people, Israel. (Luke 2:29:32)
Glory be to the Father...
"Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised: in the city of our God, in His holy mountain." (Ps. 47:2)<
"Adorn thy chamber, O Sion, to receive Christ the King: Whom a Virgin conceived, a Virgin brought forth, and remained a Virgin as before, and adored Him Whom she had brought forth." (Roman Breviary)
"This day the Blessed Virgin Mary presented the Child Jesus in the Temple; and Simeon, full of the Holy Ghost, received Him into his arms, and he blessed God forever." (Roman Breviary)
"It was the True Light that enlightens every man who cometh into the world." (John 1:9)
Let us Pray:
O Lord Jesus Christ, the True Light, Who enlightens every man coming into this world, mercifully grant that as these lights, enkindled with visible fire, dispel the darkness of night, so our hearts, illuminated by invisible fire, that is, the brightness of the Holy Ghost, may be free from the blindness of all vice; that the eyes of our souls being purified, we may perceive those things which are pleasing to Thee and profitable to our salvation; so that after the dark perils of this world, we may deserve to arrive at the never-failing light: through Thee, Christ Jesus, Savior of the world, Who in perfect Trinity, livest and reignest, One God, forever, unto ages of ages. Amen.
