Candlemas
Forty days after the birth of Our Lord at Christmas, we celebrate with joy the triple feast of the Purification of Our Lady, the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple and Candlemas. It is the day on which the Divine Child is brought to the Temple and offered by the Immaculate Virgin to the Eternal Father. It is also the day on which our Blessed Mother humbles herself to receive the rites of ritual purification that she did not need, but from which she did not wish to exempt herself. Both Jesus and Mary give us remarkable examples of obedience to the Law and of holy purity on this beautiful feast. It is also the feast of light, Our Lord being the light that shines henceforth for all nations.
The blessing and distribution of candles on this day is probably the most popular aspect of the feast. As we bless the candles and carry them, we are reminded of the words of Our Blessed Lord: You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Mt 5:14-16). To carry a lit candle in procession signifies that we acknowledge the formidable task we have received of conveying the light of Christ to a dark world. St Peter alludes to this when he writes in his second epistle: We have the more firm prophetical word: whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts (2 Pt 1:19). To keep a light burning in a dark place is vital, but it is also very challenging. The night is long, gusts of wind threaten the flame, and we may want to get some sleep. But the Lord has entrusted us with a task, and come what may, we must keep that flame burning.
The old man Simeon portrays this beautifully. St Luke tells us he had reached a ripe old age and was waiting for the Messiah. The Holy Spirit had informed him that his prayer was answered and that he would not die before seeing Him. As Simeon saw the day of his death approach, he may very well have been tempted to give up hope, to concede that his vision had been just an illusion. But lo and behold, on this particular day, the Holy Spirit urges him to go up to the temple. As he enters, He sees Mary and Joseph, bringing the baby Jesus for the ritual purification of His mother and for the offering prescribed by the Mosaic Law. Simeon is given to understand that this Babe is the One, He is the Messiah, the Chosen One. As he takes the Infant God into his venerable old hands, his heart bursts out into the chant of the Nunc dimittis, the third of the New Testament canticles. Simeon is the patron saint of those who wait in the dark, sometimes for a very long time, sometimes for a lifetime, with absolute confidence that God will be faithful to His word. Who is there among you that feareth the Lord, that heareth the voice of his servant, that hath walked in darkness, and hath no light? Let him hope in the name of the Lord, and lean upon his God (Is 50:10).
We too are waiting in the dark. Confusion reigns like never before. We find ourselves like the disciples in the Gospel of this 4th Sunday after Epiphany that will be read at the end of Mass today, in which Jesus is asleep in the boat while the boat seems to be sinking. We want to wake Our Lord and get Him to do something. At such times, we must remind ourselves that this is nothing new. We have been here many times before. After the night comes the day, after the storm follows a great calm. The very existence of the night and the storm assures us that the day and the calm will follow, especially when it was all prophesied.
Indeed, today is also the feast of Our Lady of Good Success, a devotion that goes back to the 17th century, when Our Lady revealed many wonderful things to a humble Ecuadorian nun, Mother Marianna de Jesus Torres. Among the many messages received, there was this one:
“At that time – she was referring to the period of the 20th century – the Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs. The effects of secular education will increase, which will be one reason for the lack of priestly and religious vocations… The demon will try to persecute the Ministers of the Lord in every possible way and he will labour with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation, corrupting many of them. These corrupted priests, who will scandalise the Christian people, will incite the hatred of the bad Christians and the enemies of the Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church to fall upon all priests. This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings to the good Pastors of the Church…. Moreover, in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled lust which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women. In this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak will fall silent.”
All this is before our eyes today. What is encouraging is that in other periods of decadence and widespread loss of faith and immorality, true reform always began in the very heart of the dark night. And we see that happening today. There are so many signs of true revival all around the world, in defence of unborn life, of modesty in dress, true Catholic doctrine and reverent sacred liturgy. Little fires are being lit all over the world.
In such periods of darkness, the Holy Spirit inspires souls to return to the sources of the Gospel and to revive forms of true religious life. The Benedictine order was founded at a time when the Roman Empire was collapsing. The greatmonastic reform of Cluny began in the heart of the 10th century which in many respects is considered the darkest of centuries. The monumental reforms of the Catholic Counter-Reformation began in the turmoil of the Protestant Revolt and the devastating Sack of Rome. The innumerable religious congregations founded in the 19th century sprang straight from the blood of martyrs of the French Revolution. In other words, the Catholic reflex is always to go back to the roots and in particular to found monasteries. Our Lady told Sister Marianna: “Woe to the world should it lack monasteries and convents! Men do not comprehend their importance, for, if they understood, they would do all in their power to multiply them, because in them can be found the remedy for all physical and moral evils… No one on the face of the earth is aware whence comes the salvation of souls, the conversion of great sinners, the end of great scourges, the fertility of the land, the end of pestilence and wars, and the harmony between nations. All this is due to the prayers that rise up from monasteries and convents.”
Remember this in your hours of darkness and discouragement; remember the candle you carried today, and forget not that it is up to you to keep your little portion of the light burning. A single, tiny flame can set ablaze an entire forest. No one’s efforts are futile. Guard your flame jealously, preserve your faith, and your purity, give good examples of a holy life, and by the very fact you are sending a message to the world that the light does exist and that the darkness cannot overcome it. Behold all you that kindle a fire, encompassed with flames, walk in the light of your fire, and in the flames which you have kindled (Is 50:10-11).
