Although we would be hard-pressed to find anything Christmas-related on the shelves of local stores today, we nonetheless celebrate the close of the Christmas season today with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. This fortieth day of Christmas is “a festival of light.” Candles are blessed on this Feast as a sign that the Light to enlighten the Gentiles and the glory of God’s people has arrived! Thus, forty days after the birth of Jesus, today’s celebration brings the Christmas season to a close.
Luke 2, 22-40 reminds us that Mary and Joseph, 40 days after the birth of Jesus and submitting to the Law of Moses, brought their Son to be offered, as the first-born, to God. They went to the Temple also for the purification of the mother after giving birth, even though we believe that Mary did not need such purification. For the ceremony, they have traveled from Nazareth to Jerusalem.
Today’s Feast brings to an end a whole period which resonates with a sense of light. Christmas itself, taking place just after the winter solstice, was the celebration of the end of the darkness of winter and the coming of light into the world, especially the Light of the World. Twelve days later there was the Feast of the Epiphany when the light of a star guided the Gentile visitors to pay homage to the Light of the World. Today, we bring the celebration to a close with a continuation of the festival-time of light. Let us rejoice in, with, and through Christ, “the light to enlighten the Gentiles.”
For more: https://catholicdioceseofwichita.org/reflections/2022-02-02/
Let us pray. “Almighty ever-living God, we humbly ask that, just as your Only Begotten Son was presented on this day in the Temple, so, by your grace, we may be presented to you today and every day with minds and hearts made pure. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever. Amen.”
