Fontgombault Sermon for Candlemas 2020: "Every child is a gift from God."

Candlemas

Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau

Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault

Fontgombault, February 2, 2020

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

My dearly beloved Sons,

The feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and of the Purification of our Blessed Lady occurs this year on a Sunday. As a feast of the Lord, it supersedes the Sunday, and we are therefore able to celebrate together this feast. It bears a special relationship with consecrated life, and Pope St. John Paul II wanted to emphasize this fact with a day of prayer.

According to our Bishop’s wishes, throughout the various parishes of our diocese, priests will mention this special answer to God’s calling: forsaking everything so as to follow Him, namely, consecrated life. This calling is lived by the male and female contemplatives in a life withdrawn from the world, inside an enclosure, or by the religious, as well as consecrated lay men and women, through an apostolic activity. We willingly unite ourselves to the thanksgiving of the whole Christian people for the gift of consecrated life God has given the Church, and we especially keep in our prayer so many young people the Lord is still calling to follow Him. May the call of the Lord of the harvest strike a responsive chord in them, and receive a generous, persevering and radical answer.

Guest Op-Ed: Reflections on obedience for the Feast of Candlemas

 By Veronica A. Arntz

The feast of Candlemas is a rich tradition in the Church; it is a day that we celebrate many events, including the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple, and the Nunc Dimittis of Simeon. In reflecting on this beautiful feast day, one common theme that we find present is obedience. Obedience is the proper response of an individual to God’s invitation and call; it is the fitting response to God’s commandments and law. We too should strive in obedience to follow the commandments of God, just as we find in the Holy Family and the aged Simeon.

The first example of obedience is Mary who, even though she was conceived without original sin, went to be purified in the Temple in accordance with the Mosaic Law. As we read, “And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’)” (Luke 2:22-23, RSV-CE).

Candlemas in Art : A pictorial Presentation - by Maureen Mullarkey

by Rorate Contributor

Maureen Mullarkey

In the Latin Church, Christmastide reaches its canonical end today, on Candlemas. The name comes to us from the ancient custom of blessing candles in church this day for distribution to the congregation. Celebrated in the early Church simply as the Feast of the Fortieth Day, it is rich in liturgical significance and resonant with history. Candlemas is a double feast that binds Christian faith to its Judaic roots in the very act of proclaiming Jesus as a light for the Gentiles and, in the jubilant words of the Canticle of Simeon, “the glory of Thy people Israel.”

Presentation of Christ in the Temple. Luttrell Psalter (14th C.)

We know the story. In obedience to Jewish law, Mary—young Miriam—takes her weeks-old son to temple to undergo ritual purification on the day required of mothers of sons. The Book of Leviticus is firm: “She shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled.”

Event: Palestrina's Missa Brevis on Candlemas - Jersey City, New Jersey

Event notice sent by a local reader:

Palestrina's Missa Brevis will be performed for Candlemas on Tuesday, February 2nd at a 7:00 PM Traditional Latin Solemn High Mass in downtown Jersey City’s historic St. Anthony’s Church, located at Monmouth St. between 6th and 7th. The renowned Cantantes in Cordibus choir, which is under the direction of Maestro Simone Ferraresi, the noted composer, pianist and conductor, will sing this deeply moving and beautiful work.