Tag: purificationofmary

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS

Quote/s of the Day – 2 February – Carrying Jesus

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 2 February – The Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin – Candlemas

“We must be burning with love
and radiant with good deeds
and so, take up Christ in our hands with Simeon …
Could anyone hold up a lighted candle in his hands
on this day, without at once remembering
that old man, who on this same day,
took up in his arms, Jesus, God’s Word,
clothed in flesh like a candle-flame,
clothed in wax and affirmed Him to be
“the Light which would be
a beacon for the Gentiles.”

“Be a lamp then in heart, in hand, in lips.
The lamp in your heart will shine for you,
the lamp in your hand or on your lips
will shine out for your neighbours.
The lamp in the heart,
is loving faith,
the lamp in the hand,
is the example of good works,
the lamp on the lips, is edifying speech.”

Bl Guerric of Igny (c 1080-1157)

“The glorious St Simeon also was very happy…
to carry Him as did Our Lady…
we do this when we endure with love,
the labours and pains He sends us,
that is to say, when the love
which we bear to the Law of God,
makes us find His yoke easy and pleasing,
so that we love these pains and labours
and gather sweetness in the midst of bitterness.
This is nothing else but to carry Our Lord in our arms.
Now if we carry Him in this way,
He will, without doubt, Himself carry us!”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church

The Christopher Prayer,
Make Us True Christ-Bearers
Anonymous

Father, grant that we may be,
bearers of Christ Jesus, Your Son.
Allow us to fill, the world around us,
with Your light.
Strengthen us, by Your Holy Spirit,
to carry out our mission
of living and following
the path of Jesus, our Lord.
Help us to understand,
that by Your grace
our gifts are Your blessings,
to be shared with others.
Fill us with Your Spirit of love
to give glory to You
in loving all
and preaching by our love.
Nourish in us the desire
to go forth
as the bearers of Your Son
fearless and gentle,
loving and merciful.
Make us true Christ-Bearers,
that in seeing us,
only He is visible.
Amen.

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, ONE Minute REFLECTION, The HEART, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 2 February – “The Lord, Whom you are seeking, will suddenly enter His Temple” – Malachias 3:1

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 2 February – The Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin – Candlemas – Malachias 3:1-4, Luke 2:22-32 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Lord, Whom you are seeking, will suddenly enter His Temple” – Malachias 3:1

REFLECTION – “Today the Virgin Mary brings the Lord of the Temple, into the Temple of the Lord. And Joseph, too, takes along there, to the Lord that Son Who is not his own but is the beloved Son in Whom God has set all His favour (Mt 3:17). Simeon, the just man, recognises the One for Whom he was waiting; Anna, the widow, gives Him praise. For the first time, a procession is celebrated on this day, by these four people, a procession that would subsequently be celebrated with joy, by the whole world… Do not be astonished that this procession is so small, since He is also very small Whom the temple receives. But there are no sinners in that place: all are righteous, all are Saints, all are perfect.

Are these the only ones you are going to save, Lord? Your Body is going to grow greater, Your tenderness will also increase… Now, I see a second procession, in which great crowds precede the Lord and crowds follow Him – it is no longer the Virgin who bears Him but a little donkey. So He despises no-one…, if at least those garments of apostles are not lacking them (Mt 21:7): their doctrine, habits and the charity which covers over a multitude of sins (1Pt 4:8). But I will go even further and say that He has saved a place in that procession for us as well… David, King and Prophet, rejoiced to see that day: “he saw it and was glad” (Jn 8:56). If he had not, would he have sung the words: “We have received, O God, Thy mercy in the midst of Thy Temple”? (Ps 47[48]:8). David received this mercy from the Lord, Simeon received it and we, too, have received it as have all those predestined for life, since “Christ is the same today, yesterday and forever” (Heb 13:8)…

So let us take to ourselves this mercy we have received in the midst of the Temple and, like blessed Anna, let us not distance ourselves from it. For “God’s Temple is holy and you are that temple” says the Apostle Paul (1 Cor 3:17). This mercy is close to you; “the word of God is very close to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart” (Rm 10:8). Indeed, does not Christ dwell in your hearts by faith? (Eph 3:17) That is His Temple, that is His Throne… Yes, it is in our hearts that we receive mercy, in our hearts that Christ dwells, in our hearts He whispers words of peace to His people, His saints, everyone who returns to their heart!” – St Bernard (1090-1153) Cistercian Monk, known as the Last Father and the Mellifluous Doctor of the Church (1st sermon for the Purification).

PRAYER – Almighty, eternal God, we humbly beseech Thy Majesty that, as Thy Only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the nature of our flesh, so may Thou grant us to be presented to Thee with purified minds. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Feast of the Purification of Our Lady – Candlemas Day, Our Lady of the Candles and Memorials of the Saints – 2 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Feast of the Purification of Our Lady – Candlemas Day – 2 February
About:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/02/feast-of-the-purification-of-our-lady-the-presentation-of-our-lord-in-the-temple-candlemas-day-2-february/
AND:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/02/feast-of-the-presentation-of-the-lord-2-february/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/02/feast-of-the-presentation-of-the-lord-in-the-temple-2-february/

Our Lady of the Candles – (formally known as Nuestra Señora de la Purificación y la Candelaria) is a Marian title and image venerated by Filipino Catholics. The image, which is enshrined on the balcony of Jaro Cathedral, is known as the patroness of Jaro District of Iloilo City and the whole of the Western Visayas.
The feast day of Our Lady of the Candles is on Candlemas (2 February) and is celebrated in Iloilo City with a Solemn Pontifical Mass presided by the Archbishop of Jaro.

St Adalbald of Ostrevant
St Adeloga of Kitzingen
St Agathodoros of Tyana
St Apronian the Executioner
Bl Bernard of Corbara
St Bruno of Ebsdorf
St Burchard of Wurzburg
St Candidus the Martyr
St Columbanus of Ghent
St Cornelius the Centurion
St Felician the Martyr
St Feock
St Firmus of Rome
St Flosculus of Orléans
St Fortunatus the Martyr
St Hilarus the Martyr
St Jeanne de Lestonnac (1556-1640) Widow, Mother, Founder

St Lawrence of Canterbury (Died 2 February 619) The Second Archbishop of Canterbury, the successor of St Augustine of Canterbury from 604 until his death in 619, but he was Consecrated as Archbishop by his predecessor, St Augustine, during Augustine’s lifetime, to ensure continuity in the office, Benedictine Monk, Missionary. He was a member of the Gregorian mission sent from Italy to England to Christianise the Anglo-Saxons.
About St Lawrence:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/02/saint-of-the-day-2-february-saint-lawrence-of-canterbury-died-619/

Blessed Luigi Giuseppe Bellesini OSA (1774-1840) Priest and Friar of the Hermits of St Augustine
St Marquard of Hildesheim
St Mun

Blessed Peter Cambiano OP (1320-1365) Martyr, Priest and Friar of the Order of Preachers, Confessor, renowned Preacher calling many to conversion by his holy zeal and the power of his words. Martyred by heretics. Beatified on 4 December 1856 by Pope Pius IX.
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/02/saint-of-the-day-2-february-blessed-peter-cambiano-op-1320-1365/

St Rogatus the Martyr
St Saturninus the Martyr
St Sicharia of Orleans
St Simon of Cassia Fidati
St Theodoric of Ninden
St Victoria the Martyr

Martyrs of Ebsdorf: Members of the army of King Louis III of France under the leadership of Duke Saint Bruno of Ebsdorf. The Martyrs died fighting invading pagan Norsemen, and defending the local Christian population. Four bishops, including Saint Marquard of Hildesheim and Saint Theodoric of Ninden, eleven nobles, and countless unnamed foot soldiers died repelling the invaders. They were martyred in the winter of 880 in battle at Luneberg Heath and Ebsdorf, Saxony (modern Germany).

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Posted on by AnaStpaul

2 February – Feast of the Presentation of the Lord – This is known as a “Christmas feast” since it points back to the Solemnity of Christmas.    Many Catholics practice the tradition of keeping out the Nativity creche or other Christmas decorations until this feast.   The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is an early episode in the life of Jesus that is celebrated by the Church on the holiday of Candlemas. It is described in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Within the account, “Luke’s narration of the Presentation in the Temple combines the purification rite with the Jewish ceremony of the redemption of the firstborn (Luke 2:23-24).”

bellinipresentation
Bellini

At the end of the fourth century, a woman named Etheria made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Her journal, discovered in 1887, gives an unprecedented glimpse of liturgical life there. Among the celebrations she describes is the Epiphany, the observance of Christ’s birth, and the gala procession in honor of his Presentation in the Temple 40 days later. (Under the Mosaic Law, a woman was ritually “unclean” for 40 days after childbirth, when she was to present herself to the priests and offer sacrifice—her “purification.” Contact with anyone who had brushed against mystery—birth or death—excluded a person from Jewish worship.) This feast emphasizes Jesus’ first appearance in the Temple more than Mary’s purification.

brooklyn_museum_-_the_presentation_of_jesus_in_the_temple_la_presentation_de_jesus_au_temple_-_james_tissot_-_overall

James Tissot, The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

The observance spread throughout the Western Church in the fifth and sixth centuries. Because the Church in the West celebrated Jesus’ birth on December 25, the Presentation was moved to February 2, 40 days after Christmas.

At the beginning of the eighth century, Pope Sergius inaugurated a candlelight procession; at the end of the same century the blessing and distribution of candles which continues to this day became part of the celebration, giving the feast its popular name: Candlemas.

bellini-s-presentation-of-jesus-in-the-temple_photodisplay
Bellini