Candlemas, or blessing of the candles. The blessing of the candles on February 2nd is one of the three principal Blessings observed by the Church during the year; the other two are those of the Ashes and of the Palms. The signification of this ceremony bears so essential a connection with the mystery of Our Lady’s Purification, that in ancient times, there was a solemn Procession with the blessed candles. The mystery of today’s ceremony has frequently been explained by liturgists, dating from the 7th century. According to St. Ivo de Chartres, the wax, which is formed from the juice of flowers by the bee, always considered as the emblem of virginity, signifies the virginal flesh of the Divine Infant, who diminished not, either by his conception or his birth, the spotless purity of his Blessed Mother. The same Bishop would have us see, who came to enlighten our darkness. St Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, speaking on the same mystery, bids us consider three things on the blest Candle: the wax, the wick, and the flame. The wax, he says, which is the production of the virginal bee, is the Flesh of our Lord; the wick which is within, is his Soul; the flame, which burns on the top, is his Divinity. parishholycross/index.php/component/content/article/9-frontpage/289-candlemas
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 08:57:25 +0000
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