The Presentation of the Lord

The Presentation of the Lord, kept on 2 February forty days after Christmas, celebrates the day when Mary and Joseph brought the child Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, in obedience to the Law of Moses, to present him to the Lord and to offer the sacrifice of the poor, a pair of turtledoves. There the aged and just Simeon, who had been promised that he would not die before seeing the Messiah, took the child in his arms and blessed God in the words the Church sings each night: "Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation."

Simeon hailed the infant as a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel, and foretold to Mary the sword of sorrow that would pierce her own soul; the prophetess Anna, too, gave thanks and spoke of the child to all who awaited the redemption of Jerusalem. Because Simeon called Christ the light of the nations, the feast is marked by the blessing of candles and a procession, and is popularly known as Candlemas.