Candlemas

Beewise we gather our wax all year
From bramble sorrow and thistle tear,
Briar sadness and spine of pain:
Bitter flowers that bloom again!
But deadest winter brings a day
When thorns have lovelier bloom than May;
When candles are fashioned and lit by One
Who fashioned her wax to be lit by the Sun,
Then watched her Candle burn: the price
Of sin-consuming sacrifice.
Today she shares the Flame anew
To make us priest-and-victim too.

And Mary-mothered flames and Flame
Live their sacrificial Name.

~Rev. John D. Boyd, S.J.


Today's beautiful feast goes by different names.  The Roman Missal calls it The Presentation of the Lord.  It's also called the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, and Candlemas.  An excellent article on the meaning and history of this feast can be found here. 

In Thy light we shall see light!  ~Psalm 35(36):10