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February 2, 2023Candlemas and St. Blaise
When I was a kid I thought that we were blessed with candles on February 3rd because it was St. “Blaise” day.
To my mind, the saint’s name was spelled b-l-a-z-e.
“Blaze” as in fire.
I can’t be the only person that thought this - but it’s not something I usually share publicly.
Turns out I was wrong, but wrong in the good kind of way, because after I learned about Candlemas and exactly why our throats are blessed with candles on St. B-l-a-i-s-e day (ahem) it’s been one of my favorite periods in the Church calendar.
And I hope that you’ll say the same after you learn a little more about it.
What is Candlemas?
Candlemas happens on February 2nd and it’s the day that we celebrate the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. It’s sometimes referred to as the Purification of Mary (along with many other names in different traditions).
Candlemas happens 40 days after Christmas and marks the end of the Christmas/Epiphany season.
It’s also the day that we bless all of the candles that will be used liturgically in the church for the rest of the year. That’s why we call it Candlemas. (This is also why the throat blessing on the following day, in honor of St. Blaise, is done using these freshly blessed candles).
That’s the simple explanation. But Candlemas is one of the feasts in the Church where there are so many different parts to it that it’s hard to know where to begin.
Let’s start somewhere.
Mary brings Jesus to the Temple
In Luke 2: 22 - 40, Our Lady and St. Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the Temple. There they offered a sacrifice and Simeon and the prophetess Anna both saw Our Lord, for whom they had been waiting.
Luke says that they offered a sacrifice of two turtle doves or young pigeons according to the law of Moses for their purification. This was done according to the Mosaic law, which required a new mother to offer a sacrifice of purification after childbirth.
In Leviticus 12: 2-8, a new mother was required to offer a lamb for sacrifice but could offer two turtle doves or pigeons if she was too poor to provide the lamb.
Hence the reason Mary and Joseph, who were of simple means, did not offer a lamb for sacrifice.
Yet they did.
By presenting Our Lord in the Temple, Mary and Joseph were offering the Lamb who would be slain for the sins of the world in their son, Christ Jesus. The Presentation was a foreshadowing of what was to come.
Just like the myrrh that the magi brought, used to perfume the bodies of the dead, we can see from the very beginning of Christ's life, that he was born into this world to redeem us through his suffering and death.
Nunc Dimittis
There were two people waiting on Our Lord in the Temple, Simeon and the prophetess Anna.
Both had been promised to see the Messiah before their deaths, and Simeon took the Child Jesus in his arms and said the words that are still memorialized in the Church's Compline to this day:
Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:
my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.
The Lord tells us clearly through the words of Simeon that Christ was meant to be the salvation to all the nations, Gentiles and Jews - he would be the savior of all.
In the Temple, he also told Mary that a sword will pierce her heart - Our Lady of Sorrows.
(And while we're at it, Simeon and Anna are hopeful reminders that it is never too late for God to work in our lives and deliver on his promises to us).
Why Candles?
Candles, of course, represent the fact that at the Presentation, we celebrate he who is the Light of the World being made known.
The Rembrandt painting above perfectly illustrates the glorious mystery of the Christ Child - that such a tiny baby, born to a poor, seemingly insignificant couple in the world's backwater, would be the one who would bring light to the human race.
This small child would be the one to guide humanity out of the darkness of sin. In the Rembrandt painting, the Child Jesus is almost a tiny point engulfed in a sea of dark, but his presence lights the entire scene.
In a way, you can still see this reflected in the tabernacle of a large, ornately decorated church.
(Think about that the next time you enter a church with statues and paintings and stained glass and elaborate reredos - that all of this beauty and wonder centers around a tiny piece of "bread” contained in the altar).
This is why the Church blesses candles this day - to celebrate Christ who gives light to the world.
Theology of Candles
Traditionally, candles that were used on the altar were required to be made of beeswax or majority beeswax.
The reason for this is that beeswax is produced by virgin bees, so the light of the candle is cloaked in virginity, just as Christ was.
And if the wax of the candle represents Christ's human body, then the wick is his soul and the flame is his Divinity which shines through and illuminates his identity.
The Church does not strictly maintain the need for beeswax candles as much anymore, but the symbolism of the candle remains.
St. Blaise
This is why we're blessed with candles on the memorial of St. Blaise. The more you learn about different feast days and traditions, the more you'll see that they're filled with layer upon layer of different meanings.
St. Blaise was a bishop and doctor from Sebastea in Cappadocia (modern-day Turkey). He was known for treating people with objects that were stuck in their throats.
Seems highly specific, no?
Yet God cares for even something as insignificant as a sparrow, so he certainly cares about all those little aspects of our lives that are important to us. Never be ashamed to go to God in prayer with everything that concerns you.
So on February 3rd, we're blessed with one of those unique practices that make it wonderful to be Catholic. Through the intercession of St. Blaise, we're blessed with candles to protect us from diseases of the throat.
We ask for a blessing from the God who cares deeply about us and every aspect of our lives, and we're blessed with the candles that symbolize the light that his Son brought into the world.
We ask for health so that we might be lights to others - that we can lead others to Christ and His Church through the example of our life, our words, and the love that we share with others.
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