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Dawn
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How do you celebrate Candlemas? Does your parish bless candles or mark this day in any way? Would anyone mind sharing their understanding of this feast day?
I read this quote in Around the Year with the Von Trapp family:
"On Candlemas Day every family should carry home a blessed candle, which will have a special place on the home altar and will be lit in all moments of danger, during thunderstorms, during sickness, in time of tribulation."
How lovely! I am thinking of candle crafts to do at home with the children and possibly some reading to understand better what this day is all about.
Thank you for any help.
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Helen
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Candlemas is the feast commemorated in the 4th Joyful mystery of the Rosary, the Presentation in the Temple. It is a Marian feast day. It is here that Our Lady receives her first sorrow. Simeon prophesies to her that a sword shall pierce her heart. In the Glories of Mary, we hear "all the joy left her heart at these words." Although, this is the first of Our Lady's seven dolors, this mystery is considered a joyful mystery because of the public proclamation made by Simeon. He declares openly that the Messiah has arrived "This Child is destined for the rise and fall of many."
The candles blessed on this day, are used on the following day, St. Blase, for the blessing of the throat.
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Ave Maria!
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Helen
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A candle represents:
Now, master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in sight of all thepeoples,
a light for revelaiton to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel."
Luke 2:29-32
The Church considers this a very important Bible passage. It is said every night in the Liturgy of the Hours (Breviary) night prayer.
I'm glad you brought this up. Night prayer is beautiful and rather short. Perhaps, I will pray for the grace to say Night prayer as a novena, beginning nine days before the Feast of the Presentation.
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Helen
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I'm sorry to bombard this topic, but another way of prayerfully looking at Candlemas is to pray the seven joys and seven sorrows of St. Joseph.
Here is a meditation on the Presentation from the point of view of St. Joseph:
At the Presentation, we can imagine the Just and Faithful Head of the Holy Family leading his family towards the Temple in sacrificial obedience to the laws of God. In contemplative silence, he leads, almost dumbfounded by the overwhelming humility shown by the sinless Immaculate and the Only Son of God. Does the Son of God need to follow laws designed for a fallen human nature? Does the Immaculate Virgin need to be purified? However, in exceeding humility and in poverty St. Joseph offers the ransom, while the Virgin offers Her Son. Then, the great pain to hear that the beautiful Child and His Holy mother will suffer. At the words “And a sword shall pierce your heart” St. Joseph received a sword of suffering.
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Sarah
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I found this rhyme in a history book stating that early immigrants celebrated Candlemas, intead of Groundhog day--
If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another fright;
But if it be dark with clouds and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again.
Interesting, I thought. 
Our priest has blessed candles to take home on and around this feastday.
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Helen
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When I looked up Candlemas/Presentation of the Lord in the office of Readings of the breviary, (Liturgy of the hours)I found a beautiful sermon by an ancient saint, Saint Sophronius. The sermon is available at this website with some biographical information as well:
St. Sophronius Sermon
The saint explains the meaning of the lighted candles:
"The Mother of God, the most pure Virgin, carried the true light in her arms and brought him to those who lay in darkness."
It's a beautiful sermon.
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Dawn
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Helen and Sarah,
Thank you so much for your wonderful replies. You have given me a better understanding of Candlemas and much to think about as this feast approaches.
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momwise
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Don't forget to check Catholic Culture's Feast of the Presentation page, with links to recipes and activities.
Also, later I'll post more about an idea from The Year and Our Children for a shadowbox theatre dramatization.
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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Kathryn UK
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Sarah wrote:
I found this rhyme in a history book stating that early immigrants celebrated Candlemas, intead of Groundhog day--
If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another fright;
But if it be dark with clouds and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again.
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And here is another version:
“If Candlemas be fair and clear
There’ll be two winters in one year!”
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JennGM
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Quote:
| "Now, master, you may let your servant go in peace...." |
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This feast has always been a favorite of mine, but now it has even more special significance. Dh's father died on this day, 9 years ago. I just think what an appropriate feast and Gospel reading to be ushed into heaven. I now can't read that passage without thinking of my fil and my death in particular.
Gwen, you were reading my mind. Catholic Culture must have just opened up that page, because I tried posting it yesterday. Here's the Shadow Box Show and Procession for Candlemas. It's one of the best activities I've ever seen.
As regards to candles being blessed, our parish does this. Try to think ahead of the year and any times you might be using candles, to purchase them and have them blessed...such as baptismal candles, Paschal candle for the home, candles to burn at the home altar for prayer time, candles for annointing of the sick preparation, Viaticum, etc.
Last year I got a lovely candle holder and candle from Our Father's House. The candle is mostly beeswax (smells so heavenly  ), but she has a "sticker" image on the candle that looks like the Paschal candle from church. She also provides the incense to put in. My candle is 2" by 9" tall and my holder is silver, so what she is offering this year is slightly different, but I know it would be fabulous.
But I would like to have a new candle for each year with the year on the candle, so a priest friend sent us this source Initiation Candles to buy smaller versions of the parish Paschal Candle that they usually give to the newly baptized and initiated. ">Evening Praise is my choice, as I'm such a traditionalist.
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Kelly
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Thanks, all, for the reminder about Candlemas. It has a way of sneaking up and before you know it, you've missed it---and it's such a great feast day.
This year, we're getting candles blessed to have on hand for hurricane season. The candles and candle holders from Our Father's House sound perfect.
Kelly in FL
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Helen
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When I said to my children, I want to pray to be able to say Night prayer in preparation for Candlemas, two of my sons said, "Can we say it too?" I was surprised and said, "Do you want to?" They said yes. So, God willing, we are going to try to say Night prayer (compline) this week and light a pillar candle while we say it. It really is a beautiful set of prayers, asking for a good night's rest.
Night Prayer
From the responsory "Into your hands I commend my spirit" and following is repeated every night. The first psalm and short reading change.(One could just start with the responsory, to make it shorter for children.) It begins with a short examination of conscience and ends with a hymn to Our Lady (traditional - Salve Regina)
Simeon's cry is called "Nunc dimittis" (Our Lady's is called the "Magnificat" at Evening prayer and Zecharias is called "Benedictus" in Morning prayer.)
I saw Marcus Grodi's show on EWTN with a beautiful nun who said that her father prayed the breviary.She looks back on praying the breviary with him as an important development of her religious vocation. Perhaps, a parent, by incorporating the breviary into his prayer life, can offer this prayer to God as a way of saying "I do not stand in the way of vocations, Your Will be done."
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Helen
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What about "post Candlemas"?
I read in Father Faber's book At the Foot of the Cross, "She placed Him in the arms of the aged priest Simeon, as she has done since in vision to so many of the saints"
I could only think of this happening to Saint Anthony and to St. Francis. I was thinking after Candlemas, speaking to the children of saints who had the same experience as Simeon. Would anyone be able to offer me other examples of Saints who held the Infant Christ?
(Father Faber also wrote the hymn Sweet Sacrament)
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momwise
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Whew! You saved me alot of typing Jenn....thanks
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"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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momwise
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HelenDilworth wrote:
| So, God willing, we are going to try to say Night prayer (compline) this week and light a pillar candle while we say it. It really is a beautiful set of prayers, asking for a good night's rest |
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Hmmm...what a coincidence. About a week ago I decided to incorporate more of Compline into our family night prayers. Now we are beginning with the introductory antiphon, using the exam. of consience and Act of Contrition and saying Simeon's canticle. Now by the Feast of the Presentation, they should have the canticle memorized.
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
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JennGM
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Women for Faith and Family have compiled a lovely page for Candlemas...no actual activities, but good reading material.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Dawn
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jenngm67 wrote:
| But I would like to have a new candle for each year with the year on the candle, so a priest friend sent us this source Initiation Candles to buy smaller versions of the parish Paschal Candle that they usually give to the newly baptized and initiated. ">Evening Praise is my choice, as I'm such a traditionalist. |
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Jenn, thank you so much for this link; these candles are absolutely beautiful!
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Dawn
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Making Beeswax Candles
Hey! I finally figured out how to paste a link !
There is also this Tin Can-dle Lantern. Look to the right side of the Domestic-church home page for the links.
This site is probably not new to most of you, but I am finding it so much fun to explore  .
Hands-on projects like these really help with our understanding, and "drinking in" of, an experience.
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Here's a couple more weather lore rhymes:
From Germany:
For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day,
So far will the snow swirl until May.
For as the snow blows on Candlemas Day,
So far will the sun shine before May.
And from America:
If the sun shines on Groundhog Day;
Half the fuel and half the hay.
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Bumping this old thread....
The blessing of the candles today at Mass was so beautiful! So was our procession. It was all so lovely; I have really enjoyed reading over the prayers of the Mass today after we got home (since I was....ahem...in and out of Mass with little people). In reading the prayers from today's Mass I found some inspiration for a simple focus for the day that incorporates Our Lady, her presentation of Jesus in the temple, and light.
Today we chose one of our statues of Our Lady holding the Divine Child (as I imagine she might have held Him as she presented Him in the temple on this day) and placed this statue on our family altar. We draped it with white as a symbol of Our Lady's purity. We have placed a blessed candle (from today) at the base of the statue and we'll light it tonight for family Rosary. We'll pray the First Antiphon together after lighting our candle:
First Antiphon from the Mass of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin wrote:
| ]Adorn thy bridal-chamber, O Sion, and welcome Christ the King: with loving embrace greet Mary, the very gate of heaven; for she bringeth to thee the glorious Kind of new light: ever Virgin she remaineth, yet in her arms doth bear the Son begotten before the day-star: that Child Whom Simeon did take into his arms and proclaim to the nations as Lord of life and Savior of the world. |
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I did come up with another couple of craft ideas that were inspired from reading the Third Prayer from the blessing of candles today, but I didn't prepare for it and tonight is our Farm-chores night so I won't be able to complete it this Candlemas, but perhaps next year. I thought I'd share anyway.
Note emphasis:
Quote:
| O Lord Jesus Christ, the true Light Who enlightenest every man that cometh into this world: pour forth Thy blessing upon these candles, and sanctify them with the light of Thy grace, and mercifully grant, that as these lights, enkindled with visible fire, dispel the darkness of night, so our hearts illumined by invisible fire, that is, by the splendor of the Holy Ghost, may be free from every blindness due to vice: so that with clear sight our minds may discern what is pleasing to Thee and profitable to our salvation; so that after the darksome perils of this life we may deserve to attain to never fading light: Through Thee, O Christ Jesus, Savior of the world, Who in the perfect Trinity, livest and reignest, God, world without end. |
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IDEA ONE FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN:
I thought it might be lovely to have the children color or cut out an image of a lit candle. Then, they could cut out the shape of a heart from red cardstock or construction paper. With help, a small window flap could be cut in the heart and the image of the candlelight could be glued behind the heart, being careful not to glue over the image...and not to glue the doors of the heart shut. Then, the child can open the doors of the heart to see the Light of Christ.
IDEA TWO FOR OLDER CHILDREN:
Using red pipe cleaners and glue, shape pipe cleaners into a large heart shape. At the base of the pipecleaner heart shape, fashion a stand with pipe cleaners by wrapping a black pipe cleaner around the bottom of the heart a few times and then shaping it so that it helps the heart stand upright. Glue red tissue paper over the heart frame in the shape of the heart - only one tissue papers worth of thickness. Allow to dry. You should have a standing tissue paper heart. Place the tissue paper heart stand in front of a lit blessed candle votive (obviously not too close to the lit candle). Another idea would be to simply cut a heart shape out of tissue paper (you may have to cut out an outline of the heart from cardstock and glue the tissue paper over it for some rigidity) and place it on a clear plastic bookstand...you're just looking for something to hold the tissue paper heart upright...many things could work for this! The blessed candle (representing the Light of the World) should illuminate the tissue paper heart. This might be nice to keep burning during family prayers.
AND FINALLY....
I thought of a tea-time treat that might be nice, and I'm really not angling for yet-another way to have more chocolate - I'm really NOT!!!! But, wouldn't some DOVE chocolates be nice...think (turtle)DOVEs that were presented by Our Lady and St. Joseph for the Presentation in the Temple. I know...it's a stretch. Wonder if DOVE makes a white chocolate??? Hmmmm....
A blessed Candlemas to you all!
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Jen Mackintosh
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Candlemas
