This Monday (2^nd February), we celebrate Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, and also the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, bringing to a conclusion the greater season of Christmastide. It is a very beautiful feast – rich in meaning and symbolism, and one that often gets overlooked, unless it happens to fall on a Sunday. Mary and Joseph, forty days after Our Lord’s birth, in accordance with the Law of Moses, took the Child JESUS to the Temple to offer Him to the Lord. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Consecrate to Me all the first born, whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites of man and beast is Mine” (Exodus 13:1-2). And Simeon recognises the Child for Who He truly is: “a light to enlighten the Gentiles.” Hence the blessing of candles on this Feast. At one time the candles for the entire year would be blessed on this day. The Procession which follows reminds us that our faith is not something we just keep to ourselves, but something we carry and walk with. Blessed candles are also a sacramental, and when used with faith, having them in your home can drive away the forces of evil, and bring you grace and comfort in times of distress or sickness. If you wish have to have candles blessed on this Feast, please bring them to the sacristy before Mass begins.

Septuagesima: Now, going back a day, this Sunday (1^st February), in the traditional Roman Calendar, would be Septuagesima Sunday. Most Catholics today have probably never have heard of Septuagesima, but if you regularly attend the Wednesday Latin Mass, you would have come across it. Septuagesima (‘seventieth’ in Latin and roughly seventy days before Easter), is a warning to us that Lent is approaching. Purple vestments appear, the Gloria goes, the Alleluia is buried (quite literally in some places), and the Church is gently telling us, “Lent is just around the corner – don’t let it take you by surprise!” Now most of us are not very good at sudden spiritual gear-changes, and so going straight from ordinary life into fasting and ashes is not easy. Septuagesima is designed to ease us into Lent.

This year, Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) falls on 18^th February, but even though Septuagesima is no longer universally observed, there is nothing to stop us from using this time well. It’s the time to examine our habits and attachments and habits of sin. It’s the time to ask ourselves, “What do I need to change in my life? What might God be asking me to give up, or take up this year?” It is, I would suggest, the time to begin restraining our appetites a little, and if necessary, re-establish our daily prayer routine, begin doing some extra acts of charity, or even getting up a bit earlier to allow some extra time with God before going to our places of work or study. This requires a bit of discipline, but if we make this preparation, our Lent will be more fruitful. If we leave it until Ash Wednesday to think about these things, we’re not going to get off to a good start.

So, don’t let Lent take you by surprise. It’s a season of grace, and by using this pre-Lent time well, we will allow God to work more deeply in our souls.

Fr Paul Gillham, IC