Feast of Presentation a celebration of encounter and light 

The Fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary is the Presentation (Lk 2: 22-38). The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “The presentation of Jesus in the temple shows him to be the firstborn Son who belongs to the Lord. With Simeon and Anna, all Israel awaits its encounter with the Saviour – the name given to this event in the Byzantine tradition. Jesus is recognized as the long-expected Messiah, the ‘light to the nations’ and the ‘glory of Israel,’ but also ‘a sign that is spoken against.’ The sword of sorrow predicted for Mary announces Christ’s perfect and unique oblation on the cross that will impart the salvation God had ‘prepared in the presence of all peoples.’”

Simeon prophesied both light and darkness, joy and sorrow, regarding the Christ Child. 

Simeon declared Christ “light to the nations” and the “glory of Israel.” Venerable Fulton Sheen wrote, “An old man at the sunset of his own life spoke of the sunrise of the world; in the evening of life he told of the promise of a new day. He had seen the Messiah before by faith; now his eyes could close, for there was nothing more beautiful to look upon. Some flowers open only in the evening. What he had seen now was ‘Salvation’ – not salvation from poverty, but salvation from sin.”

Simeon also prophesied that Christ would be “a sign that is spoken against” and a sword would pierce through the soul of Mary. 

St. Alphonsus Liguori pointed out that as the eternal father did not wish his divine Word to become Mary’s son before she accepted him by her express consent, so he did not wish that Jesus should sacrifice his life for the salvation of men without the concurrence of the consent of Mary. 

St. Bonaventure said that the Blessed Virgin would willingly have taken upon herself the sufferings and death of her son; but to obey God she made the great offering of the divine life of her beloved Jesus, conquering, but with the greatest grief, all the tenderness of love that she bore him.

St. Alphonsus Liguori wrote, “Mary not only offered her Son to death in the temple, but was offering him up at every moment of her life; for she revealed to St. Bridget, that this grief which St. Simeon announced to her, never left her heart till she was assumed into heaven.”

The Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2 – 40 days after Christmas. Traditionally, the feast has been called “Purification” and “Candlemas” for the candles blessed and used for procession on that day. 

Regarding the liturgical celebrations on Feb. 2, Dr. Pius Parsch wrote, “To grasp its significance we must associate it with the great solemnities of the winter cycle. Christmas, Epiphany, Purification – these are the peaks of the current season. It would not be impossible to discover a gradual heightening in the season’s ‘Light’ motif and in man’s response to the divine outpouring of Epiphany. On Christmas ‘the Light shines in the darkness’ and only a few ‘receive it’ – Mary and the shepherds at the crib. On Epiphany the Light casts its bright beams upon Jerusalem (the Church), ‘the glory of the Lord rises over Jerusalem,’ and the Gentiles come flocking out of the darkness to the City of Light. Lastly, on Candlemas Day, the Light is placed in our very hands, to hold during the service. Light, therefore, plays a notable role in today’s liturgy.” 

The candle the people receive on the Feast of the Presentation indicates the baptismal candle. St. Josemaria Escriva wrote, “We have to learn how to give ourselves, to burn before God like the light placed on a lampstand to give light to those who walk in darkness; like the sanctuary lamps that burn by the altar, giving off light till their last drop is consumed.” 

獻耶穌於聖殿慶祝光與邂逅

玫瑰經歡喜四端是聖母獻耶穌於聖殿（路2:22-38）。天主教教理說：『獻耶穌於聖殿，顯示祂是屬於上主的首生子。西默盎和亞納代表整個以色列人的期待，前來與他們的救主相遇 (拜占廷的傳統如此稱呼這事件)。耶穌被認為是期待已久的默西亞、「異邦的光明」和「以色列的榮耀」，但也是「反對的記號」。向瑪利亞預告的痛苦利劍，宣布了另一種祭獻，完美而獨一的，即十字架的祭獻；這祭獻將給予「天主在萬民之前早準備好的」救恩。』

有關兒童基督，西默盎預言了光和黑暗，喜樂和痛苦。

西默盎宣稱耶穌為『異邦的光輝』和『以色列的榮耀』。可敬Fulton Sheen寫道：『一位老人在他生命的落日中談及日出的世界；在他生命黃昏中，他告說新一天的徵兆。以信德，他已經見過了默西亞；現在他可以合上眼了，因為再沒有更美麗的可以值得一看。有些花朵只是在黃昏開放。他現在看見的是「救贖」----- 不是從貧窮中的救贖，卻是從罪惡中的救贖。』

西默盎也預言基督是『反對的記號』和一把利劍刺透瑪利亞的心靈。

聖亞爾豐索指出在瑪利亞表達同意接納前，永生之父不會讓祂的聖言變成瑪利亞的兒子，所以沒有瑪利亞一致的同意祂不會願意耶穌犧牲祂的生命去拯救世人。

聖文都辣說聖童貞女寧可自己承受她兒子的痛苦和的死亡；但為服從天主她作了偉大的奉獻，交出了她摯愛耶穌至聖的生命，以最大的傷痛克服了與祂細膩的愛。

聖亞爾豐索寫道：『瑪利亞不單只是在聖殿內奉獻上兒子接受死亡，也在她生命的每一刻奉獻了耶穌；因為她啟示給聖彼濟達說，從西默盎向她宣告開始，那份痛苦從來沒有退去，直到她蒙召升天。』

教會慶祝獻耶穌於聖殿瞻禮在二月二日-----聖誕的第四十天。傳統上這瞻禮叫『聖母取潔』和聖燭節，那天神父祝聖蠟燭作這天出遊之用。

有關二月二日的慶祝禮儀，Pius Parsch博士寫道：『要掌握它的重要性我們要把它與冬季的大節日聯結。聖誕節，主顯節，聖母取潔…這都是季節中的巔峰。不能不察覺到那「光」的主題，和人對主顯之光的傾注的回應。在聖誕節「光照在黑暗中照射」，只有小數「收到」—瑪利亞和馬糟旁的牧羊人。在主顯節，這光把明亮的光線投射在耶路撤冷（教會），「天主的光榮由耶路撤冷升起」，外邦人由黑暗中群起出來到光的城鎮去，在聖燭節，光放在我們手中。所以在今天的禮儀中，光扮演顯著作用的角色。』

在獻耶穌於聖殿瞻禮領取的蠟燭代表著領洗時的蠟燭。聖施禮華寫道：『我們要學習怎樣交出自己，在天主前燃燒一如光應放在燭台上，為去照亮行走在黑暗中的人；就如聖所中的油燈在祭台旁燃燒一樣，發出光輝直至耗盡最後的一滴。』