Today is the feast of Candlemas, the beautiful feast that finishes the Christmas season. It ends as it begins, with the beautiful homage of the Light. In traditional Catholic liturgy, beeswax candles are bless on this day, and distributed, lighted, to the congregation. It is a simple ceremony, but the prayers that at said to bless the candles are very beautiful:
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And With your spirit.
1st Prayer: O holy Lord Father almighty, eternal God, who didst create all things out of nothing, and by Thy command didst cause this liquid to come by the labor of bees to the perfection of wax; and on this day didst fulfill the petition of the just man Simeon, we humbly beseech Thee, that by the invocation of Thy most holy name, and by the intercession of blessed Mary ever virgin, whose festival is this day devoutly celebrated, and by the prayers of all Thy saints, Thou wouldst vouchsafed to bless + and sanctify + these candles for the use of men, and the health of bodies and souls whether upon the earth, or on the waters; and wouldst hear from Thy holy heaven, and from the seat of Thy majesty, the voices of this Thy people, who desire to bear them with honor in their hands, and to praise Thee with hymnals, whom Thou has redeemed with the precious blood of Thy Son; who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.
2nd Prayer: O almighty and everlasting God, who didst this day present Thy only-begotten Son to be received in the arms of holy Simeon in Thy holy temple; we humbly implore Thy clemency, that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to bless +, sanctify +, and kindle with the light of heavenly benediction these candles, which we Thy servants receiving desire to carry lighted to magnify Thy name; that by offering them to Thee, the Lord our God, being worthily inflamed with the holy fire of Thy most sweet charity, we may deserve to be presented in the holy temple of Thy glory. Though the same our Lord...
R. Amen.
3rd Prayer: O Lord Jesus Christ, the true light, who enlightenest every man coming 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, the brightness of the Holy Spirit, may be free from the blindness of every sin; that the eye of our minds being purified, we may be able to discern what is pleasing to Thee and conducive to our salvation; so that after the perilous darkness of this life we may deserve to arrive at never-failing light. Through Thee, Christ Jesus, Saviour of the world, who in perfect Trinity livest and reignest God, world without end.
R. Amen.
4th Prayer: O almighty, everlasting God, who didst command the purest oil to be prepared by Thy servant Moses to keep lamps continually before Thee; graciously pour forth the grace of Thy blessing + upon these candles; they may so afford external light, that by Thy gift the light of Thy Spirit may not fail interiorly in our minds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ...in the unity of the same Holy Spirit....
R. Amen.
5th Prayer: O Lord Jesus Christ, who appearing this day among men in the substance of our flesh, and wast presented by Thy parents in the temple; whom the venerable and aged Simeon, enlightened by the light of Thy Spirit, recognized, received, and blessed: mercifully grant, that enlightened and taught by the grace of the same Holy Spirit, we may truly acknowledge Thee, and faithfully love Thee; who with God the Father in the unity of the same Holy Spirit livest and reignest God, world without end.
R. Amen.
There is a procession with those lighted candles, and in theory, they are supposed to be held, lighted, throughout the entire Mass. I have had the privilege of attending Candlemas only once in my life, when I was 15, and attending a little school away from home. I loved the candlelight so very much, and I remember that it pierced me with the sharp, sweet joy of Christmas, even though it had been a month since I had been home, and celebrating. I wanted to keep my candle going all the way through Mass, but the smoke from all those hundreds of little lights set off the fire alarm, and we all had to blow them out. I was unbelievably annoyed at that fire alarm, and (not for the last time in my life) I thought a trifle bitterly how very unromantic modernity is. Who cares if flaming candles are unsafe? The glory of them is more than worth the risk.
I am posting the following video of the blessing of the candles, so that you can read the prayers along with the chant they go to. (And for any of the Tolkienists who may be reading this-- yes, this is the Birmingham Oratory which the young Tolkien attended. No I did not chose this video for that reason. It was the first video to come up, and if it happens to have a Tolkien connection to it, well so much the sweeter.)
And, I am also going to recommend that you go to this website for a full description of the blessing and procession of the candles; that you go to this website for a bit of information on the feast day itself, and the customs that go with it; and that you take the time to listen to this very short, and beautiful sermon for this feast day.
