Friends, Today is the Vigil of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. What do you & your parish family do in remembrance of this great event, whereby the Light of God was manifest?
LUKE 2:22-38 Forty days after the birth of Christ the LORD, His blessed mother went to the Temple... 22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; 23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord 24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. 25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. 34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. 36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
I really love the Collect from the Book of Common Prayer upon this day: ALMIGHTY and everliving God, we humbly beseech thy Majesty, that, as thy only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in substance of our flesh, so we may be presented unto thee with pure and clean hearts, by the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. As the LORD was presented to God in the temple, so we ask to be presented unto Him with pure and clean hearts like children! What a glorious prayer! Anyone with a Missal, or alternative Service Book, is welcome to post their collect for today.
Have a holy Vigil of the Purification of the BVM. I plan on telling my children the story and leading them in the Magnificat.
My village church...we're not holding a first evensong (vigil) but on feast itself we have... Holy Communion... Nunc Dimittis, blessing of candles and procession. Communion setting: John Merbecke, 1550 (Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus & Agnus Dei) Processional hymn: 'In His temple now behold Him' Gradual hymn: 'Faithful vigil ended' Offertory hymn: 'King of glory, King of peace Communion voluntary: Gasparini, Sonata in F major (Largo) Communion hymn: 'Love divine, all loves excelling' Final hymn: 'Sing we of the blessed Mother' Final voluntary: Pachelbel, Toccata in C major And hopefully a plenteous supply of cake and chocolate HobNobs to go with the after-service tea and coffee.
Can I just ask any Anglo-Catholic around here: what, exactly, is the candle-lit procession around the inside of the Church in aid of? How is something unseen by the derelict pagan world actually helpful to the spread of the Gospel? I ask this because I just came back from a Vigil service for this feast, at a very high-church parish. It was an extremely unpleasant experience, despite the musical beauty of the Gibbons, Monteverdi, and Lassus.
The service needs to be viewed in its entirety, and it definitely spreads the Gospel. Most processions take place indoors, especially during winter. The candle procession makes the Song of Simeon visible. That's what it's all about.
It was clearly read in the holy Gospel, and clearly explained by the Sermon. Mystical visual aids are not essential; people aren't stupid (not that you implied it). The Light is within the heart, and is expressed out in the world by preaching the Gospel with our love. Such processions seem like pious excuses for some heavenly music and candles. Sure, a lovely walk around the nave of the church makes you feel a part of something, but for me it represented nothing but ... a procession.
That's fair. I've only been to one of those services before, because I used to work nights (and besides that they aren't too common anymore). It's different, if it's not something that you're used to. I guess I'd say that much of Anglo-Catholicism, maybe much of any Church, is visual. It's just not always as striking as this. I would suggest one interpretation that might help: yes, the light is within the heart, but the procession is not saying that it isn't in the heart. Imagine the procession taking place during a dark midwinter night before electric lighting. It's a reminder that even during cold, dark days, the Light of the world cannot be overcome by darkness. And the Light that was given to Israel is also now given to the Gentiles. That's really what the procession is proclaiming. Whether they managed to communicate that or not is another story. But it's not supposed to be weird or super-mystical...it's sort of a seasonal thing that also is tied to Simeon, the Presentation, and the Epiphany season. They all fit together so perfectly that we might as well enjoy it. If your experience wasn't the best, I would recommend praying about it and taking whatever you can from it. Maybe it'll be better next year!
Everytime I think of Candlemas, I am reminded of a song I heard played at my brother's pentacostal church. It's a contemporary Christian song with a beautiful message...I hope you enjoy it: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k-XufRTMLxg
But today we have electric lighting, a glorious gift from God that the ancients would have sorely wanted, and cherished most joyfully if they had it. To turn that blessing off in order to go back to candles almost felt like an insult to their memory, for me. The fact of Spectacle in Anglo-Catholicism was certainly made very real for me tonight. This is the logic I don't understand... Christ the LORD is the Light of the World, but He didn't walk about Galilee with an halo or glowing with His Divine Glory. The Incarnation was a kenosis, and a total humbling. What we need is to recognize His Divinity - not with candles and incense, but with confession, preaching, and living His Gospel in love out in the world. I guess it just makes more sense to me to have the simple Eucharist at the Lord's Table for strength, then setting out to be the light - not to carry little lights around in our little enclosed space. The light Simeon spoke of was to "enlighten the Gentiles" - so turning off all the bright electric lighting in the church in order to have dim, hazy candles is actually an inversion of the promise of greater & greater light. It's hard to get much from something that looked and felt like ritual-for-Ritual's-sake. Sorry... There won't be a next year, but thanks for the hopes and well-wishes. It's always good to remain optimistic about the plan of God.
...consider it an exercise in patience and long suffering...that's what I do when i have to sit through bad sermons.
Not to take us off-topic, but I used to lead an Evening Prayer service for college students at our parish. On Vigil nights, we would begin with the Service of Light (which replaces the usual beginning of Evening Prayer on special occasions). It starts with the room dark and with the lighting of a candle, and there is always a prayer of thanksgiving for light. Maybe it just seems more normal to us when we're accustomed to it. We did that because the students loved it. It was their one chance to get away from the electric, ultra-fast-paced stress world of college. The candles and ancient music brought them close to God in a unique way for that one hour. It is entirely possible that what Consular experienced really was just for show. It happens all the time, in all sorts of Churches, by all kinds of Christians. But the intent behind this really is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and to constantly proclaim him as the Light of the World. We do it through preaching & teaching, through song, through Scripture, through prayer, and even through candles in a dark room. It's really meaningful for a lot of Anglicans; and if it's not right for everyone, maybe there's another option out there!
In answer to the original question, my schedule this week prevents me from attending any services until Sunday. I wish I could have gone somewhere for the Vigil or the Feast. That's why I like the BCP, though. 30 minutes at home was all I had, but I could pray the same prayers and read the same texts that my sisters and brothers were enjoying. As Anglicans, we're always connected.
I can appreciate how you might have found it an extremely unpleasant experience. If the church you attended were using the rite from the English Missal or similar, I too would have found it unpleasant and superstitious. (Multiple prayers over the candles, sprinkling and censing them, kissing the candle and the celebrant's hand whilst they're distributed - plus the fact that many levels of symbolism can be associated with the wax, wick and flame of the candle). I'm personally uncomfortable with the extreme and of Ritualism. One can understand why ++Cranmer weeded so many of the Medieval ceremonies and associated superstitions. We have different ways of learning. Last Sunday I attended a Confirmation in our benefice; learning styles and how we engage people in worship was a topic that the Bishop raised in his sermon. Perhaps you're an auditory learner where the reading of the lesson/Gospel and sermon are sufficient for your understanding and sending out into the world to spread of the Gospel. I'm not like that - most of it tends to go in one ear and out the other! I'm more of a visual and tactile learner so I appreciate a degree of ritual and symbolism - seeing and doing gives me a better understanding.
Thank you for that confession Symphorian. It's fine to learn via a certain amount of ritual audio-visual stimuli. For example, at the rather more protestant-evangelical church a kilometer away from the Anglo-Catholic round church, the Gospel on Christmas Eve was attended by a dimming of the lights. Those tapers with cardboard wax guards were passed out; however, unlike the round church, there was no procession, and the candles were lit only so long as the Holy Gospel of John 1:1-14 was read in the aisle; "and that light was the life of men". That experience was profoundly beautiful in its catechetical simplicity, unlike lighting the candles once at the beginning, re-lighting them at the Gospel, and re-re-lighting them at the Offertory, and very unlike marching about the church in a circle with a countertenor singing a psalm at such an high register that it was impossible to understand him! I found it somewhat symbolic and amusing that their little lights kept flickering out and had to be rekindled - that's something I suppose . What really bothered me was the fact that the first words out of the priest's mouth when everyone was settled in the Chancel, was the blessing of candles; there was no greeting, not even a sign of the cross, or anything at all. He simply launched right into asking the blessing on inanimate objects that no one's going to use after that night. It all seemed so... superfluous, and not in a pretty ornamental way. Oh, well...
Along with some friends I attended a Mass at one of our Churches at a near by town, that used to be called, .'The Geneva of the North!' It was the site of a so called massacre in the War of Religion, when in retaliation for the hanging of a Roman Minister, by the Calvinists and Independents, the Anglicans committed their one excess and killed, allegedly, untold townsfolk. My ancestors lived there but survived and left next year, 1645, moving over in to Yorkshire! They became Deists,(?) and remain so to this day!
I don't know how the above quote got on my page? It just appeared, neither do I know who wrote it, but I agree with it! I like processions around the Church and the lights honour the prayer Book injunction, 'Let your lights so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven.!