Presentation of the Lord
February 2 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Today marks forty days after Christmas, the end of that liturgical season. Yes despite the adage of 12 nights and take the Christmas tree decorations down the season of Christmas which admittedly and confusingly includes some weeks of Ordinary Time finishes today. Hence the presence of the Vatican’s Christmas decorations remaining up for so long. This day is also known as the Purification of Mary. But, rotate, it’s known as the Meeting of the Lord in the Christian East. The Canticle prayed at Evening Office come from St Luke’s account of this great moment.
Forty days after his birth, in keeping with the biblical significance of the number forty and with Jewish custom in mind, Jesus was presented in the temple in Jerusalem by His parents, Mary and Joseph. After the Presentation, Jesus enters the temple again as a boy and later as an adult. His life was a continual self-gift to God the Father from the very beginning to the very end.
