The Presentation of the Lord Year A 2020

The Presentation of the Lord is also called Candlemas because it continues with the theme of light that has been illuminating our reflection over the last 40 days. It was also known as the Purification of Mary. You could have kept your crib until now because this feast marks the end of the prolonged Christmas season.

The scriptural basis for this celebration is found in a combination of two distinct prescriptions from the books of Exodus and Leviticus. According to Exodus, every first-born male, animal or human, belongs to God. Therefore, the redemption of the animal or the boy is paid for by a levy to the temple which does not require any sort of presence of the boy or the animal. What requires a presence in the Temple is the purification of a mother 40 days after the birth of her first-born son. In Luke’s Gospel, both redemption and presentation take place in one setting. Thus, Mary along with Joseph and Jesus came to the Temple—one to be purified and the other to be redeemed.

Set this Lucan scene within the context of the First Reading. There, Malachi paints a rather terrifying picture of the coming of the Lord. “He will take His seat as refiner and purifier; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and then they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be”. At the Presentation, the Lord now comes suddenly but He enters His Temple not as Judge but as a helpless infant—a member of the human family and not just any human family but a poor one, as indicated by the humble sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves that both Mary and Joseph offered.

There in the Temple the Old Testament meets the New. Both Anna and Simeon represent the expectation of Israel that God would send His Messiah to save His people. Christ is presented by Simeon as a Light for the Gentiles and the Glory of God’s people: Israel. In fulfilling Israel’s hope, this Infant will extend His salvation to the ends of the earth. At Pentecost, Luke will detail this fulfilment where through the unction of the Holy Spirit the Church will soon spread from Jerusalem to the whole world.

Today is yet another epiphany and one which we did something out of the ordinary. As Simeon exalted the Infant as the Light of the World, liturgically we imitated him by blessing our candles, lighting them and then holding a symbol of the Light of Christ, we processed into the Church. Some people also brought candles to be blessed for use at home. I remember when I was a child, during a lightning thunderstorm of strong wind and rain, grandma would tell us to bring out blessed candles and have one lit. That was because we lived in a house akin to the flimsy first hut of the Three Little Pigs, permanently in danger of being blown down by the strong gales. It was an act of faith in God’s protection.

To appreciate the liturgical action of blessing our candles and for the matter of speaking blessing our rosaries, scapulars and Crosses, we need to venture into the world of the sacramentals. Firstly, blessing is a sacramental act and in order to understand what it is, we need to differentiate a sacramental from what a sacrament is. Secondly, a sacramental can be anything. It is associated with the Church as “a blessing, an action or an object of devotion”—sign of the Cross, bowing, pilgrimage, medals and statues etc. According to the Catechism, “sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare men to receive the fruits of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life” (CCC 1677).

As such, their efficacy is dependent on a proper disposition of faith since sacramentals only have potential for giving us grace. In other words, the Church gives us the sacramentals to excite our faith and to prepare us so that we can cooperate with God’s grace. Sacramentals should not be confused with the Seven Sacraments because the latter were instituted by Christ Himself. This means that sacramentals do not have the same type of saving grace as the Seven Sacraments. Sacramentals convey grace through the “work and prayers of the Church” (ex opere operantis Ecclesiae) and “by the work of the doer” (ex opere operantis).

Since the grace that God makes available is very much dependent on the disposition of the person performing the act, it means that, sacramentals are not infallible in their effects. They cannot be used as a “lucky charm” that works every time, no matter the disposition. It is quite common to see rosaries being hung from rear-view mirrors of cars, which in a multi-religious society, we see other religions hanging their beads too. There is a thin line between the rosary as a sacramental and a talisman. Inviting a priest to bless a car does not guarantee that one will never be involved in an accident. The rosary hanging in the car, the medal/scapular that one wears, the blessing of religious articles or pilgrimages are acts of faith. One must have a strong faith in God’s action or else it will become an empty ritual, lacking any personal effect, more like amulets used for protection. Here is the kicker: if one does not obtain the effect of the sacramental, it may not be due to a lack of faith but rather to God’s inscrutable will at work. We cannot fully fathom the working of God’s will. The point is: Do not lose faith.

The seven sacraments are different in that Christ Himself is the principal celebrant of every Sacrament. Christ Himself takes the initiative—He incorporates you into His Body in Baptism; He strengthens you through Confirmation; He feeds you with His Body and Blood in the Eucharist; He absolves you through Confession; He heals you through Anointing and finally, He sends you to serve either as priests or married couples through Orders and Matrimony.

Since He desires to give His grace to us, He Himself supplies for what is lacking in the priest who celebrates the sacraments, so that grace can be communicated no matter what. If a sinful priest says Mass, the Eucharist will still be changed into Christ’s body and blood (provided that the priest uses the proper words and matter required for the sacrament). Likewise, a baby who is totally unawares of the surrounding when baptised becomes a member of Christ’s Body. And even if you were a horrible man (but baptised), the marriage you contract with your girlfriend (also a baptised), is still a valid sacramental marriage. In short, the Sacraments give grace of themselves when we place no obstacle in the way whereas the sacramentals excite in us pious dispositions, by means of which we may obtain grace.

In summary, God’s action is much more powerful in a sacrament than any sacramental. As Christ Himself instituted the seven sacraments, the Church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit establishes the sacramentals. Since sacramentals do not come from Christ Himself, they come and go according to the circumstances and place. Our Bishop, with approval from the Pope, can establish a sacramental for use in his diocese. Sacramentals can even be disbanded if they no longer serve a purpose. For example, there used to be a blessing of a telegraph which today is rather unheard of. Or there are Russian Orthodox priests who bless missiles (weapons of mass destruction) but after the downing of MH17, such a blessing would be considered rather inappropriate.

You should be able to appreciate that the sacramentals, while related to the Seven Sacraments, do not operate in the same way. Knowing this difference might help us to use them properly thereby disposing us to the graces God wants to give to us through the sacramentals.

However, is there a need to go through all these when we can go directly to God. A valid question. But, would you throw the body of your deceased parent to dogs for food? Why not? Dead people have not feelings and they definitely do not give a hoot if they look beautiful or hideous with the make-up. Now, if you are disgusted by such a suggestion, then you are already intuitively reacting from the space of sacramentality. We are more sacramental than we realise.

Earlier I mentioned about lighting a candle in a storm which we no longer do since we live in concrete houses. It begs the question if faith were needed only when we have nowhere to turn to? This is basically the position of some of us, no? We turn to God only when we have no choice.

The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, a rite which He has no need of, helps us to grasp the full meaning of our existence. Whether we need God or not, we are still dependent on Him and all sacramental actions are acknowledgements of this existential reality. Without God, we are not. Yes, the Seven Sacraments are definitely adequate to save us. But, the principle is that the sacraments, though efficacious in themselves, stand on the foundation of sacramentals/sacramentality. This is who we are as long as we are embodied spirits—our spiritual existence is mediated by our physical world. For example: In a marriage, you declare your undying love for your wife and you never fail to let her know. Yet, you have never lifted a finger to help her. Not a flower on her anniversary. Nothing. What love is that? Every act (sacramental, that is mediated) deepens the truth of one’s love in marriage. Sacraments without the sacramentals run the danger of the Sacraments becoming unnecessary. The denial of the use of the sacramental will soon enough render the Seven Sacraments useless and empty of its content.