Today’s feast of the Presentation of the Lord is a hinge upon which we pivot our gaze from Christmas and the Incarnation to Easter and Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection.

This day falls 40 days after Christmas, and in the older liturgical calendars, the Presentation of the Lord closed the Christmas season (it now concludes with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord). The roots of this feast are found in Scripture, which tells of Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the Temple to follow Jewish law.

The law prescribed two rites following a birth. In one, the new mother was to offer a sacrifice of a lamb and a dove in thanksgiving for a safe delivery (those who were poor, like Mary and Joseph, were allowed to offer two doves, which they did). This offering was also intended for the purification of the mother and it took place 40 days after the birth of a male (80 days after the birth of a female).

In the other rite, which was to symbolically offer the new child to the Lord, the parents presented the child in the Temple and then ransomed him or her with money. In what must be one of the great paradoxes in history, Mary and Joseph “redeemed” Jesus with the traditional five shekels.

See images of the Temple as it looked in Jesus’ time in this part of our virtual tour of the Holy Land. The text here explains more about the use of coins and animals in the Temple economy.

The celebration of this feast began in the ancient Church—it appears to have begun in the fourth century, and was celebrated as the culmination of the Christmas season during the Middle Ages.

The Scriptural accounts of Jesus’ presentation in the Temple tell of the meeting with Simeon, the aged man who had been promised by God that he would see the Messiah before his own death. Along with the prophetess Anna, Simeon represents the hope of devout Jews who were waiting for God’s rule.

Simeon recognizes Jesus as the Messiah, and, after giving thanks to God, makes a prophecy to Mary. His words call to mind the suffering that Jesus will endure for our redemption, and the confusion and sorrow that go with it. The ancient Church used this scene to transition from celebrating Jesus’ Incarnation to preparing to enter the Paschal Mystery in the Lenten and Easter seasons.

This feast was always celebrated with candles (and used to be known as Candlemas) because of Simeon’s recognition that in the person of Jesus, God has given us salvation—“a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people, Israel.” The scene with Simeon is depicted in several places in the Basilica, as shown here.

On this feast of the presentation of the Lord, let us join Simeon in recognizing our salvation in Jesus, the light of the world!