Dear Disciples of Christ at Holy Spirit, St. Helen’s, and St. Mary’s,

While we are in the early days of ordinary time, this coming week is quite festive with The Presentation of the Lord on Monday the 2nd and the Feast of St. Blasé on Tuesday the 3rd. I am sure you remember St. Blasé day and the blessing of the throats. Maybe The Presentation of the Lord is not as well established in your memory. Let’s take some time gaining a better understanding of both these feasts. We will actually start with St. Blasé with falls on February 3rd.

St. Blasé was a bishop, physician, and martyr who is the Patron Saint of throats. He died around 316. He was the bishop of Sebaste, Turkey. When persecutions started under Emperor Diocletian (284-305),Blasé took refuge in a cave, where he cared for wild animals. While this worked for a time, hunters found him and took him to the local Governor during the persecution against Christians of Emperor Licinianus (308-324). Blasé was tortured with iron rods and beheaded. Thus, we honor him his martyrdom with Red Vestments at Mass on his feast day.
But where did the blessing of the throats come from that we honor to this day? The custom of blessing throats on his feast day is taken from Blasé’s healing of a young boy who had a fish bone stuck in his throat. The candles used in the ceremonies are commemoratives of the candles brought to Blasé in prison by the boy’s mother. Many other miraculous events are recorded as a part of Blasé’s legends. He is a patron saint of doctors, builders, wind musicians, tailors, stone carvers, wool dealers, cattle, tanners, plasterers, pets, hatmakers, shoemakers, hosier workers, and weavers. Sounds like a busy afterlife! St. Blasé — pray for us.

The Presentation of the Lord or Candlemass has its foundation in the Gospels and Jewish Customs. We read in the Gospel of Luke: When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. ~Luke 2:22–24. In this they were fulfilling the commands of the Jewish Scriptures and showing Jesus is not a break or departure from God’s plan for the Israelites but its fulfillment.

The website, “My Catholic Life” explains the Feast nicely. At the heart of this celebration is the encounter of Simeon and Anna with the Christ Child in the Temple. It is in that holy encounter that Jesus’ divinity is manifested by a human prophet for the first time. At His birth, the angels proclaimed His divinity to the shepherds, but in the Temple, Simeon was the first to understand and proclaim Jesus as the Savior of the World. He also prophesied that this salvation would be accomplished by a sword of sorrow that would pierce the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Anna, a prophetess, also came forward and “gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). Thus, these ritual acts were also a moment in which Jesus’ divine mission was made manifest to the world.

As early as the 5th century, this feast was celebrated with the lighting of new candles. In blessing and lighting these candles, Simeon’s prophecy that Jesus would be a light to the nations is proclaimed. It is Church tradition that at least a few candles representing all those that will be used at Mass for the coming year are blessed. Also, people take blessed candles to use in their homes. Our faith is made richer by these and other feasts and solemnities we honor of the course of the year. Consider selecting some of the feasts and finding ways to honor them in your home.

Love, Fr. Ian