Candlemass: Presentation of the Lord
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| Candlemass at St Peter's Cathedral, Lancaster For more images see our instagram page |
On Monday, the Church celebrated the feast of Candlemas, or the Presentation of the Lord as it's otherwise known, which traditionally marks the end of the Christmas season. The day takes its name from the candles that were used to symbolise Jesus as the "Light of the World" - echoing Simeon's words in the Gospel, describing Jesus as "the Light to enlighten the Gentiles".
Here at Lancaster Cathedral, we celebrated Mass by candlelight, including the blessing of candles at the start, which was beautiful to behold and pointed towards the beauty that is the light of Christ who comes to us at all times to be our light in the darkness.
The Nunc Dimittis is the prayer sung at night prayer and reminds us of Simeon's words.