The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple The Holy Eucharist with The Blessing of the Candles Friday, February 2, 2018 7 o’clock in the Evening St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church
W elcome Welcome to St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church. We are glad that you have joined us this evening for our service on the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord, one of the major feasts of the Church year. If you are new or visiting with us, we invite you to fjll out a visitor card, which can be found in the entrance to the church or in the pew rack in front of you. Completed cards may be given to a greeter or a member of the clergy after the service. We hope that you will return to St. Catherine’s and worship with us again soon. For more information about our parish, including a complete schedule of services, please visit our website at https://stcatherinesal.com. All of the service music, prayers, responses, and readings are printed in this booklet. Hymns may be found in The Hymnal 1982 , the blue book in the pew rack in front of you. About the Service Jewish custom once prescribed that a woman who had borne a male child should, forty days after giving birth, come to the temple to be “purifjed.” It was also customary in ancient Israel to publicly present every fjrstborn male child to God in the temple. On this night, we recall the story from Luke’s Gospel of how Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to be presented before the Lord; we also contemplate the signifjcance of the words spoken by the aged Simeon who, upon seeing Jesus for the fjrst time, praised God in the words of the now familiar Nunc dimittis . In this canticle, Simeon proclaimed Jesus “a Light to enlighten the nations.” For this reason, in medieval times the Nunc dimittis was sung and candles were blessed and lit and carried in procession through the streets on the night of this feast. The Feast of the Presentation, also known as “Candlemas,” is observed every year on February 2- exactly forty days after Christmas. The blessing of candles reminds us that Jesus is “the Light of the world” and that we, who walk in the way of Christ, are called to be bearers of that Light. 2
The Holy Eucharist with The Blessing of the Candles ✠ ✠ ✠ The Candlemas Procession The Celebrant begins with T he G reeTinG Light and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord. Celebrant People Thanks be to God. The following canticle is then said responsively, during which the candles are lighted. T he C anTiCle Nunc dimittis A Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel. A Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel. Lord, you now have set your servant free * to go in peace as you have promised. A Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel. For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, * whom you have prepared for all the world to see. A Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel. 3
The Celebrant continues with T he B lessinG of The C andles A lmighty and everlasting God who on this day did present your only- begotten Son in the holy temple to be received in the arms of blessed Simeon; we humbly entreat you to bless, hallow, and kindle with the light of your heavenly benediction these candles which we your servants desire to carry, lighted in honor of your Holy Name. May we be fjlled with the fjre of your love, and made worthy to be presented in the holy temple of your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. T he P roCession Let us go forth in peace. Celebrant People In the name of Christ. Amen. During the Procession, all carry lighted candles as the following psalm is sung responsively P salm 48: 1-2, 10-13 Magnus Dominus 1 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised; * in the city of our God is his holy hill. 2 Beautiful and lofty, the joy of all the earth, is the hill of Zion, * the very center of the world and the city of the great King. Antiphon. 4
10 Let Mount Zion be glad and the cities of Judah rejoice, * because of your judgments. 11 Make the circuit of Zion; walk round about her; * count the number of her towers. Antiphon. 12 Consider well her bulwarks; examine her strongholds; * that you may tell those who come after. 13 This God is our God for ever and ever; * he shall be our guide for evermore. Antiphon. All sing T he G loria Gloria in excelsis 5
T he C olleCT of The d a y The Lord be with you. Celebrant People And also with you. Let us pray. Celebrant 6
Celebrant A lmighty and everliving God, we humbly pray that, as your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple, so we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts by Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. After the Collect of the Day, all sit and extinguish their candles. The Word of God T he f irsT l esson Malachi 3:1-4 T hus says the Lord, See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight-- indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years. The Word of the Lord. Lector People Thanks be to God. 7
P salm 84 Quam dilecta! Setting: Jerome Webster Meachen 1 How dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts! * My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my fmesh rejoice in the living God. 2 The sparrow has found her a house and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; * by the side of your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. 3 Happy are they who dwell in your house! * they will always be praising you. 4 Happy are the people whose strength is in you! * whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way. 5 Those who go through the desolate valley will fjnd it a place of springs, * for the early rains have covered it with pools of water. 6 They will climb from height to height, * and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion. 7 LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; * hearken, O God of Jacob. 8 Behold our defender, O God; * and look upon the face of your Anointed. 9 For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room, * and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. 10 For the LORD God is both sun and shield; * he will give grace and glory; 8
11 No good thing will the LORD withhold * from those who walk with integrity. 12 O LORD of hosts, * happy are they who put their trust in you! T he s eCond l esson Hebrews 2:14-18 S ince God’s children share flesh and blood, Jesus himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested. The Word of the Lord. Lector People Thanks be to God. All stand and sing T he s equenCe Christ, mighty Savior, Light of all creation Hymn 35 T he G osPel Luke 2:22-40 The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Deacon People Glory to you, Lord Christ. W hen the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was 9
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