THE law of God, given by Moses to the Jews, to insinuate both to us and
to them, that by the sin of Adam man is conceived and born in sin, and
obnoxious to his wrath, ordained that a woman, after childbirth, should
continue for a certain time in a state which that law calls unclean;
during which she was not to appear in public, nor presume to touch any
thing consecrated to God.[1] This term was of forty days upon the birth
of a son, and the time was double for a daughter: on the expiration of
which, the mother was to bring to the door of the tabernacle, or temple,
a lamb of a year old, and a young pigeon or turtle-dove. The lamb was
for a holocaust, or burnt-offering, in acknowledgment of the sovereignty
of God, and in thanksgiving for her own happy delivery; the pigeon or
turtle-dove was for a sin-offering. These being sacrificed to Almighty
God by the priest, the woman was cleansed of the legal impurity, and
reinstated in her former privileges.
A young pigeon, or turtle-dove, by way of a sin-offering, was required
of all, whether rich or poor: but whereas the charge of a lamb might be
too burdensome on persons of narrow circumstances, in that case, nothing
more was required than two pigeons, or two turtle-doves, one for a
burnt, the other for a sin-offering.[2]
Our Saviour having been conceived by the Holy Ghost, and his blessed
Mother remaining always a spotless virgin, it is most evident from the
terms of the law,[3] that she was, in reality, under no obligation to
it, nor within the intent of it. She was, however, within the letter of
the law, in the eye of the world, who were as yet strangers to her
miraculous conception. And her humility making her perfectly resigned,
and even desirous to conceal her privilege and dignity, she submitted
with great punctuality and exactness to every humbling circumstance
which the law required. Pride indeed proclaims its own advantages, and
seeks honors not its due; but the humble find their delight in obscurity
and abasement, they shun all distinction and esteem, which they clearly
see their own nothingness and baseness to be most unworthy of: they give
all glory to God alone, to whom it is due. Devotion also and zeal to
honor God by every observance prescribed by his law, prompted Mary to
perform this act of religion, though evidently exempt from the precept.
Being poor herself, she made the offering appointed for the poor:
accordingly is this part of the law mentioned by St. Luke,[4] as best
agreeing with the meanness of her worldly condition. But her offering,
however mean in itself, was made with a perfect heart, which is what God
chiefly regards in all that is offered to him. The King of Glory would
appear everywhere in the robes of poverty, to point out to us the
advantages of a suffering and lowly state, and to repress our pride, by
which, though really poor and mean in the eyes of God, we covet to
appear rich, and, though sinners, would be deemed innocents and saints.
A second great mystery is honored this day, regarding more immediately
{338} the person of our Redeemer, viz. his presentation in the
temple.[5] Besides the law which obliged the mother to purify herself,
there was another which ordered that the first-born son should be
offered to God: and in these two laws were included several others, as,
that the child, after its presentation, should be ransomed[6] with a
certain sum of money,[7] and peculiar sacrifices offered on the
occasion.
Mary complies exactly with all these ordinances. She obeys not only in
the essential points of the law, as in presenting herself to be
purified, and in her offering her first-born, but has strict regard to
all the circumstances. She remains forty days at home, she denies
herself all this time the liberty of entering the temple, she partakes
not of things sacred, though the living temple of the God of Israel; and
on the day of her purification, she walks several miles to Jerusalem,
with the world's Redeemer in her arms. She waits for the priest at the
gate of the temple, makes her offerings of thanksgiving and expiation,
presents her divine Son by the hands of the priest to his eternal
Father, with the most profound humility, adoration, and thanks giving.
She then redeems him with five shekels, as the law appoints, and
receives him back again as a depositum in her special care, till the
Father shall again demand him for the full accomplishment of man's
redemption. It is clear that Christ was not comprehended in the law;
"The king's son, to whom the inheritance of the crown belongs, is exempt
from servitude:--much more Christ, who was the Redeemer both of our
souls and bodies, was not subject to any law by which he was to be
himself redeemed," as St. Hilary observes.[8] But he would set an
example of humility, obedience, and devotion: and would renew, in a
solemn and public manner, and in the temple, the oblation of himself to
his Father for the accomplishment of his will, and the redemption of
man, which he had made privately in the first moment of his Incarnation.
With what sentiments did the divine Infant offer himself to his Father
at the same time! the greatest homage of his honor and glory the Father
could receive, and a sacrifice of satisfaction adequate to the injuries
done to the Godhead by our sins, and sufficient to ransom our souls from
everlasting death! With what cheerfulness and charity did he offer
himself to all his torments! to be whipped, crowned with thorns, and
ignominiously put to death for us!
Let every Christian learn hence to offer himself to God with this divine
victim, through which he may be accepted by the Father; let him devote
himself with all his senses and faculties to his service. If sloth, or
any other vice, has made us neglectful of this essential duty, we must
bewail past omissions, and make a solemn and serious consecration of
ourselves this day to the divine majesty with the greater fervor, crying
out with St. Austin, in compunction of heart: "Too late have I known
thee, too late have I begun to love thee, O beauty more ancient than the
world!" But our sacrifice, if we desire it may be accepted, must not be
lame and imperfect. It would be an insult to offer to God, in union with
his Christ, a divided heart, or a heart infected with wilful sin. It
must therefore first be cleansed by tears of sincere compunction: its
affections must be crucified to the world by perfect mortification. Our
offering must be sincere and fervent, without reserve, allowing no
quarter to any of our vicious passions and inclinations, and no division
in any of our affections. It must also be universal; to suffer and to do
all for the divine honor. If we give our hearts to Christ in this
manner, we shall receive him with his graces and {339} benedictions. He
would be presented in the temple by the hands of his mother: let us
accordingly make the offering of our souls through Mary and beg his
graces through the same channel.
The ceremony of this day was closed by a third mystery, the meeting in
the temple of the holy persons, Simeon and Anne, with Jesus and his
parents, from which this festival was anciently called by the Greeks
Hypante, the meeting.[9] Holy Simeon, on that occasion, received into
his arms the object of all his desires and sighs, and praised God in
raptures of devotion for being blessed with the happiness of beholding
the so much longed-for Messias. He foretold to Mary her martyrdom of
sorrow; and that Jesus brought redemption to those who would accept of
it on the terms it was offered them; but a heavy judgment on all
infidels who should obstinately reject it, and on Christians also whose
lives were a contradiction to his holy maxims and example. Mary, hearing
this terrible prediction, did not answer one word, felt no agitation of
mind from the present, no dread for the future; but courageously and
sweetly committed all to God's holy will. Anne also, the prophetess,
who, in her widowhood, served God with great fervor, had the happiness
to acknowledge and adore in this great mystery the world's Redeemer.
Amidst the crowd of priests and people, the Saviour of the world is
known only by Simeon and Anne. Even when he disputed with the doctors,
and when he wrought the most stupendous miracles, the learned, the wise,
and the princes did not know him. Yet here, while a weak, speechless
child, carried in the arms of his poor mother, he is acknowledged and
adored by Simeon and Anne. He could not hide himself from those who
sought him with fervor, humility, and ardent love. Unless we seek him in
these dispositions, he will not manifest himself, nor communicate his
graces to us. Simeon, having beheld his Saviour in the flesh, desired no
longer to see the light of this world, nor any creatures on earth. If we
truly love God, our distance from him must be a continual pain: and we
must sigh after that desired moment which will free us from the danger
of ever losing him by sin, and will put us in possession of Him who is
the joy of the blessed, and the infinite treasure of heaven. Let us
never cease to pray that he purify our hearts from all earthly dross,
and draw them to himself: that he heal, satiate, and inflame our souls,
as he only came upon earth to kindle in all hearts the fire of his love.
Footnotes:
1. Lev. xii. 2.
2. Lev. xii. 8.
3. Ibid. 2.
4. Luke ii. 64.
5. {Footnote not in text} Luke ii. 23.
6. Exod. xiii. 13.
7. This, from Levit. xxvii. 6, and Numb. iii. 47, appears to have been
five shekels, each shekel weighing according to Prideaux, (Preface
to Connection of the Old and New Testament, p. xvii.) about three
shillings of our money: so that the five amounted to about fifteen
shillings sterling.
8. S. Hilar. in Matt. c. 17, n. 11, pp. 696, 697.
9. [Greek: Hypante], from [Greek: hupantao], occurro.
_On blessing the candles and the procession._
The procession with lighted tapers on this day is mentioned by pope
Gelasius I., also by St. Ildefonsus, St. Eligius,[1] St. Sophronius,
patriarch of Jerusalem, St. Cyril of Alexandria, &c., in their sermons
on this festival, St. Bernard says:[2] "This holy procession was first
made by the virgin mother, St. Joseph, holy Simeon, and Anne, to be
afterwards performed in all places and by every nation, with the
exultation of the whole earth, to honor this mystery." In his second
sermon on this feast he describes it thus:[3] "They walk two and two,
holding in their hands candles lighted, not from common fire, but from
that which had been first blessed in the church by the priests,[4] and
singing in the ways of the Lord, because great is his glory." He shows
that the concurrence of many in the procession and prayer is a symbol
of our union and charity, and renders our praises {340} the more
honorable and acceptable to God. We _walk_ while we sing to God, to
denote that to stand still in the paths of virtue is to go back. The
lights we bear in our hands represent the divine fire of love with
which our hearts ought to be inflamed, and which we are to offer to
God without any mixture of strange fire, the fire of concupiscence,
envy, ambition, or the love of creatures. We also hold these lights in
our hands to honor Christ, and to acknowledge him as the _true
light_,[5] whom they represent under this character, and who is called
by holy Simeon in this mystery, _a light for the enlightening of the
Gentiles;_[6] for he came to dispel our spiritual darkness. The
candles likewise express that by faith his light shines in our souls:
as also that we are to _prepare his way_ by good works, by which we
are to be _a light to_ men.[7]
Lights are used by the church during the celebration of the divine
mysteries, while the gospel is read, and the sacraments administered,
on a motive of honor and respect. On the same account lamps burned
before the Lord in the tabernacle[8] and temple. Great personages were
anciently received and welcomed with lights, as was king Antiochus by
Jason and others on his entering Jerusalem.[9] Lights are likewise
expressive of joy, and were anciently used on this account in
receiving Roman emperors, and on other public occasions, as at
present. "Throughout all the churches of the East," says St. Jerom,
"when the gospel is to be read, though the sun shines, torches are
used, not to chase away darkness, but for a sign of joy."[10] The
apostolic canons mention incense, and oil for the lamps, then used in
the churches.[11] Many out of devotion burned lamps before the bodies
of saints, as we read in Prudentius,[12] St. Paulinus,[13] &c. The
corporeal creatures, which we use, are the gifts of God: it is
therefore just that we should honor and glorify him by them. Besides,
in our embodied state, they contribute to excite our souls to
devotion; they are to our eyes, what words are to our ears, and by our
organs move the affections of our hearts.[14] Though piety consists in
the fervor of the soul, and is interior and spiritual, yet many
sensible things concur to its aid and improvement; and we may as well
condemn the use of words, which are corporeal, and affect the soul by
the sense of hearing, as the use of suitable approved ceremonies.
Christ made use of sensible signs in the institution of his most
divine sacraments, and in several miraculous cures, &c. The church
always used external rites and ceremonies in the divine worship. These
contribute to the majesty and dignity of religion, which in our
present condition would appear naked, if destitute of all exterior.
The candles are blessed previously to the use of them, because the
church blesses and sanctifies, by prayer, what ever is employed in the
divine service. We are to hold the candles in our hands on this day,
while the gospel is read or sung; also from the elevation to the
communion, in the most fervent spirit of sacrifice, offering ourselves
to God with our divine Redeemer, and desiring to meet in spirit this
blessed company in this mystery; likewise to honor the mother of God
in her purification, and still more so, with the most profound
adoration and gratitude, our divine Saviour in his presentation in our
flesh for us. The same lively sentiments of devotion ought to inflame
our breasts on this occasion, as if we had been present with holy
Simeon and the rest in the temple, while we carry in our hands these
emblems of our spiritual joy and homage, and of the consecration of
ourselves in union with our heavenly victim, through the intercession
of his virgin mother.
Footnotes:
1. Serm. 2.
2. Serm. de Purif. p. 959.
3. Serm. 2, p. 961.
4. According to the ceremonies then in use.
5. John i. 9.
6. Luke ii. 3.
7. Matt. v. 6.
8. Exod. xxviii. 20.
9. 2 Macch. iv. 22.
10. Adv. Vigil. p. 304.
11. Can. 3.
12. Hymn 2.
13. Nat. iii. v. 98.
14. See the pastoral charge of the late Dr. Butler, bishop of Durham.
{341}
_On the Christian rite of churching women after childbirth._
God, in the old law, declared several actions unclean, which, though
innocent and faultless it themselves, had a constant but remote regard
to sin. One of these was childbirth, to denote the impurity of man's
origin by his being conceived and born in sin. For the removal of legal
uncleanness in general, God established certain expiatory rites,
consisting of ablutions and sacrifices, to which all were strictly
obliged who desired to be purified; that is, restored to the privileges
of their brethren, and declared duly qualified members of the synagogue
or Jewish church. It would be superstitious since the death of Christ,
and the publication of the new law, to stand in awe of legal
uncleannesses, or to have recourse to Jewish purifications on account of
any of them, whether after childbirth or in any other cases. It is not,
therefore, with that intention, that Christian mothers come to the
church, as Jewish women did to the tabernacle, in order to be purified
from any uncleanness they contract by childbirth. It is not on any
consideration peculiar to the Jews that this ceremony was established in
the Christian church, but on a motive common to all mankind, the
performing the duty of thanksgiving and prayer. Hence in the canon law,
pope Innocent III. speaks of it as follows: "If women after childbearing
desire immediately to enter the church, they commit no sin by so doing,
nor are they to be hindered. Nevertheless, if they choose to refrain out
of respect for some time, we do not think their devotion ought to be
reprehended."[1]
In some dioceses this term is limited to a certain number of days. Where
this is not regulated by custom, or by any particular statute, the party
may perform this duty as soon as she is able to go abroad. Her first
visit is to be to the church: first, to give God thanks for her safe
delivery: secondly, to implore his blessing on herself and her child. It
ought to be her first visit, to show her readiness to acquit herself of
this duty to God, and to give him the first-fruits of her recovery and
blessing received; as the first-fruits in every thing are most
particularly due to God, and most agreeable to him, and which, in the
old law, he was most jealous in exacting of his people. The
acknowledgment of a benefit received, is the least return we can make
for it: the law of nature dictates the obligation of this tribute; God
strictly requires it, and this is the means to draw down new blessings
on us, the flowing of which is by nothing more effectually obstructed
than by insensibility and ingratitude: wherefore, next to the praise and
love of God, thanksgiving is the principal homage we owe him in the
sacrifice of our hearts, and is a primary act of prayer. The book of
psalms abounds with acts of thanksgiving; the apostle everywhere
recommends and inculcates it in the strongest terms. The primitive
Christians had these words, _Thanks be to God_, always in their mouths,
and used them as their ordinary form of salutation on all occasions, as
St. Austin mentions,[2] who adds, "What better thing can we bear in our
hearts, or pronounce with our tongues, or express with our pens, than,
_Thanks be to God_?" It is the remark of St. Gregory of Nyssa,[3] that
besides past benefits, and promises of other inestimable benefits to
come, we every instant of our lives receive from God fresh favors; and
therefore we ought, if it were possible, every moment to make him a
return of thanks with our whole hearts, and never cease from this duty.
We owe a particular thanksgiving for his more remarkable blessings. A
mother regards her safe delivery, and her happiness is being blessed
with a child, as signal benefits, and therefore she owes a {342}
particular holocaust of thanks for them. This she comes to offer at the
foot of the altar. She comes also to ask the succors of divine grace.
She stands in need of an extraordinary aid from above, both for herself
and her child. For herself, that, by her example, instructions, and
watchfulness, she may fulfil her great obligations as a mother. For her
child, that it may reap the advantage of a virtuous education, may live
to God, and become one day a citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem:
otherwise, what will it avail her to have been a mother, or the child to
have been born? Now prayer is the channel which God has appointed for
the conveyance of his graces to us. The mother, therefore, must be
assiduous in begging daily of the Father of mercies all necessary
succors for these purposes: but this she should make the subject of her
most zealous petitions on the occasion of her first solemn appearance
after childbed before his altar. She should, at the same time, make the
most perfect offering and consecration of her child to the divine
Majesty. Every mother, in imitation of the Blessed Virgin, ought to
perform this triple duty of thanksgiving, petition, and oblation, and
through her hands, who, on the day of her purification, set so perfect a
pattern of this devotion.
Footnotes:
1. Cap. unico de Purif. post partum.
2. Ep. 41. olim 77.
3. Or. 1, de praest. t. 1, p. 715