
Double of the Second Class Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. CandlemasMissa "Suscepimus"
WHITE Vestments
The Feast of Candlemas, which derives its origin from the local observance of Jerusalem, marks the end of the Feasts included in the Christmas cycle of the liturgy. It is perhaps the most ancient festival of Our Lady. It commemorate, however, not only the obedience of the Blessed Virgin to the Mosaic Law in going to Jerusalem forty days after the birth of her Child and making the accustomed offerings, but also the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, and the meeting of the Infant Jesus with the old man Simeon - the Occursus Domini, as the Feast was anciently termed. This is the principal theme of the liturgy on this day: Jesus is taken to the Temple "to present Him to the Lord." So the Lord come to His Temple, and is met by the aged Simeon with joy and recognition.
The procession on this day is one of the most picturesque features of the Western liturgy. The blessing and distribution of candles, to be carried lighted in procession, preceded the Mass today - a symbolic presentation of the truth proclaimed in the Canticle of Simeon: Our Lord is the "Light for the revelation of the Gentiles." The anthems sung during this procession, eastern in origin, well express the joy and gladness of this happy festival, and the honor and praise we give to our Blessed Lady and her Divine Son by this devout observance.
Today is the historical feast of Our Lady of Good Success.
We want to thank the Friends of Our Lady of Fatima for expediting these resources of the Propers. Sources: Saint Andrew Daily Missal and the Marian Missal , 1945
 Abbe Dom Prosper Gueranger's reflections for the Feast of the Purification of Mary and Candlemas
On this final day of Christmastide the venerable Abbot Dom Prosper Gueranger presents inspiration and the reason for this great feast which holy Mother Church has alwasy considered as a feast of the Blessed Virgin. It is true, it is our Savior Who is this day offered in the Temple; but this offering is the consequence of our Lady's Purification. The honor thus paid by the Church to the Mother tends in reality to the greater glory of her Divine Son, for He is the Author and the End of all those prerogatives which we revere and honor in Mary. In harmony with this feast we have Candlemas in which the beeswax candles are blessed, representing the purity of the virginal flesh of the Divine Infant made possible by Mary's fiat to God. The wick of the candle represents what is within Christ's soul in order to light the flame of His Divinity.
The Forty Days of Mary’s Purification are now completed, and she must go up to the Temple, there to offer to God her Child Jesus. Before following the Son and His Mother in this Their mysterious journey, let us spend our last few moments at Bethlehem, in lovingly pondering over the mysteries at which we are going to assist.
The Law commanded that a woman who had given birth to a son should not approach the Tabernacle for the term of forty days; after which time she was to offer a sacrifice for her purification. She was to offer up a lamb as a holocaust, and a turtle or dove as a sin-offering. But if she was poor, and could not provide a lamb, she was to offer in its stead a second turtle or dove.
By another ordinance, every first-born son was to be considered as belonging to God, and was to be redeemed by five sicles, each sicle weighing, according to the standard of the Temple, twenty obols (Lev. xiii; Num. iii: 47 - The Obol was about three halfpence of English money).
Mary was a Daughter of Israel - she had given birth to Jesus - He was her First-born Son. Could such a Mother and such a Son be included in the laws we have just quoted? Was it becoming that Mary should observe them?
If she considered the spirit of these legal enactments, and why God required the ceremony of Purification, it was evident that she was not bound to them. She was the chaste Spouse of the Holy Ghost, a Virgin in conceiving and a Virgin in giving birth to her Son; her purity had ever been spotless as that of the Angels; but it received an incalculable increase by her carrying the God of all sanctity in her womb, and bringing Him into this world. Moreover, when she reflected upon her Child being the Creator and Sovereign Lord of all things—how could she suppose that He was to be submitted to the humiliation of being ransomed as a slave, whose life and person are not his own?
And yet the Holy Ghost revealed to Mary that she must comply with both these laws. She, the holy Mother of God, must go to the Temple like other Hebrew mothers, as though she had lost something which needed restoring by a legal sacrifice. He that is the Son of God and Son of Man must be treated in all things as though He were a servant, and be ransomed in common with the poorest Jewish boy. Mary adores the will of God, and embraces it with her whole heart.
The Son of God was only to be made known to the world by gradual revelations. For 30 years He led a hidden life in the insignificant village of Nazareth; and during all that time men took Him to be the Son of Joseph (St. Luke iii: 23). The earth possessed its God and its Savior, and men, with a few exceptions, knew it not. The Shepherds of Bethlehem knew it; but they were not told, as were afterwards the Fishermen of Genesareth, to go and preach the Word to the furthermost parts of the world. The Magi, too, knew it; they came to Jerusalem and spoke of it, and the City was in a commotion; but all was soon forgotten, and the Three Kings went back quietly to the East. These two events, which would, at a future day, be celebrated by the Church as events of most important interest to mankind, were lost upon the world, and the only ones that appreciated them were a few true Israelites, who had been living in expectation of a Messias Who was to be poor and humble, and was to save the world.
The same Divine plan which had required that Mary should be espoused to St. Joseph, in order that Her fruitful Virginity might not seem strange in the eyes of the people, now obliged her to come, like other Israelite mothers, to offer the sacrifice of Purification for the birth of the Son, Whom she had conceived by the operation of the Holy Ghost, but Who was to be presented in the Temple as the Son of Mary, the Spouse of Joseph. Thus it is that Infinite Wisdom delights in showing that His thoughts are not our thoughts, and in disconcerting our notions; He claims the submissiveness of our confidence, until the time that He has fixed for withdrawing the veil, and showing Himself to our astonished view.
The Divine Will was dear to Mary in this as in every circumstance of her life. The Holy Virgin knew that by seeking this external rite of Purification, she was in no wise risking the honor of her Child, or failing in the respect due to her own Virginity. She was in the Temple of Jerusalem what she was in the house of Nazareth, when she received the Archangel's visit; she was the Handmaid of the Lord. She obeyed the Law because she seemed to come under the Law. Her God and her Son submimtted to the ransom as humbly as the poorest Hebrew would have to do; He had already obeyed the edict of the emperor Augustus in the general census; He was to be obedient even unto death, even to the death of the Cross.
The Mother and the Child both humbled Themselves in the Purification, and man’s pride received, on that day, one of the greatest lessons ever given it.
What a journey was this of Mary and Joseph, from Bethlehem to Jerusalem! The Divine Babe is in His Mother’s arms; she had Him on her heart the whole way. Heaven and earth are and all nature are sanctified by the gracious presence of their merciful Creator. Men look at this Mother as she passes along the road with her sweet Jesus; some are struck with her appearance, others pass her by as not worth a look; but of the whole crowd, there was not one that knew he had been so close to the God Who had come to save him.
St. Joseph is carrying the humble offering, which the Mother is to give to the Priest. They are too poor to buy a lamb; besides, their Jesus is the Lamb of God, Who taketh away the sins of the world...
At length the Holy Family enters Jerusalem. The name of this holy City signifies Vision of Peace; and Jesus comes to bring her Peace. Let us consider the names of the three places in which our Redeemer began, continued and ended His life on earth. He is conceived in Nazareth, which signifies a Flower; and Jesus is as He tells us in Canticle ii: 1, the Flower of the field and the Lily of the valley, by Whose fragrance we are refreshed. He is born at Bethlehem, the House of Bread; for He is the nourishment of souls. He dies on the Cross in Jerusalem, and, by His Blood, He restores peace between Heaven and earth, peace between men, peace within our own souls; and, on this day of His Mother's Purification, we shall find Him giving us the pledge of this peace.
Whilst Mary, the Living Ark of the Covenant, is ascending the steps which lead up to the Temple, carrying Jesus in Her arms, let us be attentive to the mystery; one of the most celebrated of the prophecies is about to be accomplished in this Infant. We have already seen the other predictions fulfilled: of His being conceived of a Virgin, and born in Bethlehem; today He shows us a further title to our adoration — He enters the Temple.
This edifice is not the magnificent Temple of Solomon, which was destroyed by fire during the Jewish captivity. It is the second Temple, which was built after the return from Babylon, and is not comparable to the first in beauty. Before the century is out, it also is to be destroyed; and Our Savior will soon tell the Jews that not a stone shall remain upon a stone that shall not be thrown down (Luke 21: 6). Now the Prophet Aggeus, in order to console the Jews, who had returned from exile and were grieving that they were unable to raise a House to the Lord equal to that built by Solomon, addressed these words to them, which mark the time of the coming of the Messias: Take courage… for thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Yet one little while, and I will move the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will move all nations; and the Desired of all nations shall come; and I will fill this House with glory. Great shall be the glory of this House, more than the first; and in this place I will give Peace, saith the Lord of Hosts (Agg. ii: 4, 7, 8, 10).
The hour is come for the fulfillment of this prophecy. The Emmanuel has left Bethlehem; He has come among the people; He is about to take possession of His Temple, and the mere fact of His entering it will at once give it a glory, which is far above that of its predecessor. He will often visit it during His mortal life; but His coming to it today, carried as He is in Mary's arms, is enough for the accomplishment of the promise, and all the shadows and figures of this Temple at once pale before the rays of the Sun of Truth and Justice. The blood of oxen and goats will, for a few years more, flow on its altar; but the Infant, Who holds in His veins the Blood that is to redeem the world, is at this moment standing near that very altar. Amidst the Priests who are there, and amidst the crowd of Israelites, who are moving to and fro in the sacred building, there are a few faithful ones, who are in expectation of the Deliverer, and they know that the time of His manifestation is at hand; but there is not one among them who knows that at this very moment the Messias has entered the House of God.
But this great event could not be accomplished without a prodigy being wrought by the Eternal God as a welcome to His Son. The Shepherds had been summoned by the Angel, and the Magi had been called by the Star, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem; this time it is the Holy Ghost Himself Who sends a witness to the Infant, now in the great Temple.
There was then living in Jerusalem an old man whose life was well-nigh spent. He was a man of desires (Dan. x: 11), and his name was Simeon; his heart had longed unceasingly for the Messias, and at last his hope was recompensed. The Holy Ghost revealed to him that he should not see death without first seeing the rising of the Divine Light. As Mary and Joseph were ascending the steps of the Temple, Simeon felt within himself the strong impulse of the Spirit of God: he leaves his house and walks towards the Temple; the ardor of his desire makes him forget the feebleness of his age. He reaches the porch, and there, amidst the many mothers who had come to present their children, his inspired gaze recognizes the Virgin of whom he had so often read in Isaias, and he presses through the crowd to the Child She is holding in Her arms.
Mary, guided by the same Divine Spirit, welcomes the saintly old man, and puts into his trembling arms the dear object of Her love, the Salvation of the world. Happy Simeon! figure of the ancient world, grown old in its expectation, and near its end. No sooner has he received the sweet Fruit of Life, than his youth is renewed as that of the eagle, and in his person is wrought the transformation which was to be granted to the whole human race. He cannot keep silence; he must sing a Canticle; he must do as the Shepherds and the Magi had done, he must give testimony: Now, O Lord, Thou dost dismiss Thy servant in Peace, because my eyes have seen Thy Salvation, which Thou hast prepared—a Light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel (St. Luke ii: 29 and following verses)
Immediately there comes, attracted to the spot by the same Holy Ghost, the holy Anna, Phanuel’s daughter, noted for her piety and venerated by the people. Simeon and Anna, the representatives of the Old Testament, unite their voices, and celebrate the happy coming of the Child Who is to renew the face of the earth; they give praise to the mercy of God, Who in this place, in this second Temple, gives Peace to the world, as the Prophet Aggeus had foretold...
...Simeon gives back to Mary the Child she is going to offer to the Lord. The two doves are presented to the Priest, who sacrifices them on the Altar; the price for the ransom is paid; the whole law is satisfied; and after having paid homage to Her Creator in this sacred place, where She spent Her early years, Mary, with Jesus pressed to Her bosom, and Her faithful Joseph by Her side, leaves the Temple.
Such is the mystery of this fortieth day, which closes, by this admirable Feast of the Purification, the holy Season of Christmas. Several learned writers...are of the opinion that this Solemnity was instituted by the Apostles themselves. This much is certain, that it was a long-established Feast even in the 5th century.
(taken from pages 462-69, The Liturgical Year, Book III)
Missa "Suscepimus"
Go to the ORDINARY OF THE HOLY MASS THE MASS OF THE CATECHUMENS
INTROIT: Psalm 47: 10, 11
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Suscepimus, Deus, misericordiam tuam in medio temple tui: secundum nomen tuum, Deus, ita et laus tua in fines terrae, justitiam plena est dextera tua - (Ps. 47: 2) Magnus Dominus, et laudabilis nimis: in civitate Dei nostri; in monte sancto ejus. v. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancti sicut erat in principio et nunc, et semper, et saecula saeculorum. Amen. Repeat Suscepimus...
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We have received Thy Mercy, O God, in the midst of Thy temple; according to Thy Name, O God, so also is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Thy right hand is full of justice. (Ps. 47: 2) Great is the Lord and exceedingly to be praised, in the city of God, in His Holy Mountain. v. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. RepeatWe have received...
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Return to the ORDINARY OF THE HOLY MASS THE MASS OF THE CATECHUMENS
COLLECT
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Omnipotens sempiterna Deus, majestatem, tuam supplices exoramus : ut, sicut unigentius Filius tuus hodierna die cum nostrae carnis substantia in templo est praesentatur: ita nos facias purificatis tibi mentibus praesentari. Per eundum Dominum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum: Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum. R. Amen.
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The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit. Let us pray.
O almighty and everlasting God, we humbly beseech Thy majesty; that as Thine only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the substance of our flesh, so too Thou wouldst grant us to be presented unto Thee with purified souls.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God Forever and ever.
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EPISTLE: Malachias 3. 1-4
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Lectio Malachiae Prophetae. Haec dicit Dominus Deus : Ecce ego mitto Angelum meum, et praeparabit viam ante faciem meam. Et statim veniet ad templum suum Dominator, quem vos quaeritis, et Angelus testamenti, quem vos vultis. Ecce venit, dicit Dominus exercituum : et quis poterit cogitare diem adventus ejus, et quis stabit ad videndum eum? Ipse enim quasi ignis conflans, et quasi herba fullonum : et sedebit conflans, et emundans argentums, et purgabit filios Levi et colabit eos quasi autum et quasi argentums : et erunt Domino offerentes sacrificial in justitia. Et placebit Domino sacrificium Juda, et Jerusalem, sicut dies saeculi, et sicut anni antique : dicit Dominus Omnipotens. Deo Gratias.
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Lesson from the Prophet Malachias. Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I send My Angel, and he shall prepare the way before My face; and presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the Angel of the Testament, whom you desire, shall come to His temple. Behold He cometh, saith the Lord of Hosts; and who shall be able to think of the day of His coming? and who shall stand to see Him? for He is like a refining fire, and like the fuller's herb; and he shall sit refining and cleansing the silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall refine them as gold, and as silver, and they shall offer sacrifices to the Lord in justice. And the sacrifice of Juda and of Jerusalem shall please the Lord, as in the days of old, and in the ancient years; saith the Lord almighty.
Thanks be to God.
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GRADUAL: Psalm 47: 10, 11, 9
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Suscepimus, Deus, misericordiam tuam in medio templi tui: secundum nomen tuum Deus, ita et laus tua in fines terrae. V. Sicut audivimus ita et vidimus, in civitate Dei nostri, in monte sancto ejus.
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We have received Thy Mercy, O God, in the midst of Thy temple; according to Thy Name, O God, so also is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth. V. As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of our God, and in His holy mountains.
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GOSPEL: Luke 2, 22- 32
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Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo. Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam R.Gloria tibi, Domine
In illo tempore: Postsquam impleti sunt dies purgationis Mariae, secundum legem Moysi, tulerunt Jesum in Jerusalem, ut sisterent eum Domino, sicut Scriptum est in lege Domini: Quia omne masculinum adaperiens vulvam sanctum Domino vocabitur. Et ut darent hostiam secundum quod dictum est in lege Domini, par turturum. Et ecce homo erat in Jerusalem, cui nomen Simeon, et exspectans consolationem Israel, et Spiritus Sanctus erat a Spiritu Sancto, non visurum se mortem, nisi prius videret Christum Domini. Et venit in spiritu in templum. Et cum inducerent puerum Jesus parentes ejus, ut facerent secundum consuetudinem legis pro eo : et ipse accepit eum in ulnas suas, et benedixit Deum, et dixit :' Nunc dimittis servum Tuum, Domine, secumdum verbum Tuum in pace : quia viderunt oculi mei salutare Tuum, quod parasti ante faciem omnium propulorum : lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis Tuae Israel.' Laus tibi Christe.
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The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit. The continuation of the holy Gospel according to Luke. R. Glory to Thee, O Lord
At that time, after the days of Mary's purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they carried Jesus to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord; as it is written in the law of the Lord : Every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord ; and to offer a sacrifice, according as it is written in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons. And behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was in him : and he had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when His parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he also took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said: 'Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word in peace; because my eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; a light to the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel.'
Praise be to Christ
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Return to the ORDINARY OF THE HOLY MASS THE OFFERTORY
OFFERTORY: Psalm 44: 3
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Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis : proptera benedixit te Deus in aeternum, et in saeculum saeculi.
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The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit.
Grace is poured abroad in thy lips : therefore hath God blessed thee for ever, and for ages and ages.
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Return to the ORDINARY OF THE HOLY MASS THE OFFERTORY
SECRET
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Exaudi, Domine, preces nostras : et, ut digna sint Munera, quae oculis tuae majetatis offerimus, subsidim nobis tuae pietatis impende. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum. R. Amen.
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Graciously hear our prayers, O Lord; and that the gifts we offer in the sight of Thy majesty may be found worthy, extend to us the help of Thy mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God Forever and ever.. R.Amen.
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PREFACE For the Nativity of Our Lord
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Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo. Sursum corda. R.Habemus ad Dominum. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro. R. Dignum et justum est.
Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper, et ubique gratias agere: Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus: Quia per incarnati Verbi mysterium, nova mentis nostrae fulsit: ut dum visibiliter Deum cognoscimus, per hunc in invisibilium amorem rapiamur. Et ideo cum Angelis et Archangelis, cum Thronis et Dominationibus, cumque omni militia caelestis exercitus, hymnum gloriae tuae canimus, sine fine dicentes: SANCTUS, SANCTUS, SANCTUS...
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The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit.
Lift up your hearts. R.We have lifted them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. R. It is meet and just.
It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God, for through the Mystery of the Word made flesh, the new light of Thy glory hath shone upon the eyes of our mind, so that while we acknowledge God in visible form, we may through Him be drawn to the love things invisible. And therefore with Angels and Archangesl, with Thrones and Dominations, and with all the hosts of the heavenly army, we sing the hymn of The glory, evermore saying: HOLY, HOLY, HOLY...
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COMMUNION: Luke 2: 26
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Responsum accepit Simeon a Spiritu Sancto, non visurum se mortem, nisi videret Christum Domini.
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Simeon received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, until he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
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POSTCOMMUNION
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Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo. Oremus.
Quaesumus, Domine Deus noster : ut sacrosancta mysteria, quae pro reparationis nostrae munimine contulisti, intercedente beata Maria semper Virgine, et praesens nobis remedium esse facias, et futurum. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum. Qui Tecum vivis et regnas in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum. R. Amen.
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The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit. Let us pray.
We beseech Thee, O Lord our God, that by the intercession of blessed Mary ever Virgin, Thou wouldst make the most holy mysteries, which Thou hast conferred upon us for the preservation of our spiritual life, both a present and future remedy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son Who livest and reignest with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God Forever and ever. R. Amen.
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Return to the ORDINARY OF THE HOLY MASS CONCLUSION OF THE HOLY MASS
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