Utah parishes celebrate Candlemas

IC photo/Laura Vallejo

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The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas, was celebrated on Feb. 2. Shown are images at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, where Hispanic parishioners brought their images of the Child Jesus to be blessed at the Mass.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas – Dia de la Candelaria in Spanish – commemorates the day when Mary and Joseph presented the child Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem in accordance with the law of Moses; each year the feast is celebrated on Feb. 2.

Many parishes in the Diocese of Salt Lake City celebrate the occasion with events such as blessing candles. For example, the Cathedral of the Madeleine offered Candle Masses where the parishioners received a candle at the entrance to be later blessed and lighted, and St. Mary Parish in West Haven invited parishioners to bring their own candles to be blessed on Sunday, Feb. 5.

At Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish on the feast day, Hispanic Catholics brought images of the baby Jesus dressed for the occasion; these images were blessed during the Mass. Among the parishioners was Estela Mulato, who brought two different images of the baby Jesus, each with special outfits.

For her, dressing the image of the child Jesus is important because “we have to bring him here the same way that our Blessed Mother brought him to present him,” she said.

Mulato’s youngest child accompanied her to the celebration.

“We should always bring our kids so they can learn our traditions,” she said. “Our mother gave us the example, so we have to give the example to them.”

Another parishioner, Lupita Ayala, has been attending the Mass for more than 10 years with her image of the baby Jesus. Every year she dresses the image in different attire, with a special petition embroidered on it.

This year her image was dressed in blue with the words “Divine child, grant us work, faith and hope.”

For her it is important to pray and venerate God, especially on that date.

“He is our everything, and thanks to his love and care we have been able to keep on going, to have a job, to provide for our family,” she said.

In a similar way, Martha Mixco said that for her it is very important to have special attire every year to present her image of the baby Jesus at the Mass.

“I am here to give thanks to the Lord for all the blessings received,” Mixco said, adding that “the biggest blessing is that baby Jesus always cares for us.”

During the Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe, all the images of the baby Jesus were placed in front of the altar, and Father Jorge Roldan, pastor, blessed them with holy water. Parishioners also placed candles in front of the altar to be blessed.

Explaining the feast day and referring to the Scripture readings from Luke 2:22-40, Fr. Roldan said, “In obedience to the Old Law, the Lord Jesus, the first-born, was presented in the Temple by his Blessed Mother and his foster father. This is another ‘epiphany’ celebration insofar as the Christ Child is revealed as the Messiah through the canticle and words of Simeon and the testimony of Anna the prophetess.”