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The Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple
This Friday (February 2) marks The Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. This day was first formally celebrated by the Eastern Church and began to be celebrated by the Western Church in the sixth century (Candlemas). Counting forward from Christmas Day, "...we find that day forty is February 2nd. A Jewish woman is in semi-seclusion for 40 days after giving birth to a son...it is on February 2nd that we celebrate the coming of Mary and Joseph with the infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifice, both on behalf of Mary and on behalf of Jesus as a first-born male. As they did so, they were greeted by the aged Simeon," who sings the Nunc Dimittis in response to the revelation of Jesus the Messiah.
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