Worship & Prayers for Candlemas

Opening Rite 

If you’re at home you might wish to light a candle, make sure you are sitting comfortably and take a few deep breaths to still yourself. 

The Lord is here.  His Spirit is with us.

Hear the words of our Saviour Jesus Christ: ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me shall never walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.’  Let us therefore bring our sins into his lightand confess them in penitence and faith.    

cf John 8.12

Prayers of Penitence

After a period of reflection

Father eternal, giver of light and grace, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in what we have thought, in what we have said and done through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault.  We have wounded your love, and marred your image in us. We are sorry and ashamed and repent of all our sins.  For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past; and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen.

Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

The Collect

You might like to keep a few moments of silence

Almighty and ever-living God, clothed in majesty, whose beloved Son was this day presented in the Temple, in substance of our flesh: grant that we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts, by your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Malachi 3:1-5

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.  Then I will draw near to you for judgement; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow, and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Psalm 24:7-10

/R:   Who is the King of Glory? He’s the Lord, he’s the Lord, He is the King of glory!

O gates, lift high your heads; grow higher ancient doors. Let him enter, the King of glory. /R:

Who is the King of glory? The Lord, the mighty the valiant, the Lord, the Lord, the valiant in war. /R:

O gates, lift high your heads; grow higher ancient doors. Let him enter, the King of glory. /R:

Who is he, the King of glory? He, the Lord of armies, he is the King, the King of glory. /R:

Hebrews 2.14-end

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he 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.

Gospel Acclamation

This acclamation may herald the Gospel reading

Today the Lord is presented in the Temple in substance of our mortal nature. Alleluia.

Today the Blessed Virgin comes to be purified in accordance with the law. Alleluia.

Today old Simeon proclaims Christ as the light of the nations and the glory of Israel. Alleluia. Praise to Christ, the light of the world.

The Gospel according to Luke                                             Chapter 2.22-40

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they 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 turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’  Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, ‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’  And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’  There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.

This is the Gospel of the Lord  Praise to you O Christ

Reflection

Mary, Joseph and their baby come to the Temple for Mary’s purification – a ceremony designed to mark her passage from the proximity with the ultimate realities of life and death that childbirth involves, symbolised by blood, back to normal duties (Leviticus 12.6-8). But Luke turns the ritual into something else: Jesus’ presentation in the Temple. Whereas a perfunctory payment to a priest (not necessarily made in the Temple) marked a firstborn son’s symbolic release from belonging to God (Exodus 13.12-15; Numbers 18.15-16), Luke wants to show that Jesus, like Samuel (1 Samuel 1.21-28), carried through his designation as holy to the Lord. The person who recognises the importance of this child is Simeon. He is not a priest, indeed he does not seem to have any official role. But he has a gift of discernment, and feels his personal destiny to be bound up with that of the Messiah. He utters the third of Luke’s great canticles: following the Magnificat (Luke 1.46-55) and the Benedictus (Luke 1.68-79), we now have the Nunc Dimittis (Latin for ‘now you dismiss’). In three closely knit couplets, Simeon uses words such as salvation, light, revelation and glory, echoing the poetry of Isaiah. Once again there is amazement (see Luke 2.18). But his aside to Mary has a much more sombre tone – a hint of the sorrow and suffering to come. The widow Anna adds her tribute to the holiness of the child; and then the family returns to Nazareth. For the time being, the astonishing revelations made at Jesus’ birth are put to one side. Normality seems to have returned. The visit to the Temple did indeed mark a passage from an extraordinary time, when the divine seemed very close, to the usual routines of family life. But Simeon’s words are not forgotten.

Reproduced with permission www.rootsontheweb.com 2002-2021  

Prayers

Spend a few moments praying for the people you know and love, for the world, for peace and for the relief of refugees everywhere. 

On the Feast of the Presentation of Christ

Lord Jesus Christ, light of the nations and glory of Israel: make your home among us, and present us pure and holy to your heavenly Father, your God, and our God. Amen

Praying for the Earth                                                      Times and Seasons

We thank you for the rhythm of times and seasons. Make us more aware of our changing environment, in our parks and gardens, in the countryside and by the sea. Help us to appreciate all that is special about the present time of year, and to live our lives in keeping with the natural order. Amen

From the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer for the Church

Porvoo Communion: Diocese of Bangor (Wales) Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough (Ireland) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Faroe Islands

Anglican Communion:The Church of England Primate: Archbishop Sarah Mullally

Bedlington Deanery: Area Dean Ian Flintoft Lay Chair Lynne Craggs 

From our Parish Prayer Cycle this week  

Pray for all residents of residents of Donnington Court, Clanfield Court and Longborough Court

For the sick and those being cared for in hospital or at home      

For those in residential care    

For those who have recently died

Harry Titley

For those whose year’s minds are this week 

Pauline Bell, Elizabeth Marshall, Hannah Tate, Robert McLaughlin, George Amos, Laura Younghusband, Nora Ramsbottom, Florence Atkinson, Margaret Seago, John Robert Lamb, Florence Bainbridge, Bert Macrae, Elizabeth Ann Roe, Jessie Tiffin and David Coll

You might like to end your prayers with The Lord's Prayer  

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.  Amen. 

The Conclusion

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen

Let us bless the Lord!     Thanks be to God!