New from our Medieval Research Blog: "Ivo of Chartres, In Purificatione S. Mariae (On Candlemas)"

In parallel with a certain popular celebration centered in the city of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the second day of February, in most Christian traditions, also marks the commemoration of the presentation of Christ in the Temple and the ritual purification of Mary. Due to the prominent role played by candles in the liturgical celebrations in the Latin tradition, the feast is commonly referred to as “Candlemas”.

For Ivo of Chartres, whose homilies on Advent and Christmas have short commentaries and translations elsewhere on this blog, his work In Purificatione takes the opportunity to reflect on the details of the liturgical celebration itself as a symbol of the moral imperatives of the Christian life. For him, the wax from which the candles are made represents the flesh of this life, but which also bears a light that illumines the shadows, echoing the Prologue of the Gospel of John. Carrying the candles in procession echoes, in a physical sense, the spiritual carrying of God accomplished through the imitation of Christ.

This is an excerpt from “Ivo of Chartes, In Purificatione S. Mariae (On Candlemas) by Nick Kamas, Ph.D. Read the full piece.