One of the most beloved Masses in the Orthodox Church is the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. During this Mass, we hear of aged St Simeon gently taking the 40 day old Christ Child into his arms, and declaring: “Now I may depart in peace, because I have seen my Salvation.” Using imagery from the prophet Isaiah, St Simeon also declares Jesus to be the “light which illuminates the nations.”
This last phrase has given the Western Church the impetus to bless all manner of candles as part of this Mass: candles which will be used in the church or burned in front of icons at home. These blessed candles are known as “sacramentals.” They are extensions and radiations of the Holy Sacraments, and continue the work of the Sacraments or prepare for their reception.
With candles, the connection to the Sacraments is easily seen. We light a candle to say a prayer. That candle symbolizes both the faith that is joined to the prayer, and the grace of Our Lord upon which that prayer depends. And what gives us the courage or the hope to offer that prayer? Is it not the grace of God first proffered in the Holy Sacraments, and the faith engendered by the Spirit in those mysteries?
Furthermore, the candles remind us that, in our baptism and chrismation, we were told to be “light-bearers”—to let the light of our life in Christ shine before all people. In this way, St Simeon’s words apply not only to Christ, but also to Christians. And the candles we burn are to be a constant reminder that, by our words and deeds, we are called to be the “light which illuminates the nations.”