Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemass.
Here is Rembrandt's wonderful painting of the scene. It strikes me that the baroque style, which uses a strong contrast of light and dark is particularly powerful in communicating Christ as the Light entering the darkness which is such a strong theme of this feast. The artists uses color so sparingly that one cannot help but be drawn to the primary focus of the composition. We see the one who gave Moses the Law and who now enters the temple 40 days after His birth. In doing so he is fulfilling the letter of Law and is, simultaneously, its fulfillment. Even Moses only saw the back of God and through a cloud, Simeon the Elder saw the Light directly and recognized Him for who he was. And so now He is presented before all people (including us), a light to enlighten the gentiles and the glory of His people Israel.
Every time I light a candle, I am going to try to bring this mind!
It brings to mind another baroque painting, of St Joseph and Our Lord, by Georges De La Tour
On the face of it, the light source is the candle, which casts light onto the two figures. But in reality, the source of light is the Light, the young figure of Christ who brings the candle into existence without any diminution of the intensity of the Light. As the candle burns it is in fact a reflection of Him that might, in turn, direct our attention back to Him. So as in the Baptism of Christ, whereby Christ is the source by which the waters were sanctified that we might be baptized, so here Christ is the Enlightenment who enlightens every man and all creation to His greater glory.
We can extend this metaphor into everyday life and reveal the presence of God in the mundane by evoking this imagery in other settings. Here is a painting by the 19th century Belgian artist Petrus Van Schendel, who seems to have adopted the baroque style de La Tour. This is called Market by Candlelight.
David Clayton is Provost at Pontifex University, which partners with the Theology of the Body Institute on the wonderful Master’s program in the Theology of the Body and the New Evangelization. You can contact David at dclayton@pontifex.university on any of the topics mentioned below. Go to www.Pontifex.University for information on the Master’s, and Theology Doctorate programs; to www.thewayofbeauty.org/books/ to find his publications; and to www.thewayofbeauty.org/visionforyou for information on the Vision for You process for discernment of personal vocation and spiritual exercises for the conversion of the heart.
