Candlemas - The Presentation of Christ. This is one of the most beautiful and prophetic scenes in the New Testament Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem for His Ceremony of Presentation - as their firstborn son and His Mother Mary’s purification: 40 plus days after the birth, (thus is distinct from the circumcision which is 8 days), We can join the Holy Family early in the morning as they set out from Bethlehem to take the two hour walk up to Jerusalem. As they neared that great city, they would have caught sight of the newly rebuilt temple on the hill. It was immense, covered with gold ornamentation and would have shone like the sun in the morning light. Once inside it would have been packed and noisy. They would have been lost in the crowd of priests, worshipers and traders! Incredibly they were suddenly picked out in the crowd and welcomed by a stranger who knew and received them like long lost relatives. It was the wonderful Simeon! He was not a p