Feast of the Presentation; Antiphon at the Lighting of the Candles; Psalm Verses
  • WJA
    The rubrics say: "While the candles are being lit, the following antiphon or another appropriate chant is
    sung,", and that antiphon is "The Lord will come with mighty power and give light to the eyes of all who serve him, alleluia" (or something to that effect, I don't have it in front of me).

    Query: supposing the lighting of the candles would take some time, I suppose the antiphon could be sung with psalm verses, which raises the question: what would those verses be?
  • Ben YankeBen Yanke
    Just off the top of my head, isn't it the canticle of simeon?
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Here you go:

    Ant. A light for revelation to the Gentiles
    and the glory of your people Israel.
    1. Lord, now you let your servant go in peace,
    in accordance with your word:
    Ant. A light...
    2. For my eyes have seen your salvation,
    Ant. A light...
    3. Which you have prepared in the sight of all the peoples,
    Ant. A light...
  • WJA
    I should have been clearer.

    In the ordinary form, the rubrics say you sing the antiphon, "The Lord will come with mighty power and give light to the eyes of all who serve him, alleluia" while the candles are being lit.

    Then, after the candles are blessed and the priest initiates the procession, you sing the antiphon, "A light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel" along with the verses of the Canticle of Simeon.

    My question was: what psalm verses would be appropriate to sing with the first antiphon ("The Lord will come with mighty power and give light to the eyes of all who serve him, alleluia")?

    As it turns out, we didn't need any extra verses, so it didn't matter, but I'd like to know for future reference.
  • Paul_D
    Silence. No need to fill every liturgical moment with sound. Sing the antiphon once when starting to light the candles, then perhaps again as the last are lit. Delight in what happens in between.
    Thanked by 1canadash
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    From "The Processional":

    Behold, our Lord will come with power,
    to enlighten the eyes of his servants, alleluia.
    Ps 94 (95):1-7 (A)
    or Rev 15:3-4

    The above which I cited comes immediately after this.
  • WJA
    Silence. No need to fill every liturgical moment with sound. Sing the antiphon once when starting to light the candles, then perhaps again as the last are lit. Delight in what happens in between.


    That is a good suggestion.
  • WJA
    From "The Processional":


    Thank you for your help.

    I will reveal my ignorance and ask: What is "The Processional"? Is it one of those important liturgical books that the Missal refers to but are so hard to find?
  • IanWIanW
    ;-)
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    The Processional was made known (to me at least) in this recent thread here:

    The Processional Texts for Singing the Processional Songs of the Mass
  • francisfrancis
    We had ten people so we sang it three times during the actually lighting of their candles
  • Paul_D
    Speaking of de-lighting, can anyone find a rubric that tells you when to blow out the candles? Or must we use common sense? (Annoying voice at microphone, "Please extinguish your candles now.") Or maybe you should take the lit candle home with you.
  • francisfrancis
    I would suspect just before the Liturgy of the Word??? Don't know the actual rubric though.
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