The presentation of the Lord in the Temple and the Candlemas are celebrated on this February 02. It is especially the Gospel according to Saint Luke (Lk 2, 22-40) which transcribes the presentation of the Lord.
According to the law of Moses in Exodus 13, 2, Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem to consecrate the firstborn to the Lord. At the same time, Simeon was led to the Temple by the Holy Spirit. He took Jesus in his arms and prayed to God: "Now, O sovereign Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word. For my eyes have seen the salvation which you were preparing before the peoples: a light which is revealed to the nations". Then he said to Mary: "A sword will pierce your soul. At the same time, Anna, the prophetess, was also in the Temple and spoke about the child to those who hope for the liberation of Jerusalem.
The light that Simeon evoked is pronounced during the prayer for the consecration of the candles, hence the feast of Candlemas on this day. For the Eastern Church, this feast is called "hypapante" or "meeting". The Feast of Encounter has been celebrated in Jerusalem since the fourth century. It was Pope Justinian I who established this feast for the Byzantine churches.
We celebrate also the memory of saint Corneille today. He is a Roman centurion from Caesarea (Acts 10 - 11). His family was the first to convert and enter the Christian community of the first century.
Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac is also celebrated on February 2nd. She lived from 1556 to 1640, married at the age of 17 and had six children. On the death of her husband in 1597, she felt a vocation for the consecrated life and entered the Cistercian nuns in Toulouse. But suffering from an illness that was thought to be incurable, she stayed there for only five months. Cured of this illness, she founded in 1607, with the help of Jesuit priests, the Company of Marie-Notre-Dame where she lived and directed the congregation until her death.