Last Sunday  in church we celebrated Candlemas  or the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. After explaining the significance of Christ being recognised as the 'Promised One' by Simeon and Anna, Father Tom made a special candle with the help of the Sunday School children. The children behaved impeccably, and thank Heaven all went well even with the dangers of boiling water, hot wax and a gas burner. Fr. Tom was very safety conscious. We had a Fire Marshall in attendance and the congregation had taken part in a Fire Drill the week before. Our lovely newly made candle signifying  the risen Jesus Christ 'The Light of the World' will be the first one lit at the Early Mass of Easter morning. Fr. Tom will then light the tall Easter or Paschal Candle and call "The Light of Christ " and every candle  will be lit, bathing the whole church in the Glorious Triumph of the Resurrection! It is so moving ,a truly wonderful experience.

I am writing this article on February 3rd, the saint's day of St. Blaise who has connections with candles.  So I thought I would write about this saint who is famous all over the world. His saint's day is celebrated by the Eastern Church on February 11th. Blaise was a doctor, born in Sébaste, Armenia (now part of Turkey), he was a pious man and was elected to be a Bishop. Legend has it that he not only healed people but animals that were sick, even wild animals! 

In 316 Agricola the governor of Cappadocia (also in Turkey) was ordered to kill Christians by the emperor Licinius. Blaise was arrested, but as he was being taken to gaol, a mother whose only son was choking on a fish bone set him at Blaise's feet and begged him to cure the boy. Blaise blessed him and he was cured instantly. 

The governor, unable to make Blaise renounce his faith, beat him with a stick and ordered that his flesh be torn by huge metal combs similar to those used for carding or combing sheep's wool. After ripping his flesh they beheaded Blaise.

Stories of  cures associated with St Blaise in his lifetime abounded, one being about a wolf that had seized a pig to devour it. The lady owner of the pig beseeched Blaise to save her pig. Blaise rebuked the wolf and it let the pig go. Later when Blaise was in prison she brought tall candles to his cell to bring light to the darkness of the dismal place. 

Stories like these were told all over the world, and harking back to the cure of the fish bone, a ritual called the Blessing of St. Blaise is still performed today. Two tall candles blessed at Candlemas are held crossed over the throat of a believer and sometimes the throat is touched or the sign of the Cross is made above the person hoping to be cured or protected.

The following Blessing is said, "Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other  illness. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen" Sometimes people who have been blessed wear a red ribbon around their necks for 9 days after. 

Saint Blaise is known as St. Biagio in Italy, Sveti Blaz in Croatia (Dubrovnik's Patron Saint) , St. Blassius in Iceland,  Germany and Jersey, and Sao Bras in Goa, India. He is depicted holding two candles and steel combs. He is called upon to help people with sore throats and even sleep apnoea!

Multiple relics are claimed for St. Blaise including several whole bodies, at least 4 heads, 8 arms and several jaws and so on; if they gave people comfort and hope perhaps even a small bit of him could be real. 

There is a small church dedicated to St. Blaise near our village in Brittany and the former owners of our house were called Blaise. Some years ago I remember the late Father Tom Keighley performing the Blessing of St. Blaise here in our church.        

Barbara Liddell.