To my delight and edification, I discovered that in the Extraordinary Form the Mass of Candlemas uses the preface of the Nativity. A contemplative friend of mine has a beautiful analogy for this, saying it is like the last glorious burst of a firework display when you thought it had finished.
By finishing Christmastide in this way we are able to revive all the sense of fervour that the feast inspired and the daily purpose of the Incarnation expressed so powerfully: “In him we see our God made visible and so are seized by love of the invisible God.”
