Presentation of the Lord (February 2, 2020)
In today’s Gospel we experience Mary and Joseph presenting the infant Jesus, the son of God, in the Temple. St. Francis de Sales notes:
The Eastern Rite calls this feast the “Presentation of the Son of God in the Temple,” because on this day Mary and Joseph went up to Jerusalem to present the only Son of God in the Temple of God. On this occasion, we encounter different types of persons found in the Church of God coming together. In the Temple, with Mary and Joseph, we find Simeon and Anna, a prophetess and widow, both good and faithful servants, and Our Lord, who is God and man. (Sermons 2:172-3)
On this day the Son of God is offered to His Father. This offering is beautifully represented with lighted candles to remind us of when Mary entered the Temple carrying in her arms her Son, who is Light of the world. Today when Christians carry lighted candles in their hands it is to testify that if it were possible they would carry Our Lord in their arms as did Mary and Simeon. (Sermons 2:173)
The glorious St. Simeon was very happy to carry the Savior in his arms. We can bear Him on our shoulders if we willingly endure and suffer with a good heart all that it pleases God to send us, however difficult and heavy be the charge and burden that God places upon our shoulder, like some saints. (Sermons, 2:187)
We can carry Our Savior in our arms as St. Simeon and Mary did. We do this when we endure with love the labors and pains He sends us, that is to say, when the love that we bear makes us find God’s yoke easy and pleasing, so that we love these pains and labors, gather sweetness in the midst of bitterness. If we carry Him this way, He will, without doubt, Himself carry us. (Sermons, 2:188)
Oh, how happy we shall be if we allow ourselves to be carried by this dear Lord, and if we carry Him on our shoulders and in our arms, abandoning ourselves entirely to Him and letting Him lead us where He pleases! Leave yourselves, then, in the arms of His Divine Providence, submitting yourselves in what concerns His Law and disposing yourselves to endure all the pains and suffering that may come to you in this life. When you have done this you will find that the hardest and most painful things will be rendered sweet and agreeable to you, and you will share the happiness experienced by St. Simeon and Anna, the prophetess. Try only to imitate them in this life and you will bless the Savior and be blessed by Him in Heaven, together with these glorious saints. (Sermons, 2:188)
In imitating Simeon and Anna, we will be able to see beyond the vicissitudes of our present life and experience the reign of God in our midst.
And from Annecy- Fr Muller
Presentation of Jesus in the temple – February 2, 2021
Let us be in the joy and in the light, since it is given to us, to celebrate this very beautiful feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. There he is presented, offered, consecrated, in his humanity, to his Father. In Byzantine tradition, this feast is called “The Divine Meeting”. Thirty-three days have been completed since his circumcision, since he bears the name given by the angel. And Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus are on their way to the Temple in Jerusalem, guided by the Law. At the same time, in the alleys of Jerusalem, the old man Simeon is also walking towards the Temple, guided by the Spirit. Bearer of the hopes of the Old Covenant, he walks towards the One who will seal the New Covenant between God and humanity. But he doesn’t know it yet.
Here you are all, walking, walking towards the Temple of God for a meeting of which no one yet knows the content. Simeon sees the fulfillment of the Promise, but he does not yet know that he will be its prophet. Whatever. He does not know it but already he accepts. The Spirit who dwells in him will speak through his mouth. It will be available, open, free. Do we know who we are walking towards when the Spirit guides us? Do we know when we are advancing on the path of Life, what encounters await us? Are we ready, attentive, open, available and free? Do we sometimes accept being the Word through whom God makes himself a sign for our brothers? You, Marie, you are going towards your second Annunciation. This time, Joseph is with you. He shares this moment of eternity with you. Mary, the angel of the Lord revealed to you the birth of your Son, the Savior of Israel. He announced Life to you. The old Simeon announces death and the sword that will pierce your heart. Death and life are intimately linked. He also announces the fall of many in Israel. It announces our world to you with its cohort of lies and false truths. As if God had not dared to do it himself, as if he had delegated the man of the old world for it …
From now on, Mary, you will only live in total gift. The son given to you has already been taken back from you, forty days after you gave birth to him. Forty days of joy, happiness, the tenderness of a new motherhood. Forty days that will brighten your life and of which you will like to keep the memory as that of an illumination that still enchants the night when the fires are extinguished. Nothing from now on will be as before, of this so short before which transformed your life, you the little girl of Nazareth promised to the carpenter. You are already Mary at the foot of Golotha. Because essentially in this event, it is you, Marie, who “delivers”, who “offers” your child. It is no longer yours. You consecrate it, you give it to the Father from whom you have received the beloved Son. The astonishing thing is that it is an old man, Simeon who receives him in his arms. This is the unique moment when it is proposed to us to welcome it into our heart This is the moment when the faithful promise of our God meets an expectation, that of Simeon and ours. It is the meeting of the promise and its fulfillment, the meeting of Jesus who is offered by his mother and of the heart that knew how to wait for him. This child is the Light coming to enlighten every man. This is our faith! Baptized, consecrated, our mission is to radiate this light, to radiate Christ. We began this Eucharist, holding in our hands the lighted candle which recalls our baptism. In fact, the sacrament of baptism makes the light of Christ descend to the depths of our hearts. On that day, Christ-Light came to live in us. It illuminates our lives, our choices, our decisions. He shows us the road
. As the Letter to the Hebrews says, he wants to “set us free”, that is, to turn us away from the darkness of the idolatry of money, of exclusion, of violence, of selfishness. Baptized, we are invited to stage frighter a path of light in our world. No wonder that on this day when Mary gives us the gift of her Son, Pope John Paul II wanted to make this day a Day of Consecrated Life. On this day, how can we not pray for all the men and women religious, virgins and consecrated laity, called among the baptized: your presence is major.
By your consecration, you bring Christian baptism to its incandescence. We do not understand anything about your vocation if we do not start afresh from the call of Christ-Light in your life. What, in fact, is your joy to you consecrated persons? Otherwise the wait, the meeting of Christ Jesus, like Simeon and Anne. Your life ? A crush on Christ! You are filled with the joy of having welcomed Christ the light and giving yourself to him. At the heart of this world, you have chosen to radiate Christ, by living the evangelical vows of chastity, poverty, obedience. You have chosen to give your life, your heart. You have chosen to share your property and your time. You have chosen not to decide your life, but to rely on others. The secret of your consecrated life is there: the light of Christ attracts you, burns you seizes you. Thanks to you, we can advance with more ardor on the path of true Light, the path of holiness. Some of you, some, live in communities: fragile communities, sometimes. No doubt you are aware of the smallness of your means. But who are we talking about in the Gospel? People with powerful means? No, but Anne and Simeon, two old people, Mary and Joseph, beaming with faith. The Light of Christ comes to us, thanks to the poor who have the courage to trust him. Let’s be very simple, with our hands open, outstretched towards him and just now, when we really receive the Body of the Lord, it will actually be much more overwhelming than for Simeon. The light of Christ is inexhaustible. So let’s become more and more children of light. And, in its light, one day we will see THE Light! P. Philippe Muller