Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 2nd February
Message from Fr Paul for Wednesday, 2nd February 2022
As the introduction to today’s Mass reminds us, it’s forty days since we celebrated the feast of the Lord’s Nativity, so today we conclude the Christmas Cycle of the Liturgy with the feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. It’s the day when Mary went to the Temple with her infant Son to present him to God his Father and to be purified herself, so that she could return to her duties as wife and mother. When I lived in Peru, it was interesting to see that this ancient tradition of women staying indoors, far from society and even from church., was still being kept, which is why mothers were rarely present at the baptism of their children. The Catholic and others Churches also celebrate, or did celebrate, a sacramental known as the Churching of Women, a short service of thanksgiving and purification. Hence, this feast was once known as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is also known as Candlemas, as even when I was young, I can remember our parish priest blessing boxes of candles to be used during the year, as well as the Paschal Candle to be used at Easter. Eastern Christians call it the feast of the Encounter, as for the first time Jesus Christ God incarnate goes forth to meet his people in the persons of Simeon, who was prompted by the Spirit to be in the Temple at the same time, and Anna the prophetess, the New Testament acknowledging and receiving the blessing of the Old. In recent times, it is also kept as the Day for Consecrated Life, a special day of prayer and thanksgiving for the Religious Life.
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Our Gospel passage today comes from Luke, (Lk 2: 22-40), his account of the Presentation. We know it well, but never tire of reading it again and again.
“When the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, – observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:
‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace,
just as you promised;
because my eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared for all the nations to see,
a light to enlighten the pagans
and the glory of your people Israel.’
As the child’s father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’
There was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.”
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We first note the obedience of Mary and Joseph and their desire to observe the Law of Moses in all its details. Jesus is not simply presented, but consecrated to God as a firstborn son. This consecration to his heavenly Father he will live out to the full, a consecration consummated in his death and resurrection, as Simeon and Anna predict in their words to Mary and Joseph. It is the Holy Spirit who motivates Simeon to enter the Temple as Jesus is being presented and it is the Spirit who inspires his prayer, the Nunc dimittis, that has been preserved for posterity and sung in all the Churches at the end of the day, at Compline. He calls Jesus “the salvation prepared for all the nations to see,” Gentiles and Jews alike. Simeon blesses Mary and Joseph and has a special message for Mary concerning her Son, who will be “a sign that is rejected,” yet it is in that rejection that he becomes the Saviour of the world. Even so, a sword will pierce her heart as she will participate in his Passion. Anna, like Simeon, comes by just then and begins to praise God for the birth and presentation of this child who has come to deliver Jerusalem, symbol of the whole world. And so, having fulfilled their religious duty, the Holy Family returns to Nazareth, where Jesus will grow to maturity, filled with wisdom and God’s grace.
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When we celebrate a feast with religious fervour and sincerity of heart, we receive the very graces we celebrate in others. We become part of the story. We enter fully into the mystery of salvation. Blessed be God. Amen.
