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Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Mal 3:1-4; Ps 24:7-10; Heb 2:14-18; Lk 2:22-40

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is celebrated forty days after Christmas. It was a custom at the time of Jesus that forty days after a boy was born the baby was brought to the temple and the mother went through a ritual of purification. This passage and the Feast show us that Joseph and Mary presented Jesus at the temple to undergo the ritual just like every other baby boy.

Two people who were in the temple were drawn to the Holy Family, Simeon a Holy and righteous Man, and Anna a prophetess. Simeon recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah. His brief prayer is one that is recited to this day as part of Night Prayer;
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.”

Anna came forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

Simeon and Anna were two holy people who were tuned into God’s presence. Out of the multitudes that were gathered in the temple that day, they recognized Jesus for who he was and were drawn to him. Simeon said a prayer of Thanksgiving, and Anna prophesied to Joseph and Mary about the baby Jesus.

The response of Simeon and Anna to the presence of Jesus poses questions for each of us; As we go from day to day in the midst of people and with various distractions, are we tuned into the presence of Jesus? When we enter the church do, we first look to, and reverence the Lord in the Tabernacle? When we leave church are we able to recognize Jesus in the “least of our brothers and sisters?” Do others recognize Jesus in us?

He is presented to us and when we are open to receiving him, he can do mighty things for us. A friend of mine was a Protestant Missionary. He was doing missionary work in Africa and at the end of one day he was hot, tired and disillusioned. He saw a small Catholic Church and went in to cool off, rest and pray. As he sat in the church his eyes were drawn to the tabernacle. He had studied some Catholic Beliefs about the Real Presence, but did not believe. That afternoon in his somewhat vulnerable condition, he was touched by the Real Presence of Christ in the Tabernacle. It was such a powerful experience he is now a Roman Catholic Lay Missionary.

What experiences have you in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? In what ways did he touch your life and change you? When we come into the presence of the Lord it would be helpful if we did so with an awareness of His presence, of who he is and make ourselves vulnerable so that he can work mighty things in our lives.

Today, we celebrate the day when the baby Jesus was presented in the Temple, it’s a reminder of who Jesus is and that the Father sent him into the world as a gift for us. The Father presented him to us as our Lord and Savior and we are called to receive him with hearts that are open to his presence with us.

Father Killian Loch, O.S.B.

Artwork: The Presentation in the Temple, Alvaro Pirez, ca. 1405-15