Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time of the Year
Mystery of the day: Luminous
Celebration: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
The feast was first observed in the Eastern Church as “The Encounter”. In the sixth century, it began to be observed in the West: in Rome , with a more penitential character, and in Gaul (France ) with solemn blessings and processions of candles, popularly known as “Candlemas”. The presentation of the Lord concludes the celebration of the Nativity and, with the offerings of the Virgin Mother and the prophecy of Simeon, the events now point towards Easter.
Table of the Word:
RI: Malachi 3:1-4
RII: Hebrews 2:14-18
Gospel: Luke 2:22-40
"For because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted." (Hebrews 2:18)
Theme: Reconciling Humanity with Divinity.
Beloved in Christ, we join other brethren of ours globally to celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord today. A celebration which recalled the fulfilment of the Old Covenant. According to Old Testament law, a sacrifice had to be offered in the Temple when a child was consecrated to the Lord. Mary and Joseph honoured this tradition (cf. Luke 2:22-24).
On the other hand, we also reflect on the gift of consecrated life. While the momentary satisfaction of selfish living ultimately leads to emptiness, living a life of holiness, dedicated to God’s service, will give true contentment and peace. Recalling the words of Pope Francis:
Consecrated life is born and reborn of an encounter with Jesus as he is: poor, chaste and obedient… And while worldly life soon leaves our hands and hearts empty, life in Jesus fills us with peace to the very end, as in the Gospel, where Simeon and Anna come happily to the sunset of their lives with the Lord in their arms and joy in their hearts.
This double-fold Celebrations invite us to the life of emptiness, as we see in our Lord who stripped-off His Divine royalty in order to reconcile humanity with Divinity by enduring temptation and suffering to enable us in our weakness. (cf. Hebrews 2:18)
It further exhorts us to persevere and hope as Simeon - the devout and upright man persevered and waited in patience for this great day. Having seen this, he sang the great Nunc Dimitis, a hymn theologians described as "Canticle of Simeon" which adorned with words of thanksgiving for what the Lord has done after a long waiting.
In our daily struggle, how far have we gone with the virtues of patience and perseverance in God? Do we commend our cares and worries to God as Prophetess Anna, the daughter of Phanuel did? However, irrespective of the fact that she had it rough in life she stood firm in faith.
Finally, as we celebrate this solemn feast of the Lord's Presentation, let us as well present ourselves to be consecrated in truth so that we may be sweet smelling fragrance before our God. Let us at the foot of the altar lay our circumstances before God, for the light has come to reveal the glory of God among us. Peace, be with you.
Let us pray
Almighty ever-living God, we humbly implore your majesty that, just as your Only Begotten Son was presented on this day in the Temple in the substance of our flesh, so, by your grace, we may be presented to you with minds made pure. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
© The ARCHIVE 02022023
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