Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2nd Lk 2:22-40 “Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.’”
PRESENTATION OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
MEDITATIONS…
1. CHILD JESUS IN THE ARMS OF MARY. Now we come to the Infant Jesus in the arms of Mary when He is barely forty days old. Contemplate Mary gently holding her treasure—the Lord Jesus, the Son of God and Our Savior—in her arms. Be present and imagine it! Let it become alive for you!
2. PILGRIMAGE. Mary and St. Joseph travel to Jerusalem to present the Infant Jesus in the Temple. JOY! There is joy in this trip. Why? The Holy Family is united in their love for God and their desire to carry out God’s holy will. Accompany Mary as she carries the Infant Jesus in her arms. Walk with Mary, contemplate her, and talk with her along the way. She desires to enter into deep conversation with you. With the utmost sincerity, tell her all that is on your mind, all that is in your heart, the deepest secrets that have been hidden in the inner recesses of your soul. Mary is your Mother, companion and friend.
3. ST. JOSEPH. Union with Mary and Jesus can never exclude the person of the great St. Joseph. The first lover of Jesus and Mary was good St. Joseph. He can bring you into a deeper knowledge, love and union with Mary and Jesus. Good St. Joseph had the most sublime role in the world after Mary and Jesus. St. Joseph was called by God the Father to be the husband or spouse of the Virgin Mary, but even more important, St. Joseph was called to be the Foster Father of Jesus. Talk to St. Joseph as if he were your spiritual father; he cares for you, he loves you and can attain for you many choice graces.
4. TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM. Arrival in Jerusalem, “The City of Peace”, culminates in going to the majestic, beautiful, and awe-inspiring Temple of Jerusalem. This enormous and majestic temple took many years to build under the order and direction of King Solomon, the son of King David.
5. OUR LADY AS TEMPLE. Our Lady was the temple and resting place of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ during the nine months of her pregnancy. Indeed Mary was and is a more beautiful temple than the Majestic Temple of Jerusalem. The Temple of Jerusalem contained symbolically the presence of God. Our Lady contained within her womb the REAL PRESENCE of Jesus—she was the “True Temple of God”. With what love and tenderness did Our Lady cherish Jesus within her womb, and then once born, how much love and tenderness did she shower upon Him, her greatest “Treasure”.
6. OUR LADY AS TEMPLE: YOU AS TEMPLE. From the moment that you were baptized you became the Temple of the Living God—The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our Lady is the Daughter of God the Father, the Mother of God the Son, and the Mystical Spouse of God the Holy Spirit. Through your Baptism you are a son or daughter of God the Father, brother or sister to Jesus Christ, and intimate friend of the Holy Spirit. Beg Our Lady to help you recognize your great dignity, as well as your eternal destiny—which is none other than to be with Our Lady in heaven to glorify the Trinity for all eternity.
7. PROPHET SIMEON. Indeed, the eyes of this elderly mystic perceived Jesus in the arms of Our Lady. He rejoiced exultantly and praised God for finally the day had arrived to not only see Jesus, the Son of Mary, but to actually hold Jesus in his arms. Now Simeon was ready to go—even to die, if this was God’s will—in peace, because his eyes had finally beheld the promised One of Israel.
8. GREATER PRIVILEGE. Now you should rejoice because you have an even greater privilege than Simeon! YES! In Mass and in the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, you can see Jesus, the Son of Mary, on a daily basis. Beg Our Lady to give you the eyes of faith to see Jesus in Mass in the Consecration and in Holy Communion, as well as in the Tabernacle or Monstrance, in His Eucharistic Presence. Beg Our Lady with this beautiful prayer: “Mary, give me the eyes to see Jesus in His Eucharistic Presence and to love and adore Him with your Immaculate Heart!”
9. OUR LADY OF SORROWS—THE 1ST SWORD OF SORROW. As the Prophet Simeon marvels at the Infant Jesus, he turns his gaze to Our Lady and makes a prophecy, the first sword of Sorrow to pass through the pure and Immaculate Heart of Mary.
“Behold this Child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be contradicted, and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Lk 2:34-35).
10. MARY’S LOVE IN SUFFERING. One of the most noble characteristics of Our Lady was her total openness to the will of God in absolutely everything. This included Our Lady’s willingness to accept all the sufferings that God in His Divine Providence was willing to send her. The sufferings of Mary were many and very intense in many ways.
11. THE SWORD. The sword prophesied by Simeon pointed to the Passion, suffering and death of Jesus the Lord. Most specifically, this referred to the sword or lance that the Centurion thrust through the side of Jesus as He hung already dead on the cross.
“But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust a lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out”. (Jn 19:33-34)
This first sword prophesied by Simeon was a clear reference to the sword that cut through Jesus’ side and penetrated His Sacred Heart as He hung from the cross, causing Blood and water to come gushing forth. Jesus suffered no pain in that moment because He was already dead. However, Our Lady suffered intense pain—this sword penetrated to the very depths of her soul.
12. QUEEN OF MARTYRS. For this reason, the great Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church and author of “The Glories of Mary”, proclaimed Our Lady to be the Queen of Martyrs. The sword did not penetrate her flesh, but indeed it penetrated to the very depths of her tender heart and soul.
13. YOUR SORROWS AND OUR LADY OF SORROWS. We all have our joys to share with Our Lady, but also, we all have our many sorrows to share with Our Lady. Never be afraid to open up and pour out from the depths of your own broken heart, your deep sorrows, your wounds, your bruises and even your scars. When a child falls down and scrapes his knee, his mother is the one who runs to his aid, lifts him up, and kisses and bandages the wound. Our Lady is always ready and willing to pick us up out of the mud after we have fallen, clean us up, change our clothes, and help us start again with renewed hope.
14. CONSECRATION TO OUR LADY. Let each one of us resolve now to make the journey to Total Consecration to Our Lady, or to renew our Consecration, and travel to Jerusalem with St. Joseph and Mary, with Jesus in the arms of Mary. Let us relive the encounter with the elderly prophet Simeon. Let us meditate on the words mentioned, this prophetic message referring to Jesus’ upcoming death and Our Lady’s collaboration in His suffering. Share in the sufferings of Jesus and Mary, but also talk to Our Lady about your own crosses and sufferings. Consecration to Our Lady means giving to her all we have and are—this includes our struggles, sufferings and even our failures. She is always there, ready and willing to stretch out her loving hands to lift us up and to clasp us to her Immaculate Heart!
