The Presentation of the Lord

02-02-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Albert

In the Gospel for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which is celebrated forty days after the Birth of Jesus and falls on February 2nd, St. Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph went up to the Temple of Jerusalem "when the time came for their purification." According to certain prescriptions of the Law of Moses, when an Israelite woman gave birth to a male child, at the end of 40 days she should present herself in the Temple to carry out a ceremony of ritual purification. The ceremony included two offerings for sacrifice. If the family did not have sufficient means to buy a lamb, it could offer a pair of turtle doves or pigeons.

The Holy Family also goes to the Temple to present the child to the Lord. The law of Moses stipulated that every first-born male of Israel belonged to God: "in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the first-born in Israel, both of man and of beast; they shall be mine" (Num 3:13). Thus, it was necessary to present the Child to the Lord and pay a redemption price of "five shekels in silver."

Even though Jesus is the Son of God incarnate, and His birth is virginal, Mary and Joseph fulfill all the prescriptions of the Law with reverence and docility. To their surprise, Simeon declares that these events contain a deep meaning. His words concerning the Child and His Mother are cloaked in mystery. The Child the elderly man takes in his hands is the salvation of God incarnate. A salvation that will be the light for the Gentiles and glory for Israel.

Simeon makes two prophecies about Jesus and Mary. The Child, he says, will be "a sign that is spoken against." The incarnation of the Son of God is a sign that demands of each person a response, a commitment. And Simeon says that a sword will pierce Mary's soul.

The sword of sorrow predicted for Mary announces Christ's perfect and unique oblation on the cross that will impart the salvation God had "prepared in the presence of all peoples."

Father Albert