Malachi 3:1–4/Psalm 24:7,8,9,10/Hebrews 2:14–18/Luke 2:22–40
Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. It occurs forty days after our celebration of Christmas – the birth of Jesus Christ. On this day in biblical history the Holy family made a journey from Bethlehem to Jerusalem in order to fulfill the law and their spiritual obligations. In today’s liturgy the Church carries out the practice of blessing candles and processing into the Church with it. This practice symbolizes our journey from the secular to the sacred or from our earthly home to the heavenly Jerusalem. The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple leaves us with some lessons:
We must bring our children to the Lord: In Mark 10:14 Jesus says “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for such as these belong the kingdom of God.” Today, apart from the fact that we bring our children forward for baptism how many of us still encourage them to join societies in the Church. How many of our children are active youth members or choristers or legionaries and the likes. This mystery shows that it is important not to neglect the duty of teaching children about God and His laws. Prov.22:6 encourages us to train up children in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it. Deu. 6:7 says you shall teach them diligently to your children. Beloved in Christ, teach your children diligently. Of recent some families tend to neglect the primary vocation of caring and fending for their children.
Mary and Joseph kept their religious obligation without delay: We too must keep our religious obligations. Today we find it very difficult to keep some religious obligations. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in its Compendium, enumerates the following:
- You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labour. 2. You shall confess your sins at least once a year. 3. You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least once during the Easter season. 4. You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church. 5. You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church. Do we still appreciate these obligations? If we don’t fulfill our obligations in worship we may not receive the grace that the worship brings.
Joseph and Mary were poor. The traditional offering for purification was a lamb and a turtledove if the parents were rich and two doves or two pigeons if they were poor. They offered two turtle doves as opposed to a lamb that a wealthier couple would have offered. In obedience to religious obligation everybody has a role to fulfill, the poor and the rich have something to offer. In Mark 12:43 says “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others”. It is not the quantity of the gift but the quality of the heart. 2 Cor. 9:7 says “…God loves a cheerful giver”.
LET US PRAYER
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, God, for ever and ever. Amen.