FEBRUARY 2nd The Presentation of the Lord...

The Church marks THREE major observances today... and Other Weighty Matters



February 2: Presentation of the Lord — Feast

Liturgical Color: White

Quote:
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

                                         ~Luke 2:22–24


Today we celebrate three events from the Church calendar – one from the current canon, the other two from previous liturgical calendars..., but which are still on our minds

CHURCH NOTES – The Three Events Observed Today

    Mary and Joseph were faithful Jews who obeyed the Law of Moses. Jewish Law prescribed that two ritual acts needed to take place for a firstborn son...

1. The Presentation of the Lord – current canon

    The father of the firstborn son was to “redeem” the child by making an offering to the priest of five shekels. so that the priest would then present the child to the Lord (see Numbers 18:16).
    Here, you must recall that the firstborn male of all the Egyptians, animals and children, was killed during the tenth plague - but the firstborn males of the Israelites were spared.
Thus, this offering made for the firstborn son in the Temple was a way of ritually redeeming him in commemoration of protection during that plague.
    Since Jesus was presented in the Temple for this redemption, today’s feast is currently referred to as the “Presentation in the Temple.”

2. Purification of Mary – previous canon calendar

    The mother of a newborn son was ritually unclean for seven days after birth, and she was to “spend thirty-three more days in a state of blood purity” (Leviticus 12). Total: 40 days
    During these forty days she was not to “touch anything sacred nor enter the sanctuary till the days of her purification were fulfilled.”
    For this reason, before 1969, today’s feast was called the “Purification of Mary.”

3. Candlemas/Feast of the Holy Encounter – Medieval calendar, Celebration of Light

    “Candlemass” is the traditional name given to the third feast that has been celebrated on this date. As early as the fifth century, the custom of celebrating this feast with lighted candles had developed. In like turn, the blessing of candles to be used throughout the coming year was incorporated into this feast.
    Many churches today still bless pure wax candles at this Mass, usually beeswax, both for Church use and those brought in by the faithful to use in their homes.
    The lit and blessed candles symbolized Simeon’s prophecy that Jesus would be, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.”
    Tied to this prophesy of Simeon was, “The Feast of the Holy Encounter” because God, in the Person of Jesus, encountered Simeon and Anna in the Temple.

NOTE: It's also important to recognize that today’s feast is celebrated in The Pilgrim Church forty days after Christmas.        As it marks the day that Mary and Joseph brought Jesus into the Temple, it ended the “nativity period” of Jesus.
Therefore, since medieval times, it has also been seen as the end of Christmastide.


    Did you get all that? There is a lot going on with this date, February 2nd! If you need to review that again, go ahead.


Reflection
    Though Mary was pure and free from sin from the moment of her conception, and though the Son of God, Jesus, did not need to be redeemed of sin, Mary and Joseph dutifully fulfilled their ritual obligations in the Temple, anyway.

    But, the heart of this celebration is really the encounter of Simeon and Anna with the Christ Child in the Temple. It is in that holy encounter that Jesus’ divinity is manifested by a human prophet – TO HUMANS - for the first time.

    At His birth, the angels proclaimed His divinity to the shepherds.
    Later the Three Magi Princes from the East - Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar - would seek Him and proclaim Him the King of the Jews... which we celebrate at The Epiphany.

    But in the Temple, Simeon was the first to understand and proclaim Jesus as the God-Made-Man, the Savior of the World.     He also prophesied that this salvation would be accomplished by a sword of sorrow that would pierce the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
    Anna, a prophetess herself, also came forward and “gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38).

    Thus, these ritual acts of Mary and Joseph were more than just following the proscribed rules of the Temple – they were hugely momentous events in which Jesus’ divine mission was made manifest to the world.

    In celebrating Mary’s ritual purification, and Jesus’ ritual redemption, we should see them as not as some historical folk tale, but as acts in which WE are called to participate.

    First, each of us is unworthy of entering the true Temple of the Lord in Heaven, on our own. Yet we are invited, ANYWAY, to enter that Temple in union with Mary, our Blessed Mother.
    It was HER consent to the will of God that opened the door of God’s grace to us all. She became Jesus’ mother, and His grace is born in us as well because of that. Without her, none of this would ever have happened!
    And because of her, and now, with her, we are able to appear before God, purified and holy in His sight.

    We must also see Saint Joseph redeeming us, as it was he that, ”officially” presented Jesus in the Temple. In offering his step-son, Jesus, to the priest to offer Him to the Father, Saint Joseph also presents all who strive to live in union with Jesus.
    The hope is that, like Simeon and Anna, others will see the Light of God alive within us, and experience the Savior of the World through us.

What does this mean to you?

    Ponder, today, your soul being the New Temple of the Lord, and acknowledge your need to be purified and offered to the Father in Heaven.
    As Christ continues to enter into the Temple of your soul, pray that He will shine forth for others to see, so that like Simeon and Anna, they will encounter Our Blessed Lord within you.


Prayer: My saving Lord, Your loving parents offered You to Your Father, in the Temple, in accordance with the Law You revealed to Moses.
In that offering, our souls are purified and we are offered to Your Father with You.
I thank You for the gift of salvation and pray that my soul will always radiate Your light as You dwell within me. Jesus, I trust in You.
In the name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.
Amen.


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