Gospel according to Saint Luke 2:22-40:

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.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and 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.” There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

The Spirit blows where it will

Luis CASASUS President of the Idente Missionaries

Rome, February 02, 2025 | Presentation of the Lord.

Mal 3: 1-4; Heb 2: 14-18; Lk 2: 22-40

On this Sunday when we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord, the figure of Simeon appears, who was neither a doctor of the Law nor a Levite. But, without needing special signs or messages of proclamation, he recognized Christ in a baby who, like so many others, was being taken to the Temple to fulfill the rites of the Jews. The same thing happened to Anna, the patient prophetess who “appeared at that very hour”.

The intervention of these two figures makes us ask ourselves: Are we always capable of recognizing the Divine Persons?

Certainly, the answer has to be negative, as Jesus himself tells us: My Father is still at work today, even on the Sabbath, so I also am at work (Jn 5:17), from which we understand that the Divine Persons seek us out, call us, at every moment. It is ironic how many of us complain that God does not speak to us clearly, while many saints have highlighted the overabundance of signs and of his divine and affectionate presence. Thus, St. Francis Xavier would repeat: Enough, Lord: if you send me so much consolation, you will make me die of love.

In reality, very little is needed to make us incapable of distinguishing the voices of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All it takes is a distraction, which is not a lack of attention, but rather directing our capacity to unite towards another reality: a thought, an emotion, a memory, fear…

This explains why the saints have tried to be authentically disciplined in their thoughts and why our founding father warns us of the danger of useless thoughts, which are many and invade us discreetly. Some of us are victims of curiosity, others of our fantasies, but we do not believe that attention is a limited resource that must be used with prudence and a sense of evangelical poverty.

I would like to illustrate with a fable how a child can teach us to direct our attention to what is truly relevant, not to the chimeras of the world:

A child walking through a churchyard saw something moving in the grass. He knelt down and picked up a little frog. The frog looked at the child and said: If you kiss me, I will turn into a beautiful princess. The child looked at the frog and put it in his pocket.

After a few minutes of wandering around to see what else he could find, the frog popped its head out of the boy’s pocket and said: If you kiss me, I will turn into a beautiful princess and you can marry me and we will be prince and princess. The boy looked at the frog again, thought for a moment and put it back in his pocket.

Ten minutes later, the boy was still searching for treasure and the frog, somewhat impatiently, poked its head out of the boy’s pocket again. If you kiss me, I’ll turn into a beautiful princess and you can marry me and we’ll be prince and princess, and I’ll take care of you for the rest of our lives. For the third time, the boy looked at the frog and was about to put it back in his pocket when the frog said, a little embarrassed: “What do you think?” This time the boy spoke. You see, I’m still a little boy. I’m not interested in girls and all that stuff yet. But a talking frog… that’s great!

We might think that paying attention to the voice of God is necessary because in this way we avoid falling into sin and committing regrettable actions. Of course, but the essential reason is that only in this way, with full attention, can we serve, gather what

Of course, but the essential reason is that only in this way, with full attention, can we serve, gather what Inspiration suggests to us and be instruments to work for the kingdom of heaven.

The wisdom of the Old Testament already reflects Yahweh’s complaint about our lack of attention and how we allow ourselves to be seduced by the world:

Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They lead you into vain things; they speak to you of visions of their own fantasy. Not from the mouth of the Lord (…) But who has been in the council of the Lord, and has seen and heard His word? Who has given heed to His word and has heard it? (Jer 23: 16-18).

—ooOoo—

Today’s Gospel repeats that the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon, that it was the Holy Spirit who made him go to the Temple… Like all true contemplatives, Simeon is able to distinguish the divine will above all superficial events, above painful or spectacular events, which undoubtedly have effects on our emotional, physical and spiritual life, but can never separate us from the continuous vocation, from the call to live the Spirit of the Gospel in difficult moments and in those we consider ordinary (Rom 8:35).

We know it is so, however, the reality of our times, of the time of Jesus and of the time of Malachi, shows that, on many occasions, emotionally or rationally, the opposite happens to us:

You have said: “It is not worth serving God. What do we gain by obeying his commands and dressing in mourning before the Lord of Hosts? That is why we call the arrogant blessed, for those who do wrong prosper, and even when they defy God they escape unscathed” (Mal 3: 13-14).

Pain in the face of our own suffering and that of our loved ones leads us to ask: How can God allow this? Where is the merciful God of whom the Old and New Testaments speak?

These questions arise naturally from a heart tormented by pain, but they can create confusion in our minds. We all remember that very similar words were spoken by the great Pope Benedict XVI when he visited a World War II extermination camp: Where was God in those days? The only answer is the voice of Christ on the Cross, My God, why have you forsaken me? Making us see that human beings cannot and will never be able to fully understand the tragedies of the world.

We are simply invited to remember how many times we have been forgiven, how many times we have been saved from our faults and limitations. As the British poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) once said, the worst moment for the atheist is when he must give thanks and knows not to whom.

—ooOoo—

The prophetess Anna, who belongs to the tribe of Asher, the smallest and most insignificant of all, but, like Simeon, is able to enjoy the presence of Jesus, which is unnoticed by others. This detail of her belonging is not irrelevant because, as in the case of Simeon, it underlines how people of all kinds can have an encounter with Christ at any time, provided they are as attentive as this faithful widow.

It is often said that the quality of a society can be measured by the way it treats the youngest. Truly, Mary, Joseph, Anna and Simeon teach us how to recognize the divine in our children, in children and young people, and to find a way to consecrate them to God, not only with a ceremony, but by infecting their lives with the enthusiasm we feel for the Divine Persons.

Mary and Joseph consecrate their son to God, doing everything required by the Law and thus guiding Jesus towards the One to whom he truly belongs. Simeon and Anna recognize the divinity in the child, allowing themselves to be blessed by him and blessing him before others. Thus, consecrated to God and blessed and loved by those who loved him, Jesus grows full of the wisdom and grace of God. Indeed, this is how today’s Gospel text ends: The grace of God was upon him.

Simeon’s joy and willingness to depart from this world “because he has seen salvation” is reminiscent of the satisfaction of parents who see their children oriented and well on their way in life. On our journey of faith, something similar happens to us, but even more grandiose, when we realize that we have modestly collaborated in bringing the youngest closer to God. Surely, we are capable of doing them many forms of good by taking advantage of our experience and our natural generosity, but this joy that Anna and Simeon is that of one who feels grateful for having contributed to presenting the Child to God; he raised him in his arms in a very expressive sign, representing how that Child was going to live a permanent encounter with his Father.

That is why, in the Eastern churches, today’s feast is known as the feast of the Encounter with God, which fits perfectly with the celebration of the Day of Consecrated Life, to which the saintly Pope John Paul II wanted to assign the motto “Here I am, Lord, your will be done”, which captures that desire for permanent attention that shines in the persons of Simeon and Anna.

All the founders have known how to live and adjust to the wonder of the encounter with Jesus, not on one occasion, but throughout their lives. So that this encounter was possible, as the Second Reading reminds us, He has undergone the test of pain, that is why He can help those who are now going through it.

_______________________________

In the Sacred Hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

Luis CASASUS

President