Today February 2

Today is the feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, 40 days after Christmas, when Our Lady and St. Joseph "bought back" their son for the price of two pigeons and Our Lady could enter the sanctuary again. It wasn't strictly necessary to go to the Temple to "present" their first born son, but anybody who lived as close to Jerusalem as these two did would naturally want to do so -- and they did. They must have been surprised at Anna's and Simeon's notice of the child. But they probably weren't surprised at the prophecy: "This child is destined to bring about the fall of many and the rise of many in Israel; to be a sign which men will refuse to acknowledge . . . as for thy own soul, it shall have a sword to pierce it." But Mary already knew -- and would have talked over with Joseph -- the words of Daniel: "Christ -- the Anointed One -- will be done to death." And she'd been told her son would be "great, and men will know him for the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David" (Luke 1:35) and both kings and high priests were the "anointed ones." "The piercing of her own soul might have begun when, after Gabriel's visit, she read that prophecy." - Frank Sheed.

But most surprised of all would the parents have been to hear the words, "This is the light which shall give revelation to the Gentiles, this is the glory of thy people Israel." Because seldom in the Scriptures are the Gentiles mentioned at all (in a positive light) and NEVER before the Jews. These words of blessed Simeon turned their whole worldview on its head . . . but that was only the beginning. The Child Himself would turn the whole world on its head! And thank God, for the pagans who lived in great darkness were able to (also) become the people of God. Happy Presentation Day, everybody.