By Father Rich Tomkosky
This past weekend, we celebrated the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in lieu of the normal Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is the fourth mystery meditated upon in the Joyful mysteries of the Rosary as well as part of the first of Our Lady’s sorrows in the Seven Sorrows Rosary.
We celebrated the fact that the eternal Son of God was presented in the Temple by the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph in obedience to the Mosaic law of the Jewish faith of which they were faithful adherents. Every first-born son according to the Law of Moses must be consecrated to the Lord and His service.
What humility is shown on the part of Mary and Joseph who instead of thinking this child is the Son of God, we don’t need to worry about the precepts of the Jewish faith, profoundly show us a beautiful example in being obedient to the Lord and what He revealed in the Jewish faith. They didn’t make up their own rules about religious faith, which is always a temptation for humans, i.e., cafeteria Catholicism. We can only be obedient to all of God’s teachings if we are humble enough to follow His teaching in all areas of life and not just some. So, Mary and Joseph are splendid examples of obedience that we should and must emulate if we want to grow in holiness and get to Heaven someday.
Another character in this event is the holy man Simeon. He lived his life in such a way as to anticipate the Lord’s coming – kind of like a monk/holy religious or priest in our Catholic Faith. He prayed a lot and surely did many acts of reparation and penance for sin, and so over time was shown by the Holy Spirit that the long-anticipated Messiah would come during his lifetime.
Now, Mary and Joseph bring the infant Jesus into the Temple, Simeon is a very old man. He has been faithful to God for many years in his life, and so God now blesses him with the grace of laying his own eyes on the very Messiah who is a little infant. What a gift! Simeon is overwhelmed with gratitude to God for giving him such a grace.
Are we grateful for all the graces God gives us, including the gift of suffering for Him and the good of souls, our own and others? Because here comes the Cross amid great joy when Simeon says to the Blessed 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.”
Yes, Jesus, and now the Catholic faith He started on Pentecost through the Holy Spirit, is a sign of contradiction in the modern world. It always has been since Pentecost, but now even more so as we must cling to our Catholic faith in the face of attacks on it by the world and the devil every day, even scandals, though behind the scenes many bishops and priests/religious and lay people are living a holy life full of integrity and generosity that the world doesn’t understand or care to understand – but God sees the real deal! And the Catholic faith is the most beautiful thing on earth if only we go deeper than the surface of things.
That’s where the example of the prophetess Anna comes into play. How she lived shows us some things that we need to take to heart. It says in the Gospel passage that she was married for seven years and then became a widow who dedicated herself to a life of prayer and penance for the good of souls. Are we doing the same in our life, of course factoring in our vocation and circumstances and health.
Anna, what a beautiful soul she is, she “never left the Temple, but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer.” May we all do more of that for the good of souls. And if we are a widow or widower or one who has less obligations because we are now up in age, what are we doing with our time and whatever energy we have? Are we focused on increasing our prayer and penance as Anna was for souls? Or have we gotten caught up in the distractions of the world: spending way too much time on TV and the Internet and Facebook, posting constantly instead of prayer and sacrifice for the good of souls.
We never know when the Lord is going to call us out of this earthly life, so let’s spend it wisely like Anna and Simeon and the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph focused on the things of God and eternity rather that the passing banalities and vanities of this world which the devil tries to distract us with, so we won’t work at evangelization for the salvation of souls through prayer and sacrifice and bold witness in love for the Lord. God bless you.
Father Rich Tomkosky is the Pastor of Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish in Bedford and the Pastor of Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Beans Cove.
