MARY, OUR MOTHER

Feast of The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

On this day, February 2nd, Mary & Joseph presented Jesus in the temple. The Holy Spirit had revealed to the just and devout Simeon that he should not die before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. In the temple the old man glimpsed Jesus in Mary's arms and blessed God, knowing that at last he had seen the Saviour, "a light of revelation to the Gentiles and a glory of thy people Israel."
But only after the Saviour's Passion and Crucifixion would the light win for men the final victory over bodily and spiritual death. Simeon therefore said to Mary, the co-redeemer of mankind, "Thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:35). May we, too, after having shared the redemptive sufferings of Christ attain the final grace of presentation in the temple of God's glory.

[Excerpted from an ancient Daily Missal]

And of course, this is the Fourth Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary.

I love meditating on this Mystery cause there is so much to think about. Imagine the faith of Simeon, waiting all those years to see the Savior, and only by inspiration! What if he was wrong, or the inspiration came from the evil one? Some Saints say Simeon was a priest in the temple, maybe retired, and that's why he had access to the inner court. Otherwise, why would the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph hand their prize possession over to a stranger. I wouldn't give my child to some person who just came out of nowhere and started to say some weird things about my child!!!
And the Holy Spirit inspired Simeon to prophesy about Jesus, who He is and why He had come to earth, and about Our Blessed Lady, and her co-redeeming sufferings with her divine Son. Jesus.
And how about Anna, that old woman, who spent her life in the temple. The Holy Spirit enlightened her too, and she began to proclaim things about Our Lord to all those who were passing by.
Yes, there is so much more to meditate on. That's why the Holy Rosary is called a miniature Gospel, and is so powerful a prayer. By meditating on the Mysteries, we become part of that scene as if we were there and we add our prayers to Our Mother Mary's prayers, who unlike us is full of grace and therefore Almighty God is always hearing her petitions for us!

God saves me, Jesus enlightens me, the Holy Spirit is my life, thus I fear nothing.