Mary TV Daily Reflection 12/29/2011

The Presentation in the Temple - Vouet

December 29, 2011 St. Thomas Becket   Dear Family of Mary!   "Dear children! Also today, in my arms I am carrying my Son Jesus to you, for Him to give you His peace. Pray, little children, and witness so that in every heart, not human but God's peace may prevail, which no one can destroy. It is that peace in the heart which God gives to those whom He loves. By your Baptism you are all, in a special way, called and loved, therefore witness and pray that you may be my extended hands to this world which yearns for God and peace. Thank you for having responded to my call." (December 25, 2011)   Yesterday we talked about receiving little Jesus in our arms. Today in the Gospel (Luke 2:22-35) we are told of Simeon who did just that:   "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: 'Lord, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my eyes have seen the salvation which you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.'" (Luke 2:25-32)   Unlike the people in Luke 19: 41-44 who did not recognize the time of their visitation, Simeon was ready. He had been in prayer for many years, waiting for the promises to be fulfilled in Israel. He had heard from the Holy Spirit, and he knew in his heart that God was going to send the Christ. So when he saw Jesus in Mary's arms, he knew immediately that this was the fulfillment of the promises; this was the Christ; this was God's gift of peace. And when he took Jesus into his arms he began to speak to the Lord in prayer! He knew that Jesus was the awaited Savior and that now he could go in peace! Simeon received peace when he took Jesus in his arms, the peace that is salvation.   Oh what must it have felt like for Simeon to hold Baby Jesus! Here was the promised Messiah, so tiny, so perfectly human, and so filled with hope. Here was the One who would save us all. Simeon knew it. He must have been surging with the Holy Spirit, filled with the light and knowledge of God. But his feet were still planted firmly on the ground. He didn't lose sight of the thorny situation that would surround the life of this Savior.   "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." (Luke 2: 33-35)   Just as Mary had understood that the peace Jesus would bring had little to do with the difficulties of her life, so Simeon knew that the peace of Jesus would be so other-worldly that it would turn this world upside down. There would be a falling and a rising in Israel of the whole temporal order, and Jesus would be nailed to a Cross as a sign of contradiction to the way people thought about everything. Even Our Lady would stand as a sign to the world, a sign of Jesus' true humanity, so that the faith would be soundly based on the Incarnation. The peace of Jesus would change everything.   And so, we ask Simeon to help us to pray, to spend our lives in prayer, so that our "eyes [will] see] the salvation which you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel."   As Our Lady said to us: "Also today, in my arms I am carrying my Son Jesus to you, for Him to give you His peace."  She comes to give Him to us.    In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2011

 

Posted via email from deaconjohn's posterous