[Malachi 3:1-4; Psalm 24; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40]
During the Baptism Preparation Course which we help to run, we often ask the parents what kind of adult do you want your child to become? The answers are often remarkably similar; they speak of kindness, they speak of justice, caring, they hope they have a fear of God, and they speak of an adult who has a faith and a relationship with Christ. These are the things which some parents living in the 21st century in North Hampshire express for their children. These are the things they ponder in their hearts as they look forward in hope to the days when their children will be adults.
In today’s Gospel we have the Holy Family coming to the temple for two reasons: the first is the presentation of the child; Jesus, being the first born son is presented to and dedicated to the Lord in the temple according to the law of Moses [Exodus 13:2 & 12-13], and secondly 40 days after the birth of Jesus, Mary, in fulfilment of the law [Lev 12:2-8], presented herself for purification; offering 2 turtle doves [a sign that the Holy Family were a poor family], as a ‘sin offering’, even though she was without sin.
We hear how Simeon and Anna had been waiting in the temple for their arrival; we hear their encounter, as the Old Testament [in the persons of Simeon and Anna] meets the New Testament [in the person of Jesus]. Simeon and Anna are the third set of witnesses who reveal the birth of Jesus, the first were the shepherds, who ‘made known what they had been told them about this child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.’’ [Luke 2:17-18] next were the Magi who travelled for weeks in order to pay homage to the newborn king of the Jews [Matthew 2:2 & 2:11] and now we have Simeon [which means ‘he has heard’ or ‘God has heard’] and Anna [a name derived from the Hebrew name Hannah which means ‘favour’ or ‘grace’][1] bearing witness in the temple that at last God’s promise has been fulfilled and this child is destined for the rise and fall of many as well as being the one who would bring light to the Gentiles.
Mary and Joseph fulfilled their duties under the law, by dedicating Jesus and carrying out the ritual purification.
When we present our children for Baptism in the Church, we are asking for the child to be freed from original sin, and we are promising to bring the child up in the faith.
How seriously do we take our promises?
Do we teach our children to love as Christ loves; by what we do and what we say?
Do we teach our children to have an intimate relationship with Jesus by establishing prayer in our households?
Do we teach our children to want to get to know Jesus better by using Holy Scriptures on a regular basis?
I know that I have failed in many aspects of the promises I made as a parent and as a Godparent. I know I need to improve in this area of my life, and I also know that many of the opportunities I have had to fulfil those promises are in the past. I can’t change the past, but I can try to be better in the present and in the future.
At our Baptism we were given a Baptismal candle which the parent receives from the celebrant and are urged to keep the flame of faith alive. We remember our Baptism today through the feast of Candlemass. One form of the prayer used by the priest when he blesses the candles used in the procession is ‘these candles, which we are eager to carry in praise of your name, so that, treading the path of virtue, we may reach that light which never fails.’ Our baptism commits us to become a light to the world to make it a better place through our faith and love.[2]
As we carry our candles this Candlemass, may we remember that we are called to bring Christ’s light to the darkest corners of our lives and in our communities. May Christ’s light banish darkness and all evil and may we be rewarded at the end of our days by encountering the Lord face to face just like Simeon and Anna.
Further Reading
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
The Presentation of the Lord
CCC 529: The Presentation of Jesus in the temple.
The Presentation of the Lord: a symbol of the Messiah’s embrace | Catholic News Agency
February 2nd: Presentation of the Lord – Opus Dei
Presentation of the Lord | EWTN
Reflections for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord – Vatican News
Please keep in your prayers this week
- The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
- Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
- The continued fight to protect all life from conception until natural death.
- The Basingstoke Winter Night Shelter as it continues to support the homeless in our town.
- Fr John Chadwick, who is ill at this time.
Deacon Tony, 31st January 2025
[1] Presentation of the Lord | EWTN
[2] Fr Frank O’Sullivan, I Am With You, [TWO IN ONE FLESH, Caterham, 2012]134.