Her name means ‘good.’ She lived as a chaste child of God, consecrating her life to God. Refusing a proposal from a heathen governor, she was handed over to humiliating persecution by the Roman state.
She was tortured with hot coals and glass shards, but this was interrupted by an eruption of Mount Etna. She was left to starve in prison.
She stretched out her hands to the Lord and said, “O Lord who made and created me, and have kept me from my infancy, … who took from me the love of the world, who have kept my body from pollution, who made me to overcome the executioner’s torments, iron, fire and chains, who gave me the virtue of patience in the midst of torments, I pray Thee to receive my spirit. For it is time, Lord, that Thou command me to leave this world, and come to Thy mercy. Saying this, she sent forth her blessed spirit. The Christian people, taking away her holy body, set it in a new sepulcher, after anointing it.
Fourth-century bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, Saint Blaise was martyred by edict of the Roman emperor Licinius. ”Before he dies, ‘he prays the Lord that whosoever shall ask for his help for an ailment of the throat or any other ailment will be heard and immediately delivered.’”
✠ Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness.
This Feast of the Presentation of the Lord commemorates the Holy Family’s reception in the midst of the Lord’s Temple (see Psalm 47:10-11).
This is Candlemas, 40 days after Christmas, the Nativity of the Lord, when Jesus, the Light of Life is given birth (recall the hymn O Nata Lux).
This is an amazing commemoration.
It is like our commemoration of the Baptism of the Lord, when His Baptism actually sanctifies the Baptismal waters for our salvation.
Here, Jesus is presented in the Temple by Joseph and Mary not for their purification, for theirs is the model of Chastity. Rather, this is for our purification, in Christ’s purifying Light.
This is fulfilling the Law of Moses, as we hear, in perfect Obedience to the Will of the Lord (Luke 2:22; Leviticus 12; Exodus 13). Yet Jesus IS the Law of Moses, and the fulfillment of all the Law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17).
Mary carries Jesus to the Temple gates, yet she is the gate of heaven, carrying the Light of the world, the King of Glory (Psalm 24; Procession Antiphon of the Feast).
Even so, this Holy Family of our Rich Lord of heaven and earth deigns to be poor, and offers the poor offering of two turtledoves (Bede). They model poverty, as in the Beatitudes we heard last Sunday, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 5:1-12).
From the Passover, when the blood of a lamb rescues from death, every firstborn is consecrated the Lord, to be redeemed by the offering of a lamb. The Holy Family does not offer any animal to redeem their firstborn.
Jesus IS the Lamb of God (John 1:29). Christ offers Himself for us, in His total gift of Himself, for our redemption, for our salvation.
Righteous and devout Simeon is carried into the Temple by the Spirit, to receive and carry the light of the child Jesus. Yet this child is the Lord of Simeon’s life, the Saviour of the world (Canticle of Mary, Evening Prayer I).
Simeon prophesises that Christ’s Light will be spoken against by the powers of darkness, and a sword of sorrow will pierce Mary’s heart, when Christ offers His perfect and unique Sacrifice on the Cross (CCC#529).
The Virgin Mary gave birth to the child Jesus yet remained a virgin forever, and kneels in worship before her Lord, at the foot of the Cross (Canticle of Mary, Evening Prayer I).
In this temple, with Simeon, with the Holy Family, may we kneel before our Holy Redeemer, the Saving Lord of our life. May we present ourselves with minds purified and enlightened by the Light of Christ (Collect Prayer).
May we present the light of Christ, in a cold and darkened world.
The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is the day that the Church celebrates the World Day of Consecrated Life.
All are called to follow Christ in the evangelical counsels of Chastity, Poverty, and Obedience modelled by Christ and the Holy Family in today’s Gospel, according to our situation in life (VC§12).
All Christians are called to live out, with the strength of the Holy Spirit, the chastity appropriate to their state of life, obedience to God and the Church, and a reasonable detachment from material possessions (VC§30).
Snorting threats and murder against Christians, misguided Saul is converted to Paul, under the weight of the glory of the Lord and the instantaneous revelation of God’s Truth.
In times when the Word of the Lord is rarely heard, and revelation no longer familiar… (1 Samuel 3)
When we seem stuck in a roiling pit of noise… (Psalm 40)
We need someone to cut through the noise, to prepare us to be raised up, to be present and attentive to God’s saving Word for us, to be a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:13-20).
John the Baptist makes straight paths for the Lord (Matthew 3:3). He does not need to say much to disciples already versed in Scripture, steeped in Psalms, expectant in the prophecies for the Saviour who will bring peace and fulfillment beyond anything the world can offer (John 14:27).
The question is for us, when we somehow have the time to place ourselves attentively or at least at rest in the presence of the Lord, as Samuel did. What do you seek? Help. Healing. Meaning. Purpose. Truth. The ability to trust. The ability to love, not worldly love, but love as God loves, for God is Love (1 John 2:15; 4:16). Ultimately, the Lord our God is the only answer to anything we seek, that will actually fulfill us in this life unto eternal Life.
Who could be our John the Baptist, to prepare the Way of the Lord for us? To remind us, or teach us the Word of the Lord, about the Lord’s wondrous plans for us, which none can match (Psalm 40).
In the Gospel, it is our family. ‘Andrew found his brother and told him, “we have found the Messiah, the Saviour, Jesus the Christ, the anointed one of God.” He brought him to Jesus.’
The Christian family fosters our vocation, our calling, to our true fulfillment (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1656- ). ‘The Christian home is the first school of Christian life, and a school for human enrichment. Here one learns endurance, the joy and dignity of work, fraternal love, generous, repeated forgiveness, and above all, divine worship in prayer and offering of one’s life.’
‘Parents have the mission of teaching their children to pray and discover their vocation as children of God. Children in turn contribute to the growth and holiness of their parents, in the Charity of Christ’ (CCC # 2226).
Our family brings us to Jesus. To the Messiah, our Saviour. In times when the Word of the Lord is rarely heard and God’s revelation is no longer familiar, our family brings us to Jesus.
The Epiphany of the Lord granted the genius Leonardo da Vinci so many epiphanies that he could not finish the work (see Francesca Fiorani, 2016).
Da Vinci saw the Epiphany not as a single point in a night sky, but the physical manifestation of the divine light. The divine light of the Epiphany draws in and unites magi, kings, shepherds, poor bystanders, people and animals alike. Da Vinci drew in all his genius insights from optical science, but the Epiphany remained beyond his ability to fully render in painting.
This reflects upon the Mystery of the Epiphany, which requires Revelation, beyond the human wisdom of even the magi (Matthew 2:1-12).
Epiphany: an illuminating discovery, or revelation.
Saint Paul explains his epiphany – a gift of God’s grace, revealing the Mystery of our salvation in Christ,
“…to bring to light the plan of the Mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him”
The Solemnity of the Epiphany is a celebration of our enlightenment in the Truth of our Salvation in Christ. ‘Arise, shine, your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you!’ (Isaiah 60:1-6).
Our Evening Prayer antiphon highlights three scenes for the Epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God sent for our salvation: ‘Three Mysteries mark this holy day: today the star leads the Magi to the infant Christ (Matthew 2:1-12); today water is changed into wine for the wedding feast (John 2:1-11); today, Christ wills to be baptized by John in the river Jordan to bring us salvation (Mark 1:7-11).’
The gifts the magi bear further contribute to the Epiphany. They seek a Godly king, offering kingly gold along with incense for worship. They offer anointing myrrh, for Christ, the anointed one. Myrrh is used as a burial ointment, foreshadowing Christ’s passion and death, His Sacrifice for our salvation. Yet the myrrh was not needed for that; the tomb could not hold the Christ, and we have the revelation that through our Baptism, we have a share in Christ’s Resurrection unto true Life eternal (Luke 24; Romans 6).
The magi, seeking truth through the light of human wisdom, were open to hopeful signs in times of unrest (Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives, Chapter IV). They may have been familiar with a prophecy recorded before and beyond the Israel of the time of Christ’s coming into our world: ‘I see him, but not now, I behold him, but not nigh: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel’ (Numbers 24:17). They might have taken a surprising star in the heavens, as a sign of this new Jewish king who might bring peace not only to Israel but to their own situation. And so they set out in pilgrimage with their appropriate gifts.
Yet their human wisdom can only take them so far. They go to the obvious place, the place of the worldly king, in the palace of capital Jerusalem. From there, they need revelation (Matthew 2:1-12). The prophets guide them. The Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, shall come from Bethlehem… He shall be great to the ends of the earth… He shall be our Peace (Isaiah 9:6-7; Micah 5).
Worldly King Herod was frightened by this Revelation, and all Jerusalem with him. Rather than hoping in this sign, this epiphany, of the heaven-sent Prince of Peace, they only feared confrontation with worldly powers.
The magi continued in hope. And the star preceded them, guiding them to the place of the newborn King. They bow down in worship, before the Light of Christ. As should we, in awe, in this Solemnity of the Epiphany.
For Christ seeks only to unite us in His heavenly peace, through His Church. Our Morning Prayer antiphon again reflects this beautiful Mystery: ‘Today the Bridegroom claims His bride, the Church, since Christ has washed her sins away in Jordan’s waters; the Magi hasten with their gifts to the royal wedding; and the wedding guests rejoice, for Christ has changed water into wine, alleluia.’
Pope Saint Gregory the Great (Homily on the Gospels 10) asks for our gifts to celebrate the Epiphany: to pass on the shining gold, the light of Christ’s Wisdom, and to offer our incense of prayer and adoration (Revelation 8:3-4), in thanksgiving for His saving Sacrifice, with the myrrh of our small daily sacrifices to the Lord (Matthew 39; Romans 12:1).
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (see the Visitation in Luke 1:39-56).
Hail, Holy Mother, who gave birth to the King who rules heaven and earth forever.
Entrance Antiphon, Mary, Mother of God
Yet Jesus Christ, the King, is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Because she gives us Jesus, her son, Mary is Mother of God and our mother; we can entrust all our cares and petitions to her: she prays for us as she prayed for herself: “Let it be to me according to Your Word.” By entrusting ourselves to her prayer, we abandon ourselves to the Will of God together with her: “Thy Will be done.”
Graciously grant that we may imitate the shining example of the Holy Family in practicing the virtues of family life in the bonds of Charity, so that in the joy of Your Temple, we may delight one day in eternal rewards.
That is our mission as a family. We all come from families. Our saving God stole into human history in the form of a little child, in Bethlehem, two thousand years ago (Esolen, p.90).
This is not an easy mission for a family. Now now. Not then, either. Now, as then, the family, a child, witness to life, is a “a sign that will be contradicted, and you yourself a sword will pierce— so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:35).
In our times, we may be struggling, in our families, in our experiences. We may be toiling for the profit of others, far away from our families, unable to enjoy the rewards of labours with family.
There are so many pressures on everyone to work away from home, or even pressures invading into our homes and onto our screens, demanding even more isolating time toiling away.
As a faith community, we need to recognize and support our families any way we can.
Governments offer help, in the form of taking children from home into their programs, for the good of industry and the economy. Yet the economy, the meaning of the word, came from the work of the family, the heart of life and of true economy.
It is not for governments or powers to take the young or elderly from families into other organisations.
We may not always have perfect families, but Christians do not seek to take everyone else’s families away from them.
What is most obvious and natural has been forgotten: the family is the original cell of social life, the family is the natural society (CCC#2207). The family does not exist at the whim of governments of powers, but society only exists from and for the family (CSDC#217).
The family is the sanctuary of life, to be protected as in the Gospel. The family is to help us all to learn what it means to love and be loved, self-sacrificially, as Christ and the Holy Family (CSDC#212). The family is the primary natural community in which to experience human social nature, learning to be good people, to build up a good society in true solidarity, freeing society from destructive individualism or collectivism.
Governments and powers are to help serve the family and meet the needs of the family with a living family wage, so that the family can work at home together, without disruption or intrusion upon the sanctuary of the family (CSDC#214, 250).
Parents are the primary educators of their children, and the government is to assist them in providing fitting education with other like-minded families, meeting not only language needs but respecting religious needs as in the Canadian Charter of Rights (CSDC#239-247; Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, RSC 1985, app. II, no. 2; Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 26).
The family is essential, necessary, and precious. Let us protect our families, and help keep them holy.
Families are courageous signs of the Gospel of Life, giving us all Hope, leading us in Faith, to Charity (CSDC#231).
Let us be like the shepherds, offering simple encouragement. Let us be wise magi, sharing our gifts with those in need. Let us know how our parish can help families help families, to form helpful groups to protect the family from threats, to advocate for the family, to safely form our families in Faith.
O God, whose praise the Innocent Martyrs on this day confessed, not by speaking, but by dying, mortify in us all the evils of the vices; that our life also may proclaim in its manners Thy faith, which our tongues profess.
From Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, on the Nativity of the Lord:
Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been planted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.
Why is this? Because God is now on earth, and man in heaven; on every side all things commingle. He became Flesh. He did not become God. He was God. Wherefore He became flesh, so that He Whom heaven did not contain, a manger would this day receive. He was placed in a manger, so that He, by whom all things are nourished, may receive an infants food from His Virgin Mother. So, the Father of all ages, as an infant at the breast, nestles in the virginal arms, that the Magi may more easily see Him. Since this day the Magi too have come, and made a beginning of withstanding tyranny; and the heavens give glory, as the Lord is revealed by a star.
To Him, then, Who out of confusion has wrought a clear path, to Christ, to the Father, and to the Holy Spirit, we offer all praise, now and forever. Amen.
