Lk 2: 22-35
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Loving Others However They Need Us
In the past few weeks I have run into two different women on the sidewalks of two different cities who came up to ask for some help. I have been thinking about both of these women, hoping they got where they were going, that they found food and sleep. I am struck by both women saying “sorry” as I talked to them about what they needed. In both conversations, “I’m sorry” meant “I feel like my existence is a burden to you”. These encounters remind me that I need to make sure that those I am around daily, and those I run into in random encounters, know that they are loved and their existence is important…that their lives and their needs are not a burden to me, and that loving them in whatever way they need is, in fact, the commandment that we have been called to follow.
—Kay Gregg is the Assistant Department Chair for Campus Ministry at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois.
Prayer
Almighty and invisible God, who dispersed the darkness of this world by the coming of your light, look, we pray, with serene countenance upon us, that we may acclaim with fitting praise the greatness of the Nativity of your Only Begotten Son, Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
—Collect Prayer from today’s Mass