The Presentation of the Lord and the Mass

Every year on February 2, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. We know well the account of the Presentation taken from the second chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel. Our Lady and St. Joseph, obedient to the Law of Moses, brought the Infant Jesus to the temple to present Him to the Lord (Lk 2:22). The Law required that every first-born male must be given to the Lord and then “bought back” by offering a sacrifice. In the case of the poor, the sacrifice could be a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

Imagine that scene, the Infant borne in the arms of His Mother and accompanied by St. Joseph, His foster father. Perhaps a fellow worshipper in the temple might not have given a second glance to this humble threesome who entered God’s house that day, forty days after the Infant’s birth in Bethlehem.

The words of the Prophet Malachi proclaim what is truly happening at the Presentation, “And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire” (Mal 3:1). It is the entrance of the Lord Himself into His own temple. The Lord who dwelt in the Holy of Holies within the temple in Jerusalem enters into that same temple in the arms of His Holy Mother. Quietly and humbly, yes, but at the same time in a glory manifested in the flesh of an Infant who is true God and true man.

We pray in Psalm 24, “Lift up, O gates, your lintels; reach up, you ancient portals, that the king of glory may come in. Who is this king of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle” (Ps 24:7-8). The gates of the temple are not large enough to admit the Lord in His glory, and yet, He comes.  At the Presentation He comes as a tiny Infant in the arms of His Mother and surrounded by angelic hosts.

Think of the last time you walked into a church for Mass. What were you thinking? Maybe you were preoccupied with family worries, or difficulties at work, or your health, or what is going on in the world. Did you realize that you were crossing the threshold of the temple of the Lord? It’s true. Just as the Lord dwelt in the temple in Jerusalem in the Holy of Holies, so, too, the Lord dwells in our churches in the sanctuary, our “Holy of Holies,” and specifically in the tabernacle, where Jesus Christ is substantially present in the Holy Eucharist. He is really and sacramentally present, the Lord of Heaven and earth, the King of glory! When we enter into our churches for Mass, we believe that the Lord, who is present in the tabernacle, also enters into our parish “temple” when bread and wine become His Body and Blood on the altar.

The gospel passage of the Presentation of the Lord speaks of the offering of a sacrifice for the first-born male child. At the entrance of the Infant Christ into the temple, He, the King of glory enters as the great High Priest. Not needing to be redeemed by a sacrifice of two turtledoves, He enters as the sacrifice Himself, as the Lamb of God, and as the great High Priest who will offer Himself on the Cross some 33 years later. The Letter to the Hebrews speaks to us of this wonderful, mysterious reality of God taking on our flesh so as to offer Himself and redeem us by His Blood. “Since the children share in blood and flesh, Jesus likewise shared in them, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil… Therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people” (Heb 2:14, 17).

That sacrifice of the Cross, foretold by the entry of the Infant into the temple in glory and in humble human flesh, is really and substantially made present on the altar every day at Mass.  If we really believe that, then we can never enter into our churches for Mass in the same way.

Our hearts should be filled with wonder and awe every time we come into our churches. We should adore the Lord, truly present in His temple. We should kneel before the Lamb, who becomes present on the altar. We should thank Him for inviting us to this tremendous encounter with Him.  We should recognize what every Mass is, the dynamic out-pouring of his love and mercy for us and for a broken world.  Our faith is deepened as we listen to the Word of God at Mass.  We hear Holy Scriptures proclaim to us that His Sacrifice is made present and that He dwells in our parish church, in His “holy temple”, in in the Holy Eucharist. 

As the Infant Jesus was presented in the temple, Our Lady and St. Joseph witnessed the long-awaited encounter of Simeon and Anna with Him.  We, too, encounter the same Lord Jesus at Mass. We could certainly make the words of awe and praise heard in the Canticle of Simeon our own at Mass.  “Lord, now let your servant depart 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 for your people Israel” (Lk 2:29-32).

With eyes of faith, we see the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ made present on the altar by the priest uttering the words of consecration. We see Him as the Lamb once slain, who still lives, and by whose sacrifice we have been redeemed.  His Presentation in the temple points to our encounter with Him at Mass, just as holy and aged Simeon and Anna met Him that day in the temple.
Every time we come into His temple to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we, as God’s holy people, as members of His Body the Church, find ourselves in the best of company. At our encounter with Him we are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1), the saints in heaven and the angelic hosts. Here we are in the company of Mary and Joseph.

The words of Simeon to Our Lady in the temple tells us of her role as first among the “great cloud of witnesses.  “Behold, this child is set for the fall and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that will be contradicted, and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Lk 2:34-35). Our Blessed Mother welcomes us into the temple of God for her Son’s encounter with us. The Second Vatican Council’s Apostolic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, teaches us, “For Mary…calls the faithful to her Son and His sacrifice and to the love of the Father.” (LG #65)  She who stood at the Cross of her Son, as He offered Himself in sacrifice as Priest and Victim, teaches us how to offer ourselves, our joys, our sorrows, our whole being with His Sacrifice at Mass.  She says to us, “Whatever pierces you own hearts offer with the Sacrifice of my Son.” We become one with Him in His Passion, Death and Resurrection.

So, the next time you walk into your parish church for Mass, think of the Presentation of the Lord in the temple. Then recognize into Whose Presence you are entering and to whose Sacrifice and Sacred Banquet you are being invited.

Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh

Photo credit:  Nheyob ,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Joseph_Catholic_Church_(Wapakoneta,_Ohio)_-_stained_glass,_The_Presentation_of_the_Lord.jpg