The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord that the Church celebrates on February 2 each year commemorates that Our Lady and St. Joseph fulfilled the Law of Moses by carrying the Infant Jesus into the temple to be presented to the Lord as a firstborn male child and to be ritually “redeemed,” or “bought back” by offering a sacrifice. Our Lady herself is also ritually purified after having given birth. What does this beautiful and ancient feast mean to us as we find ourselves in the midst of Eucharistic Revival? Let us take a look.
Think about the Gospel account of St. Luke. The Holy Family goes up on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Their going to the temple reminds us that every time we gather together for Mass, we go up to Jerusalem. We go as a family—as the family of God—to encounter the Lord Himself. It doesn’t matter how many of us gather or to what church we go. What does matter is that, like the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we approach the place where the power of the Lord is manifested. Wherever the Mass is celebrated, there is the temple, there is the Lord’s house, there we encounter Him. Isn’t it amazing that Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph carry the Lord God Himself, the Incarnate Word, into the temple? This reminds us that we who have God’s own life in us are summoned into the temple of the Lord. We carry Him, we could say into the the temple into the church wherever Mass will be offered. We are called to make the pilgrimage to Mass. We are summoned by the Lord Himself to His house.
When the Holy Family enters into the temple, they meet the righteous and devout Simeon. He is that man who was inspired by the Holy Spirit to recognize this tiny Infant as the Lord Himself. He takes the Infant into his arms and cries out, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel” (Lk 2:29-32). Simeon embodies the voices of the Old Testament prophets who foretold the coming of the Messiah, the Savior, and now he lifts up Salvation Himself. He takes into his arms the One who is a light to those who do not know the prophecies (the non-Jews) and the glory of the Lord, the One who has entered into His temple. When we come to Mass we realize that every part of the Mass is either taken directly from Sacred Scripture or inspired by the words of Sacred Scripture. The Word of God permeates the Sacred Liturgy, and the Word Incarnate, Jesus in the Flesh, is made present at every Mass. We might say that every word of Sacred Scripture points to what happens on the altar – Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is made present really and truly in the Blessed Sacrament. We can say that every time we come to Mass, the Lord in the Flesh is presented in the temple! During this time of Eucharistic Revival, our eyes, our ears and our hearts must be opened to His entrance, to His Eucharistic Presence at Mass!
This blessed encounter continues as the Child’s Mother and Foster Father are amazed at Simeon’s words about the One they bore into the temple. Simeon blesses them and adds, speaking to Our Lady, “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” (Lk 21:34-35). These words to the Mother predict the redemptive work of her Divine Child. Many in Israel will fall and rise. The fulfillment of the covenant of the Lord will be accomplished in this sign. Some will accept it and some will reject it. Some will rise to accept the good news of salvation, others will not. The world will contradict it, will speak against it, and will persecute to martyrdom those who embrace it. Simeon tells Mary that she will be pierced by a sword. She who is the model and image of the Church will be pierced because of her intimate union with the Passion of her Son. The thoughts of many hearts will be laid open, for they, too, believe that they will be redeemed by and united to the future saving Passion and Death of the Savior.
This prophecy reminds us why the Holy Family came to the temple. They came to offer sacrifice. Even though they offer the poor person’s sacrifice, a pair of turtledoves or two pigeons, it matters not. For the lamb that would be offered by the affluent is truly superseded by the precious gift that they carry in - the Lamb of God Himself. The Presentation of the Lord points to His Sacrifice offered on the Cross on Calvary’s Hill. It points to what happens on the altar every time we come to Mass, every time we enter into the Lord’s temple. Jesus, who was ritually redeemed by the poor person’s offering, becomes the Sacrificial Victim on the Cross, by whose salvific offering of Himself made present on the altar, we are all redeemed.
The Presentation in the Temple sheds light on how we must understand the Mass as the Sacrifice of Christ. If we do not clearly see the Sacrifice, we will not realize why the Mass, the Eucharist, is the source and summit of our life. If we do not see the Lord’s entry and presence in the Holy Eucharist, if we do not see that the Mass is all about the praise and glory of the Lord, if we do not see that His Eucharistic Sacrifice becomes present again on the altar, we will never fill our churches again. That is what the Eucharistic Revival is all about. That is why it is so important.
Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh