502. February 2, Presentation of Our Lord
Meditations no. 432 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
Our Lordâs humility in the Presentation.
And when the time had come for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him before the Lord there.
Our Lord, Jesus Christ, is brought by his mother into the Temple, just as any other child. The crowd filling the entrance to the Temple does not realise that the words of the prophet Malachi are being fulfilled at this moment: âLook, I shall send my messenger to clear a way before me. And suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to his Temple; yes, the angel of the covenant, for whom you long is on his way,â says Yahweh Sabaoth. Aside from Mary and Joseph, only the angels are informed witnesses to this event. The angelic spirits, looking down from heaven, were filled with wonder and exclaimed: âWhat a marvellous sight, unusual and amazing, incomprehensible and unthinkable! The Creator of Adam carried in the arms of his mother as an infant⌠He who resides in the infinite bosom of the Father, has been contained, through his own will, in human flesh.â
Among the many lessons we can learn from this Gospel passage, there in one that stands out immediately: the example of humility that our Lord gives us. We notice a joyful humility, because this is the way he fulfils the will of God. We would do well to imitate this unconditional dedication of Jesus Christ. The humility that the Work demands of us is something very personal, something that is a direct consequence of the contemplative dialogue that we have with our Lord sine intermissione (1 Thess 5: 17). It comes from the profound awareness that Our Father, God, is the one behind everything that happens to these poor instruments - servi inutiles sumus (Luke 17: 10) - we ourselves are. God plays with each one of us as if we were little children: ludens in orbe terrarum et deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum (Prov 8: 31).
When we strive to be humble, we can feel the amazing power of God acting, building on our weakness; and we know that we are never more powerful than when we count only on God.
Let us ask our Lord that his example inspire us so that we never dwell with pride, even for an instant, on all that we have done - often it is so little - in his service. We should remember that God does not want his servants to be swelled up with pride, pleased with themselves. He wants us all, on the contrary, to be aware of our unworthiness and convinced that we must really try not to disturb the workings of his grace.
The purification of our Lady is a demonstration of the humble acceptance of Godâs will.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is also in the Temple to fulfil a command of Godâs Law for the ritual purification of the mother forty days after giving birth. This time it will be you, my friend, who carries the cage with the doves. Just think: she - Mary Immaculate! - submits to the Law as if she were defiled.
Through this example, foolish child, wonât you learn to fulfil the holy law of God, regardless of any personal sacrifice?
She, who was conceived and did conceive without the least stain of sin, gives us an example of humility. Her humility goes beyond the narrow limits within which we, at times, try to enclose this virtue. We are, in truth, just worthless servants, and any humiliation we suffer is just, since we are sinners. Humility really consists in acknowledging our nothingness since this would mean we are walking in the truth. In other words, the more humble we are, the more we try to destroy the facade of importance with which we sometimes invest ourselves; which is not realism, but fantasy, a fruit of our pride.
I like to use this story, which you have heard before, our Father would say, but it is so clear. Think of the dust lifted by the wind into the skies where it reflects the sunlight and takes on the appearance of a golden cloud. In the same way, the grace of God can raise us up very high and then there reflects from us the goodness and wisdom, the power and the beauty which is all Godâs.
We never have sufficient reason to be proud. Today, looking at the example of our Lady, this fact becomes clearer than ever. She deserves every privilege in heaven and on earth, yet Mary comes to the Temple just as any other woman. Purification!, our Father reminds us, You and I certainly do need purification. Atonement and, more than atonement, Love. Love as a searing iron to cauterise our soulâs uncleanness, and as a fire to kindle with divine flames the wretchedness of our hearts.
If our lives are imbued with humility, we will be very pleasing in Godâs sight, as our Lady was. She is the noble star, born of Jacob, whose rays of light brighten the whole earth, whose splendour shines on high and penetrates into the depths. Illuminating the world and warming human hearts instead of physical bodies, she nurtures virtue and consumes vice.
By being docile to the Holy Spirit we will fulfil the will of God.
Among that crowd that filled the Temple, only two elderly people, Simeon and Anna, recognise Christ in the arms of his mother. Mary, his Mother, carried the child who was still not able to speak. The old man saw the child and recognised him. Where could he have seen him before to recognise him now? Perhaps he, who had been born to the outside world, revealed himself to Simeon on the inside. At any rate, he saw the child, and knew who he was. Simeon recognised the Child who did not speak, while years later the Jews will put to death a grown man who worked wonders. Having recognised the child, Simeon took him in his arms and embraced him. He held the One who, being Christ, possessed all the wisdom of God, which extends from one end of the world to the next and orders all things with gentle power (cf. Wis 8: 1). How great the little child that was there! Despite his being so great, how little he had become! Being made small, he sought out the little ones. What does it mean to seek the little ones? He was looking not for the proud, but for the meek and humble.
Simeon and Anna had each spent their long lives serving God; always nurturing the desire for the coining of the Messiah. So when this time comes, as a reward for their humility and docility to the Holy Spirit, they enjoy the immense favour of holding the Christ child in their arms. A theologian of the early Church commented that Simeon went up to the Temple, not by chance, but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit - âall those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of Godâ (Rom 8: 14). The Holy Spirit led him to the temple. You, too, if you want to hold Christ and embrace him, if you want to be freed from prison, try your best to be led by the Spirit.
We have to follow with docility the interior inspirations which the Holy Spirit causes in our souls; helping us choose those options which bring us closer to God. Sometimes this happens in little things: accepting serenely the sacrifices asked of us in our work or in the effort to live amiably with others; choosing something which is not to our taste, or taking for ourselves some task or place which is far from the best⌠At other moments, these indications of the Holy Spirit will move us to live more generously; and to give of ourselves more. Expressing it briefly: we forget about ourselves and abandon ourselves into our Lordâs hands.
Without docility, there is no dedication, our Father would say. Humility brings with it a full dedication to the divine Will, no matter how difficult or challenging it might appear. Mary fulfils the Law of God, and when Simeon tells her: a sword will pass through your own heart, our Lady renews the fiat she had spoken some months before in Nazareth. She presents her only Son to the Blessed Trinity and simultaneously puts her life into Godâs hands. What else would you expect of the handmaid of the Lord?
The purity, humility and generosity of Mary are in sharp contrast to our wretchedness and selfishness. To the extent that we realise this, we should feel moved to imitate her. We, too, are creatures of God, and if we strive to imitate her fidelity, God will surely do great things in us. Our little worth is no obstacle, because God chooses what is of little value so that the power of his love be more manifest (1 Cor1: 27-29).
Our Mother constantly gave herself completely to the service of God and those around her. Today we should ask her to obtain for us the grace to be always available and ready to serve others. Then, on fire with the love of God, one day we will be able to contemplate Him in the everlasting clarity of his glory.