The law of God, given by Moses to the Jews, ordained that
after childbirth a woman should continue for a certain time in a state which
that law calls unclean, during which time she was not to appear in public.
This term was of forty days following the birth of a son, and double that
time for a daughter. When the term expired, the mother was to bring to the
Temple a lamb and a young pigeon or turtle-dove, as an offering to God.
These being sacrificed to Almighty God by the priest, she was cleansed of
the legal impurity and reinstated in her former privileges. A dove was
required of all as a sin-offering, whether rich or poor; but as the expense
of a lamb might be too great for the poor, these were allowed to substitute
for it a second dove. Such was the case, Scripture tells us, for the Holy
Family. (Luke 2:24)
Our Saviour having been conceived by the Holy Ghost, and
His Blessed Mother remaining always a spotless virgin, it is evident that
She was not subject to the law of purification, but devotion and zeal to
honor God by every observance prescribed by His law, prompted Mary to
perform this act of religion.
Besides the law which obliged the mother to purify herself,
there was another which required that the first-born son be offered to God,
and that after his presentation the child be ransomed with a certain sum of
money, and specific sacrifices offered on the occasion. Mary complied
exactly with all these ordinances. She obeyed not only in the essential
points of the law, but had strict regard to all the circumstances. On the
day of Her purification She walked several miles to Jerusalem, with the
world’s Redeemer in Her arms. She waited for the priest at the gate of the
Temple, made Her offerings of thanksgiving and expiation, and with the most
profound humility, adoration and thanksgiving, presented Her divine Son, by
the hands of the priest, to His Eternal Father. She then redeemed Him with
five shekels, as the law appoints, and received Him back again as a sacred
charge committed to Her special care, until the Father would again demand
Him for the full accomplishment of man’s redemption.
The ceremony of this day closed in a third mystery — the
meeting in the Temple of the holy prophets Simeon and Anne with the Divine
Infant and His parents. Saint Simeon, on that occasion, received into his
arms the object of all his desires and sighs, and praised God for the
happiness of beholding the much-longed-for Messiah. He foretold to Mary Her
martyrdom of sorrow, and that Jesus would bring redemption to those who
would accept it on the terms it was offered, but a heavy judgment on all who
would obstinately reject it. Mary, hearing this terrible prediction,
courageously and sweetly committed all to God’s holy Will. Simeon, having
beheld Our Saviour, exclaimed: “Now Thou canst dismiss Thy servant, O Lord,
in peace, according to Thy word, because mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.”
The aged prophetess Anne, who had served God with great fervor during her
long widowhood, also had the happiness of recognizing and adoring the
Redeemer of the world. This feast is called Candlemas, because the Church
blesses the candles to be borne in the procession of the day.
Reflection. Let us strive to imitate the humility
of the ever-blessed Mother of God, remembering that humility is the path
which leads to lasting peace and brings us closer to God, who gives His
grace to the humble.
Sources: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a
compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources
by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894); The Holy Bible:
Old and New Testaments.
Veronica - Our Lady now
is rising very high up into the sky, and She's--now the sky is becoming very,
very bright, very bright, and Our Lady is pointing upward with Her hand, and
there is a tremendous white cross now forming in the sky. It's a brilliant
cross. And now--it's a large cross, but behind it, I see many, many smaller
crosses. They are also white. It's like a field, a whole field of crosses.
Our Lady - "My child, you are observing many who shall wear the white robes in
Heaven. Many martyrs shall be made, My child, in the days ahead. Many shall
gain their crowns through suffering. It is truly the way of the cross, My
child, to Heaven. Do not let a moment go by, My child, without using, without
putting your suffering to good cause." - September 14, 1976
February 2nd
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