“Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

Malachi 3:1-4

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

Hebrews 2:14-18

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊  

Luke 2:22-40

 When the day

Came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought the baby up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,  as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to God.   And they offered a sacrifice as ordered in the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

 There lived in Jerusalem at this time a very upright and devout man named Simeon; the Holy Spirit was in him. He looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel,   and he had been assured by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Messiah of the Lord.

 So he was led into the Temple by the Holy Spirit at the time the parents brought the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law.  Simeon took the child in his arms and blessed God, saying,  “Now, O Lord, you can dismiss your servant in peace, for you have fulfilled your word  and my eyes have seen your salvation,  which you display for all the people to see.

 Here is the light you will reveal to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.”  His father and mother wondered at what was said about the child. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, “See him; he will be for the rise or fall of the multitudes of Israel. He shall stand as a sign of con­tra­diction,   while a sword will pierce your own soul. Then the secret thoughts of many may be brought to light.”

 There was also a prophetess named Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. After leaving her father’s home, she had been seven years with her husband, and since then she had been continually about the Temple, serving God as a widow night and day in fasting and prayer.  

 She was now eighty-four.  Co­ming up at that time, she gave praise to God and spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

 When the parents had fulfilled all that was required by the law of the Lord, they returned to their town, Nazareth in Galilee.   There the child grew in stature and strength and was filled with wisdom: the grace of God was upon him.

  

 Gospel Reflection：

Consecrating Children

Simeon and Anna sensed something special about baby Jesus who didn’t seem any different from other babies brought to the temple, because their spiritual antennae were sharp enough to pick up resonances of the Spirit.

The truth is, every child is special and brings with it the message of God’s deep love for humanity. As Pablo Picasso said, “every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

They lose the artistry precisely because we adults fail to see it in them and nurture it. As Nelson Mandela remarked, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

Child abuse can only exist in a world which has lost its own sense of transcendence. Today we pray for all the victims of child abuse. Today we consecrate all children of the world to God.