St. Thomas Becket, bishop & martyr

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

1John 2:3-11

  How can we know

That we know him? If we fulfill his commands.  If you say, “I know him,” but do not ful­fill his commands, you are a liar and the truth is not in you. But if you keep his word, God’s love is made complete in you. This is how we know that we are in him:

he who claims to live in him must live as he lived.  My dear friends, I am not writing you a new commandment, but reminding you of an old one, one you had from the beginning. This old commandment is the word you have heard.

 But, in a way, I give it as a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light already shines.  If you claim to be in the light but hate your brother, you are still in darkness.

 If you love your brothers and sisters, you remain in the light and nothing in you will make you fall. But if you hate your brother you are in the dark and walk in darkness without knowing where you go, for the darkness has blinded you.

 

Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 5b-6

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 2:22-35

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, “Know this:your son is a sign; a sign established for the fallin and rising of many in Israel, a sign of contradiction; and a sword will pierce your own soul, so that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.

 

Gospel Reflection：

It must have been with great joy that Mary and Joseph went to the temple to redeem their beloved son. Because they were poor they could only bring a pair of turtle doves.

Little did they know that they were only redeeming the Redeemer temporarily! Simeon, as it were, gave them unimaginable news. This your son is destined to be “a sign of contradiction” (the prediction of the cross).

Then he adds the ominous prophecy” and a sword will pierce your own soul.” From the pierced side the Lord God would reveal the depths of His mercy. But alas the pierced side does not only stab the Son but the mother as well. Stabat Mater Dolorosa!

Did Mary hear right? Her joy at giving birth to the Son of God is to be replaced by the sorrow of knowing that her Son would suffer and that she, too, would suffer! So truly, the king of All Nations shall have the Queen Mother of all Nations.

He shall be the redeemer by offering his life in sacrifice. Mary and Joseph went home, possibly asking “Father, can this truly become the fate of the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes? Mary’s initial “fiat” must be succeeded by many more “fiats.”

We must journey with Mary so that we may understand the mystery of the pierced side of Jesus! O Holy Redeemer, redeemed by Mary by a pair of turtledoves, you will redeem us by our blood. Have mercy of on us!