Presentation of the Lord
St. Joan de Lestonnac
St. Joan de Lestonnac was born in France, in 1556. She married at the age of seventeen. After her children were raised, she entered the Cistercian monastery at Toulouse. She founded the Congregation of the Religious of Notre Dame of Bordeaux.
White
Entrance Antiphon: cf. Ps 47: 10-11
Your merciful love, O God, we have received in the midst of your temple. Your praise, O God, like your name, reaches the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with saving justice.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God, we humbly implore your majesty that, just as your Only Begotten Son was presented on this day in the Temple in the substance of our flesh, so, by your grace, we may be presented to you with minds made pure. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Malachi 3:1-4
The Lord God says this: Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and then they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be made. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will then be welcomed by the Lord as in former days, as in the years of old.
Psalm 23(24):7-10
- R) Who is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
1.O Gates, lift high your heads; grow higher, ancient doors. Let him enter, the king of glory!
2.Who is the king of glory? The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, the Lord, the valiant in war.
3.Gates, lift high your heads; grow higher, ancient doors. Let him enter, the king of glory!
4.Who is he, the king of glory? He, the Lord of armies, he is the king of glory.
Gospel Acclamation Lk 2:32
Alleluia, alleluia!The light to enlighten the Gentiles and give glory to Israel, your people.Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 2:22-40
When the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, – observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons. Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said: ‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel. As the child’s father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’ There was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem. When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.
Prayer over the Offerings
May the offering made with exultation by your Church be pleasing to you, O Lord, we pray, for you willed that your Only Begotten Son be offered to you for the life of the world as the Lamb without blemish. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Communion Antiphon Lk 2: 30-31
My eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples.
Prayer after Communion
By these holy gifts which we have received, O Lord, bring your grace to perfection within us, and, as you fulfilled Simeon’s expectation that he would not see death until he had been privileged to welcome the Christ, so may we, going forth to meet the Lord, obtain the gift of eternal life. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Responsible parenting.Today’s feast of the Presentation comes 40 days after Christmas. It tells us about responsible parenting. The responsibility of bringing up Jesus according to the norms and values of the Father was placed on Joseph and Mary. Our Heavenly Father expected both of then to do their part in moulding the character of Jesus and making Him ready for his ministry. Though the circumstances around the birth of our children may not be same as those of the birth of Jesus, our Heavenly Father has given to us the same responsibility over our children. There may be no Simeon and Anna to proclaim the importance of our children to the waiting world. Despite this, God expects us to follow the model of Joseph and Mary in parenting our children. Our Lord speaks to our hearts and hopes that we do all that we can to mould our children into God-loving and God-fearing individuals. He wants us to lead our children into a discipleship with Christ, not only to make them physically strong but spiritually sturdy to receive His blessings. His desire is for our children to be spiritually equipped to walk confidently the unknown path of life. This same encouragement is given to the consecrated who have many spiritual children to cater for.