Lời cảnh báo quá rõ ràng: trước ngàt tận thế, Thiên Chúa sẽ sai thiên sứ của Ngài đến để cảnh báo dân người là hãy tẩy rửa quốc gia. Mặc dù mục đích là để làm sạch, thanh tẩy nhưng không ai đã có nhìn tới và trông đợi vào ngày đó, vì ngày đó cũng sẽ là một ngày phán xét. Ngày trở lại của Chúa luôn luôn dự đoán với những sự sợ hãi hay lo âu. Nhưng như thường lệ là mọi thứ sẽ thường bị đổi ngược..khhác nhau.
Trước hết, khi Chúa đến, Chúa dã mang thân phận con ngươi, với hình dạng con người. Chúa Giêsu đã trở thành một trong chúng ta, Ngài cũng được chia sẻ với chúng ta trong những giới hạn của con người và những điểm yếu kém của chúng ta trong tất cả mọi thứ ngoài trừ tội lỗi. Ngài đã bị thử thách; phải vật lộn với cuộc sống; phải chịu đựng đau khổ, phiền toái như mỗi người chúng ta. Tất cả những điều này đã xẩy ra với Chúa cho một mục đích: là để Ngài có thể cảm nhận như chúng ta để tỏ lòng thương xót với chúng ta trong những lần thất bại và trong những sư yếu đuối của chúng ta. Ngài hiểu về con người với những sự yếu đuối của con người. Ngài có thể thông cảm với những kinh nghiệm con người của chúng ta thông qua của sự đau khổ của chính Ngài.
Chúng ta không cần phải lo sợ về những yếu đuối và sự sa ngã của mình. Chúng ta không phải sống trong nỗi sợ hãi của bản án đã định sẵn. Chúng ta có một người bạn và người anh luôn luôn đem ánh sáng làm rực một con đường rộng mở cho chúng ta đi. Ngài luôn mong chờ để chào đón chúng ta và Ngài sẽ giúp chúng ta trong cuộc hành trình của chúng ta về nhà Chúa .
Trước hết, khi Thiên Chúa bước vào ngôi đền thờ, như một em bé yếu đuối, bất lực. Ngài đã tiếp xúc với tất cả những mối nguy hiểm đang đe dọa trẻ em trong độ tuổi rằng: chiến tranh, nạn đói, bệnh tật, và bạo lực. Nhưng ông Simeon đã công nhận rằng Ngài sẽ là ơn cứu rỗi, là niềm vui cho nhiều người, nhưng Ngài cũng làm cho nhiều người phải khó chịu vì Ngài là mối đe dọa cho người khác.
Tóm lại, Thiên Chúa đối với chúng ta, Ngài không chống lại chúng ta, Nhưng trong thực tế, Thiên Chúa là một người trong nhóm chúng ta. Chúng ta không bao giờ phải sợ hãi hay cảm thấy bị cô đơn.
Lạy Chúa, Xin cho chúng con cùng bước đi với Ngài trong mọi cuộc hành trình của đời con.
The warning was clear: before the final times, God would send his messenger to warn people and to purify the nation. Although the intent was to purify, no one would look forward to it, as it would also be a time of reckoning. The Day of the Lord was always anticipated with a certain amount of dread or fear. As is often the case, things turned out differently.
First of all, when God came, it was in human form. Jesus became one of us, sharing in our human limitations and weaknesses in all things but sin. He was tested; he struggled; he suffered. All of this was for one purpose: so that he could be compassionate with us in our own failures and weaknesses. He understood what it was like to be human. He could relate to our experience through his own. We need not fear our failures and weaknesses. We do not have to live in dread of judgment. We have a friend and brother who has already blazed a path for us. He waits to welcome us and he helps us on the journey.
When God entered the temple, it was as a frail human child. He was exposed to all the dangers that threatened children in that age: war, famine, disease, and violence. But Simeon recognized that his coming would be joyful salvation for many, but very upsetting and threatening for others. The bottom line: God is for us, not against us — in fact, God is one of us. We need not ever fear or feel alone. Lord, walk with me on my journey.
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, February 2=2026
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Luke 2:22–24
The Presentation of the Lord reveals two beautiful paradoxes: the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the ritual redemption of Jesus, her firstborn Son. Both actions follow the Law of Moses, yet each unveils a deeper mystery about Christ and His Mother, offering us a mystery to enter and an example to follow.
First, we ponder the Blessed Virgin Mary’s purification. The Law stated that a woman who gave birth to a son needed ritual purification (cf. Leviticus 12). Yet Mary, being immaculately conceived and preserved entirely from all stain of sin, had no need for purification. Nevertheless, she fulfilled the Law, setting before us a model of perfect humility and obedience. Knowing her own interior purity, she could have objected, but she did not, because she valued obedience to God’s law above her own justification. She teaches us that true holiness embraces humble submission over self-assertion. Humility, in its beauty and holiness, always conquers pride’s selfishness and self-elevation. Our Blessed Mother knew and lived that.
The second paradox is found in Jesus’ presentation. The Law required every firstborn son to be presented to the Lord and redeemed in remembrance of the Passover (cf. Exodus 13; Numbers 3 and 18). Yet Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the true High Priest and Spotless Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. He needed no redemption, for He is God Himself. Still, Christ was presented in the Temple so that we might be presented with Him to the Father. In His humility, He united Himself to our human nature—without sin—so that we might be truly consecrated to God through Him. Again, virtue wins out, as Christ invites us to share in His humility.
The Presentation also foreshadows the other ways Jesus would redeem us through His human life. In His Baptism, though sinless, He submits to a rite of repentance so we might be sanctified through baptism ourselves. In His Passion, though innocent, He suffers for us, paying our debt—a debt we must humbly admit that we cannot repay on our own. In His Resurrection, His humility is crowned with eternal glory, opening the way for us to share in His divine life—if we humble ourselves with Him.
Like our Blessed Mother, we are called to submit obediently to God’s will, rejecting the pride that tempts us to think we are above certain duties or sacrifices. True holiness embraces sacrifice freely out of love, rather than seeking exemption from it. Even undeserved hardships bear fruit when endured with Christ. True holiness also perceives the beauty of joyful obedience to God’s will, rather than asserting our own.
Like Jesus, we are called to offer ourselves completely to the Father. As Jesus was ritually offered in the Temple, we must see ourselves in that offering. He was offered for us. By uniting ourselves with Him in His humility, we are redeemed through His offering to the Father. We become children in the Son, received by the Father who accepted Christ’s perfect offering. In Him, our offering becomes perfect, and we find our eternal home with the Father.
Reflect today on the hidden ways God invites you to imitate these paradoxes. Are there areas where you resist humble obedience, preferring your own will over God’s? Are there sacrifices you are tempted to avoid, forgetting that true love embraces the Cross? Offer yourself to the Father with Mary’s obedience and Christ’s perfect humility so that your life, like theirs, may become a pure offering of love.
Most humble Lord, You were obedient to the Father’s will in all things. From the mystery of Your Incarnation, to Your humble birth in a cave, Your ritual presentation and redemption in the Temple, and Your sacrificial Death and Resurrection, You acted with perfect holiness, humility, and obedience. Please draw me into Your life—into Your Presentation to the Father, Your Death, and Your Resurrection. Live within me, dear Lord, so that I may live in You, shar
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. ~Luke 2:22–24
Reflection: Mary and Joseph were faithful Jews who obeyed the Law of Moses. Jewish Law prescribed that two ritual acts needed to take place for a firstborn son. First, the mother of a newborn son was ritually unclean for seven days, and then she was to “spend thirty-three more days in a state of blood purity” (Leviticus 12:2–8).
“Candlemass” is also a traditional name given to today’s feast because as early as the fifth century, the custom of celebrating this feast with lighted candles had developed. The lit candles symbolized Simeon’s prophecy that Jesus would be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.” Lastly, this Feast has been referred to as the “Feast of the Holy Encounter” because God, in the Person of Jesus, encountered Simeon and Anna in the Temple.
Today’s feast is celebrated in our Church forty days after Christmas, marking the day that Mary and Joseph would have brought Jesus into the Temple. Though Mary was pure and free from sin from the moment of her conception, and though the Son of God did not need to be redeemed, Mary and Joseph fulfilled these ritual obligations.
At the heart of this celebration is the encounter of Simeon and Anna with the Christ Child in the Temple. It is in that holy encounter that Jesus’ divinity is manifested by a human prophet for the first time. At His birth, the angels proclaimed His divinity to the shepherds, but in the Temple, Simeon was the first to understand and proclaim Jesus as the Savior of the World. He also prophesied that this salvation would be accomplished by a sword of sorrow that would pierce the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Anna, a prophetess, also came forward and “gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). Thus, these ritual acts were also a moment in which Jesus’ divine mission was made manifest to the world.
As we celebrate Mary’s ritual purification and Jesus’ ritual redemption, we should see them as acts in which we are called to participate. First, each of us is unworthy of entering the true Temple of the Lord in Heaven. Yet we are invited to enter that Temple in union with Mary, our Blessed Mother. It was her consent to the will of God that opened the door of God’s grace to us all, enabling us to spiritually become Jesus’ “mother” by allowing Him to be born in our hearts by grace. With her, we are now able to appear before God, purified and holy in His sight.
We must also see Saint Joseph redeeming us as he presented Jesus in the Temple. In offering Christ Jesus to the priest to offer Him to the Father, Saint Joseph also presents all who strive to live in union with Jesus. The hope is that, like Simeon and Anna, others will see God alive within us and experience the Savior of the World through us.
Ponder, today, your soul being the new temple of the Lord, and acknowledge your need to be purified and offered to the Father in Heaven. As Christ continues to enter into the temple of your soul, pray that He will shine forth for others to see so that, like Simeon and Anna, they will encounter our Lord within you.
Prayer: My saving Lord, Your loving parents offered You to Your Father in the Temple in accordance with the Law You revealed to Moses. In that offering, our souls are purified and we are offered to Your Father with You. I thank You for the gift of salvation and pray that my soul will always radiate Your light as You dwell within me. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Waiting for the Lord: When we contemplate the mystery of Jesus’ presentation in the Temple, we have to remember that the Holy of Holies, the innermost sanctuary of the Second Temple, had been empty for several centuries. When the Temple was built under King Solomon, the glory cloud of the Lord filled the Holy of Holies, and the Ark of the Covenant was housed in the innermost sanctuary. But the rebuilt second Temple didn’t have either. And so, the people of Israel were waiting for the return of the glory of the Lord. This attitude of “waiting for the Lord” is exemplified in today’s Gospel by Simeon and Anna. It is also a fundamental Christian attitude, as we too are “waiting for the Lord.” Just as Simeon and Anna welcomed the Christ in his first, humble advent, we are waiting and are to be ready to welcome Jesus Christ in his second, glorious advent. In the words of Pope Saint John Paul II: “Simeon and Anna represent the expectation of all Israel. It is granted to them to meet the One whom the prophets had foretold for centuries. Enlightened by the Holy Spirit, the two elderly people see the long-awaited Messiah in the Child that Mary and Joseph have brought to the temple as prescribed by the law of the Lord” (February 2, 2000).
grant me a child-like simplicity and the joy of dwelling forever in the Father’s house.
Try to imagine the scene. Simeon had lived a holy and devout life. And deep within his conscience, he knew that his life on earth would not come to an end until he was privileged to see the Savior of the World with his own eyes. He knew this by a special gift of faith, an interior revelation of the Holy Spirit, and he believed.
It’s helpful to think about this unique gift of knowledge that Simeon had throughout his life. Normally we gain knowledge through our five senses. We see something, hear something, taste, smell, or feel something, and as a result come to know it to be true. Physical knowledge is very reliable and is the normal way we come to know things. But this gift of knowledge Simeon had was different. It was deeper and was spiritual in nature. He knew he would see the Messiah before he died, not because of some external sensory perception he had received but because of an interior revelation from the Holy Spirit.
This truth begs the question, which type of knowledge is more certain? Something you see with your eyes, touch, smell, hear or taste? Or something that God speaks to you in the depths of your soul by a revelation of grace? Though these types of knowledge are different, it’s important to understand that the spiritual knowledge that is given by the Holy Spirit is far more certain than anything perceived through the five senses alone. This spiritual knowledge has the power to change your life and direct all your actions toward that revelation.
For Simeon, this interior knowledge of a spiritual nature suddenly united with his five senses when Jesus was brought into the Temple. Simeon suddenly saw, heard and felt this Child Whom he knew he would one day see with his own eyes and touch with his own hands. For Simeon, that moment was the culminating moment of his life.
My spiritual Lord, I thank You for the countless ways in which You speak to me day and night in the depths of my own soul. Help me to be always attentive to You and to Your gentle voice as You speak to me. May Your voice and Your voice alone become the guiding direction of my life. May I trust in Your Word and never waver from the mission You have given to me. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. A Priestly Presentation, Not Redemption: When Luke narrates the story of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, he refers to Exodus 13:2, which says: “Consecrate to me all the first-born; whatever is the first to open the womb among the sons of Israel, both man and of beast, is mine.” This means that the first-born sons and the first-born of the animals in Israel all belonged to God. The first-born sons of the people were to be dedicated to sacred ministry, while the firstlings of the cattle, sheep, and goats were offered to the Lord as sacrificial victims. Now, because the sons of Israel sinned at Sinai by worshipping the golden calf and the Levites rallied to the side of Moses, the descendants of Levi earned the privileges of consecration originally possessed by the first-born sons. While the Levite sons were consecrated for service, the non-Levite first-born sons of Israel had to be redeemed from their service or bought back (Exodus 34:20) with a payment of five shekels (Numbers 18:15-16). Instead of saying that Mary and Joseph brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to redeem him, Luke says that they brought him up to present him to the Lord, and implies that Jesus was consecrated as a priest even though he was not a Levite.
Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Lễ Đức Mẹ Dâng Chúa Giêsu và Đền Thánh (Feb 2)
Mỗi một người trong chúng ta được Thiên Chúa đưa vào một cuộc sống riêng của mỗi người với một mục đích riêng và rõ ràng. Trong Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta được chứng kiến cảnh Đức mẹ và Thánh Giuse dâng Chúa Giêsu trong đền thờ, và Thiên Chúa đã ban cho mỗi người một vai trò cụ thể như những người được nhắc tới trong Tin Mừng.
REFLECTION PRESENTATION OF THE LORD
For centuries, the people of God waited for God’s messenger, the one who would usher in the final days. Malachi described him as one that would purify the temple and priesthood. He would come in the spirit of Elijah, and prepare the people to meet God. In the New Testament, he was associated with John the Baptist.
We all wait expectantly, but patience is difficult for most people. Jesus asks us to be prepared always, so that we might be ready to meet him whenever he comes. Jesus is a compassionate and faithful high priest because he suffered and struggled, and his testing was real. He is like us in all things but sin. Our own suffering and struggle should make us compassionate and merciful towards others, just like Jesus. The Lord entered the temple, as the prophecy in Malachi promised. Jesus was presented to the Lord and the proper offering made, in accordance with Jewish law.
Two individuals — Anna and Simeon — recognized Jesus and proclaimed him. They had been waiting patiently and attentively — and that is a mark of holiness. They listened and watched with great sensitivity and attention, without distraction. Their vigilance was rewarded, just as ours will be, when we learn to wait on the Lord. Lord, teach me to wait patiently.
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