Tuesday February 2, 2021 - Presentation of the Lord in the Temple - Light which reveals itself to the nations and gives glory to your people Israel - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 2, 22-40

Dear Christian brothers and sisters, every February 2, the Church celebrates the presentation of the Lord in the Temple, and today also the Candlemas, according to the liturgy, symbol of the contemplation of Christ the Light of the world. We are now forty days after Christmas. Jewish culture, from which Christianity drew all its ritual, is well marked: There is purification after childbirth, the offering of the firstborn to the Lord, the Temple, the expectation of the Messiah, the law of Moses. All of this was respected and lived by the parents of Jesus.

The first aspect to consider is this, that God the Father is there offering his son for the salvation of the world. Jesus' foster parents are a sign of this. We too, as Simeon and Anne did, receive Him as our Savior on a daily basis. Second, the Jewish people are only the beginning, but what God really wants is for all nations to be saved. It's about believing or not believing, there is no other middle ground. We only believe now, but for a long time now, we need to renew our commitment daily.

Jesus' parents, Joseph and Mary, were models of obedience to God. The observance of what is prescribed by the commandments is only the external aspect, but what animates them in their interior is obedience to the will of God. Simeon and Anne are models of commitment, they served God day and night and received Jesus when He came. This must also be our life: to serve God faithfully, to love him without calculation or ration but with a whole heart, to receive him as light, so we will be worthy to be received in his home, once our peregrination is completed. Amen.