2 February 2020 – Feast of the Presentation of the Lord – Luke 2:22-32, Malacai 3: 1-4

        Today, we celebrate the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, rather than the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, since this feast falls on a Sunday this year. Luke’s Gospel records the way Mary and Joseph were faithful to God’s laws given to the Jewish people.  For all firstborn males, the mother of the child was required to refrain from all religious ritual practices for 40 days after the birth.  At that time, she would offer a sacrifice to the Lord to give thanks for her child's birth.  The normal sacrifice would be a lamb and a turtledove, but if the mother was poor, it could be a pair of turtledoves or young pigeons.  Mary and Joseph offer up two turtledoves, emphasizing that Jesus was born to poor simple family of deep faith.  This sacrifice made for the first-born Jewish son was done in memory of how God saved the firstborn of the Jews during the Passover in Egypt. The purification of the mother and the sacrifice for the firstborn son was not required to be in the Temple. However, Mary and Joseph wanted to fulfill all the prescriptions of the Jewish law in the Temple in Jerusalem, where it becomes the means of offering the Son of God to the Father who sent him to us to be our Redeemer and Savior. 
     Jesus, presented in the Temple by his parents, is the messenger of the covenant foretold by the prophet Malachi.  The faith of Mary and Joseph brought them to the Temple that day to consecrate their son to God.  The Spirit of the Lord led Jesus and his parents that day.  In Mexico, Catholics have a special tradition inspired by the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, as parents present their child to the Lord in mass, usually when the child is around 3 years old.  This presentation of a child to God and to the faith community in the Church comes from the parents’ desire to ask for divine protection for their child and to give  thanks for the safe arrival of their child.   In Mexico and a lot of other countries throughout the world, infant mortality rates are still high.  This custom began because parents wished to give thanks to God and the Virgin Mary for the survival and ongoing good health of their child.  The presentation of a child is not one of the 7 Sacraments recognized in our Church, but it is a special tradition by which these members honor God and live out their faith. 
      Today’s feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple often is referred to as “Candlemas” from Simeon’s prophecy in the Gospel that the baby Jesus being presented in the Temple would be a light of revelation to the Gentiles and glory for the people of Israel.  This is why we blessed the candles that we use in our Church in the beginning of mass today.  We can see the light of these candles symbolizing the light of God living within us and manifesting itself in our good faith, good works, and good deeds.
      It is important for us to celebrate our Catholic traditions, to celebrate the ways of the faith that help lead us and guide us. As a priest, I often get asked why we have saints in our faith and why we celebrate the saints in a special way.  To explain this, I use an analogy that is easy to understand.  Think about the heroes we have in our lives when growing up, the people who represent to us the values we hold important.  I have this picture of Abraham Lincoln that my dad put up in my bedroom when I was born, a picture that was hanging up in my dad’s own bedroom when he was growing up, as Lincoln in a common name in my family.  I also had a Chicago Cubs pennant hanging up in my room as well – my parents and grandparents absolutely loved the Chicago Cubs.  The Church sees the saints as heroes of the faith for us, and more than that, a community of saints that helps us and guides us through its prayers and intercessions.  In conjunction with the candles that we blessed at the beginning of mass today, we are having the traditional blessing of the throats in honor of St Blaise, a saint whose feast day we celebrate on February 3 each year.  Blaise was a medical doctor who lived in the early 4th century. When the Bishop of Sabastea in present-day Armenia died, Blaise was named to follow him as Bishop due to his great reputation for holiness.  During a time of great persecution, Blaise was arrested and was being carted off to be put to death. While being led away, a distraught mother, whose child was choking on a fishbone, threw herself at his feet and implored his intercession. Touched at her grief, Blaise offered up his prayers, and the child was cured.  Consequently, Saint Blaise is invoked for protection against injuries and illnesses of the throat, which is why we have this special blessing today.
     As we celebrate the faith of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the feast of the Presentation of the Lord today, as we celebrate the example of faith that St Blaise lived in his life of holiness, may we all be inspired to live lives of faith in our own reality in a way that gives glory to God.