12/30/2013 – Sixth day in the Octave of Christmas – Luke 2:36-40

      What does our faith call us to do?  Some approach their faith in looking at the obligations or demands it puts on us. Others look at the bare minimum they must do in order to live out their faith.  As a priest, it edifies me to see those in our parish who are called to specific devotions and practices to live out their faith, such as those who pray weekly in the presence of the blessed sacrament, or those of you who faithfully come to the daily mass to be fed by the Eucharist and God's holy word. 

         Today, we hear of a widow named Anna who never left the Temple area, who worshipped God through fasting and prayer day and night.  Obviously, this was Anna's calling, since I doubt she would have been able to persevere in such deep devotion without her faith or without a call from God.  While many were not able to recognize Jesus as the Son of God even in the midst of his public ministry, Anna and Simeon were able to instantly recognize Jesus as the child who would bring redemption to the people of Ancient Israel, the child who was foretold by the prophets.  We're told that Anna was a prophetess herself: her simple act of love and prophecy still speaks to us so strongly today.

         Where is God calling us in our lives to live out our faith?  Where are we called to go beyond the bare minimum?  Just as Anna saw Jesus' true identity in the little baby who was brought to the Temple by his family in accordance to Jewish law for the Jewish purification ritual, where do we see Jesus in our world today?  Where is the baby Jesus present among us?