【Spiritual Talk】The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord – Fr. Anthony Ho

This Sunday is the fortieth day after Christmas, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. In the past, Jewish women were considered by the Law to be unclean after giving birth and forty days later had to be cleansed and present their child to God. Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, so she was ritually pure and in fact needed no cleansing. Jesus was the Son of God, so He needed not to be presented to God either. But both mother and son humbly submitted to the Law, reminding us to have a spirit of humble obedience. Mary offered the offering of a poor person: two doves or pigeons, instead of the usual lamb, reminding us that Jesus became a humble man. At that time, a man named Simeon was at the Temple awaiting the Messiah’s arrival. When he saw the baby Jesus, he predicted that He would be a light to the nations and a sign to be contradicted. Jesus bore the sins of humanity: are our hearts illuminated with light and ready to accept Him, or are they filled with darkness and closed off to Him? On this Sunday, it is traditional to have candlelight processions to remind us that Jesus is the true light of the world. May we ask God to open our hearts and welcome Him in.