The Lives of the Saints
1. THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD
On the fortieth day after the Nativity the Most Holy Virgin brought her divine Son to the Jerusalem temple to consecrate Him to God according to the law, and to purify herself (Leviticus 12:2-7; Exodus 12:2). Although neither one nor the other was necessary, nevertheless the Lawgiver did not want in any way to transgress against His own Law, which He had given through His servant and prophet Moses. At that time the high priest Zacharias, father of John the Forerunner, was serving his turn in the temple. He placed the Virgin Mary not in the place for women, but in the place for virgins in the temple. On this occasion two remarkable persons appeared in the temple: the elder Simeon and Anna, daughter of Phanuel. The righteous elder took the Messiah in his arms and said: "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word..." Simeon also said of the Christ Child: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against" (Luke 2:29 and 34). Anna, who from her youth had served God in the temple by fasting and prayers, herself also recognized the Messiah, and she glorified God and proclaimed to the people of Jerusalem concerning the arrival of the Long-Expected One. But the Pharisees, present in the temple, who saw and heard everything, became angry with Zacharias for placing the Virgin Mary in the place for virgins, and reported this to King Herod. Convinced that this was the New King of whom the star-gazers from the East had spoken to him, Herod quickly sent to kill Jesus. But in the meantime the divine family had already slipped out of the city and set off for Egypt, according to the instruction of God's angel. The day of the Presentation was celebrated from the very beginning, but the solemn celebration of this day was established especially in the year 544 during the time of Emperor Justinian.
2. HOLY NEW-MARTYR JORDAN
Jordan was a native of Trebizond, a tinsmith by trade. Because he openly defended the Christian faith and exposed the faith of Mohammed, he suffered from the Turks in the year 1650 in Galata in Constantinople. Likewise also suffered the monk Gabriel, canonarch of the Great Church in Constantinople, in the year 1672.
Hymn of Praise
When winter meets spring,
Old Simeon was of good fortune:
He met the Long-Expected One,
Through the prophets the Prophesied One,
Him—the treasure of all heavenly goods—
He beheld as a naked infant,
And thus Simeon prophesied:
"To my life evening has descended;
This one lies, that many may fall
Or may rise. Thus the spirit speaks"
The elder's prophecy came true:
Jesus became the measure and standard,
The choice of happiness, peace and joy,
But also the target of strife and malice.
Some He raises and others He brings down
And opens both Paradise and Hell to men.
Let each choose what his heart tells him,
To Paradise with Christ! our heart desires.
“Some He raises and others He brings down and opens both Paradise and Hell to men.”
Reflection
Speaking of the gradual spread and celebration of Christmas, Saint John Chrysostom says: "Beautiful and noble fruit trees when they are planted in the ground, soon reach great height and become laden with fruit; so also this day." So also the day of the Presentation of the Lord. From the beginning this day was commemorated among Christians, but the solemn celebration began from the time of the great Emperor Justinian. In the time of this emperor a great plague struck the people in Constantinople and the surrounding area so that daily five thousand and more people were dying. At the same time there also occurred a terrible earthquake in Antioch. Seeing the powerlessness of human means to avert these calamities, the emperor in agreement with the patriarch ordered fasting and prayer throughout the entire empire; and on the very day of the Presentation great litanies were arranged through the cities and villages. That the Lord might have mercy on His people. And the Lord indeed had mercy, and the plague and earthquake suddenly ceased. This happened in the year 544. On this occasion and from that time the Presentation began to be celebrated as a great feast of the Lord. The tree in time grew and began to bear abundant fruit.
Contemplation
Contemplate the Lord Jesus as health, namely:
1. As health of our mind, for by Him we think soundly;
2. As health of our heart, for by Him we feel soundly;
3. As health of our will, for by Him we act soundly;
4. As health of the family, church, school, nation and every institution.
Homily
on the guidance of God's Spirit
And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness (Luke 4:1)
See, brethren, what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Without God's Spirit man is filled with cares: where shall he go and how shall he go? But with God's Spirit man is without these cares. For then the Spirit Himself directs man where he will walk and how he will act, and man becomes infallible in his movement and in his action, because the Spirit who leads and guides him is infallible. Man cannot walk rightly or act rightly, if the almighty and all-seeing Spirit of God does not tell him. Whoever is not guided by the Holy Spirit of God, he is guided either by his own spirit, or by the evil demonic spirit, because of which he becomes powerless, embittered, grieved, angry and despairing. We cannot bear God's Spirit in fullness as Christ the Lord, but we can obtain Him in as much as we need, that we might know where, what and how. According to the purity of the heart the Spirit dwells in the heart and from the heart governs the man.
Therefore the Church so often repeats this prayer to the Holy Spirit: O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth! come and abide in us. O God, Holy Spirit, to Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“Without God's Spirit man is filled with cares: where shall he go and how shall he go?”