Daily Retreat 02/02/06

2006 Feb 2 Thu: PRESENTATION OF THE LORD F

Mal 3: 1-4/ Ps 23(24): 7. 8. 9. 10/ Heb 2: 14-18/ Lk 2: 22-40 or 2: 22-32

From today’s readings: "And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek.... Reach up, you ancient portals, that the King of glory may come in!... He had to become like his brothers in every way.... Now, Master, You may let Your servant go in peace, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation...."

Presenting...JESUS!

Malachi prophesied that "suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek." Simeon was on hand when the prophecy was fulfilled, and he appended some additional verses of prophecy, both about the Child and His Mother.

And about us! In his beautiful prayer, Simeon recognized in Christ the "light for the revelation of the gentiles." Where would we be without light? In darkness, of course! And so, where darkness remains in our lives and in our nations, it’s clear that the light of Christ must be brought to bear in order to dispel those shadows.

Mary and Joseph were entrusted with the Christ Child, and they presented Him to the Lord and to those such as Simeon and Anna who were waiting and searching for Him. In the intimate moment of receiving the Eucharist, each communicant is likewise entrusted with the Body of Christ - so each of us, like Mary and Joseph, have the divine privilege of re-presenting Him as we turn to God in reverent gratitude, and then, letting our lives shine with His light, we turn to present Him anew to all in the world who are still waiting and searching for Him!

 

Note:  The Virtual Retreat is now being blogged!  In recent years, weblogs (better known as "blogs") have become increasingly popular, so I've decided to also offer the Virtual Retreat in that format (http://virtualretreat.blogspot.com/).  The daily reflections will continue to be posted on the Immaculate Heart Retreat website (www.ihrc.net) and still emailed to those who have signed up for the free mailing list at dailyretreat.org.  The new blog format will better accomodate those who have requested access to past reflections - all of the January reflections are already available in the blog archive link, and I will see about eventually re-posting reflections from past years as well.  Also, in response to a number of requests for an "early edition" for those in other time zones, the blog posting generally will be at least several hours earlier than the emails.  Thank you for helpful suggestions, feedback, and continual prayers and support!