Week three: Getting to know Jesus Christ - Day 3

The Presentation in the Temple. Jesus, the Law of Love. Jesus, the Way to Heaven

Prayer to the Holy Spirit 

O Holy Spirit, inspire me. God’s love, engulf me. Holy Mary, my Mother, guide me in the right ways, look at me, and together with Jesus, bless me. Keep me from all evil, from all delusions and all threats. Mary, The Spouse of the Holy Spirit, obtain for me the grace of getting to know Jesus Christ, encountering Him in the mystery of the Presentation and discovering that the Lord leads us on our daily paths and teaches us how to be faithful to the Law of God. Amen!

The Word of God 

“When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.’ (…) And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of 178 WEEK THREE: GETTING TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’ (…) When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him” (Lk 2:22‒24; 33‒35; 39‒40).

Meditation 

We are coming to Jerusalem with the Holy Family. It has been 40 days since Jesus’ birth. Mary and Joseph bring the tiny Lord to the temple. They do it to fulfil what’s written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord.” Mary and Joseph are excited. They have no doubts (like all pious members of the Jewish nation) that Jerusalem is the Holy City—a place chosen by God, and the Temple built by Herod is not only an architectural masterpiece and the boast of all Jews but, first of all, the House where dwells God. We are with the Holy Family. Let’s look at their joy, happiness, and pride, visible on the faces of Mary and Joseph. They are deeply aware that the temple is a privileged place where they can meet with God and pray.

Mary and Joseph are true Israelites. They are faithful to the Law of the Lord. Observing what is happening in the temple of Jerusalem during the presentation of Jesus, we witness how faithfully the Holy Family obey the commandments of the Torah. I am amazed by their loyalty to the Law of the Old Testament. The respect for rules stemmed from the confidence that this Law is God’s Word and that what God proposes sets out for us the path of the best decisions and choices. And even though Jews exaggerate with the number of norms (613 Mitzvot include 365 negative commandments and 348 positive commandments), the traditions and customs concerning the most important feasts and the regulations concerning ritual purity were for Mary and Joseph, as well as for Jesus, essential. From the point of view Day 3 179 of ritual regulations, after giving birth to Jesus, Mary was impure. That is why she comes to the temple in Jerusalem to make her offering for purification. Moreover, she wants to entrust her son, Jesus, to God, the Father. Mary and Joseph put Jesus before the Lord. They present the Child to the Father. They entrust forty-day-Infant to God. Mary does it with great emotion. She wants to say to God: “Jesus is not my property. He is my Son, but most of all, He is Yours!”

Let’s get into the atmosphere of this place. Stay close to Mary and Joseph. Let’s see what they do… What do they feel when they place Jesus before God to fulfil the Law of the Lord? First, they see Jesus, the Son-Man, and then in Jesus—they see the Love. The experience of a personal encounter with God always comes first. Only then there will be respect and faithfulness to the Law. Love comes first! Only after it, there is the faithfulness of love. Therefore, Christianity is not only the way of traditions and religious customs. It is an encounter with the living God. I still recall what Benedict XVI wrote: “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”39 This is not the Law that saves us, but Jesus, who comes to complement and improve the Law of the Old Covenant. As the spiritual Teacher, He sends us the Holy Spirit, who acts so that every legal regulation is not a limitation of freedom but reveals the right direction in life. The Holy Spirit living in the hearts of people of God bears fruit of amazing virtues. St. Paul writes: “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. (…) If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit” (Ga 5:22‒23; 25). How important and brave teaching! We received the Holy Spirit, who teaches us to live and reminds us of everything Jesus preached.

In the scene of the presentation, we see Jesus being faithful to the Law of Love. When it comes to understanding the Law, it 180 WEEK THREE: GETTING TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST is crucial to discover the internal side (the spirit) of the Law. The letter of the law is an external side of an internal reality. In the Gospels, we read that the Lord healed on the sabbath, although it was forbidden, but He knew that the good of a person is a great value and the spirit of the Law, and that mere faithfulness to the letter is not enough. The Law is not the goal in itself for the Lord, but it was given for the benefit of man. Outraged Pharisees caring for being faithful to every minutia of the Torah, heard then: “For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath” (Matt 12:8).

Let’s look at Mary and learn to obey the Law—to trust God’s commandments. Today, this trust in God, who, via the Church, leads His people to Heaven, seems to be a hard choice. We live in times of crisis of authorities and questioning of institutions that were appreciated for thousands of years. This applies, unfortunately, to the Catholic Church as a community of faithful based on the Papacy. Today, more often people who declare to be in the Catholic Church dissociate from the Pope’s teaching and question the regulations introduced by the visible Shepherds of God’s Fold. The temptation of rejecting the Law (and the teaching) of the Church and searching for one’s own way to the truth and fullness of life (heaven) applies not only to the people who lose faith and live at the frontiers of the Church. Trust in the Law drawn up by the Church and obedience to God’s voice, as expressed in the official teaching of the Holy Father, are very much required today. Looking at Mary, who sees in Jesus not only a Man who humbly accepts the human condition but also a Jewish Child subject to the Law, we may learn from her the respect for the authority of spiritual power and trust in the regulations and norms of the Church of God. Mary has no doubts that faithfulness to the Law of the Lord is something valuable which allows them to live well and head towards Heaven.

In the scene of the presentation, we also see a not so young man. His name is Simeon. The elderly man prophesies that Miriam will suffer: “a sword will pierce through your own soul, that Day 3 181 the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Lk 2:35). Mary is surprised and concerned. She doesn’t know what will happen, but Simeon’s prophecy will stay with her as a kind of shadow or thorn. The prophecy about a sword piercing through will be fulfilled when the Lord dies on the cross. Mary will follow the path of Love and remain faithful to Jesus till death. She will not be martyred, but she will co-suffer with Jesus. The encounter with Love arises from the desire for faithfulness. The love for Jesus will result in entering the way of faithfulness to the Law (of Love). Let’s ask Mary to give us access to her Immaculate Heart…

The evangelical story about the faithfulness of the Holy Family toward the Law of the Lord (they had done everything required by the Law of the Lord) ends in a short sentence showing the further way of Jesus, who, like every child, will grow and acquire all skills. How pretty it is that Jesus is so similar to us in this respect. That He didn’t come to the world “ready-made.” God fits into the law of process—a continual development. Hence, He said: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev 19:2). In the perspective of earthly life, we can’t achieve excellence here, on earth, once and for all. And it is not only the fruit of faithfulness to the Law of God but also (and above all) a gift of God’s Love. It is a continuous effort requiring a struggle with yourself but also opening up to the wonders of God’s intervention and help. Let’s ask Mary to remind us of the essence of God’s Law—an amazing God’s offer: “Be holy.” Let’s pray that we can continuously enter the path to holiness, which is not sinlessness but continuous conversion—returning from the wrong path and directing towards the Creator with love.

Jesus invites us: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28‒30). The rabbis taught that the earthly yoke for people is being faithful to the Law of 182 WEEK THREE: GETTING TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST God. But they also reminded us about the heavenly yoke—trust in God’s Love that brings us closer to Heaven and opens the Paradise. 

Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Veni, Sancte Spiritus!

Spiritual reading “Holy Spirit, grant me all these graces. Implant in my soul the tree of true life, which is Mary. Foster it and cultivate it so that it grows and blossoms and brings forth the fruit of life in abundance. Holy Spirit, give me a great love and longing for Mary, your exalted spouse. Give me a great trust in her maternal heart and a continuous access to her compassion, so that with her you may truly form Jesus, great and powerful, in me until I attain the fullness of his perfect age. Amen.” 

St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary, 67

Homework 

I will ask the Holy Spirit in prayer to show me the path of faithfulness and obedience to God’s Law of Love. 

Prayer of consecration 

I am all Yours, and all that I have is Yours, O most loving Christ, through Mary, Your most holy Mother. Amen!