Tuesday.blog
The Catholic Calendar for Tuesday, December 30, 2003
The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas
Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word
1 John 2:12-17
Psalm 96:7-10
Luke 2:36-40
A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:
There are certain times in the liturgical year when one can feel quite overwhelmed with the generosity of God, and Christmas is one of those times. The idea that God would send His only-begotten Son to redeem us is difficult to understand in human terms. Sometimes we wonder what gift we can bring in return. We do not have the opportunity of the three wise men, and we cannot be like Anna the prophetess referred to in the gospel of today. We cannot stay day and night in the temple praying and fasting and still carry out our family responsibilities. What therefore can we do?
There is a wonderful story about a very poor woman in a developing country who had no money to put into the collection plate at her church service, so when the plate came to her she gracefully set the plate on the floor and stepped into it. She symbolized giving her all. That is what God wants of us, only our all. That's all we have to give.
God does not want our many petitions, our empty material offerings. He wants =us=, our hearts, our love, our weaknesses and our strengths. His request is not unlike that of spouses to one another, each wants the others faithful presence. His request is not unlike that of a parent who feels best when they know their children are safe and secure within a loving home, or that of an elderly parent who asks only for the presence of their adult child to just sit and be present to them. It is in this way that we worship the lord in holy attire spoken of in the psalm of today. We bring that attire, our very being, made and redeemed by God into His presence., sometimes in front of the tabernacle and sometimes in visiting a lonely person in a nursing home or prison.... We bring our presence before God in others, and we pay them homage through being a Christian.
Anna, the prophetess, realized this. She brought the total gift of self to the temple and as a result of this, God blessed her with the gift of prophecy. While we do not expect to have that gift in return, that of prophecy, we can be more assured that we're becoming more like our true selves, adopted sons and daughters of God. Let us bring gifts and enter His courts in our holy attire, made by God.
- Joan of Jesus, ocds (jmurphy at utica dot edu)
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