Rosary: The Presentation in the Temple
The Fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary
The Fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary: The Presentation in the Temple
Feast Day: February 2nd (Candlemas)
Luke 2:22 And after the days of her purification, according to the Law of Moses, were accomplished, they carried Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord: 23 As it is written in the Law of the Lord: Every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord: 24 And to offer a sacrifice, according as it is written in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons:
25 And behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was in him. 26 And he had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. 27 And he came by the Spirit into the Temple. And when His parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law, 28 He also took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said:
29 Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word in peace; 30 Because my eyes have seen Thy salvation, 31 Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: 32 A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.
33 And His father and mother were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning Him. 34 And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother: Behold this Child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted; 35 And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.
36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; she was far advanced in years, and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity. 37 And she was a widow until fourscore and four years; who departed not from the Temple, by fastings and prayers serving night and day. 38 Now she, at the same hour, coming in, confessed to the Lord; and spoke of Him to all that looked for the redemption of Israel.
39 And after they had performed all things according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their city Nazareth. 40 And the Child grew, and waxed strong, full of wisdom; and the grace of God was in Him.
This fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary highlights the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. This feast celebrates when Our Lady and St. Joseph brought Our Lord to the Temple as part of the rituals required under the Old Covenant. This is done forty days after the birth of Our Lord as required by the Law. They offered two turtledoves as sacrifice to redeem back Jesus from God, as all first born sons were His, since God is rightfully due all of the first fruits of everything.
As Our Lady and St. Joseph are in the Temple, they are approached by Simeon and Anna. These were two very holy people who dedicated their lives to worshipping and adoring God. As reward for their fidelity to Him, God gave them the grace to meet Our Lord the Messiah.
Anna, through her continual prayers and fasting, had purified her soul through God’s grace so that she was ready for the Messiah. When the Messiah arrived, she loudly proclaimed to everyone who would listen that Our Lord was here. Clearly this message did not resonate with the people as they went about ignoring the Holy Family after this. Their hearts were not ready for God, so they did not notice when He arrived. This was why John the Baptist was so important, because he prepared those who wished to be faithful so that they were ready to receive the Lord when He made His mission public.
Simeon proclaims that the Messiah will be the glory of Israel but also will bring Gentiles into relationship and rightful worship of God. He then follows this up with declaring that Our Lord will be both the fall and resurrection for many. Our Lord will be the One who makes everyone finally decide if they will serve God or serve the demons.
Simeon then follows up these prophesies with a prophesy about Our Lady that most people miss. They think it refers to the spear that was thrust into Our Lord on the Cross, but his prophesy is about Our Lady instead. He says a sword will pierce HER heart! We know that she was not pierced by a sword physically, but this sword was spiritual. As she was completely pure and united with Our Lord perfectly, as He experienced His Passion, she was experiencing it with Him. The pains He suffered, she suffered as well.
Sin is the cause of death, yet Our Lady died and she had no sin on her. So is this a contradiction? The answer is no, for the same reason that Our Lord had no sin, yet He died. Our sins killed them both. Our Lord was killed by our sins on the Cross. Our Lady suffered a spiritual piercing of her heart that eventually ended up killing her. This is why the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady are so horrific but at the same time have such grace and merit from them. Our Lady magnifies the Lord, and she did this best when she suffered willingly with Him. Make no mistake, Our Lady willingly suffered all of her sorrows and she did it to help save souls through the grace of her Son.
Exodus 13:1 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Consecrate to Me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of men and animals, is mine.
3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, because the Lord brought you out from there by strength of hand; no leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. 5 When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which He swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this observance in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen in your possession, and no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory. 8 You shall tell your child on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 It shall serve for you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the teaching of the Lord may be on your lips; for with a strong hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall keep this ordinance at its proper time from year to year.
11 “When the Lord has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your ancestors, and has given it to you, 12 you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your livestock that are males shall be the Lord’s. 13 But every firstborn donkey you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. Every firstborn male among your children you shall redeem. 14 When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall answer, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 It shall serve as a sign on your hand and as an emblem on your forehead that by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
God, since He has given us everything, is due to be given back the first fruits of everything that is ours. The first fruit of our work, the first fruit of our crops/livestock and even the first fruit of our wombs.
Unlike other false pagan gods, God does not require human sacrifice. Instead we must offer a small sacrifice instead of our children. God offers Himself as the sacrifice in the New Covenant, rather than require us to offer ourselves and our children as sacrifice.
Leviticus 12:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. 3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. 5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days.
6 When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. 7 He shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement on her behalf; then she shall be clean from her flow of blood. This is the Law for her who bears a child, male or female. 8 If she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf, and she shall be clean.
Many people misunderstand this passage in Leviticus to mean that either women, babies or giving birth is somehow evil, dirty or wrong. This is an incorrect understanding. When it speaks about being unclean, it means in the ritualistic sense, because as Leviticus 17 says, “the life is in the blood”. That is why all sacrifices had to be drained of all blood and all animals for food had to be drained of all blood. This is also why there was a commandment against ever eating or drinking blood. Pagans believed that they could acquire the life of other animals and humans by drinking their blood. God wanted His people to shun this entirely. So anytime there was contact with blood like this, He wanted a time of purification to separate the blood from the worship and sacrifice.
But the saying that the life is in the blood is true, and this is why Jesus, in the New Covenant, offers us His Blood to eat and drink. Because as He says, His Flesh is true food and His Blood is true drink. We actually CAN have eternal life in ourselves by eating and drinking His Flesh and Blood. So the pagan belief was almost correct, but ultimately evil. Whereas the Christian belief given from God is true and holy.
Psalm 47:9 As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of Hosts, in the city of our God: God hath founded it for ever. 10 We have received Thy mercy, O God, in the midst of Thy Temple. 11 According to Thy name, O God, so also is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Thy right hand is full of justice.
We celebrate mankind receiving God’s mercy in His holy Temple when we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation. God Himself visited mankind and came to the Temple of God to participate in the Old Covenant so that late during the Last Supper and Calvary, He would transform the Old Covenant into the New Covenant. No longer would we sacrifice animals in the Temple in Jerusalem, but now we offer the eternal and infinite sacrifice of the Mass. We offer the Son to the Father through the Holy Spirit at every Divine Liturgy.
Links to the other Mysteries of the Rosary
JOYFUL MYSTERIES
Fifth Joyful Mystery - The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (coming soon)
SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
First Glorious Mystery - The Resurrection (coming soon)
Second Glorious Mystery - The Ascension of Christ (coming soon)
Third Glorious Mystery - The Descent of the Holy Ghost (coming soon)
LUMINOUS MYSTERIES
Second Luminous Mystery - The Wedding at Cana (coming soon)
Third Luminous Mystery - The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (coming soon)
Fourth Luminous Mystery - The Transfiguration (coming soon)
Fifth Luminous Mystery - The Institution of the Eucharist (coming soon)
Beautiful prep for tomorrow and First Friday. 🙏