2022-23 February #1: The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple

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The Presentation of the Lord

This feast day celebrates both the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, as well as the Purification of Mary, which was required by the Mosaic Law forty days after the birth of a child.

Mary and Joseph were fulfilling their Jewish duty that every first born belongs to God and should be offered as a sacrifice (Exodus 13:2, 12).  After giving birth, Mary was also considered ritually unclean according to the Mosaic law.  This does not mean that Mary was sinful, but she was being obedient to the law to purify herself after giving birth.  Mary and Joseph fulfilled this purification by presenting 2 pigeons to the temple (Leviticus 12:2-8).

The Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2, also called Candlemas.

At the temple, the family is approached by a man named Simeon, who has been told by the Holy Spirit that he will not die until he has seen the Messiah.

Talk to your littles about how God always keeps His promises.

• Name some things that God has done for you.
• Sometimes we wait for a short time and sometimes we have to wait for longer periods of time.
• No matter what, we have to trust God.

The Holy Spirit also told Simeon to go to the Temple that day.

Talk to your littles about how Simeon may have been busy doing things.  Share with them how important it is to listen to God and do what He’s asking us to do.

• Why is important to listen to God and do what He says?
• Do you think God wants what is best for us?

Simeon holds Jesus in his arms and praises God. As soon as Simeon held Jesus in his arms, he recognized Him as the Messiah.

A woman in the temple named Anna also sees the Holy Family. She recognizes Jesus as Messiah too, but she has a very different reaction: “At that moment, she came and began to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). She is 84 years old, according to Luke, and was known as being a prophetess. She loved to be in the temple, she prayed and fasted there day and night.  Mary was the first to have the good news announced to her, but Anna was the first woman to understand fully and proclaim the good news.

Reflect with your littles on how Simeon and Anna responded to meeting Jesus.

•  Remind your littles, Jesus still wants us to “meet Him” and recognize Him as our Saviour.
  • We recognize Him as our Savior by thanking Him for dying for us, asking Him to help us and showing Him how much we love Him by loving others and going to church.

Think about how Simeon and Anna had to wait for Jesus but didn’t know when He would come.

• Remind your littles that Jesus promised He will come again and even though we don’t know when, we must be ready for His arrival.
  • We can be ready for His arrival by trying to show Him how much we love Him by making good choices, loving others and praying.

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Learning to Offer it Up:

When Simeon says to God, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” Luke 2:29-32. These are encouraging and comforting words to Mary.  Simeon is reaffirming that Jesus is the child foretold by God, the Messiah. 

Then Simeon says, “He is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed-and a sword will pierce your soul too so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.” Luke 2:34-35

When she hears this, Mary understands where her road will lead.  Many people will hate Jesus, a foreshadowing of what is to come, opposition and violence.  A sword will pierce her own soul too-Mary will be asked to participate in Jesus’ suffering. 

Jesus is asking us to unite our suffering with His, like Mary. But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, “the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery” is offered to all men (CCC 618). 

When we unite our suffering with His, this is called redemptive suffering. In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus, each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ (Pope St. John Paul II, Salvifici Doloris, 19).

Will we be like Mary?  Will we participate in Jesus’ suffering too?

• When we do something we might not want to do in order to help someone else, we offer up our suffering as a sacrifice. 

Ask your littles what they can offer up for Jesus.  Use the examples in the booklet and have a group discussion to see if they can think of other ways to offer up sacrifices to Jesus.

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Little Lessons from the Holy Family

The Holy Family – Jesus, Mary, and Joseph – loved God and each other.  They obeyed God and His teachings. 

Talk with your littles about:  

• How did the Holy Family show God that they loved Him by obeying Him?
  • Joseph listened and followed the instructions from the angel in the dream to take Mary as his wife.  He also listened to the angel in another dream to leave and take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape King Herod’s killing of the babies in Bethlehem.
  • Mary trusted God when she was told by an angel that she would have baby Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.  She also believed the angel when she was told that Elizabeth, her cousin, was going to have a baby.
  • When Jesus was 12 years old, He stayed behind in Jerusalem to be in the temple.  When Mary and Joseph found Him, he left and obeyed their authority.

St. Blaise

 St. Blaise was born to rich and noble parents. He was a bishop and doctor in Sebaste in Armenia. During the persecution of Licinius, St. Blaise, following God’s command, moved from the town, and lived as a hermit in a cave. Wild animals visited, and he healed the animals that were sick and wounded. He was found by a group of hunters who took him away for being Christian. While in prison, he cured a small boy who was choking to death on a fishbone lodged in his throat.  He was eventually beheaded, dying a martyr’s death, under Licinius about 316.

St. Blaise is also known as one of the “Fourteen Holy Helpers,” a group of saints who are honored on Aug. 8th.

St. Blaise’s popularity came from the fact that he was a physician who cured, especially with throat ailments and eventually the custom of the blessing of throats started.

When performing a throat blessing, the priest holds two crossed candles over the head or touches the throat with the candles while he says the prayer of St. Blaise: “Through the intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

(source)

Does your school/parish have throat blessings on the feast of St. Blaise?  Talk to your littles about what they will see, hear and feel when they receive a throat blessing from the priest.

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Help Mary and Joseph Present Baby Jesus to God:

Mary and Joseph presented baby Jesus to God.  Talk with your littles about what things they could present to God. 

• What are some things that you give as a present to God that you’re proud of?
  • Being a good helper, being obedient to parents and teachers, being nice to friends, etc.
• Should you give God things that you aren’t proud of?
  • Why? Or why not?
  • Can you name a few things that you could give to God that you aren’t proud of?
    • Trying to do the right thing, but failing sometimes, thinking about yourself and not others all the time, etc.
  • Remember, you can always ask God for help when you fail at doing the right thing.