09/1/2022 – Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple

When we meditate on the Fourth Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary, the Presentation in the Temple, we sometimes picture the scene. The Infant Jesus is just 40 days old. The Blessed Virgin and St Joseph carry Him into the Temple to fulfil the command of the Old Law, that every boy child who was born first was to be offered to God. When all that the law required was fulfilled Simeon, an old and holy man, praises God that he had seen Jesus, the salvation of Israel. He then turns to Mary and is inspired to tell her that her Son Jesus would be a “sign of contradiction” and that her own heart would be pierced.

An elderly woman approaches, she is Anna, the prophetess, today’s saint. Anna has lived in the Temple serving with prayer, fasting and service since she was widowed as a young woman. Seeing the Baby, she also praises God for sending the Redeemer. She then goes to tell everyone that she encounters, about the great grace of Jesus.

Anna may have known Mary as there is a tradition that Mary was raised in the Temple. Maybe Anna took care of Mary during her childhood years?