With this post, I begin a series of Lenten meditations on the Great Paschal Mystery as co-experienced by Mary with her Son, Jesus. In a very real way, Mary participated fully and completely in the Great Sacrifice of her Son - She entered into the mystery of His Passion and Resurrection as no other could. It is my prayer that as we reflect on this Great Mystery of our Salvation through and with Our Blessed Mother we may come to a deeper love and union with Christ.
*********************************************************
A Reading for the Holy Gospel According to St. Luke (Luke 2:25-38)
Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And inspired by the Spirit * he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation 31 which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel." And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; 34 and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanu-el, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
MARY HAS ROLE IN JESUS’ SAVING MISSION by Blessed John Paul II
1. After recognizing in Jesus "a light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Lk 2:32), Simeon announces to Mary the great trial to which the Messiah is called and reveals her participation in that sorrowful destiny.
His reference to the redeeming sacrifice, absent at the Annunciation, has shown in Simeon's prophecy almost a "second Annunciation" (Redemptoris Mater, n. 16), which will lead the Virgin to a deeper understanding of her Son's mystery.
Simeon, who up to that moment had addressed all those present, blessing Joseph and Mary in particular, now prophesies to the Virgin alone that she will share in her Son's destiny. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he announces to her: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed" (Lk 2:34-35).
Mary's maternal suffering would reach culmination in the Passion
2. These words foretell a future of suffering for the Messiah. He is, in fact, "the sign of contradiction", destined to meet harsh opposition on the part of his contemporaries. But alongside Christ's suffering Simeon sets the vision of Mary's heart pierced by the sword, thus uniting the Mother with the sorrowful destiny of her Son.
In this way, while the venerable old man foresees the growing hostility the Messiah will face, he stresses its repercussion on the Mother's heart. This maternal suffering will culminate in the Passion, when she will unite with her Son in his redemptive sacrifice.
Following an allusion to the first songs of the Servant of the Lord (cf. Is 42:6; 49:6), cited in Luke 2:32, Simeon's words remind us of the prophecy of the Suffering Servant (Is 52:13; 53:12), who, " wounded for our transgressions" (Is 53:5), "makes himself an offering for sin" (Is 53:10) through a personal and spiritual sacrifice which far exceeds the ancient ritual sacrifices.
Here we can note how Simeon's prophecy allows us to glimpse in Mary's future suffering a unique likeness to the sorrowful future of the "Servant".
3. Mary and Joseph are astounded when Simeon proclaims Jesus as a "light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Lk 2:32). Mary, instead, with reference to the prophecy of the sword that would pierce her heart, says nothing. Together with Joseph, she accepts in silence those mysterious words which predict a deeply sorrowful trial and situate the Presentation of Jesus in the temple in its most authentic meaning.
Indeed, according to the divine plan the sacrifice offered then "according to what is said in the law of the Lord, 'a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons’" (Lk 2:24), prefigured the sacrifice of Jesus, "for I am gentle and lowly in heart" (Mt 11:29); in it the true "presentation" would be made (cf. Lk 2:22), which would see the Mother associated with her Son in the work of Redemption.
Mary was to share in her Son's saving mission
4. Simeon's prophecy is followed by the meeting with the prophetess Anna: "She gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem" (Lk 2:38). The faith and prophetic wisdom of the old woman who nurtures the expectation of the Messiah by "worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day" (Lk 2:37), offer the Holy Family a further incentive to put their hope in the God of Israel. At this particular moment, Anna's behaviour would have appeared to Mary and Joseph as a sign from the Lord, a message of enlightened faith and persevering service.
Beginning with Simeon's prophecy, Mary intensely and mysteriously unites her life with Christ's sorrowful mission: she was to become her Son's faithful coworker for the salvation of the human race.
*****************************************************
So too are we called to become coworkers with Christ in this great work. St. Paul reminds me to "rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church". May this be our prayer this Lent - to enter fully into the mystery of our own sufferings so as to unite them to His Great Passion for the salvation of the world.
