The Book of the Holy Rosary: Part I, Chapter VIII. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
The Holy Scripture Narrative
“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, as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord,’ and to offer a sacrifice, according as it is written in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves, and two young pigeons. 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. 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. 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, he also took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said:—THE CANTICLE “NUNC DIMITTIS.”
“Now, Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word, in peace, because my eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel. And His father and mother were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning Him, 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; and thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed. 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. And she was a widow until four score and four years, who departed not from the Temple by fastings and prayers, serving night and day. 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. And after they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their city Nazareth” (Luke ii. 22–39).
The prophets of Israel had promised that the glory of the Second Temple should be greater than that of the first. “Who is left among you,” says the prophet Aggeus, addressing himself to the people, “that saw this house in its first glory, and how do you see it now? Is it not in comparison to that as nothing in your eyes? For thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Yet a little while and the ‘Desired of all Nations’ shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts” (Aggeus ii. 4). Malachy, the last of the prophets, had foretold, “And immediately the Ruler whom you seek, and the Angel of the Covenant whom you desire, shall come to His Temple.”
The fourth mystery of the Rosary bears witness to the merciful fulfilment of these predictions; and in all that is recorded of the holy Simeon, and the aged widow Anna, it expresses the exceeding and heartfelt joy of those who, having received tidings of the great mystery of the Nativity being accomplished, now go forth to meet the Divine Visitor, who has come down from heaven, and to behold with their eyes the salvation which God has wrought. The cry has been heard, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet Him” (Matt. xxv. 6); and the wise virgins rise, trim their lamps, and set out on their way to meet Him.
The occasion of this going forth to meet the Holy Infant, was furnished by the act of compliance on the part of Mary and St Joseph, with the enactment of the law of Moses, which prescribed a legal term of purification to the mother, and the offering of a sacrifice for the infant that had been born (Lev. xii. 6); which, in the case of the male first born, was to be a sacrifice of redemption, as the law claimed every male first born as holy to the Lord (Exod. xiii. 2), except it were redeemed in the manner commanded by the law.
“And after the days of her purification were accomplished,” writes St Luke, “they carried Him to Jerusalem.” “But hold!” writes Bishop Leontius, “what is that thou sayest, most venerable evangelist? What means this word of thine, O Luke? Have a care, lest you may have forgotten what you have written above, for this which you have now said seems to be at variance with it. Do you not bring in the blessed archangel Gabriel addressing these words to the most holy Virgin, the Mother of God, ‘The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee?’ How then comes it to pass that she who conceived through the Holy Ghost, and not according to the laws of humanity, should stand in need of purification? How is it that she whom the power of the Most High overshadowed, should not be full of all holiness and purity?” What will the evangelist reply to this? “I have by no means forgotten,” he will say, “what I have previously written, nor is what I have just written at all at variance with what I have said before. If, indeed, the Divine Word had chosen to remain in the heights of heaven, and had never condescended to lower Himself to our weakness, then what you urge would indeed sorely perplex me. But when He who sits above the cherubim suffers Himself to be carried in the arms of His Virgin Mother, and He who gives life to all created things endures to be fed with milk from her breasts, where is the wonder that He who is all pure and undefiled, together with His Virgin Mother, who is alike pure and undefiled, should submit to undergo the purification prescribed by the law, inasmuch as the apostle says of Him, that He was, ‘made under the law, that He might redeem those who were in bondage to the law.’ (Gal. iv. 5)” (Leontius’ Sermon on Holy Simeon).
“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem.” “Listen,” writes Timothy, the presbyter of Jerusalem, “and prudently consider these things. What the evangelist here says is, as if to the following effect:—“As Simeon was sitting at home meditating, and was in his inmost heart earnestly praying for this one thing, that the revelation which had been made to him might be speedily brought to pass, and as Joseph and Mary were in the act of setting out to bring the child Jesus to the Temple, that according to the custom prescribed by the law they might offer the legal sacrifice for Him, the Holy Ghost became present to him, and awakened his attention by such words as the following:—‘Arise, old man, wherefore dost thou slumber? The time for the oracle to be accomplished is now come. Be quick, therefore, and make haste, for He that will set thee free is close at hand. Unroll thy funeral garments and thy winding-sheet, and make ready thy tomb. Set thine house in order, for He is at hand who shall send thee to thy home. The Emmanuel is come. Run across quickly to the Temple, and when thou art in the Temple, prophesy that which shall be foretold to thee concerning this Holy Child.’
“Simeon, therefore, as if suddenly filled with the vigour of youth, and carried forward with the vehemence of his desire as it were with wings, led, at the same time, by the Holy Ghost, ran with his utmost speed, and overtook Joseph and Mary as they were pursuing their way to the Temple. The Holy Child, indeed, who was being carried by them, he did not overtake; for how could he be said to overtake Him, who hath nowhere where He is not present. He overtook, then, none but Joseph and Mary, and entering the court of the Temple before them, he came and stood close by the sanctuary, there to wait for the inspiration which the Holy Ghost might send to him. Here he saw many mothers coming to present their sons, but alone amongst them he observed the Holy Virgin, with a Divine, and as it were indescribable, light shed around her. Running, therefore, he pushed the other matrons aside, crying out and saying before all, ‘Make way for me that I may embrace Him whom I have so long desired. Behold, I now see Him who long ago hath seen me. I see Him, and my spirit revives. Why do you who are but servants press forward and contend with the free woman and the mistress? Why take your children to the altar? Hither-ward turn yourselves, and offer your gifts to this Child who is older than Abraham.’” (Timothy, presbyter of Jerusalem. Sermon on the “Nunc Dimittis.”)
“Mary, His mother,” writes St Augustine, “was carrying her infant in her arms when Simeon saw Him and recognised Him. Whence and how did he come to know and recognise Him? Was He who was outwardly born inwardly revealed? He saw Him, and he recognised Him. Simeon knew who the babe was that was speechless, and yet the Jews could put the grown-up Man who worked miracles to death. When, therefore, he had recognised Him, he took Him, that is, he embraced Him, in his arms. He upheld Him by whom he was himself upholden. For He was no other than the Christ, the wisdom of God, which reaches in its strength from end to end, and disposes all things sweetly. What greatness, what immensity was there! and yet how little He had become. Having become little, He sought those who were little. How is this? He gathered about Him not the proud but the humble. Simeon took Him into his arms, and said, ‘Now, dost Thou, O Lord, dismiss Thy servant in peace?’ Dismiss him in peace? Yes, for I have seen Thy peace. Why dost Thou dismiss him in peace? ‘For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.’ The salvation of God is the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘Tell of His salvation from day to day’ (Ps. xcv. 2).” (St Augustine’s Sermon on the Purification).
“But,” writes the Bishop of Ancyra, “what has the holy and never sufficiently to be praised Virgin Mother to say to these things?” She, indeed, wondered, and with reason, at the things which were uttered, and she treasured them together with all that had previously happened in her heart. To her, then, Simeon now purposely addresses his discourse. “O most pure and innocent dove! O holy tabernacle of our hope, in whom all sanctity and pre-eminence resides. This Child to whom thou hast given birth” (and thou knowest it not) “is set for the ruin and the rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be contradicted; and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul, that the thoughts may be revealed out of many hearts” (Luke ii. 34). What is this, O aged man, that makes thee thus mix up sadness with thy words of joy?
Hitherto thou hast spoken of “light” and “glory,” but now thou announcest “ruin,” and to the Mother of the Child thou depictest a sword? “Of a perfect certainty,” he says, “all these things shall come to pass in their time.” “Ruin” shall come on them that refuse to believe, and “rising again” to those that believe. And “for a sign that shall be contradicted” throughout the entire world, inasmuch as it is to be received in no light and easy spirit of credulity on the part of men, but through open trials and acts of heroism. And, moreover, there will be much suffering to thy virgin mind, through many thoughts coming in and going away. For the question will not be concerning small things, but concerning God, the abolishing of customs and laws, the changing of men, the union of people, the concord of nations, the fusion of languages, the undivided unity of worship; and how can such things as these be brought about without great agitation and disturbance of minds? Some, therefore, will fall; others will rise again. Some will be raised to life; others will be blotted out. Some will contradict the sign, as a thing novel and extraneous; others will surrender themselves to its life-giving and wonder-working power (Theodotus’ Sermon on Holy Simeon).