The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is a more important feast than we often think. In fact, in various rites and calendars it marks the conclusion of the Christmas season. So it is not surprising that this year it continues to be celebrated, even though it falls on a Sunday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The feast speaks to us of hope, of the heart, of desire. We think of the hope of the elders Simeon and Anna, who were waiting for \"the consolation of Israel<\/em>\" y \"the liberation of Jerusalem<\/em>\". We could content ourselves with meaner consolations: some pleasure or satisfaction. We see more clearly Simeon's desires when he speaks of Christ as \"...\".Salvador<\/em>\" y \"light to enlighten the nations and the glory of your people Israel<\/em>\". This is extraordinary. Faced with the public mission of Christ and his teaching, this man is concerned both that the light of faith should reach the pagans and that Israel should discover the true glory of God, revealed in Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a man guided by the Holy Spirit - the gospel tells us explicitly - a man whose desires had been inspired and shaped by the Spirit, whose heart had been formed by the Spirit. And that's why he was so generous and universal, even Catholic<\/em>. At a time when Jews were, in general, fanatically anti-foreigners, here was a man deeply concerned for the salvation of all men, Jew and Gentile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The example of Simeon calls us to have a heart with great desires: he was an old man, but his heart burned with a universal desire, the salvation of all. Indeed, petty desires prevent us from seeing Christ. Many other people were in the Temple that day, but they had probably gone for small reasons: for routine, or to check a box, or to be seen, or to pray for success in a business or that the children would marry and do well, etc. They were seeking things of God, not God. They were looking for things of God, not God himself. That is why they did not recognize Jesus. Our Lord is recognized by those who have a great heart and great desires. Simeon was in relationship with the Holy Spirit, he was led by the Spirit. He found God in the arms of a poor villager, because God is found in poverty and in the poor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Anne found God through her deep life of faith. For some 60 years she had dedicated herself to \"with fasting and prayers night and day<\/em>\"in the Temple. His was a deep and sincere search for God, which was rewarded with an encounter with Christ.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" La fiesta de la Presentaci\u00f3n del Se\u00f1or es una fiesta m\u00e1s importante de lo que a menudo pensamos. De hecho, en diversos ritos y calendarios marca la conclusi\u00f3n del periodo navide\u00f1o. Por eso, no es de extra\u00f1ar que este a\u00f1o se siga celebrando, aunque caiga en domingo. La fiesta nos habla de esperanza, del coraz\u00f3n, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1441,"featured_media":13327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[554,647],"tags":[616,638],"class_list":["post-44262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-evangelio","category-lecturas-del-domingo","tag-evangelio","tag-lecturas-del-domingo"],"yoast_head":"\n