according to Saint Luke 2:22-35
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, are a normal family of their time and their place. So they behave normally and follow the Law like all their co-religionists, and nothing would suggest that Jesus was different from other children that the parents brought to the temple.
Nevertheless they were recognized by the old Simeon. who because righteous and devout man, had received the special gift: he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord.
Therefore I believe that if we are good people, striving to be faithful, we too will receive the gift of the Faith, and have always Jesus and his Mother at our side. How shall we do, if we want this?
Normally it will happen us nothing exceptional or strange or heroic, just we should do well and neatly our work, whatever it is, and behave in our family living for others and not for ourselves.
It is already something heroic, if always we will do the same things every day with patience and love, enduring the contrariness, and try to treat everyone with respect and kindness.
To offer to Jesus our life and our job we have to be free, that is, not being forced in any way, do not build ourselves our own cages- Let's not go into the analysis of factors related to the religion, it suffice to say that:
- It can not be said to be free who under the pretext of being free performs actions such as to create the cages from which it will be difficult or impossible to escape.
- It is not free who is prone to self-generated phisical or psychological addictions, even if produced by environmental factors.
- They aren't free those who intentionally hurt their neighbor, and the human society, doing to others what instead they would not accept. In fact because doing so they force others to act in the same bad way
I dare to say, then, that the human being is free, although subject to external influences even insurmountable, ie mandatory, only when it acts WELL.
Lino Bertuzzi
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Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 2:22-35.
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,"
and to offer the sacrifice of "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons," in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
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 sight of all the peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel."
The child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted
(and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
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Meditazione del giorno di Sant'Aelredo di Rievaulx (1110-1167), monaco cistercense inglese
« Simeone prese il bambino tra le braccia »
“Mosso dallo Spirito, Simeone si recò al tempio”. Anche tu, se hai veramente cercato Gesù dappertutto, cioè se – come la Sposa del Cantico dei cantici (Ct 3, 1-3) – l’hai cercato sul tuo letto, lungo la notte, leggendo, pregando o meditando, se l’hai cercato anche nella città, interrogando i tuoi fratelli, parlando di lui, scambiando parole su di lui, se l’hai cercato per le strade e per le piazze approfittando delle parole e degli esempi degli altri, se l’hai cercato presso le guardie che fanno la ronda, cioè ascoltando coloro che sono giunti alla perfezione, ti recherai allora al tempio, “mosso dallo Spirito”. Questo è certo il luogo più adeguato per l’incontro del Verbo con l’anima: lo si cerca dappertutto, lo si incontra nel tempio... “Trovai l’amato del mio cuore” (Ct 3,4). Cerca dunque dappertutto, cerca in tutto, cerca presso tutti, passa e oltrepassa tutto per entrare infine nel luogo della tenda, fino alla dimora di Dio, e allora lo troverai. “Mosso dallo Spirito, Simeone si recò al tempio”. Mentre dunque i suoi genitori vi portarono il Bambino Gesù, anche lui lo ricevette nelle sue mani: tale è l’amore che gusta con il consenso, che si lega con l’abbraccio, che assapora con l’affetto. Oh, fratelli, al punto di far tacere ogni parola... Qui, nulla è più desiderabile del silenzio: questi sono i segreti dello Sposo e della Sposa... l’estraneo non può parteciparvi. “A me il mio segreto! A me il mio segreto” (Is 24,16 Volg). Dov’è per te il tuo segreto, Sposa che sola hai sperimentato quanta dolcezza si prova quando, in un abbraccio spirituale, lo spirito creato e lo Spirito increato vanno incontro l’uno dell’altro e si uniscono l’uno con l’altro, a tale punto che sono due in una cosa, anzi in una cosa sola: colui che giustifica e colui che viene giustificato, colui che santifica e colui che viene santificato, colui che divinizza e colui che viene divinizzato?... Potessimo anche noi meritare di dire ciò che segue : “Lo strinsi fortemente e non lo lascerò” (Ct 3,4). Questo è quanto ha meritato il santo Simeone che ha detto: “Ora lascia, o Signore, che il tuo servo vada in pace”. Ha voluto che lo si lascesse andare, liberato dai legami della carne, per stringere più fortemente con l’abbraccio del suo cuore Gesù Cristo nostro Signore, a lui la gloria e l’onore nei secoli senza fine.
