In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen  The octave of Christmas is a special time of grace in which, for eight days, we contemplate and celebrate the birth of our Savior as if each day is Christmas Day. So great is the joy and importance of this day in which we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And the Gospel today is beautiful for us to reflect upon in this fifth day of the octave of Christmas. The Gospel has so many points for us to contemplate and to reflect upon.
First, we see the example of our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. And the Gospel stresses how they were obedient to the law of Moses, obedient to God’s commandments, in carrying out their duties as parents and in the consecration of their firstborn Son and the purification. And so we learn from this how important it is for us to be obedient to God’s laws and commandments and to be faithful to them, that we are called to be faithful.
But also this has a wonderful example for Christians, specifically Catholic parents, of their duties as Catholic parents to bring their children to be baptized as children, to have their children baptized when they’re infants and to raise them in the Catholic faith so that from their very infancy, they be imbued with God’s divine life and grace and are instructed by their parents’ example to learn what it is to follow Christ and to pray and so forth. Why is this important? Because I’ve heard Catholic parents say, who have been influenced by modern times, “We’re not gonna baptize our children; we’re gonna let them choose on their own.” When they choose on their own, the devil takes hold of them. I’ve seen it time and time again. The devil takes hold of them, their lives, and their lives are completely separated from Christ. And their lives are not filled with the light and peace of Christ, but with the spirit of darkness, going down godless paths. This is a dangerous thing, a dangerous thing, and it’s a wrong attitude to have as Catholic parents that they have a duty to bring their children to Baptism from their infancy and raise them in the Catholic faith.
And we see this example of our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph keeping faithful to God’s laws and commandments and bringing the Child Jesus, who is the Son of God, the Son of God. They are obedient, obedient. Our Lady, who is the Mother of God, obedient to God’s laws and commandments.
Also, the Gospel shows out to us their faithfulness and their humility. Our Lady and St. Joseph could not afford a lamb to be offered. They offered a pair of turtle doves or pigeons, which was the offering of those who were poor. And so we see that even in their poverty, Our Lady and St. Joseph offered the best that they could in accordance to the laws of Moses. Though they could not afford a lamb, they offered the pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons, seeing that they gave everything they could to the Lord, trusting in God.
The example of Simeon is such a wonderful reflection for us because we see that he had been filled with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die until he saw the Savior. And we see Simeon’s example of hope and trust in God’s promise. He teaches us to trust always in God’s promises in our life and to hold on to that virtue of hope and that Christ is our hope and that we want to trust God’s promises in our own life and in our walk with Christ and following Him, in our walk with Him and following Him. And so we see the example of Simeon, his hope and his trust in God’s plan and fulfilling His plan of salvation.
The example of Simeon continues with his prophecy of our Savior first being a sign of contradiction, that He is going to be a sign of contradiction, meaning that there will always be those who will receive Christ with joy, with love, with thanksgiving, and those who will not receive Christ, who will not accept His call to salvation, His call to share in His divine life, who will reject His call to conversion and repentance, but that we are to be faithful, to console the Christ Child and to give Him our lives today and to renew our offering to Him of our life that we want to follow Him and Him alone.
Also is foreshadowed the suffering of Our Lady that will take place at the foot of the Cross, that suffering in which she will share in union with her Son’s offering of Himself, that Our Lady will stand faithfully by His side, suffering in union with Him, offering her sufferings in union with Him to the Almighty, to God. And so Our Lady’s suffering, of course, is foreshadowed in this prophecy that a sword, a sword will pierce—you will be pierced by a sword, a sword.
Today’s Gospel is a reminder to us of faithfulness, of hope, of trust in God’s promise, but also to receive Christ with joy, to receive this Infant with joy in this Christmas season, to receive Him that He may fill us with His light, peace and joy and with His divine love. And so we want to imitate Simeon and, in his joy in seeing the Christ Child, that this Christmas season is to be for us not just a passing moment, but to be something that we carry throughout the whole year and throughout our whole lives, that Christ has been born for us, the Savior of the world. This Child knows each of us intimately, loves each of us intimately, and wants each of us to share in His life and to follow Him, to follow Him.
May we be renewed in this Christmas season in our faith, our love, our hope and our trust in this Infant who has been born for us, who calls us to share in His life, that we may be with Him forever in heaven.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.