Readings & Reflections: The Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord & St. Egwin, December 30,2019

The aged Anna did not “love the world or the things of the world.” That is, she did not look for her happiness in them. Instead, her whole life was an ardent and hopeful expectation of the Christ Child. We, too, worship the Lord, give thanks, and speak about Jesus. This is how we conquer the Evil One, this is the will of God that leads us to remain forever.

AMDG+

Opening Prayer:

Ever-living God,
in the birth of your Son
our religion has its origin and its perfect fulfillment.
Help us to share in the life of Christ
for he is the salvation of all,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Reading 1
1 Jn 2:12-17

I am writing to you, children,
because your sins have been forgiven for his name’s sake.

I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,
because you have conquered the Evil One.

I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.

I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,
because you are strong and the word of God remains in you,
and you have conquered the Evil One.

Do not love the world or the things of the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life,
is not from the Father but is from the world.
Yet the world and its enticement are passing away.
But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 96:7-8a, 8b-9, 10
R. (11a) Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!

Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!

Bring gifts, and enter his courts;
worship the LORD in holy attire.
Tremble before him, all the earth.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!

Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!

Gospel
Lk 2:36-40

There was a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection 1 – Anna daughter of Panuel

Whatever we experience can be correlated to what we have decided to choose. If we choose to sin, we will be slaves of sin and the evil one. If we choose to position ourselves with what is good and obey God, we will serve the true cause of righteousness. One who opts to side with the lustful pleasures of the world is courting sure death while one who becomes obedient to God and His Word is assured of abundant grace and the endless joy of eternal life.

Our life is made up of daily choices which can shape both our present and our future. The choice is certainly ours. God gave each one of us the freedom to choose what we want. We can follow our sinful human desires and live a life that is so marked by death or choose to commit to God. We can give our lives to Him, reject sin and make His will our goal in life.

As believers, we are now being called to detach ourselves from the lures of the world. We are all asked not to focus on the pleasures of this world and the endless desire of people for the material benefits of the present age. “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.”

Yielding to the temptation of this world simply does not fit who we are. Having the Holy Spirit in our lives only implies that there is NO confusion and internal strife within us-that we are not involved in things that go against the principles of God. Let us then, not yield to the darkened enticement of the evil one but always try to renew the light within us through God’s Word.

We all need to set our minds on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. We have all died to sin as we all live for Christ. We therefore ought to be faithful servants of God through discipleship in Christ.

Are we all just about ready to respond to this call or are we still procrastinating on whether we will accept His will and plan for us? Are we ready to make peace with God before it is too late?

God wants us all for Himself. He does not want us to serve the world. He wants us solely for His purpose. One who decides to follow our Lord should be able to give up everything for His cause. In today’s gospel, God gave us the prophetess, Anna, daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher as model, who after being a widow until she was eighty-four, never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.

Are we ready to give back to our Lord what He has poured into our lives by freely sharing His wonderful gifts with those around us? It is time we give them back to God. All of us have been blessed in countless ways thus we need to give and share till it hurts without counting the cost. To those who have more, God said: “more will be asked of a man to whom more has been entrusted.”

Judgment is ahead of us. Which road are we all going to take? As Robert Frost has said in his poem, THE ROAD NOT TAKEN, “I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.” Let us choose GOD and live!

Direction

We need to CHOOSE to purify our lives by setting aside the world and taking in more of GOD’s Word and His ways!

Prayer

God of all beginnings,
thank you for choosing me,
for giving me the great gift of faith.

Guide me to a better understanding of your Word,
and help to strengthen my faith.
I am so grateful to you for your many gifts
given so lavishly in your generous love
and for the fulfillment of your promises
through the birth of your son.
The profound truth is beyond my understanding
but I am filled with hope and peace in your word.

Give to the Lord, you families of nations, give to the Lord glory and praise; give to the Lord the glory due his name! In Him, we pray. Amen.

Reflection 2 – Anna’s Mission

Before the advent of computer games and other technological wonders, children would often ask their mothers, “What is there for us to do?” Indeed, adults of various ages still ask, in the quietness of their hearts, “What are we to do with the rest of our lives?”

Anna the prophetess, now in her eighties, did not ask that question. She knew what her mission was and fulfilled it. Her callings consisted of three things: fasting, praying, and evangelizing. Anna knew the heart of the spiritual life.

Her first form of worship was mortification. Anna refused the lifestyle of satiation. It was her discipline of mind and body that created an emptiness, which made room for God’s grace. Thus, when the Child and his parents arrived at the temple, Anna was prepared and waiting. Fasting opened her to welcome the Babe.

Anna’s second form of worship was prayer. Her attention of mind and adherence of heart was centered on the mystery of God. She listened to the stirrings of the Spirit; she responded to the call of God. Both her fasting and prayer were constant – day and night. Both her discipline and adoration were responses to God’s gracious intervention.

Anna’s mission involved a third component: telling! Her message was about salvation and deliverance. Anna told of this Child who would set Israel free. Hers was the work of evangeliztion and we are the recipients of the good news.

What are we to do? Anna is a good mentor; Anna is a good model.

Meditation: What role do fasting, prayer, and evangelization play in your life? To whom have you told the good news of Jesus? How does your mission in life compare to that of Anna’s?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you call us to a life of discipline, prayer and evangelization. Send your Spirit into our minds and hearts so that we might respond to our baptismal call. May wew, night and day, turn to you for help; may we, night and day, tell others of your love and mercy.

Reflection 3 – Prophetess Anna

What do you hope for? The hope which God places in our heart is the desire for the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness. Hope grows with prayer and age. Anna was preeminently a woman of great hope and expectation that God would fulfill all his promises. Filled with the Holy Spirit, she was found daily in the house of the Lord, attending to the Lord in prayer and speaking prophetically to others about the Lord’s promise to send a redeemer. She is a model of godliness to all believers as we advance in age. Advancing age and the disappointments of life can easily make us cynical and hopeless if we do not have our hope placed rightly. Anna’s hope in God and his promises grew with age! She never ceased to worship God in faith and to pray with hope. Her hope and faith in God’s promises fueled her determined zeal and fervor in prayer and service of God’s people. How do we grow in hope? By placing our trust in the promises of Jesus Christ and relying not on our own strength, but on the grace and help of the Holy Spirit. Does your hope and fervor for God grow with age?

“Lord, may I never cease to hope in you and to trust in your promises. Inflame my zeal for your kingdom and increase my love for prayer that I may never cease to give you praise and worship.”

Reflection 4 – Anna recognized the coming of Christ and gave thanks to God

Where do you place your trust and hope for a life of peace, freedom and happiness? Scripture tells us that those who place their trust in God will not be disappointed (Isaiah 49:23, Psalm 62:8, Proverbs 3:5-6). In every age, God has placed in the hearts of his people, from the descendants of Adam, Noah, Abraham, the prophets, and King David, a longing and a hope for a Redeemer who will bring us God’s kingdom of peace, joy, and righteousness. We see the great unfolding of God’s plan of redemption in the birth of Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God before all ages, who became a man to redeem his people from sin and oppression.

The long expected newborn Messiah is presented in the Temple at Jerusalem
Luke the Evangelist records the coming of the Christ child (God’s Anointed Messiah) to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth in Bethlehem (Luke 2:22-24). Joseph and Mary brought the child Jesus with them to the temple to fulfill the Jewish ceremony, recorded in the law of Moses, for the “redemption of the firstborn child” (Exodus 3:2) and the ritual purification of the mother after childbirth (Leviticus 12:2-8). As Joseph and Mary presented their offering and dedicated the child Jesus in the temple, Anna, a godly woman of great age (84 years) who was filled with the Holy Spirit immediately recognized that this child was the promised Messiah and heir to the throne of David. She publicly “gave thanks to God and spoke of him [who is the Christ – the Anointed Messiah] to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38).

Anna’s persevering hope and reward of seeing Christ face to face
What is the significance of Anna’s witness and prophetic proclamation of the Messiah’s coming to his temple? Luke calls Anna a prophetess because she had dedicated her life to the service of God’s word through prayer and fasting. Like Simeon (Luke 2:25-35) and all the prophets of the Old Testament, she was attentive to God’s word and she spoke prophetically – under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit – to others of God’s plan of salvation for his people. She spent her days in the house of the Lord (the Temple) where she offered up daily prayers and intercession for her people.

Anna did not grow weary of placing her trust in God and his promises. Here hope and trust in God did not waver but grew with age.What enabled Anna to persevere for so many years and through difficult times, such as the loss of her husband, and through the trials of advancing old age? She never ceased to give thanks to God each and every day. She worshiped God in daily prayer, and with fasting and intercession on behalf of her people. And she never ceased to cling to God’s word and to speak of his word to others to bring them encouragement and hope. She believed with hopeful expectation that she would one day see her Lord and Redeemer face to face. Anna is a model of persevering faith and hope to all who hunger for God and for his saving word.

The Holy Spirit renews our hope in the promise of God
Where do you place your hope? We can easily grow discouraged when trials and setbacks come our way, and we can grow cynical or give in to despair when failing health and advancing age rob us of our natural strength. Life’s shortcomings and disappointments can either weigh us down or press us closer to God. The choice is ours – to rely on ourselves and our own strength or to put our trust wholly in God alone and in the grace and strength which he provides. Scripture reminds us that God gives us a (supernatural) hope beyond hope, a (divine) love stronger than death, and a (spiritual and unceasing) joy that no earthly sorrow or suffering can take away.

Is your hope in this present life only? The hope which God places in our heart is the desire and longing for a home and a kingdom of unceasing joy and happiness with God our Creator and Father. The Lord Jesus has won for us an enduring kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). The Holy Spirit who dwells in us renews and strengthens our hope day by day as we listen to God’s word and believe in his promises. God never fails because his promises are true and he is faithful. The hope which God places within us through the gift of the Holy Spirit enables us to persevere with confident trust in God even in the face of daily trails, setbacks, and challenges that come our way.

The reward of seeking God’s kingdom first
Is there anything holding you back from giving God your unqualified yes to his will and plan for your life? Allow the Lord Jesus to flood your heart with his peace, joy, and love. And offer to God everything you have and desire – your life, family, friends, health, and provision for the future. If you seek his kingdom first (Matthew 6:33), he will give you everything you need to know, love, and serve him now and to enjoy him forever in his everlasting kingdom of joy and peace.

“Lord Jesus, you alone are my hope and life. May I never cease to place all my trust in your unfailing love and mercy. Fill me with the joy and strength of the Holy Spirit that I may boldly point others to your saving presence and word of eternal life.” – Read the source: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2019/dec30.htm

Reflection 5 – The hopes of young and old realized

In the last fall’s presidential campaign, a number of stories emerged about people in their 80s and even 90s who were taking an active role in the campaign process, some for the first time in their lives. I heard one story of an African American woman in her 90s who had never voted before but was determined to vote in this historic election. These were people who had lived through the depression, through World War II, through the civil rights movement – and the oppression and even violence that made that movement necessary. We hear the phrase “The Greatest Generation” applied to the people who came of age during Second World War, and there is a sense of the tempering that took place in the middle of the 20^th century that we haven’t known since. This is not to say that younger generations will not have their moment to shine. But we build on the generations of faithful people who have gone before us.

Luke’s Gospel (Lk 2:36-40) shows us three generations together in the temple. Mary and Joseph bring Jesus, their first born, to the ritual presentation ceremony. While they are there, they meet Simeon and Anna, two elderly people who are faithful to the temple worship and who welcome this newcomer, this infant. In him they recognize not only the inevitable future of the human race but in this particular child, a newness and a change and a hope for something beyond imagining. This child is the one who is to save all humanity.

Wisdom isn’t an automatic gift of old age. We’ve all known people who have become increasingly bitter as they’ve aged, people who wouldn’t or couldn’t learn from the experiences of a long life but instead let those experiences warp their vision. Others continue to grow and learn and remain young at heart no matter how old their bodies are. I recently heard of a man in his 90s, a retired engineer, who volunteers to tutor children at the local school two days a week. The people in every generation who remain faithful to the call to reach out to others keep the hope and the vision of the gospel message alive and growing. We see it in Simeon and Anna, we see it in the people around us, and if we’re both faithful and fortunate, other people see it in us.

Our reading from the letter of John (1 Jn 2:12-17) reminds us that the inspired writers of Scripture are not speaking to a narrow group of believers. They are addressing all who believe: young, old, rich, poor, and people from all walks of life. We hear the message in different ways because of where we are on the journey but the message is always the same: Christ has saved us through his life, death and resurrection. We are to share this good news with everyone we meet, in ways that only we can do because of who and what and where we find ourselves. (Diane M. Houdek, Weekday Homily Helps. Ohio: St. Anthony Messenger Press, December 30, 2008).

Reflection 6 – Anna, Waiting For God

Author Henri Nouwen has observed that the first pages of Luke’s gospel are filled with people who were waiting: Zacharias and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna were all waiting for the fulfillment of a promise from God. But instead of passively waiting, they were actively looking to the Lord each day, what Nouwen calls being “present to the moment.”

In the gospel today (Lk 2:36-40), Anna was preeminently a woman of great hope and expectation that God would fulfill all his promises. Filled with the Holy Spirit, she was found daily in the house of the Lord, attending to the Lord in prayer and speaking prophetically to others about the Lord’s promise to send a redeemer. She is a model of godliness to all believers as we advance in age. Advancing age and the disappointments of life can easily make us cynical and hopeless if we do not have our hope placed rightly. Anna’s hope in God and his promises grew with age! She never ceased to worship God in faith and to pray with hope. Her hope and faith in God’s promises fueled her determined zeal and fervor in prayer and service of God’s people. How do we grow in hope?

Many of us find ourselves waiting on God for an answer to a prayer or the fulfillment of a promise. His word comes to us, just as it did to those who were swept up in the events that marked the first Christmas: “Do not be afraid, Zacharias” (Lk 1:13); “Do not be afraid, Mary” (Lk 1:30); “Do not be afraid, [shepherds]” (Lk 2:10).

As we listen to God in His Word and obey Him, we’ll discover His goodness and power as we wait. Let us have the following attitude of perfect submission:

“Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love” (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).

Reflection 7 – The example of Anna

Dearest brethren, let us lovingly embrace the mercy which we have received in the midst of the Temple, and after the example of the blessed Anna, let us never depart from the Temple of God (Lk 2:37): for the temple of God is holy, which you are, as says the Apostle (1 Cor 3:17). This mercy is nigh to you, even in your mouths and in your hearts(Rom 10:8), since Christ dwelleth by faith your hearts. Yes, there is his temple and there is his throne, as you do not need to be informed, unless perhaps you have forgotten what is written, The soul of the just man is the seat of wisdom.

Therefore I now exhort you with all earnestness, and I should like to exhort my dearest children again and again, yea, without even ceasing, not to walk according to the flesh, even though living in the flesh, lest you displease God. Let us not make ourselves the freinds of this world unless we desire to forfeit the friendship of God (Jas 4:4). Let us resist the devil land he will fly form us (Jas 4:7), so that we may henceforth freely walk in the spirit (Gal 5:16) and live within our own hearts. For the corruptible body is a load upon the soul, enervating and enfeebling her, and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things (Wis 9:15), so that it cannot mount up to the things of heaven. Hence the Apostle tells us that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God (1 Cor 3:19); and whosoever suffers himself to be overcome by the wicked one is condemned to be his slave(Jn 8:34).

But it is in our hearts we receive the mercy of the Lord, it is in our hearts Christ dwells by faith, and it is in our hearts also he speaketh peace unto his people, and unto his saints, and unto them that are converted to the heart (Ps 85:9). – (Source: St. Bernard of Clairvaux, +1153 A.D., Magnificat, Vol. 19, No. 10, December 2017, pp. 444-445).

Reflection 8 – How to belong to God’s holy family

Reflection 9 – St. Egwin (d. 717)

You say you’re not familiar with today’s saint? Chances are you aren’t—unless you’re especially informed about Benedictine bishops who established monasteries in medieval England.

Born of royal blood in the 7th century, Egwin entered a monastery and was enthusiastically received by royalty, clergy and the people as the bishop of Worcester, England. As a bishop he was known as a protector of orphans and the widowed and a fair judge. Who could argue with that?

His popularity didn’t hold up among members of the clergy, however. They saw him as overly strict, while he felt he was simply trying to correct abuses and impose appropriate disciplines. Bitter resentments arose, and Egwin made his way to Rome to present his case to Pope Constantine. The case against Egwin was examined and annulled.

Upon his return to England, he founded Evesham Abbey, which became one of the great Benedictine houses of medieval England. It was dedicated to Mary, who had reportedly made it known to Egwin just where a church should be built in her honor.

He died at the abbey on December 30, in the year 717. Following his burial many miracles were attributed to him: The blind could see, the deaf could hear, the sick were healed.

Read the source:   http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1245

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