This Sunday the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Simeon and Anna, who were present in the Temple on that occasion, shared something in common with Mary and Joseph — something very important. As was the case for Mary and Joseph, for Simeon and Anna the practice of their religion was at the very center of their lives. It wasn’t on the periphery of things; it wasn’t an afterthought; it wasn’t something that was important to them once a week on the sabbath. It was THE CENTER of their existence—it was the center around which everything else revolved. It was the foundation upon which everything else in their lives was built. St. Luke in effect makes that point when he says that Simeon was righteous and devout and that he lived in anticipation of the time when God would send the Messiah to his people. Luke also makes the point when he says that Anna worshipped at the Temple night and day with fasting and prayer.
So it should come as no surprise that on the day of the Lord’s presentation, these two people — Simeon and Anna — had a joy in their hearts that none of the other onlookers had. It’s also not a coincidence that they recognized the presence of their Messiah — the presence of God — in their midst, when nobody else did. It’s also not a coincidence that both were prophetic: Simeon spoke prophetically to Mary, telling her that a day would soon come when a sword of sorrow would pierce her soul; Anna was known as a prophetess, and proclaimed the coming of the Messiah to everyone who shared her hope for Israel’s deliverance.
This is important because our religion — Catholicism — has gotten a bad name in the modern world in recent decades, especially among certain Protestants. They’ll say, “Real Christianity — real biblical Christianity — isn’t about ‘religion,’ it’s about a relationship. Don’t you Catholics understand that? It’s about a relationship with Jesus.”
Now it’s true, Christianity is about having a relationship with Jesus Christ. But that doesn’t mean that our religion doesn’t matter, or that it’s unimportant. Quite to the contrary, our religion — our Catholic religion — is the way we engage in our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and live it out. It’s the means through which Jesus touches our lives. Practicing our Catholic religion is the means through which God gives us joy (as he gave Simeon and Anna joy through the practice of their Judaism). Our Catholic religion teaches us the truth: the truth that helps us to see God present where other people don’t see him (as Simeon and Anna recognized the Lord’s presence when no one else did). We can even be aware of God’s presence in the midst of our suffering. And our Catholic religion gives us the knowledge and power to be God’s prophets, like Anna and Simeon were.
So this Sunday is a day to thank the Lord that we’re Catholic; a day to thank the Lord that we’re members of the Church that Jesus founded on the Rock of St. Peter—and to pray that we will always persevere in the practice of our Catholic faith. You can be sure that if Simeon and Anna were alive today, that’s exactly what they would do as good, devout Catholics — which they most certainly would be!
