On the fourth Sunday of Advent the first reading contained a prophecy referring to the ruler who would come forth from Bethlehem-Ephrathah, “too small to be among the clans of Judah,” (Micah 5:1). That is, the clan from which this ruler would come would be the smallest of the small, residing in a town that was totally insignificant. When this foretold ruler did come into the world, this prophecy was fulfilled: Jesus was born to a humble carpenter, Joseph, and a woman of ordinary background, Mary, insignificant people in the eyes of the world. Even in preparation for His birth, Jesus’ parents were so unimportant and lowly that inns would not take them in despite Mary’s advanced pregnancy. No doubt, when Mary and Joseph rode through the streets of Bethlehem, no one had a clue who they were or who they were ushering into the world. They passed unnoticed until they found the stable where Jesus was born, a cave tucked away in a place more insignificant and obscure then Bethlehem itself. Angels, shepherds, and Magi found them, however, and the heavens resounded with “Glory to God in the Highest” as the sky blazed with the light of a star only outdone by the very light of the One to whom it pointed. And on the 8th day when all the sounds and sights had long since faded, the parents, unimportant in the eyes of the world, took that Child to the Temple to be circumcised and named according to Jewish Law. And it was there that the infant Jesus was recognized as the Messiah by two separate elderly prophets, Simeon and Anna. Jesus was recognized not through angelic fanfare or stars from Heaven, but rather, it came from within them because of the hopeful expectation and faith with which the hearts of these two people were filled.

We rightfully associate Advent with waiting, and yet ironically it is during the Christmas season that we encounter Simeon and Anna who are among the greatest of those who wait. For most of their long lives they remained in the Temple precinct praying in expectation that God would fulfill His promises. Luke’s Gospel (2:25-35) tells us that at some point in his life Simeon had been informed by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. In becoming so very aged, it would have been easy to lose hope in what he had come to believe, yet year after year Simeon waited and hoped, expecting that God would fulfill His promise. Perhaps he became so much a ‘fixture’ at the Temple that he became an unimportant figure, the kind that people take for granted, and perhaps do not take too seriously. And in the case of Anna, Luke states that now 84, she had been married for 7 years and then widowed. (Luke 2:36-38)* Widows were among the poorest of the poor, so we can infer that her constant presence in the Temple area worshiping and fasting means she was faithful, but also incredibly insignificant, as if invisible. Indeed, she was the most insignificant of the insignificant. 

Insignificant as these two separate individuals were deemed, they were the first to recognize the tiny Baby carried by the poor Jewish couple who were at the Temple for His presentation to the priests in accordance with the Law.** What enabled Simeon and then Anna to recognize the Messiah in the midst of the seeming ordinariness of the Holy Family? It was their unwavering hope in the promise made by God. Hope is expectation fueled by belief and faith, the fruit of persistent prayer. Hope is not about expecting an outcome as if our power can make something happen, but rather hope is about humbly wading into the mystery of God’s designs; it is centered upon the power and wisdom of God which is imbued with mercy and love, and is way beyond our own. Hope becomes powerful in the humble acceptance of God as the one in whom we must totally rely: we believe because He said so. But this belief requires a radical openness to how He will accomplish what He has promised. That is, hope accepts the mystery of that which can come at any time, in any way God chooses. This was the hope to which Simeon and Anna adhered.

Simeon and Anna did not know that the Messiah would be revealed to them as a tiny, vulnerable baby born to two obscure people. For that matter, nowhere in the text does it indicate that they knew He was the Son of God! All they knew was that this child was the long-awaited, promised Messiah who would come to liberate their land, a land filled with God’s  greatly suffering and oppressed people, and that was enough for them. Once they saw Jesus, they glorified God and could finally “depart in peace” with great joy. Their hope, their expectation and reliance upon God all those years, had been graced by the arrival of the Prince of Peace. From them we learn that in order to truly have hope, we must rely on the power of God and not upon ourselves. We also learn that even the least likely one might be a bearer of the Messiah, or perhaps is Emmanuel, the Messiah-in-our-midst, in His most distressing, surprising, or humble disguise (such as in a piece of bread and a cup of wine.) Perhaps Simeon and Anna can teach us to hope expectantly and to always keep our eyes and ears open for the coming of the Lord.

May we learn from Simeon and Anna to never cease hoping in the Lord! May we keep our eyes and ears open for the presence of Emmanuel each day! And may we offer welcoming hearts and open hands to all, especially the most seemingly insignificant of our neighbors! Let us meet in the hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Peace!

                        ©Michele L. Catanese

*It seems unlikely that someone would have lived to be 84 at that time. Life expectancy was so much shorter than it is today, and so if someone lived into their 50’s they were considered “elderly.” Hyperbole is probably what is being employed here; that is, exaggerating something in order to make a point. In this case the age of Anna seems to indicate advanced age and wisdom. (Remember that in ancient cultures age was synonymous with wisdom.)
**Luke 2:22 seems to indicate that Joseph and Mary were both to be purified in the Temple, but in reality, only the female would need purification in a ritual way since she had “an issue of blood” at the time of the birth and thus was impure according to Mosaic Law. (It is so hard for us to swallow in today’s society given the beauty of birth, but they did not live in sanitary times, so being considered impure in this situation actually does make some sense.) Obviously, the father of the child would not be in need of purification. Therefore, it was only Mary and Jesus who were there for rituals: Mary was to get the mikvah, or ritual milk bath, and Jesus was to be circumcised and named. Also, that Mary and Joseph were poor is emphasized by her offering for sacrifice: two turtledoves were the offering of those who could not afford a lamb. (See footnote to this verse in the NABRE Bible.)

Images:
1. Icon, Holy Family for the Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem by Fr. William Hart McNichols. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, go to https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-holy-family-for-the-holy-family-hospital-of-bethlehem-william-hart-mcnichols.html
2. Fresco painting, Presentation of Jesus  (1303-1310) by Giotto di Bondone, found in the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy. I want to point out that Mary is handing Jesus to Simeon to hold. Behind Mary (to the left) is Joseph and behind Simeon (to the right) is Anna.
3. My photo, the Gulf of Mexico in the twilight, Gulf Shores, Alabama.
4. Painting, Still Life with a Decanter by Camille Pissarro, (1830-1903). I chose this painting because it is an ordinary scene of bread and wine. 
5. My photo, a Medallion of the Holy Family, taken in Nazareth, Israel.

Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time. 

Every year I look forward to two liturgical prayers which we only have in late Advent. The first is a line in the Preface prayer said by the priest as he is preparing the bread and wine for consecration: “Mary bore Him in her womb with love beyond all telling.” The second is a set of prayers referred to as the O Antiphons, the verses proclaimed before the Gospel from December 17 through December 23, each antiphon beginning with the word, “O.” Waiting expectantly for an entire year heightens the sense of longing and desire for Jesus to return to our world anew. That these verses only come once a year, and at that, at the end of Advent, enhances the Scriptural message about the waiting world at the time of His coming 2000 years ago. The world was groaning under the labor of oppression and injustice, yet the people remained vigilant for the coming of the Messiah. The long awaited, promised Savior was indeed about to come. These two prayers, the Preface and the O Antiphons, connect us with the very same longing and waiting, aiding in expressing our desire for God, and simultaneously they give insight into this Prince of Peace and Son of Justice for whom we wait. Therefore, we are offered the opportunity to truly immerse ourselves in the mystery of God ‘bending low’ to enter into our world. Reflection upon these prayers also enables us to better recognize our own longings. For what do we long? These Advent prayers can help in both articulating our response to this question within our own hearts, and in finding what we seek within Him. In other words, if we know what we long for, we know what to seek, and thus, how to find it in the Lord. This is the beauty of Advent.

​What I love about the Preface prayer for late Advent is that it expresses something so exquisitely sublime that we almost cannot fathom it. Actually, this verse was re-translated about a dozen years ago when the wording in parts of the Mass went through a few changes, so if you listen for it, – (oh, please do!) – it now reads “Mary longed for Him with love beyond all telling.” This 'new' wording focuses on something different than the version that came before it, but there is importance and deep meaning in both. The translation used presently highlights the longing of Mary for Jesus to be born. Any pregnant mother will say, especially late in the pregnancy when it is most uncomfortable, that they cannot wait for the birth, and certainly Mary's experience of riding a donkey into Bethlehem while 9 months pregnant could not have been fun. But for Mary it was more than a longing for pregnancy to end; it was her longing for a beginning, that is, for the One who was foretold, her savior and her God. Indeed, longing for God was always part of her spiritual life, heightened by His presence now within her. The other wording offers insight, too: “Mary bore Him in her womb with love beyond all telling” speaks of the depths of her motherly love for her coming Son. It directs our attention to the intimacy of the entire experience, something beyond words, beyond expression. So when we hear the line as it now reads, we can reflect upon the insights of both translations. 

The O Antiphons are the Gospel acclamations for the days of late Advent; they are always proclaimed on the same days every year. Each of them states an aspect of who this coming Messiah is, beginning with O and His title, and ending with a plea for Him to come at last. For example, the first antiphon is “O Wisdom of our God most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge;” the second begins, O Leader (O Adonai), the third, O Root of Jesse, then, O Key of David (who opens the gates of Heaven), O Radiant Dawn, (sun of justice), O King of all nations, and finally, O Emmanuel (God-with-us). What is interesting is that these antiphons are also proclaimed during Evening Prayer (Vespers) as the verse before the Canticle of Mary (the Magnificat) and in that case, the wording is nuanced a little differently, because these are from the older, traditional translation of the Antiphons. Together, these two translations offer much for our reflection.*

Thus, we have an invitation to ‘dive deeper’ into our Advent waiting, that is, into the Advent mysteries. If we reflect upon each Antiphon of every day from the 17th to the 23rd, we will find a wealth of insight and enter more deeply into the beauty of His coming. My suggestion is to read and then pray the translation used at Mass and also the slightly different wording prayed at Evening Prayer, letting the words resonate interiorly throughout the day. (It is attached below.) We can incorporate these Antiphons with the longing of Mary, looking to our own longing or to where we find Jesus present as Wisdom, Knowledge, the sign of God’s love for His people, the One who roots us to God’s promises to David, the One who opens Heaven, who brings light and justice into our world and the next; ultimately, our king, and our God present among us. If we add this to our Advent prayer, we surely will come away richer and we will welcome Him with deeper joy when the time of the Nativity finally arrives. Let us enter fully into the beauty of Advent!

May we embrace the mysteries of late Advent with the same fervor as we began! May we look to the mysteries expressed in the liturgical prayers and antiphons! And may we find the riches and depths within our own longing that inspire us to look for the Lord in every aspect of our lives! Let us meet in our Advent longing! Peace! Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

                       ©Michele L. Catanese

*Both translations, the one used during Mass at the Gospel acclamation, and the traditional translation prayed at Evening Prayer, are attached below. 

Images:
1. My photo: Statue of expectant Mary. I saw this in a church in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2. Icon, Our Lady of the New Advent Gate of Heaven by Fr. William Hart McNichols. This icon is set in the Rocky Mountains, as it was commissioned for a church in Denver. In the hand of Jesus who is within Mary's womb, is a columbine flower. You can find this at https://fineartamerica.com/featured/our-lady-of-the-new-advent-gate-of-heaven-003-william-hart-mcnichols.html
3. Graphic print, O at beginning of an O Antiphon:  reminiscent of the style of illumination as seen in the Middle Ages, particularly in music manuscript.
​4. Print of Latin chant version of O Antiphons. This can be found at  https://www.stgregoryoc.org/article/article-archive/the-great-o-antiphons/
5. and 6. Clip Art of Advent candles.
Since my next entry will be December 27, a Joyful Christmas to all!

​Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time.