You Should Be Praying for Impossible Things!

Simeon proclaimed Jesus as, “A light of revelation to the Gentiles and glory for your people Israel.”

We recently celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Jesus, having been circumcised at eight days old, thus making him part of the Jewish community (just as we baptize our children to bring them into the Christian community), was now forty days old when his parents Mary and Joseph presented him at the Temple as required by the Law of Moses.

The purpose of the presentation was twofold. According to the Law, every male child was to be consecrated to God forty days after birth. Also, for Jewish women, forty days after giving birth a sacrifice was offered as part of the purification ritual that a Jewish mother needed to perform to become ritually clean again.

When the Holy Family came to the Temple that day, it was clear that Mary and Joseph were poor because the normal sacrifice offered for the purification ceremony was a lamb and a dove. However, Mary and Joseph offered just two doves, which was the sacrifice allowed for those who were poor. Despite having a noble lineage, belonging to the line of David, the family was struggling. In spite of their circumstances, they were obedient to their faith and made sure they fulfilled what the Law of Moses required.

While reflecting on this great feast, the fourth Joyful mystery of the rosary, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, naturally came to mind. When praying this mystery, I often think about the faithfulness and obedience of Mary and Joseph to the Law of Moses and how their lives are a great example to all of us on living our faith in obedience to God.

They remind us that we should always practice our faith and be obedient to the teachings Jesus and the Apostles gave us through his Church. Living our faith is, of course, an essential part of building and maintaining a strong relationship with God.

One practical thing I do when praying the rosary, for example, that helps me meditate on each mystery more fully, is that before I start a mystery, I always offer a prayer to Jesus and a prayer request to our blessed Mother that relates to that particular mystery.

For the Presentation of Jesus, for example, I might pray something like, "Lord Jesus, thank you for showing me the importance of living our faith, of doing the things you call us to do through your Church. The importance of bringing our children to your Church for baptism, making them a child of God and teaching them the faith by word and deed in all we do, that we may grow closer to you together as a family. Blessed Mother, please pray for me, my wife, and my entire family, that we may live our life according to the will of your son and lead our children, grandchildren, our family, and all those we meet to do the same."

The Presentation is also a great reminder of the importance of perseverance in prayer. We see Simeon, a righteous and devout man filled with the Holy Spirit. He evidently was a man of advanced years, and the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Christ of the Lord.

The gospel says that he came to the Temple in the Spirit, and when Mary and Joseph brought in Jesus, Simeon immediately recognized the infant as Christ the King, just as Elizabeth and John, the Shepherds, and the Magi did. He thanked God for this great gift, saying that he was now ready to die in peace, for his eyes had seen the salvation of all peoples in Jesus. Who knows how many years he had been living a faith-filled life and praying for this blessed day, but he persevered, and his prayer was answered.

We are also told of the prophetess Anna, who was 84 years old and never left the temple but worshiped God night and day with fasting and prayer. She also had been waiting and praying to see the child who would be the redemption of Jerusalem, and her prayers were answered in seeing Jesus as well.

When reflecting on the lives of Simeon and Anna, it is easy for us to say, "Look how holy they were, such holiness is why they were able to persevere in prayer when what they were seeking seemed impossible. I could never be like that." However, the people of Israel had been praying for the Christ, the Messiah to come for hundreds, even thousands of years, and he still had not come. So why would they believe God would send him during their short lifetimes? It seems like a pretty hopeless prayer, doesn't it? Yet, they prayed and believed that God would answer their prayer.

In our lives, we all have things we pray about every day that may seem hopeless, yet we still pray. We pray for those suffering from life-threatening diseases. We pray about reconciling relationships that have been broken for a long time. We pray for those we love who are living a life far from God, hoping they may be reconciled to Him. We pray for many things that seem impossible in human terms.

But that's exactly why we pray: we pray for things we cannot do ourselves. We surrender all we are to the Lord, acknowledging that while we cannot, God can. We believe with all our hearts that through God, all things are possible.

We strive to live a life of repentance turned toward the Lord, allowing Him, through prayer, self-denial, and works of mercy, to conform our hearts to His love. This refines and purifies us, as the first reading says, offering our lives to God as a worthy sacrifice.

We place our hopes and dreams completely in our Lord Jesus, fully aware that our suffering, when united with Christ's suffering, is redemptive. It can bring not only ourselves but also those we pray for to the love and mercy of the precious and sacred heart of Jesus.

Jesus, the Christ, whom Simeon declared to be "a light of revelation to the Gentiles," which includes us, "and glory for your people Israel."

Amen.