The Bride Of Christ In Tears

𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓. 𝟏𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐒

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝟏 𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝟐:𝟏-𝟖

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟐𝟖:𝟐, 𝟕-𝟗 “𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟐:𝟑𝟑-𝟑𝟓

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝑰𝒔𝒓𝒂𝒆𝒍.” (𝒗.34) 

For today's reflection, I am using the alternative reading in Luke and there are at least three points we need to understand when reading this Gospel passage on the Presentation of the Child Jesus at the Temple in 𝐋𝐊 𝟐:𝟑𝟑-𝟑𝟓. The first is the humanness and ordinariness of the kind of life to which Jesus was born into and this can be seen in the offering that Joseph and Mary brought to the Temple as part of the Jewish tradition. 

In those times, when a woman gave birth to a child, she is regarded as unclean for the next 40 days if the child was a boy and 80 days if it was a girl and during this time the woman was forbidden to enter the Temple.

          What happened at the Temple on that day was part of this purification process related to childbirth at which Mary must make an offering as part of the ritual and also to present and consecrate the baby Jesus to the Lord. The offering Mary brought consisting of two pigeons was generally regarded as the offering of the poor.

Those who are relatively well-off bring a lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon for a sin offering. It is only when the offeror cannot afford a lamb that she is required to bring another pigeon, and this was what Mary did, and this will show that the household to which Jesus was born was at best very ordinary.

          The second point was when Simeon and Anna saw Jesus as he was being presented at the Temple. We might probably ask what was significant in this scenario? Well, Simeon and Anna differed from probably the mainstream of the Jewish population who have been waiting for a King and Savior who was going to lead them to a military victory.

          Simeon and Anna spent their time at the Temple joining in the public prayer but also devoted themselves to praying in private. And both were given a vision by the Holy Spirit that they will not see the end of their days until they have laid eyes on the one who is going redeem the people of Israel.

        And Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God saying: “𝑺𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏… 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝑰𝒔𝒓𝒂𝒆𝒍.” (𝒗.29)       

The third point which we believe was the most significant of all the three scenarios at the Temple was when Simeon blessed the Holy Family and he said to Mary: “𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝑰𝒔𝒓𝒂𝒆𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕.” (𝒗.34)

While Joseph and Mary did not understand it then, the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple was significant in that this was the first time that a prophecy was made into the kind of life that Jesus will live. And we see this prophecy fulfilled in the life of Jesus, the kind of opposition he faced from the Scribes and Pharisees that will culminate in his passion and death on the cross.

          From that time on to today, those who rejected the Word of God incarnate and who will continue to shun it will fall by the wayside and those who will abide by it will rise and be lifted to share in the eternal inheritance. This event shows that we cannot remain neutral in this world. It’s either we are in, with and for Jesus or against him. 

          The Jews looked for a Messiah who will spearhead a military victory and they rejected the law of love that Jesus introduced and to this day many of us still could not grasp this great paradox of life when surrendering or yielding to Jesus is what will actually bring us to a victorious life.

        As there are those who took over from where the Apostles and disciples left off, there are also those who imbibed the spirit of the Scribes and the Pharisees who continue to oppose the teachings of Jesus in the world today.

        In the Philippines there are moves to seek the legalization of abortion, divorce and same-sex marriage in a predominantly Catholic country. In the US it’s even worse as some states now allow abortion even when the mother is about to give birth.

For his part, Pope Benedict XVI had this to say: “𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘠𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘰-𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 “𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴” 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.”       

While this pastoral message was intended for the Catholic Bishops in the US, this could very well be a message for Catholics throughout the world. The message is that as Jesus was consecrated at the Temple, we now have the moral obligation to consecrate ourselves to Jesus who is the new Temple which means that we are obligated to rise up to defend life when and where it is needed.

          This affront to Christian ethics is also the motivating factor that is now moving the Church in the Philippines to gather the resources at its command to bring together the differing political ideologies within the Church to forge a united front to reclaim and restore the Christian faith from the culture of death and corruption that has swept the length and breadth that was ushered in by the RH Law during the Aquino Administration.

        Today the Church in the Philippines has been galvanized into action not only to promote, protect and defend life but to lead in the fight for the revival of the Filipino heritage that is anchored on Maka-Diyos, Maka-Tao, Maka-Bansa in the light of the pervasive incidence of graft and corruption that has gripped the country today.

On Sept. 21, 2025, the Church will once again take to the streets to spearhead the  mass action to protest the rampant incidence of graft and corruption in the government. The magnitude in the level of corruption has been so great such that no words can be used forthwith to describe the extent of this scandal in the flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH).

It may come as a surprise to many of our Asian neighbors how and why these anomalous transactions will happen to the only Christian nation in this part of the world and the only plausible explanation is greed and extreme lack of faith – more than enough to reduce the bride of Christ the Church into a house of sorrow and tears. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵. 15, 2025)