Festival of the Presentation of our Lord and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Posted on February 2, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 13:31-35 (NKJV)
13:31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
“I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
Devotion
The Lord spoke in parables, fulfilling the word of the prophet, “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” On this festival day, we behold a thing which was kept secret until the hour appointed for its revelation, as the Christ Child was brought to His temple, and received by Simeon with great joy. Gathered in the temple that day, the Church was very small in the eyes of men. Still, the Christ had come, and in the fulness of time made atonement for the sins of the world, so that all who believe in Him would have their sins forgiven and have the hope of eternal life.
There were many who heard our Lord’s parables, but as they did not receive them in faith, they had no concern for what the parables meant. So, too, when our Lord was presented at the temple, there may have been many that day who saw Mary and Joseph and the Christ Child, but it was Simeon and Anna who rightly perceived His visitation. By faith, we receive the Lord as He comes to us in Word and Sacrament, and are strengthened in our faith.
Prayer: Almighty and Everliving God, we humbly beseech Thy Majesty, that as Thine Only-Begotten Son was this day presented in the Temple in the substance of our flesh, so we may be presented unto Thee with pure and clean hearts; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Festival of the Transfiguration of our Lord
O God, Who in the glorious Transfiguration of Thine Only-Begotten Son, hast confirmed the mysteries of the faith by the testimony of the fathers, and Who, in the voice that came from the bright cloud, didst in a wonderful manner foreshow the adoption of sons: Mercifully vouchsafe to make us coheirs with the King of His glory, and bring us to the enjoyment of the same; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
