Ave Maria Meditations
When his parents brought the Child Jesus into the Temple, Simeon held out his arms to receive Him. An old man stretches out for the Child; the Child comes to him like a bird to its nest. Here is a picture of what can be, of what should be. He always comes to waiting arms.
Jesus comes as a light to us today. Let us ask Him for the courage and the desire to extricate ourselves from all that enmeshes us. Let us ask Him to show us how our arms are kept back from stretching towards Him. Let us begin all over again to live for Him.
Simeon’s selflessness is an echo of Jesus’ selflessness. Simeon and Jesus suit one another. They fit together: They make one whole. Both have one mind, one will. This is what can be, what should be. This is what Christian life is all about.
Today we receive a candle, symbol of our Lord. A candle is also put into our hands at baptism, and again on Easter night as we recall our Christian beginnings. Let us receive it today with great faith. Let us beg Christ with our heart’s strength to purify us, to enkindle a fire of love within us. We want our inner dispositions to fit the action.
And as a candle burns it consumes itself. So let us pray that as each day, each year passes, everything is for Him, and our whole substance is spent for Him alone.
Sr. Ruth Burrows, O.C.D.
