To all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem

MONDAY 30 DECEMBER (Lk 2,36-40)

The Lord is the one who must redeem Jerusalem. However, it is not a redemption thought of by man. Instead, it is a redemption prophesied by the Lord through his holy prophets. Thus Isaiah announces the redemption of Jerusalem: “Raise a glad cry, you barren one who did not bear, break forth in jubilant song, you who were not in labor, For more numerous are the children of the deserted wife than the children of her who has a husband, says the Lord. Enlarge the space for your tent, spread out your tent cloths unsparingly; lengthen your ropes and make firm your stakes. For you shall spread abroad to the right and to the left; Your descendants shall dispossess the nations and shall people the desolate cities. Fear not, you shall not be put to shame; you need not blush, for you shall not be disgraced. The shame of your youth you shall forget, the reproach of your widowhood no longer remember. For he who has become your husband is your Maker; his name is the Lord of hosts; Your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, called God of all the earth. The Lord calls you back, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, A wife married in youth and then cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back. In an outburst of wrath, for a moment I hid my face from you; But with enduring love I take pity on you, says the Lord, your redeemer.” These are words that reveal all the infinite and eternal love with which the Lord loves. His love is of an ever new creation.

Thus the prophet goes on: “This is for me like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah should never again deluge the earth; So I have sworn not to be angry with you, or to rebuke you. Though the mountains leave their place and the hills be shaken, My love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the Lord, who has mercy on you. O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled, I lay your pavements in carnelians, and your foundations in sapphires; I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of carbuncles, and all your walls of precious stones. All your sons shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. In justice shall you be established, far from the fear of oppression, where destruction cannot come near you. Should there be any attack, it shall not be of my making; whoever attacks you shall fall before you. Lo, I have created the craftsman who blows on the burning coals and forges weapons as his work; It is I also who have created the destroyer to work havoc. No weapon fashioned against you shall prevail; every tongue you shall prove false that launches an accusation against you. This is the lot of the servants of the Lord, their vindication from me, says the Lord” (Is 54,1-17). Here is what redemption is for our God: a true new creation, the gift of a new life. It is not the restoration of an ancient order. With God, old things have passed by.

Mary and Joseph took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, there was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.

How do you expect the redemption of Jerusalem? Preparing heart and mind to welcome the new Redeemer that the Lord has sent for us. Today a word must be clearly stated. If the Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, the Strong God, since our Redeemer is Christ Jesus, Christ Jesus is the Holy of Israel and the strong God. This is a truth that no one must ever question. The Father is Redeemer, Christ Jesus is Redeemer sent by the Father, the Holy Spirit is Redeemer sent by the Father and the Son. The Father redeems, giving us the Son for our new creation. The Son redeems by giving himself to the Father from the cross. The Holy Spirit redeems creating the new man, regenerating him in the waters of Baptism. It is the mystery.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints make us share in the redemption of Christ, in Him.