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February 3, 2023Abu Dhabi.
Bishop Paolo Martinelli led the celebrations of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord at St. Joseph's Cathedral Abu Dhabi. Below is the full text of the homily delivered during Holy mass.
Today we celebrate the feast of the presentation of the Lord in the temple. Forty days have passed since Christmas, and the liturgy reminds us how Joseph and Mary went at the time to present Jesus in the temple, following the law of Israel: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
Thus, we have an image of Jesus as the consecrated of the Lord. Joseph and Mary's gesture expresses over time what Jesus is from eternity: the Son of God, the one consecrated by the Lord who comes into the world for our salvation.
This feast is also called the meeting feast. What kind of meeting is this? The Gospel describes a very human double encounter full of tenderness. While Jesus is presented in the temple, an older man, the old Simeon, recognizes this child in Mary's arms as the one whom the peoples await. He had received a revelation from the Holy Spirit: he would not die before meeting the messiah. For this reason, after this encounter, he can exclaim: my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel. We find the same joy on the face of the prophetess Anna, also present in the temple at that time.
The love of God purifies our hearts and makes us participate in the joy of being children of God. This is, in fact, the vocation of all of us: to participate in the divine life as children, acknowledging God as our Father.
Jesus is proclaimed the light for all peoples and the fulfilment of prophecy. So, today's feast is the feast of the meeting of man's expectation and God's answer, between humanity's request for salvation and God's initiative, who intervenes in history to free us from evil. God's response to the drama that is in the world is the sweet presence of Jesus among us. He is God's answer to humanity's desire. He took our wounded humanity upon himself to free us from the fear of death, as the letter to the Jews reminded us. The love of God purifies our hearts and makes us participate in the joy of being children of God. This is, in fact, the vocation of all of us: to participate in the divine life as children, acknowledging God as our Father.
In the image that comes to us from today's Gospel, Jesus is presented at the time to be consecrated to his mission as a redeemer. Being consecrated means that the Holy Spirit shapes his whole human life. His whole life is given for love.
Thanks to this image of Jesus as the consecrated One, the Church on this same day celebrates the world day of consecrated life, remembering the thousands of people who have consecrated themselves to God, in imitation of Jesus, through the profession of the evangelical counsels of obedience, poverty, and chastity.
What is the meaning of consecrated life? It is a particular vocation that has the task of reminding everyone of the beauty of the vocation to be children of God, which is everyone's vocation. But the consecrated life calls everyone to this immense value through a radical form of following Jesus through the practice of the evangelical counsels.
Also, in our Apostolic Vicariate, many consecrated persons have dedicated their lives entirely to the service of the Gospel. Many priests who live in our Church in the Gulf are members of religious institutes, such as the Friars Minor and the Capuchins. Many consecrated women offer a splendid witness of evangelical life in our Vicariate. I would like to mention that the Carmelite Sisters and the Rosary Sisters live their service in our parish. What is the meaning of consecrated life? It is a particular vocation that has the task of reminding everyone of the beauty of the vocation to be children of God, which is everyone's vocation. But the consecrated life calls everyone to this immense value through a radical form of following Jesus through the practice of the evangelical counsels.
Through obedience consecrated persons show that true freedom is that of the children of God, welcoming the will of the heavenly Father, who wants for us the fulness of Joy. Through evangelical poverty, they show that Jesus is the true richness that frees us from the slavery of money, power, and superficial pleasures. Through a chaste life, they show that God's love is a gratuitous love that does not seek its gain but the good of others. The secret of a happy life is the gift of oneself to others.
After the Homily, I will invite the consecrated people present here, to renew their promises to live fully consecrated to God at the service of God's people.
We thank the Lord for the gift of consecrated life, which enriches the life of our Vicariate, and we pray that many young people will accept the call to follow the Lord in the life of evangelical radicalism. May the Lord grant us to renew our encounter with him every day and to be like old Simeon, filled with joy because the Lord always brings to fulfilment what he started in us.
May Mary, who brought Jesus to the temple, protects us and keeps us close to Jesus.