From today’s Scripture: “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord.”—Lk 2:26

I received a message from a friend of mine telling me that they were sending me a very special gift. The mystery intrigued me. I did not know what it was or when it would arrive. I spent time pondering what it could possibly be. I anxiously awaited and each day I would look to see if it arrived.

Simeon received the most incredible promise of seeing with his own eyes—the Messiah—before he died. Scripture tells us he was a righteous and devout man. We do not know how long he waited but that he waited in trust, faith, and expectation. One day he comes into the temple and finds all he has longed for in the baby cradled in the arms of Mary.

Christ comes to us each day. Do I anxiously await to encounter him as Simeon did? Can I recognize him in the faces of the poor, the immigrant, the sick, the imprisoned, the dying? Do I long to encounter him in the sacraments? I anxiously awaited a material gift. Is my longing for Christ deeper?

Let us pray: Lord, I thank you for the gift of Simeon’s faith. May I imitate his faith and trust so that I too may seek you all of my life. Amen.

Today’s author is Sister Darlene Presley, Mother Superior of the Glenmary Sisters.

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