02/02/2023

All the events of Jesus' life on  Earth confirm that  the Father, Son and Holy Spirit first chose to make the revelation of God to the people of Israel. The Jews are still the chosen people although today they show less belief in their covenant than do we Christians in ours. This Feast of the Presentation is a remembrance that continues to emphasise that Jesus true God is also true man. Joseph and Mary follow the Law exactly and dedicate him to God as the circumcised first born of their family. 

Our Faith emphasises that our bodies have to be controlled by our souls and that there is no need to undergo the pettifogging scrupulosity to avoid "defilement of our body" practised by the Pharisees. Our defilement of soul, sin always begins with our choice of disobedience to God's will. One can understand why the messy business of birth could have been seen as a source of ritual impurity in a society that wore phylacteries and had rules about hand washing. 

The ceremony of "Churching" of mothers forty days after birth seems to have been  forgotten by our Western Church and there is no "defilement" in the monthly "period" dreaded by so many women. Our bodies are unmarked by original sin but, under the influence of pre-Christian philosophers the Spirit has been considered to be by nature, a higher order than the physical body. Lots of heresies and arguments were faced in the Church because of this opinion The Incarnation cancels that argument.

We still know that our souls live on after our bodies die. We also know that the Incarnation of God took place in Bethlehem. The ever begotten Son had grown in the womb of the Virgin Mary and thus dignified the whole of human nature body and soul. The corpse of Jesus was not revived but reborn/resurrected into the new way of life/being that God has prepared for us all at the end of time, of course, our freedom can still refuse the free gift of God, but totally mindless to do so. 

Dear Lord may I be always open to receive your word and believe it with sincerity. I am always the same "I"and can easily fall into prideful self-love. May Mary's example of selflessness always be present in my thoughts and let my being totally surrender to your Will, for you are the Mercy that has saved  sinners here on Earth and will pardon the Holy Souls who are atoning in Purgatory.