Luke 2: 36-40
There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had finished everything required by 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 favor of God was upon him.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Recognizing the Messiah
The moment referred to at the beginning of Luke 2:38 is when an old woman, a widow, a prophet of great faith and deep devotion, witnesses the child Jesus being presented in the temple. With the gift of her faith Anna knew the true identity of this child and it meant everything to her. What must it have been like to wait for the Messiah, the one long hoped for, for eighty plus years? In that vast time span Anna grew up, got married and found herself a widow, of very low social status. But in her old age, the one who she and all of Israel had been waiting for, for so long, finally appeared. The prayers of an entire people were answered in Jesus’s coming. Anna was able to joyfully recognize who Jesus was and communicated Jesus’s identity to others, work which we are also called to do.
—Carl Caceres, SJ, is a Midwest Province Jesuit working on a doctoral degree in higher education and doing spiritual direction at Loyola University
Prayer
We Pray to You, O Lord,
Thank you for the example of your prophet Anna
Help us commit to steadfast prayer as she did
Give us the eyes of faith to recognize you
In our daily lives, to share your Good News joyfully
And to praise you in both word and deed
Give us patience to listen to your invitations
And courage to respond to what you call us to.
Amen
—Carl Caceres, SJ
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