I don’t really understand what Mary is doing at the temple to begin with. I see Simeon a famous prelate who spots Mary out of a crowd and the I feel a sense of wander from the passers by as Simeon is aw struck with Mary and Jesus, and then a peircing glare as he contemplates the sorrows Mary will have to endure, and then I feel an utter desolation on Mary’s behalf in the wake of this prophecy, she knew it to be true, but maybe she had allowed herself to forget after so many years.
The current Fourth Joyful Mystery is the Presentation of Our Lord.
Mary and Joseph went to the Jewish temple with Baby Jesus to fulfill the requirements of the Jewish Law stated in
Leviticus 12. These state that after a mother gives birth to a son, she will remain in a state of ritual impurity for a certain amount of time and then at the end of that time will bring certain animal sacrifices (In Mary’s case, two turtledoves) to the temple. You can read the whole chapter of Leviticus for the details.
So basically Mary and Joseph, as observant Jewish people, were going to the Jewish temple to fulfill the requirements of the Jewish law for new parents of a son. The purification wasn’t quite the same as Baptism, but it was similar in that we baptize our children Catholic as a commitment to raise our child in the church, and Mary and Joseph by doing the ceremony required by Jewish law were showing their commitment to raise their child Jewish.
Simeon was the priest, who had previously prayed to God that he be allowed to see the Messiah. When he saw Jesus, he realized he was seeing the promised Messiah and received revelations which he communicated to Mary.
No doubt both Mary and Joseph were somewhat disturbed by hearing that Mary’s heart would be pierced with a sword and such, but they were also heartened by seeing how joyful Simeon was to see baby Jesus, and hearing once again that their son would be great. It was a mixed message. They also didn’t fully understand it at the time. They pondered it and prayed. And of course Mary didn’t “forget” about it; it was a revelation to her from a holy priest, she would have remembered it but not fallen into worry or despair over it.
The meditation for the Presentation often focuses on some of the following ideas:
- Mary and Joseph were obedient to the Jewish laws, even though immaculate Mary didn’t really need “purification” in the Jewish ritual sense and their child was God. We too should be obedient to our Church precepts and laws.
- Simeon’s prayer was answered by God; he got to see the Messiah before he died. We should trust in God to answer our prayers. We should also be joyful like Simeon that God sent Jesus to save us.
- Mary and Joseph received a foreshadowing that some sorrow or difficulty might be in store for Mary and her child. They pondered this, but they didn’t stop trusting God, they didn’t fall into despair, they didn’t reject what God might have in store for them.
There are of course other possible meditations connected to the mystery; these are just a few of the most common.
