Saturday, February 1, 2025
Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord.
Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days
Sunday, February 2 // Presentation of the Lord
Monday, February 3 // Optional Memorial of Saint Blaise, Bishop and Martyr; Optional Memorial of Saint Ansgar, Bishop
Wednesday, February 5 // Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr
Thursday, February 6 // Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs
Letter from the Editor //
Dear Sister,
Tomorrow we celebrate a very special feast, one so important that it takes the place of the normal Sunday. It is the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, on which the Holy Family went to the temple in Jerusalem forty days after Jesus’ birth. They followed the law of Moses by dedicating Jesus to God with an offering of two pigeons. This first sacrifice of He Who is our “merciful and faithful high priest” makes way for His ultimate sacrifice (Hebrews 2:17).
The temple was the dwelling place of God on earth, and, did you know, dear sister, that you are a temple? From the moment of your Baptism the Trinity has dwelt within you. While God cannot dwell in us when we are separated from Him by grave sins, He comes back every time we repent and are healed in Confession. In the words of the prophet Malachi, “suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek” (Malachi 3:1). Every Mass we attend we share in offering “due sacrifice to the LORD” (Malachi 3:3). And as we prepare to receive the Eucharist, we rejoice and “lift up, o gates, [. . .] that the king of glory may come in!” (Psalm 24:7) In living our faith through the Sacraments we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, offering to God due worship. Like Anna in the Gospel, may we never leave “the temple” of our hearts and of the Church, but “worship night and day” (Luke 2:22-40).
In Christ’s Love,
Susanna
Read the readings for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord:
First Reading // Malachi 3:1-4
Psalm // Psalm 24:7, 8, 9, 10
Second Reading // Hebrews 2:14-18
Gospel // Luke 2:22-40
Prayer Practice // What will you offer to the Lord at Mass this Sunday?
Susanna Spencer holds a master's in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the Content and Theological Editor for Blessed is She. She is a freelance writer, editor, and speaker living with her philosopher husband and four kids in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She loves reading theology, attending beautiful liturgies, cooking delicious food, and casually following baseball. She is the author of the Gospel Studies including Seek His Kingdom: A Meditation on Matthew; narrator for Found: Advent With the Good Shepherd and Rescued: Lent With the Lamb of God; a contributing author to our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up; and Theological Editor of the Blessed Conversations Studies. Find out more about her here.
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