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Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
1 John 2:12-17
Psalm 96:7-8A, 8B-9, 10
Luke 2:36-40
Summary
There was a prophetess,Anna, who worshiped night and day with fasting and
prayer in the temple. She was a holy woman who gave thanks to God and
spread the word about the Child-Jesus who was to come and redeem us.
Reflection
Anna is called by God to spread the word about the Holy Family. Her name in
Hebrew means “Grace” and she is called a prophetess. She is described as a holy
elderly widow in the gospel today.We know this because Luke says she was mar-
ried for 7 years and lived until she was 84. She is an older woman whose life of
pain and loneliness is revealed by her prayerfulness and love for God. She lived
up to her name:“Grace” by her steadfast commitment to prayer and sacrifice.
The grace of God clearly worked through her.After her husband died she spent
most of her days fasting and praying. Because of her spiritual life and profound
understanding of prayer, she was filled with grace and had the privilege of being
called a prophetess and be a witness of the birth of Jesus. She was called to share
what she knew about Jesus with all who would listen to her.
Today we are all called to follow the example of Anna, and make a commitment
to a life of prayer and sacrifice.We will be filled with the grace of God to help us
take on this task of being a prophet.
I love that God chose a woman to do this job. Per-
sonally, I can relate to the prophetess Anna.This
reading stirs my memory of the wise women in
my life: my two grandmothers, Sara and Enri-
queta and my mother, Margaret. Like Anna, they
lived long lives.They set an example of what it’s
like to be a committed, spiritual and grace-filled
woman. Their well-earned wrinkles and confi-
dent, gleam in their eyes were the results of their
consistent prayer life.All my life I watched and
listened to their life stories of joys and struggles.
Through it all, their faith in God never faltered. I
learned that having faith will get us through any-