The Prophetess Anna and God's Faithfulness

December 30th Readings Reflection: The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas

Today’s Gospel recounts the Holy Family’s meeting with the prophetess Anna at Our Lord’s Presentation in the Temple. Anna, whose name means “grace,” had prepared for the Messiah’s coming all her life. Now, at eighty-four years of age, she was able to respond to God’s grace and recognize the Baby Jesus as the Messiah.

I recently heard a homily about how God always keeps His promises. The priest explained that while fallen human beings often fail to keep their promises, God is eternally faithful (cf 1 Thes 5:24 DRB). While we may be tempted to distrust God, the virtues of faith and hope impel us to overcome our fears. If we distrust God, we prevent ourselves from receiving the fullness of His grace, which He offers freely to us. If we cannot trust God, we cannot trust anything at all, because there must be some unchanging standard by which all order and constancy are measured. If there is no eternal standard by which all good things in the created universe can be measured, philosophical objectivity disintegrates.

Like Simeon earlier in the Gospel account of Our Lord’s Presentation in the Temple, the prophetess Anna recognized the Christ Child as the fulfillment of God’s promises in the Old Testament. While many of the Jews during Jesus’ lifetime rejected Him and refused to recognize how He fulfilled the Scriptures, Simeon and Anna uniquely responded to God’s grace and immediately recognized Jesus as the promised Redeemer. The Fathers of the Church pointed out that Anna had devoted her long life as a widow to prayer and fasting. Through prayer and fasting, she purified her soul and grew in holiness so that when the time came, she was able to immediately recognize the Messiah.

This is a powerful reminder of the importance of prayer and fasting. Throughout His public ministry, Jesus often spoke about the efficacy of prayer and fasting in helping the soul advance in holiness (i.e., Mat 17:20). It is important that our prayers be accompanied by sacrifices, such as fasting, in order that we may grow ever closer to God and love Him more and more. Strengthened by the two pillars of prayer and fasting, we, like the prophetess Anna, will be able to recognize God as eternally faithful and Jesus as the promised Redeemer Who offers us the grace of eternal salvation.

“The Presentation of Christ at the Temple,” by Giotto. Public domain