You're listening to I Pray with the Gospel on the St. Jose Maria Institute podcast.

In the name of the Father and of the, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me.

I adore you with profound reverence.

I ask your pardon for my sins and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful.

My immaculate mother, St. Joseph, my

father, and Lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me. The fifth day of Christmas, a reading

from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2. And when the time came for their purification according to

the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem,

to present him to the Lord. Simeon took Jesus up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

Lord, now letst thou, thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen

thy salvation, and his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.

The presentation of her firstborn Jewish child in the temple served two purposes. The first was

the redemption of the firstborn, and the second was the purification of the mother. In this case, Jesus didn't need to be

redeemed because he was God of the temple. Similarly, Mary didn't need purification

because she was immaculate from her conception. Nevertheless, they went to fulfill the law.

That's today's first lesson. There, Mary and Joseph were amazed at the things that were

spoken about the baby. At the end of this chapter, St. Luke writes that Mary kept all these things

in her heart. Some of us were amazed at the number of things that our mothers can remember about us.

How much mothers can store in their memory, in their heart, about each of their children.

Things that they did, things that they said, things that they love, and things that they fear,

and also things that they heard about them. Love increases our capacity to remember.

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