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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 fast-
ing 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 married for 7 years and lived until she was
84. She is an older woman whose life of pain and loneliness is re-
vealed 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 spiritu-
al 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. Personally, I can relate
to the prophetess Anna.This reading stirs my memory of the wise
women in my life: my two grandmothers, Sara and Enriqueta and my
mother, Margaret. Like Anna, they lived long lives.They set an exam-