BLESSED: Part Five - Simeon & Anna's Witness

Anna, Simeon, Jesus Mary and Joseph

All the glories of the Annunciation; The Visitation from the Throne of God in Heaven by ArchAngel Gabriel to Mary, Joseph and Elizabeth; the visit of Mary and Fetus Jesus to Elizabeth and Fetus John; The Filling of the Spirit​  of John in the womb, Elizabeth upon Mary's greeting and the comes the prophecy of Simeon and the first of The Seven Sorrows of Mary.

Why my emphasis on Mother Mary in this series?

Because Mary spoke with me about being bold when I would speak of her to my Orthodox, Roman Catholic and non-catholic friends! "Bob, Be Bold!" She has told me this on two different occasions during CommunionFire.

The only other time I heard her say anything was to her Son in this morning's Communion!

Note

While partaking of the Bread of Jesus' Holy and Glorious Flesh, I thought, "Lord this bread is crunchy like the skin roasted on the brazen altar! He said, "grind each piece you can between your teeth, because every time my Body is broken it releases more revelation for you to feed upon. "Oh, taste and see the Lord is good!"

The physical flesh was broken in Jesus Body for the sickness of sin and all our guilt, shame and condemnation. He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows and we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God. The Lord had laid on Him the iniquity of us all. By His stripe we are healed. The physical actions of Jesus for the total purchase of our salvation and redemption cost Him His natural life, but death could not hold Him. After descending into hell stripping Satan of the keys of sin, hell and death - Jesus rose victorious over death. he was resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Paul tells us that the same Spirit that raise Jesus from the dead dwells in us. It is by "doing this" as Jesus invited, that we become aware that we are the full beneficiaries of all that Jesus. By partaking at his table through the gift of Communion, we encounter the resurrected, ascended, glorified Jesus Christ. We feed not on His mortality but on His immortality. We feed not on death but on the resurrection. We sit and present our bread and wine to Him. He takes it, blesses it, breaks it and returns it. When He does our spiritual eyes are opened and our spiritual ears are opened. We encounter the Lord Jesus Christ by His Spirit. He has something prepared for us every time we do. Now, when we eat physically temporal is replaced by eternal, death is replaced by life, sickness is replaced by healing, health and wholeness; physically, mentally and emotionally. the spirit is transformed from glory to glory - that is one revelation after another. In His glory we are transformed from one degree of glory to another.

Without him we are nothing. We are sinful and separated from God. None is righteous no, not one. Anyone who says they have no sin is deceived and the truth is not in them. If we do not dine on His flesh and drink His blood we have no life in us.

BUT

If you believe, all things are possible. When we receive Jesus, we receive eternal life and the promise that He will raise us upon the last day. It is no longer us that lives, but Christ that lives in us. When we dine with Him we come empty and leave full to overflowing with new revelation or His glory, love, life, truth, friendship, healing, kindness... so as I ate the Bread of His glorified flesh:

I saw His face as He quickly looked to the right at His Mother (and our Mother), Mary.

Jesus said, with a loud voice! "Hail Holy Queen!" With a big smile.

Then I drank in the wine of His divine and holy Blood:

Immediately, I saw Mary respond head bowed to the right and a little away from Him and  I heard her say, "Aw, Go on." While grinning some with a shyness of humility.

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About The Seven Sorrows
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
From The Catholic Book of KNOWLEDGE Volume Two 
​
"Mary, our Mother, is also Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows. More than any other human person she shared in the Passion of her Divine Son. That is why she has been given the title of Co-redemptrix.

When we commit sin, we bring sorrow to Our Lady, for she is our Mother, our spiritual Mother, and she watches over us as she watched over her Baby, nearly two thousand years ago.

It is the desire of Jesus that we should think of His Passion, to offer Him our sympathy, and to renew our sorrow for offending Him by sin. It is also His desire, as the Church makes clear to us, that we should think of the compassion of His Mother, her sharing in His Passion."

(At the end of this post I have listed the Seven Sorrows for you.)

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21 And after eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised, his name was called JESUS, which was called by the angel, before he was conceived in the womb. (The Orthodox church believes it was *40 days from birth to dedication)

22 And after the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they carried him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord: 23 As it is written in the law of the Lord: Every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord: 24 And to offer a sacrifice, according as it is written in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons:

Simeon Prophecies About Mary & Jesus

​Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 

26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ​

27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
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29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 

34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.

​And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. 

She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 

​3​8 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Joseph, Anna Mary Jesus and Simeon

* When Jesus was forty days old, Mary and Joseph took Him to the Temple in Jerusalem. They were not wealthy, so they took two turtle doves with them to offer as a sacrifice at the Temple. As they arrived at the Temple, Mary and Joseph were met by a very old man named Simeon.

(Isaiah 61:1-11; Matthew 2:19-23; Matthew 13:53-58; Mark 6:1-6; Luke 4:16-30)

39 And after they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their city Nazareth. 40 And the child grew, and waxed strong, full of wisdom; and the grace of God was in him.

Mary's Tears for Jesus Suffering and Yours

The Seven Sorrows of Mary

First Sorrow - The Prophecy of Simeon
Sorrow as sharp as a sword shall pierce Mary’s heart because of her Child. Mary is in the Temple. She has come with Joseph to present the Child to God. They meet Simeon, the holy man, and Anna, the prophetess. Simeon takes the baby in his arms, saying now he will die in peace because he has seen Christ. Then he foretells the sorrow to come.

Second Sorrow - The Flight into Egypt
Soon the sword of sorrow strikes. Herod the King seeks to kill the Child. Warned in sleep by an angel, Joseph takes the Child and His Mother and sets out for Egypt. “Why should men want to hurt my darling Baby?” Mary asks herself, holding Him tightly, on the long and dangerous journey, sad at heart because all the babies in Bethlehem are to be killed on account of Jesus.

Third Sorrow - The Loss of Jesus for Three Days
When Jesus is twelve, He is taken to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. On the return journey Joseph and Mary find at the end of the first day that Jesus is not with them. Racked with anxiety they return, searching for Him. Nobody in the crowded streets, not even the beggars, can tell them where He is. Not till the third day do they find Him.

Fourth Sorrow - The Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way to Calvary
Mary has known fear and sorrow, but none so great as seeing her beloved Son stumbling along under the weight of the Cross. She hears the jeering shouts from the crowds and has not power to help Him. Pity and love are in her eyes as she gazes at his blood-stained face. To many around her He is no better than a criminal, and her heart is breaking as she follows Him to Golgotha.

Fifth Sorrow - The Crucifixion 
With John, Mary stands at the foot of the Cross. “A sword shall pierce thy soul,” Simeon had told her. Truly her heart is pierced with sorrow. Her beloved Son is dying. She shares in His suffering. She does not ask God to take away the suffering. She is His Mother, so close to Him that His pain is her pain too. And now He speaks from the Cross. “Woman, behold thy son.” Jesus gives His Mother to John, and to us. For all eternity she is our Mother.

Sixth Sorrow - The Taking Down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross
It is over. Darkness has come down upon the world. Jesus is dead. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus take down the Body from the Cross, and Mary receives it into her arms. She is filled with a sadness that no human heart has known. This is her Son. Once she had cradled Him in her arms, listened to His voice, watched Him working at the carpenter’s bench. Now He is dead. She does not weep : her grief is too great for tears.

Seventh Sorrow - The Burial of Jesus
Hastily the Body is wrapped in a clean linen cloth. Nicodemus has brought myrrh and aloes, and the Body is bound in linen cloths with them. Nearby is a new tomb, belonging to Joseph of Arimathea, and there they lay Jesus. Mary and John and the holy women follow them. They watch them roll the great stone to the door of the tomb. It is the end.