This Tuesday, 2 February, was the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (once called the Purification of Mary, based on the belief that a mother was ritually impure for 40 days after giving birth and had to be ceremonially purified). The Gospel of Luke is clearer on the ritual of presentation, describing this process as one of offering to the Lord and redemption of a first-born son. This was the occasion, according to the Gospel, that Simeon and Anna made their appearance, praising God and prophesying about the Child (and His Mother). By the way, there is no indication in the Gospel that Simeon was a priest; he was simply someone “in the right place at the right time.” And his joy spilled over into the canticle (Nunc Dimittis) that is recited in the Breviary at Night Prayer (Compline) every single night. This is the third of the great canticles preserved for us by the Third Gospel’s first two chapters—along with the outpouring of the Blessed Mother in response to Elizabeth’s greeting (Magnificat), and the praise of Zechariah once his son John is born and his tongue is freed (Benedictus). Mary’s hymn is in the daily Breviary for Evening Prayer (Vespers), and Zechariah’s is in Morning Prayer (sometimes also called Lauds). To these we might add a fragment of yet another canticle—that of the angels to the shepherds, giving us the basis for the Gloria we sing so often at Mass. With all this as a backdrop, what about the Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life, marked for this day? Can we imagine people more “consecrated” than Mary and Joseph—consecrated to the upbringing, the love, the training, the nurturing, of our Savior? They become the models for all those who, in a comparable way, dedicate their own lives to the Lord. The Preface for Masses “of Holy Virgins and Religious” puts it well: “…[these are] the Saints who consecrated themselves to Christ for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven…” Historically, who are some of these? Several come to mind: St Catherine of Siena leaps to my mind—dedicated to Christ but scarcely a recluse! Mother Julian of Norwich was rather a recluse, but she was also someone whose writings have influenced countless numbers (including me), from the 14th century to this day. But this day also includes all those who entered religious life as sisters and nuns, as monks and hermits and brothers. Our Church’s history could not be written (literally) without them. And for us today, here in Alabama, we have the sisters at the Carmelite Monastery and the Visitation Monastery; we have had Brothers of the Sacred Heart teaching at McGill, and the Sisters of Loretto teaching at Bishop Toolen (and teaching with me at Montgomery Catholic HS); there are the Daughters of Charity with their wide-ranging ministries in education and health-care (once upon a time, the Daughters ran hospitals all along I-65: Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham, Nashville, Louisville, Indianapolis, and Chicago). The Sisters of Mercy have had a long tradition of ministry especially here in Mobile; and so many other communities have helped to shape the spiritual landscape of our Archdiocese. God love them all! We would be pathetically impoverished as a faith community, if were not for these wonderful, consecrated lives, historically and today. Yes, let’s give thanks for them, and to them! -Fr. David