The First Sorrow: the Prophecy of Simeon

“This child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed, so that the secret thoughts of many will be revealed, and you yourself a sword will pierce.” (Luke 2:34-35)

Meditation: The Shadow of the Cross

In the First Sorrow, the faithful meditate on the episode in the Temple, shortly after Christ’s birth, when the Virgin was warned of hardships to come. Our Lady and St Joseph had brought the baby Jesus to the Temple, for the Presentation ceremony required by the Law of Moses. While they were there, the Holy Spirit inspired an elderly man named Simeon, who was waiting for the Messiah, to approach the Holy Family.

Pope St John Paul II explained: “After recognizing in Jesus “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32), Simeon announces to Mary the great trial to which the Messiah is called and reveals her participation in that sorrowful destiny. 

His reference to the redeeming sacrifice, absent at the Annunciation, has shown in Simeon’s prophecy almost a “second Annunciation” (Redemptoris Mater, n. 16), which will lead the Virgin to a deeper understanding of her Son’s mystery. 

Simeon, who up to that moment had addressed all those present, blessing Joseph and Mary in particular, now prophesies to the Virgin alone that she will share in her Son’s destiny. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he announces to her: “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35). 

These words foretell a future of suffering for the Messiah. He is, in fact, “the sign of contradiction”, destined to meet harsh opposition on the part of his contemporaries. But alongside Christ’s suffering Simeon sets the vision of Mary’s heart pierced by the sword, thus uniting the Mother with the sorrowful destiny of her Son. 

In this way, while the venerable old man foresees the growing hostility the Messiah will face, he stresses its repercussion on the Mother’s heart. This maternal suffering will culminate in the Passion, when she will unite with her Son in his redemptive sacrifice.”

At that moment, within the temple courts, Our Lady became the Mother of Sorrows. From then on, she lived her whole life as a mother in the shadow of the cross. She knew that her Son would face great opposition in his life, and that one day her own heart would break as a result of this hostility.

This opus sectile scene of the Presentation of Christ is found within St Mary of the Angels, Bayswater, in London. It’s part of the high altar reredos, which was the work of the church furnishers Jones & Willis, and dates to 1914. Here we see Simeon delivering his Spirit-inspired prophecy as the Virgin considers his concerning words.

Prayer:
O Sorrowful Mother, by that most piercing sword with which the holy old man Simeon foretold that your soul would be pierced in the Passion and death of your beloved Jesus, I beseech you to obtain for me the grace to accept the sufferings of this life from the hand of God, and to bear them with patience. Amen.

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