Today’s Gospel reading is from Luke 2:22-35. It’s the first part of the story of the Presentation of Jesus which is when Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to be purified and consecrated to God according to Jewish law. (The actual feast day is not until February 2).

Saint Simeon by Suzanne Reynolds

The story records how the family meets Simeon, who was “devout and just, anticipating the consolation of Israel” (v25). Simeon welcomes the child recognizing in Jesus “the salvation … prepared for all the peoples” (v30-31).

In light of today’s reading, what new insight or open door or inspiration has presented itself to you during this Christmas season?

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Please join us at 6:00 p.m. CST (your time zone) for Praying with the Sisters podcast, a ministry of A Nun’s Life. Visit aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

Thank you so much for your participation in the call for Nun Questions. The response was overwhelming. Here’s what’s been happening since you submitted the questions.

Since I’m in Monroe at my IHM Motherhouse attending meetings important to the life of our congregation, I thought I’d ask my Sisters if they would like to participate in A Nun’s Life by responding to questions from visitors about a variety of topics ranging from their favorite place in the world to their vocation. I took each question (some had to be edited a bit to fit on an index card) and posted them on a board in our IHM Motherhouse. Last night the meetings gave way to “pub night” (organized by the very talented Barbara, Marilyn, and Karin whom you’ll see later in a rare video interview about what it’s like to work for nuns). During the pub we invited Sisters to check out the huge board with all your questions posted and to take a question and respond on camera.

I am enormously grateful to these women, my Sisters, for participating and offering their experience and wisdom. Now, the videotaping was all me and definitely a work in progress. For example, you’ll hear some ambient sound coming from the pub party-goers who were playing Wii, singing, and having a great time.

Here is the first Sister who stepped up to respond to one of your questions. The question comes from Deerose: “Do you believe there are any prophets living today? If so, who is it and why do you think of this person as prophetic?” Sister Joan Mumaw, IHM, responds. Joan is currently ministering as the Vice President of our IHM Congregation. She has spent many years ministering in Africa and is a leader in addressing the issues around the global pandemic of HIV AIDS.