Mary had no need of purification because she is without stain or sin. She fulfilled the law nonetheless, just as Jesus did in so many other things. This law of purification has been done away with in the Church and replaced with the Churching of women. This ceremony of the New Testament is not one of cleansing, but rather one of thanksgiving. The Church and the mother give thanks to Almighty God for the gift of the child that has been received.
The main focus today, however, is Jesus. His mother is present, but she is not the main focus. The holy Simeon enlightened by the grace of God, perceives immediately who Jesus is. Simeon gives thanks to God and announces his readiness to leave this world, because God had fulfilled His promise of allowing him to see the Messiah.
In the celebration of this feast, we are being called upon to refocus our attention upon THE LIGHT. We need to remind ourselves of Truth and Goodness. We must strive to see and follow Him. In the light of God's grace, we will see that everything is a gift from Him. We will see that the only real evil is sin. And sin is not a material thing, but rather a spiritual one. All that God has made is good. It is the perversity of men's wills that take the good things God has given us and uses them in evil ways against God's desires. This is what brings evil and sin into the world.
Every child has an immortal soul. They are made to the image and likeness of God. Even if the world declares them to be monsters, they are nonetheless, gifts of God. Perhaps physical defects in a child are due to the evil of the parents. Scripture tells us that children will inherit the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generation. Or perhaps, the handicapped child is given to parents for the greater perfection and sanctification of everyone involved. The crosses God sends or allows us, are not always for our punishment. They may also be for our improvement and greater sanctification.
We should be grateful to God no matter what He gives us. A cross is often of much greater value and merit for us than gold and riches. We should, therefore, be even more grateful to have a cross and affliction than if we had received gold and riches. It is true what the scriptures tell us, that God chastises those whom He loves. A great cross or burden in our lives is more often a sign of God's love for us rather than His displeasure with us. A long and painful illness is a gift for which we should be grateful, because it allows us to more closely follow and imitate Jesus Christ. Riches, more often than not, make it more difficult for us to lead good and holy lives; they tend rather to lead us away from God. We should be even more grateful for poverty or sickness than we would ever would be for riches and health.
Let us imitate the holy Simeon, and be ever grateful for all the crosses and burdens of this life, as we look forward to the great and glorious coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ. His life was a long one as he anxiously awaited the fulfilment of God's promise to him. We, too, have been given a wonderful promise from God. He invites us to receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. There He will transform us and restore spiritual life to our souls. He will make us one with Him. All that will await us after this is the completion of this union in Heaven. Once we have received Him into our bodies, as Simeon received Him into his arms, may we just as readily turn away from this world as Simeon did. Let us pray with Simeon to dismiss us from this world once we have born our crosses and burdens of this life for the love of, and in the imitation of Jesus; and then have worthily received Him into our hearts and souls in Holy Communion.