NIGHT AND DAY

PRAYER MOMENT

Wednesday 30 December 2015

NIGHT AND DAY

Pause. Enter into the stillness of God within.

Reading: “Anna was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer.” (Luke 2:36-40)

Reflection. Anna makes a brief entry and then disappears. Luke likes to balance his narrative with men and women. If a man, Simeon, appears, so does a woman, Anna. If a man loses a sheep, so does a woman lose a coin. And we can see in Anna those countless elderly women who hold a family or a community or a church together by their presence, their care and their fidelity. They can be grandmothers, aunts or women in the community or parish. They give continuity and solidity to all sorts of groups. This is a moment to celebrate them.

Prayer. Lord, as we close the year we recall with gratitude the many women who have been part of our lives and have supported and sustained us. Amen.