The Advent\/Christmas Season holds up numerous individuals who can be placed in the category of \u201cconsecrated persons.\u201d Some of them are easy to identify; others require a little more thought. For example, have you considered Simeon and Anna as \u201cconsecrated persons?\u201d<\/p>\n
Take Simeon:<\/p>\n
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel,<\/em> and the holy Spirit was upon him. <\/em>It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord.<\/em> (Lk 2:25-26)<\/p>\n And so, Simeon, devoted himself to awaiting the coming of the Lord. His life was dedicated to this purpose as a righteous, devout and spirit-filled individual. When he finally holds Jesus in his arms, he can pray the Nunc dimittis<\/em>. He has been faithful to his calling to the end.<\/p>\n Anna soon follows Simeon on stage:<\/p>\n There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,<\/em> and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.<\/em> (Lk 2:36-37)<\/p>\n Like Simeon, she has consecrated her entire life to the Lord and her calling. She offers a model of perseverance expressed through fidelity, discipline, and prayer from comparative youth to a great age. We can learn from her as from so many of our senior sisters and brothers.<\/p>\n These holy people prepare us for the emergence of the one who has consecrated himself to the Lord and awaits his coming in a particular way: John the Baptist.<\/p>\n John, from his first \u201cappearance\u201d in the womb of his mother until his beheading at the hands of Herod, consistently focuses our attention on the one greater than he and on the message which he brings. Nothing about John is speculative. He is grounded, in the literal sense of the word, as he dwells in the wilderness, dresses in clothes of camel\u2019s hair, and dines on locusts and wild honey. He lives \u201coff the land\u201d with unmistakable simplicity. His message is one of repentance and preparedness for the coming of the Lord. When people ask him how they should change their lives, his response is firmly focused on the doable: persons who have an abundance should share with those who are needy, tax-collectors should be honest in their dealings, soldiers should treat people justly. Theory was not John\u2019s message; he embraced the practical. When he becomes aware of the political realities of his time, he does not look the other way, but speaks boldly and fearlessly. He does not seek the agreeable or acceptable. This resolve costs him his life. It is the description of a prophet.<\/p>\n