“(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
So that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too — the sword that will pierce Mary's soul is the most personal dimension of Simeon's prophecy: the cross will wound the mother as surely as the one nailed to it. The thoughts of many hearts will be revealed: Jesus functions as a revealer, exposing the inner dispositions of all who encounter him. Those who oppose him reveal their hearts; those who receive him reveal theirs. The sword-piercing is not merely Mary's grief but the disclosure of what lies in her heart as well.
Church Fathers on Luke 2:35
The knowledge of supernatural things, as often as it is brought to the recollection, renews the miracle in the mind, and hence it is said, His father and mother marveled at those things which were said of him.
Both by the angel and the multitude of the heavenly host, by the shepherds also, and Simeon.
Joseph is called the father of the Savior, not because he was (as the Photinians say) His real father, but because from regard to the reputation of Mary, all men considered him so.
Read all 28 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!