Pope Francis Shines Light on Bible’s Elderly "pilgrims of hope" in Wednesday Catechesis

“Simeon embraces that child who, small and helpless, rests in his arms; but it is he, in fact, who finds consolation and the fullness of his existence by holding him to himself,” the pope said. 

“Filled with this spiritual consolation, the elderly Simeon sees death not as the end but as fulfillment, fullness; he awaits it like a ‘sister’ that does not annihilate but introduces to the true life that he has already foretasted and in which he believes,” he added.

Anna, a widow of more than 80 years of age who was devoted to prayer and service, could not contain her joy when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus at the Temple.

“Anna celebrates the God of Israel, who has redeemed his people in that very child and tells others about him, generously spreading the prophetic word,” the Holy Father said.

Besides helping Jesus make his “first act of worship” in the Temple, the pope noted how Jesus’ parents, Mary and Joseph, express the tenderness of a family and “do not simply embed Jesus in a history of the family, the people, of the covenant with the Lord God.”

“They take care of his growth, and introduce him into the atmosphere of faith and worship. And they too gradually grow in their comprehension of a vocation that far surpasses them,” he said.