Jump to Any Step (11 of 36 · Click to Expand All 36 Days & Exercises)
01. The Presupposition & How to Enter the Exercises02. Principle and Foundation03. The Daily & Particular Examen04. Meditation with the Three Powers on the First, Second & Third Sin05. Meditation on Personal Sins & The Exclamation of Wonder at God’s Mercy06. Repetitions of the First & Second Exercises with the Triple Colloquy07. Meditation with the Five Senses on Ultimate Separation08. The Call of the Temporal King & The Oblation to the Eternal King09. The First Contemplation: The Incarnation10. The Second Contemplation: The Nativity & Application of the Five Senses11. The Presentation in the Temple & The Flight into Egypt12. The Hidden Life at Nazareth & Finding the Boy Jesus in the Temple13. Meditation on the Two Standards & Second Week Rules for Discernment14. Meditation on the Three Pairs of Men15. Departure from Nazareth & Baptism in the River Jordan16. Christ Fasting & Tempted in the Desert17. The Call of the Apostles & The Wedding at Cana18. The Sermon on the Mount19. Calming the Storm & Walking on the Waters20. Sending the Apostles, The Sinful Woman Forgiven, Feeding the 5,000, The Transfiguration & Preaching in the Temple21. The Raising of Lazarus & The Supper at Bethany22. Palm Sunday: The Humble Entry into Jerusalem23. The Three Manners of Humility24. Making an Election25. The Last Supper, Washing the Feet & The Agony in Gethsemane26. Betrayal, Arrest & The Night at the Houses of Annas and Caiaphas27. Christ Before Pilate & Before Herod28. The Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning with Thorns & ‘Ecce Homo’29. Carrying the Cross & The Crucifixion30. The Descent from the Cross, The Burial & The Silence of Holy Saturday31. The Resurrection: Christ Appears to His Mother & to Mary Magdalene32. The Road to Emmaus, The Appearance to St. Peter & The Upper Room33. St. Thomas’s Confession & Breakfast by the Sea of Galilee34. The Great Commission & The Ascension of Christ Our Lord35. Contemplation to Gain Love36. The Three Methods of Prayer
Movement II · The Second Week (Illuminative Way) · Step 11 · Week 2, Day 2
St. Ignatius of Loyola · Exx. 132–133, 268–269

The Presentation in the Temple & The Flight into Egypt

Two pairs of turtle doves offered by the poor in Jerusalem, Simeon’s prophetic sword, and Joseph rising in the night to carry the Child and His Mother into exile as refugees in Egypt.

Assigned Scripture Reading (NIV) & Mystery Points

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:22–39 · Matthew 2:13–23

Luke 2:22–39 (NIV)
22When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” 25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” 33The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” 36There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. 39When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.
Matthew 2:13–23 (NIV)
13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” 19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” 21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Points of the Mystery from St. Ignatius

Step 1 · Entering the Hour (2 Minutes)

Before You Start

Read Luke 2:22–39 (for the first contemplation) or Matthew 2:13–23 (for the second). Stand a step or two back for an Our Father (Exx. 75), reverence the Lord, and pray the Preparatory Prayer (Exx. 46).

Step 2 · Orienting the Heart & Imagination (5 Minutes)

The Preludes

First Prelude · The Narrative (Exx. 268–269)

Call to mind how Mary and Joseph bring the forty-day-old Child to the Temple in Jerusalem to consecrate Him to the Father; and how, soon after, an angel wakes Joseph in the dark with the urgent word to flee Herod’s violence into Egypt.

Second Prelude · Composition of Place

See first the wide stone courts of the Temple in Jerusalem where poor families buy two small doves; then see the dark night road leading south out of Bethlehem across the desert border into Egypt.

Third Prelude · Asking for What I Desire (Exx. 104)

Ask for an interior knowledge of our Lord, Who for me has become man, that I may more love Him and follow Him.

Step 3 · The Body of the Exercise (30–40 Minutes)

How to Pray Day 2 (Presentation & Flight into Egypt)

You may contemplate the Presentation in the morning and the Flight into Egypt in the evening (or on consecutive days in daily life), applying See · Hear · Watch to each:

1. The Presentation in the Temple — Offering the Child Back to God (Luke 2:22–39, Exx. 268)

  • SEE the Persons: See Mary and Joseph climbing the Temple steps carrying the Infant and two small caged doves—the law’s provision for families too poor to afford a lamb (Leviticus 12:8). See the aged Simeon, who has waited decades for the Consolation of Israel, and the eighty-four-year-old prophetess Anna.
  • HEAR What They Say: Hear Simeon take the Child in his trembling arms and sing the Nunc Dimittis: “Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.” Then hear his quiet, piercing word to Mary: “Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against—yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also.”
  • WATCH What They Do: Watch Mary and Joseph place their most precious treasure completely into the Father’s hands without holding Him back as their private possession.
  • Reflect on yourself: What is the Lord asking me to bring into the Temple today and place back onto the altar with open hands?

2. The Flight into Egypt — God as a Displaced Refugee (Matthew 2:13–23, Exx. 269)

  • SEE the Persons: See Herod in his palace consumed by paranoid rage over his throne; see Joseph woken in the middle of the night by the angel; see Mary wrapping the Infant hastily in the dark as they slip out of Bethlehem on foot with only what they can carry.
  • HEAR What They Say: Hear the angel’s urgent whisper: “Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and flee into Egypt.” Hear the weeping of Rachel’s mothers in Bethlehem behind them, and the foreign language of Egypt ahead of them where Joseph and Mary know no one.
  • WATCH What They Do: Watch Joseph’s immediate, uncomplaining obedience in the dark—leaving home, workshop, and security at a moment’s notice to protect the life of Christ. Watch the Creator of heaven and earth living as an undocumented stranger and refugee in a foreign land.
  • Reflect on yourself: How do I respond when God disrupts my settled plans in the middle of the night? And how does seeing Christ as a poor exile change how I see the poor and displaced around me?

3. Repetitions & Application of the Five Senses (Exx. 132)

In your Repetition or evening prayer, linger either in the Temple courtyard holding the Child alongside Simeon, or walking beside Joseph and Mary on the desert road to Egypt as their servant—hearing the crunch of sand under their sandals and feeling the night wind.

Step 4 · Friend to Friend & Looking Back (15–20 Minutes)

Colloquy, Post-Prayer Review & Repetitions

1. The Colloquy (5 Minutes)

Speak to Our Lady, to St. Joseph, and to Christ our Lord. Ask for Simeon’s eyes to recognize Christ in small, poor disguises, and for Joseph’s prompt obedience when God calls you out of comfort. Close with an Our Father.

2. The Post-Prayer Examen of Prayer (15 Minutes · Exx. 77)

After finishing the Our Father, remain quiet for ten to fifteen minutes (sitting or walking slowly) to examine how your prayer went. Ask: Where did my heart feel warmed, expanded, drawn to trust, or moved to tears (consolation)? Where did I feel dry, distracted, defensive, or negotiating with God (desolation or resistance)? Write down two or three honest sentences in your notebook.

3. Repetitions & Carrying the Mystery Through the Day

Notice how quickly the crib leads toward the Cross: even in infancy, Christ meets the world’s attachment to power (Herod) with poverty, vulnerability, and flight rather than earthly force.

Primary Text · From St. Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises (Exx. 132–133, 268–269)
[268] OF THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE (Luke ii, 22-39.) First Point. First: Our Lady and her husband St. Joseph bring the Child Jesus to the Temple, according to the Law, to offer Him to the Lord as firstborn, and they offer for Him a pair of turtle doves. Second Point. Second: Simeon, coming to the Temple through the movement of the Spirit of God, takes Him in his arms and blesses the Lord, saying: "Now, O Lord, Thou dost dismiss Thy servant in peace..." Third Point. Third: Anna, afterwards coming, confesses to the Lord and speaks of Him to all who were looking for the redemption of Israel. [269] OF THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT AS TO AN EXILE (Matthew ii, 13-23.) First Point. First: Herod wanting to kill the Child Jesus, kills the Innocents; and before their death the Angel admonishes St. Joseph to flee to Egypt: "Arise and take the Child and His Mother and flee to Egypt." Second Point. Second: He set out for Egypt and was there until the death of Herod.
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