Wednesday, December 30, 2026 — The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas
Anna the prophetess
Luke 2:36-40
Readings of the day: 1 John 2:12-17; Psalm 96:7-8a, 8b-9, 10; Luke 2:36-40.
The Gospel
There was 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, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. Coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. When the Holy Family had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law, they returned to Galilee, to Nazareth, and the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.
Reflection
Anna has waited eighty-four years in the temple, and her waiting is not wasted: she is there at the very hour the promise arrives. “Now Anna, both from the duties of her widowhood and her manner of life, is found to be such that she is thought worthy to announce the Redeemer of the world,” says St. Ambrose. “Most justly then was this holy woman thought worthy to receive the gift of prophecy,” says Origen, “because by long chastity and long fastings she had ascended to this height of virtue.” Anna does not keep the good news to herself: she speaks about the child to all who await redemption. A long life of prayer ends in praise, and praise always overflows into witness.
From the Fathers
“Now Anna, both from the duties of her widowhood and her manner of life, is found to be such that she is thought worthy to announce the Redeemer of the world.”
— St. Ambrose, Exposition on Luke, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 2:36–38
“Most justly then was this holy woman thought worthy to receive the gift of prophecy, because by long chastity and long fastings she had ascended to this height of virtue.”
— Origen, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 2:36–38
Saint of the day
Saint Felix I, Pope (269–274). Bishop of Rome during the reign of the emperor Aurelian, he governed the Church in a time of persecution and worked to defend the faith in the divinity of Christ against the teaching of Paul of Samosata. Tradition credits him with the decree that Masses be celebrated over the tombs of the martyrs. He died on December 30, 274, and the Roman Martyrology commemorates him on this day.
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Sources: the day’s readings follow the daily lectionary (USCCB, Lectionary 203). The Gospel text is not reproduced here; read it at the link above. Patristic quotes: Catena Aurea on Luke 2:36–40, compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by John Henry Newman (1841, public domain).