PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Day 193: November 21

Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple



As a Marian feast of ancient and devotional origin, it is linked to a pious tradition attested by the protoevangelium of James. The liturgical celebration, which dates back to the sixth century in the East and to the fourteenth century in the West, emphasizes the first total gift that Mary made of herself, becoming a model for every soul who consecrates herself to the Lord (Mess. Rom.).

The Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal writing, not recognized as an inspired text and therefore not counted among the books of the Holy Bible, tells us of the birth of Mary as a child to Joachim and Anne in Jerusalem, in a house not far from the temple, where she was taken to the Temple at the age of three. Today's feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is of considerable importance, also because it is a concrete gesture of ecumenism and dialogue with our brothers and sisters in the East.

The Liturgy of the Hours, in fact, tells us: 'On this day of the dedication of the church of St Mary New (year 543), built near the temple of Jerusalem, we celebrate together with the Christians of the East that 'dedication' that Mary made to God of herself from childhood, moved by the Holy Spirit, with whose grace she had been filled in her Immaculate Conception.

Beyond the historical truth of this news, a beautiful theological consideration emerged: Mary is the daughter of Zion, associated with the temple. Other apocrypha offer us pictures of the domestic life of the Mother of Jesus, all intent on fulfilling in her the promise made to the Angel to be the handmaid of the Lord. The presentation of Mary in the temple is proposed in abundance of detail by the apocrypha. In the Protoevangelium of James we read: "When she was six months old, her mother put her on the ground to see if she could stand upright. And, after taking seven steps, she returned to her mother's womb. Her mother took her in her arms, saying, "As the Lord my God lives, you will not walk this earth until I lead you to the Temple of the Lord." She made a shrine in her chamber; She would not allow the child to take anything profane or unclean. And she invited the daughters of the Hebrews who were without blemish, and they made her amusement."

The Protoevangelium describes the presentation of Mary in the temple at the age of three, in the "Holy of Holies", the holiest place in Israel, accompanied by the procession of virgins, a large number of Jewish maidens holding lighted torches, with the help of the Jerusalem authorities and amid the singing of angels. To go up to the temple there were fifteen steps, which Mary climbed alone, although so small. Then "the priest welcomed her and, kissing her, blessed her, exclaiming: 'The Lord has magnified your name in all generations. On the last day, the Lord will manifest his redemption in you to the children of Israel." And he made her sit on the third step of the altar, and the Lord God clothed her with grace, and she danced with her feet, and all the house of Israel began to love her." "Mary dwelt in the Temple of the Lord like a dove and received nourishment from the hand of an angel."

According to the Protoevangelium, Mary belonged to the institution of the "weaving virgins": it was believed that the veil of the Temple woven by them was used to cover the Holy of Holies considered as a "human body" and to clothe the Angel-Ruah his guardian, identified with the Messiah, his son. "Now there was a council of the priests, who said, 'Let us make a veil for the Temple of the Lord.' And the priest said, "Cast lots to see who will spin the gold, asbestos, linen, silk, blue, scarlet, and true purple." And to Mary fate brought true purple and scarlet"

With these ahistorical but effective symbols, the author wants to make us understand the spiritual ascent of this girl towards her God. She is nourished by the divine words, she sanctifies herself daily in order to become a living and true temple, "Holy of Holies", worthy of "weaving" the body of the Son of God. Above all, the author continually wants to emphasize Mary's absolute innocence: she was in the Temple, she took her food from the hands of an angel. In fact, in the Jewish tradition, Adam and Eve were nourished by angels while they were in innocence. The reality of Mary's presentation must have been much more modest and at the same time more glorious. In fact, it was also through this service to the Lord in the temple that Mary prepared her body, but above all her soul, to welcome the Son of God, putting into practice in herself the word of Christ: 'Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it'. Some sacred authors have taken this as a reason to present the Virgin Mother as a model of consecrated life. The presentation in the temple therefore appears to us as a true and proper consecration to the Lord. Mary is offered to God and God gives her back to us as the mother of all believers. "He who does the will of God, is my brother, sister and mother". She, the Mother, the temple of God, welcomes the Word who becomes flesh, we incarnate the Word in our lives.

On this same day, the Church also celebrates the World Day of Cloistered Life or contemplative life, also known as Pro Orantibus Day, which is a Latin phrase meaning "for those who pray." An important ecclesial event for all Catholics around the world to commemorate the hidden lives of consecrated men and women religious in cloisters and monasteries.

We celebrate this day because the contemplative life is a gift of Almighty God to all of us – the whole world benefits spiritually from the prayer and sacrifice of these devout and faithful souls, even though everything is hidden from the eyes of men and visible only to God. On this day, the faithful are encouraged to help the cloistered and contemplative communities in their diocese, through prayer, encouragement and material support.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"With you, O Mary, we undertake to apply ourselves to the reading and study of the Holy Scriptures and to the meditation of the divine words. With you we commit ourselves to consider the house of God as ours and to care for its splendor and holiness. With you we commit ourselves to remembering and renewing all the holy mysteries of religion during the liturgical year."

(St Justin Russolillo, Works, Vol XX: Consecrations, trans. Louis Caputo, Vocationist Editions, New Jersey, 2021, "Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary", p. 272)

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