The Presentation of the Virgin Mary
The Presentation of the Virgin Mary
Memorial
November 21st
Domenico Ghirlandaio
Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple
1486-90 - Fresco
Cappella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, Florence
History
Mary, at the age of three, was brought by her parents to the Temple, in fulfillment of a vow, there to be educated. The corresponding feast originated in the Orient, probably in Syria, the home of the apocrypha. The feast is missing in the earlier Menology of Constantinople (eighth century); it is found, however, in the liturgical documents of the eleventh century. It appears in the constitution of Manuel Comnenos (1166) as a fully recognized festival during which the law courts did not sit. In the West it was introduced by a French nobleman, Philippe de Mazières, Chancellor of the King of Cyprus, who spent some time at Avignon during the pontificate of Gregory XI. It was celebrated in the presence of the cardinals (1372) with an office accommodated from the office chanted by the Greeks. In 1373 it was adopted in the royal chapel at Paris, 1418 at Metz, 1420 at Cologne. Pius II granted (1460) the feast with a vigil to the Duke of Saxony. It was taken up by many dioceses, but at the end of the Middle Ages, it was still missing in many calendars. At Toledo it was assigned (1500) by Cardinal Ximenes to September 30. Sixtus IV received it into the Roman Breviary, Pius V struck it from the calendar, but Sixtus V took it up a second time (September 1, 1585). It is now celebrated November 21.
(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition)
Collect:
As we venerate the glorious memory
of the most Virgin Mary,
grant, we pray, O Lord, through her intercession,
that we too, may merit to receive
from the fullness of your grace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading: Zechariah 2:14-17 (2:10-13 RSV)
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be My people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And the Lord will inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem."
Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord; for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 12:46-50
While He was still speaking to the people, behold, His mother and His brethren stood outside, asking to speak to Him. But He replied to the man who told Him, "Who is My mother, and who are My brethren?" And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Here are My mother and My brethren! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother."
45. And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;
46. Saying to them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but you have made it a den of thieves.
47. And he taught daily in the temple. But the Chief Priests and the Scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him,
48. And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.
GREG. When He had related the evils that were to come upon the city, He straightway entered the temple, that He might cast out them that bought and sold in it. Showing that the destruction of the people arose chiefly from the guilt of the priests.
AMBROSE; For God wishes not His temple to be a house of traffic, but the dwelling-place of holiness, nor does He fix the priestly service in a salable performance of religion, but in a free and willing obedience
CYRIL; Now there were in the temple a number of sellers who sold animals, by the custom of the law, for the sacrificial victims, but the time was now come for the shadows to pass away, and the truth of Christ to shine forth. Therefore Christ, who together with the Father was worshipped in the temple, commanded the customs of the law to be reformed, but the temple to become a house of prayer; as it is added, My house, &c.
GREG. For they who sat in the temple to receive money would doubtless sometimes make exaction to the injury of those who gave them none.
THEOPHYL. The same thing our Lord did also at the beginning of His preaching, as John relates; and now He did it a second time, because the crime of the Jews was much increased by their not having been chastened by the former warning.
AUG. Now mystically, you must understand by the temple; Christ Himself, as man in His human nature, or with His body united to Him, that is, the Church. Put inasmuch as He is the Head of the Church, it was said, Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days. Inasmuch as the Church is joined to Him, is the temple understood, of which He seems to have spoken in the same place, Take these away from hence; signifying that there would be those in the Church who would rather be pursuing their own interest, or find a shelter therein to conceal their wickedness, than follow after the love of Christ, and by confession of their sills receiving pardon be restored.
GREG. But our Redeemer does not withdraw His word of preaching even from the unworthy and ungrateful. Accordingly after having by the ejection of the corrupt maintained the strictness of discipline, He now pours forth the gifts of grace. For it follows, And he was teaching daily in the temple.
CYRIL; Now from what Christ had said and done it was meet that men should worship Him as God, but far from doing this, they sought to slay Him; as it follows, But the chief priests and scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him.
BEDE; Either because He daily taught in the temple, or because He had cast the thieves therefrom, or that coming thereto as King and Lord, He was greeted with the honor of a heavenly hymn of praise.
CYRIL; But the people held Christ in far higher estimation than the Scribes and Pharisees, and chiefs of the Jews, who not receiving the faith of Christ themselves, rebuked others. Hence it follows, And they could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.
BEDE; This may be taken in two ways; either that fearing; a tumult of the people they knew not what they should do with Jesus, whom they had settled to destroy; or they sought to destroy Him because they perceived their own authority set aside, and multitudes flocking to hear Him.
GREG. Mystically, such as the temple of God is in a city, such is the life of the religious in a faithful people. And there are frequently some who take upon themselves the religious habit, and while they are receiving the privilege of Holy Orders, are sinking the sacred office of religion into a bargain of worldly traffic. For the sellers in the temple are those who give at a certain price that which is the rightful possession of others. For to sell justice is to observe it on condition of receiving a reward. But the buyers in the temple are those, who whilst unwilling to discharge what is just to their neighbor, and disdaining to do what they are in duty bound to, by paying a price to their patrons, purchase sin.
ORIGEN; If any then sells, let him be cast out, and especially if he sells doves. For of those things which have been revealed and committed to me by the Holy Spirit, I either sell for money to the people, or do not teach without hire, what else do I but sell a dove, that is, the Holy Spirit?
AMBROSE; Therefore our Lord teaches generally that all worldly bargains should be far removed from the temple of God; but spiritually He drove away the money-changers, who seek gain from the Lord's money, that is, the divine Scripture, lest they should discern good and evil.
GREG. And these make the house of God a den of thieves, because when corrupt men hold religious offices, they slay with the sword of their wickedness their neighbors, whom they ought to raise to life by the intercession of their prayers. The temple also is the soul of the faithful, which if it put forth corrupt thoughts to the injury of a neighbor, then is it become as it were a lurking place of thieves. But when the soul of the faithful is wisely instructed to shun evil, truth teaches daily in the temple.
Catena Aurea Luke 19
Catholic Culture
Collect: As we venerate the glorious memory of the most holy Virgin Mary, grant, we pray, O Lord, through her intercession, that we, too, may merit to receive from the fullness of your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
o St. Mary's Mocha Surprise
o Vuccidrato -- Mary's Palms
o Celebrating the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin
o Feasts of Mary in the Family
o Feasts of Our Lady in the Home
o Marian Hymn: ’Tis Said of Our Dear Lady
o Marian Hymn: Ave Maria Dear
o Marian Hymn: Beautiful, Glorious
o Marian Hymn: Salve Regina
o Marian Hymn: Stella Matutina
o Marian Hymn: Virgin Blessed, Thou Star the Fairest
o Mary Garden
o November Devotion: The Holy Souls in Purgatory
o Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Litany of Loretto)
o Little Litany of the Holy Souls
o Prayers for the Presentation
o Prayer for a Happy Death
o Daily Acceptance of Death
o Table Blessing for the Feasts of the Mother of God
o Presentation Prefigures the Cross | Pope John Paul II
· Ordinary Time: November 21st
· Memorial of the Presentation of Mary
Old Calendar: The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today the Church celebrates the memorial of the Presentation of Mary. The three feasts of the birthday of Our Lady, the holy Name of Mary and her Presentation in the Temple correspond in the Marian cycle with the first three feasts of the cycle of feasts of our Lord: namely, Christmas, the Holy Name of Jesus, and His Presentation in the Temple (February 2).
Presentation of Mary
"Sacred Scripture contains no text concerning the event commemorated in today's liturgy. For something of a historical background one may consult the apocryphal works, particularly the Protoevangel of St. James (ch. 4:1ff). After an angel had revealed her pregnancy, Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Soon after birth the infant was brought to the sacred precincts at which only the best of Israel's daughters were admitted. At the age of three she was transferred to the temple proper (7:2). According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel (8:1).
"In the East, where the feast, celebrated since the eighth century, is kept as a public holiday, it bears the name, 'The Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple'. It was introduced at Rome by a Cypriotic legate to the papal court of Avignon in 1371. In 1472, Sixtus IV extended its observance to the whole Church. Abolished by Pius V, it was reintroduced some years later (1585)."
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.
Things to Do:
- Meditate on the mystery of Mary's temporary dwelling in the sanctuary of the Old Covenant as a preparation for the approaching season of Advent.
- Locate the order of contemplative nuns closest to you and visit their monastery (you may want to request their prayers and you might consider supporting them financially), they are the privileged souls who, by the grace of their vocation, are even here below dwellers in the house of the Lord.
- Spend 30 minutes reading the Bible.
- Learn more about Mary in the Byzantine Liturgy and say one of the beautiful prayers of the Eastern liturgy in honor of Mary.
The Word Among Us
Meditation: Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Your decrees are my delight. (Psalm 119:24)
Most people don’t like being told what to do. Especially as we grow up, rules seem less necessary and even a little stuffy. Try this simple test: what is your first reaction when you think of the Ten Commandments? Don’t they remind you of things you had to memorize when you were a child rather than a set of life-giving guidelines that you keep close to your heart every day?
So why is today’s psalmist so excited about rules? When it comes to God’s decrees, says the psalmist, nothing could be better. They are more precious than gold and silver, sweeter than honey. He goes so far as to yearn for God’s commands, as if to say, “More! Give me more!”
Here’s something to notice, however. The psalmist has a lot of different words for the law: decrees, promises, precepts, word. It’s not just a matter of commandments that we have to follow. It’s a way of life that brings fulfillment and peace.
This makes sense if we consider the books known as “the Law” in the Jewish Scriptures. These first five books of the Bible include a lot more than just rules; there are history, drama, spiritual lessons, and a host of colorful characters. Taken together, these books tell the story of God’s redemptive work among his chosen people. This story, this sweep of salvation history, is what the psalmist is so enthusiastic about!
Still, even if we do narrow our view to the Ten Commandments, we can find cause for rejoicing. Pick any commandment. What would be the long-term results of disregarding it? Pain, brokenness, separation from others and from God. Contrast this with the benefits of following that commandment. A healthy relationship with God, a stable family life, relationships of trust with friends and neighbors, a balanced life. God’s decrees really are sweeter than honey!
Take some time today to think about one of the commandments that you have been obeying pretty consistently. Maybe you are respectful toward your parents. Perhaps you set apart the Sabbath for rest and worship. Now think about all the good fruit that has been borne in your life because of your obedience to this one law. Doesn’t this thought fill you with delight?
“Father, thank you for showing me the way to life.”
Revelation 10:8-11; Luke 19:45-48
