Saturday, November 10, 2012

11/21/2012 – Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple – Wednesday of 33rd week in ordinary time – Luke 19:11-28


            On the day we hear about a master who leaves coins with his servants, expecting those servants to invest those coins wisely to earn a return for their master, we celebrate the presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple, which does not have a direct reference in the Gospels, but can be traced to other first century writings & to tradition in the early Church. 
         Tradition teaches that Mary was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem when she was a young girl.  She must have spent a great deal of time in the Temple preparing for her eventual role as the mother of our Lord and the mother of Church.  We can use our imagination and our understanding of Mary from Scripture and from tradition to reflect upon what her childhood and her journey of faith might have been like before the annunciation.  We can also ask ourselves how we can turn to Mary and ask her to help prepare us for our mission as Christians in our modern world. 
         Although Mary probably spent much time in the Temple & in the study of Jewish Scripture and tradition, she also probably spent a lot of time with St. Anne and St. Joachim, her mother & father, growing up in a loving family who exposed her to the reality of life around her, including the sufferings of the poor. Mary was full of grace, but I also imagine that her parents and her upbringing fostered and encouraged her empathy and compassion, her generosity and humble nature, her empathy and forgiveness. 
         May the example of the Virgin Mary encourage us as we travel along our own journey of faith. It's so easy to squander those gifts and talents that the Lord gives us, to not want to invest them in the same God wants us to, enabling us to produce results for the kingdom.  May the Virgin Mary be an example of Christian love and virtue for us in how we should live our lives of faith, to encourage us to live a life of faith in service to the Lord.

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