Today the
Church celebrates the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. It is also the
feast of the purification of Mary. Mary was the purest person the earth, and
yet she was humble enough to follow the practices of the day. Pride is the sin
that keeps us out of heaven. It tells us that what we are taught in the Church
is silly or outdated, and that we can trust our own decisions on what we have
to do to stay in God’s good graces. Not so, my friends, not so. Today we are
given the example we need of pure and humble obedience. Let that thought touch
your heart and move you to present yourself to God today in total surrender of
your life to Him, so that when you present yourself to Him on your last day, He
will welcome you home with the words, “Well done, my good and faithful
servant.”
Meditation on the Presentation
"And
after the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were
accomplished, they carried him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord"
(Luke 2:22). Mary had conceived the Son of God as a virgin; she gave birth to
the Savior of the World, and her virginity remained intact; through her piety
and that of Saint Joseph, she would remain a virgin for her entire life. So
what does it mean to refer to the "days of her purification"?
Under the Old
Law, a woman remained impure for 40 days after the birth of a child. But Mary
was not subject to the Law, because of the special circumstances of Christ's
Birth. Yet she obeyed it anyway. And in doing so, she showed that a ritual
concerned with the purification of the body was really a symbol for the purity
of soul of the true believer.
Mary and
Joseph offered a sacrifice, in accordance with the Law: "a pair of
turtledoves, or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:24), to redeem the Son of God,
Who needed no redemption. "The Law is made for man, not man for the
Law," Christ Himself would later say, yet here is the Holy Family
fulfilling the Law even though it does not apply to them.
How often do
we think that we don't need all the regulations and rituals of the Church!
"Why do I have to go to confession?
God knows I'm sorry for my sins"; fasting and abstinence are man made laws"; "If I miss Mass on Sunday,
God will understand." Yet here are the Son of God and His Mother, both
more pure than any of us will ever be, abiding by the Law that Christ Himself
came not to abolish but fulfill. Their obedience to the Law was not lessened by
their purity of soul, but made all the greater. Might we not learn from their
example? (http://catholicism.about.com/od/rosaryprayers/ss/Joyful-Mysteries-Of-The-Rosary_5.htm Scott Richert)
Prayer
of Trust in God's Heavenly Promise
My God, let me know
and love you, so that I may find my happiness in you. Since I cannot fully
achieve this on earth, help me to improve daily until I may do so to the full. Enable me to know you ever more on earth, so
that I may know you perfectly in heaven. Enable me to love you ever more on
earth, so that I may love you perfectly in heaven. In that way my joy may be
great on earth, and perfect with you in heaven. O God of truth, grant me the
happiness of heaven so that my joy may be full in accord with your promise. In
the meantime let my mind dwell on that happiness, my tongue speak of it, my
heart pine for it, my mouth pronounce it, my soul hunger for it, my flesh
thirst for it, and my entire being desire it until I enter through death in the
joy of my Lord forever. Amen. (St. Augustine)
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