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Dear Friends,
Many times during the liturgical year we have occasion to see the blessings that the Virgin Mary received from God. We see, for example, how God blessed Her at the very day of her conception, and also at her birth, and again at the glorious day of her assumption into heaven. Likewise on the different advocations of Mary we all could mention rigth now, and also at many other dates of the liturgical year when we see the Virgin as the Blessed Virgin, and this is the most common title we use in the Catholic Church in reference to Her: we call Her the “Blessed” Virgin Mary, which is indeed a beautiful true statement.
But this particular feast of the Presentation of the Virgin is a most fitting occasion for us to reflect upon the reply, the answer that this most Blessed creature gave to Her Creator, on grounds of the so many blessings we know She received from Him. In celebrating all but today’s Marian memories and feasts we behold God blessing Her; today, on the other hand, it is the time to see her answer, her loving and committed response to all the graces God bestowed on Her.
Therefore, the central message of today’s celebration is chiefly discovering that, as one of our human race, Mary was given a free will, and as a rational creature She had to respond freely to the incomparable mission the Lord entrusted to Her. To some extent Mary’s history would be far from complete if we only tell what the Lord did for Her; it is necessary to realise all that She willingly surrendered for God and all She accomplished in burning desire to fulfill his will with exquisite fidelity.
It is that act, that series of voluntary acts of obedience and love towards God, that we are remembering, and rightfully praising today. She truly devoted, she utterly offered Herself to God. There is a story around, about the Blessed Virgin’s infancy and how purportedly She was “presented” to God, within the temple of Jerusalem, to lead a life akin to that of a Boarding School, along with other young girls. The very name of today’s feast is linked to that story that can be found in some of the Apocrypha (Gospel-like texts that were in circulation during the early period of Christianity). We cannot be certain about such a tale. Historical evidence in its favour is less than scarce. Yet our celebration bears more a spiritual significance than a mere remembrance of facts. What we are interested in is in that purest heart which stands out as a model of true service to the Most High. We are not remembering one day in Mary’s life but Her life-long commitment, Her humblest, most loving way of living everything in the presence of the Lord. Her “presentation” to God was truly happening each one of Her days.
There is, consequently, a clear message for us in this liturgical feast of Mary. As She received, we have received so many blessings from God: as She did we are invited to cultivate the presence of his love and power in our lives, in a way that proclaims his glory for all to see. Even more, we are called to walk in her footsteps, which means: in the very presence of God. We are “presented” to God inasmuch as we stay aware of his “presence” among us. And in that sense, today’s celebration may well embrace the whole of our Christian life.
-Fr. Nelson Medina