While the Presentation of the Blessed
Virgin Mary was not generally celebrated in the West until the 11th century, it
appears in most of the earliest calendars of the Eastern Churches. The feast
seems first to have appeared in Syria, but later rose to prominence in
Jerusalem. A basilica was built near the ruins of the Temple in Jerusalem, and
the Gospel of James and other apocryphal works (not included in the Bible) told
the story of Mary's presentation at the Temple at the age of three. In
gratitude for being granted a child after years of infertility, Mary's parents,
Saints Joachim and St Anne had vowed to dedicate Mary to the service of God at
the Temple. When they presented her at the Temple at the age of three, she
stayed willingly, showing her dedication to God even at that young age,
attending the temple regularly, similar to what children do attending their
Religious Education classes. The Gospel or Protoevangelium of
James is the source of many details of Mary's life that became universally
accepted by the Church, including the names of her parents, the story of her
birth, her age at her betrothal to Saint Joseph, and Saint Joseph's advanced
age and his status as a widower with children by his first wife. It also played
a large role among Christians, both Eastern and Western, in recognizing Mary as
the new Temple, the true Holy of Holies. When Mary left the Temple at the age
of 12 after her betrothal to Joseph, she remained pure and chaste, and at the
Annunciation God came to dwell in her.
The Feast of the Presentation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary first made its way to the West through monasteries in
Southern Italy in the ninth century; by the 11th century, it had spread to
other locales but was by no means universally celebrated. Under the influence
of a French nobleman, Philippe de Mazières, Pope Gregory XI began celebrating
the feast during the time the Pope was living in Avignon, France. Pope Sixtus
IV first placed the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the universal
calendar in 1472, but in the Tridentine reform of the calendar in 1568, Pope
Pius V removed the feast. It was restored 17 years later by Pope Sixtus V, and
remains in the Roman calendar today as a memorial. Today's Feast emphasizes our response
to God's gifts. We remember the response of Mary's mother and father in their
decision to present her in the temple for dedication to the Lord. All parents
are called to imitate their response by presenting their children for Baptism.
We reflect on the mystery of Mary's own continuing response from her very
earliest days to the Lord's invitations of grace. Mary was called to
continually give her "Yes" to God's invitations of love. In that
continual "Yes" or “Fiat” she shows us the way we are all called to
respond to the invitations of grace in our own lives as we grow in
holiness.
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