Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today we celebrate the Memorial of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple when she was a little girl. It is a Memorial - an optional celebration - rather than a Feast, I suspect, because this celebration is not based upon an event described in Scripture, but upon something described in several other first century writings. 

The story behind the celebration is that Mary was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem at an early age to live there for her growing up years, to be prepared for her eventual role as the mother of our Savior. It is perfectly understandable, given the respect we have for the mother of Jesus, and the deep sense that God would certainly want to prepare her for this important mission. In this sense, the celebration is full of theological meaning. Since we are given no historical information about Mary's life before the Annunciation, we can let our faith inform our imaginations and try to reflect today on what Mary's childhood and faith preparation might have been like. And, we can ask ourselves how we can turn to Mary and ask her to prepare us for our mission.

I picture young Mary being like one whose heart has been lit on fire. Mary was unique among all creation because she had received the fruits of redemption, from the moment of her own conception. So, she was full of grace and very free. But, I imagine that her preparation to raise Jesus to become who he was, didn't happen by years of studying in the Temple. I picture her growing up in Nazareth under the care of loving parents who exposed her to the suffering of life and helped her to love and forgive, to have compassion and empathy, to be generous and to find grace in the midst of suffering.

One day, this young Mary would respond to Gabriel:

"His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever." Luke 1

It's a beautiful day to pray:"Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."