Of the Presentation of Mary
by Saint Alphonsus Liguori
There never was, and never will be, an offering on the part of a pure creature greater
or more perfect than that which Mary
made
to God when, at the
age of three years, she
presented herself
in
the temple
to offer Him,
not aromatical spices,
nor calves,
nor gold, but her entire self,
consecrating
herself as a perpetual
victim in His
honor. She well understood
the voice of God,
calling
her to devote herself
entirely to His love,
when He said, "arise,
make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come!" (Song
of Solomon 2:10). Therefore her
Lord willed that from that time she should forget her
country, and
all,
to think only of
loving and
pleasing
Him: "Hearken,
O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear; and forget thy people, and thy father's house"
(Psalm 45:10-11). She
with
promptitude and
at once
obeyed
the divine call. Let us, then, consider how
acceptable was this offering which Mary
made of herself
to
God; for it
was
prompt
and entire. Hence the two points
for our consideration are, first, Mary's offering
was
prompt and
without delay; secondly,
it was
entire and
without reserve.
First point. -- Mary's offering
was
prompt.
From the first moment that this
heavenly child
was sanctified
in
her mother's womb, which
was
in the instant of her Immaculate Conception,
she
received the
perfect
use of
reason, that she
might begin to
merit. This is in
accordance with the general opinion of theologians, and with that of Father
Suarez in particular, who says, that as the most
perfect way in
which God sanctifies a soul
is by its own merit,
as Saint Thomas also teaches, it is thus we must believe that the Blessed Virgin
was sanctified: "To
be sanctified by one's own act is the more perfect way. Therefore it is to be believed
that the Blessed Virgin was thus sanctified." And if this privilege
was granted to the
angels,
and to Adam, as the angelic Doctor
says, much more ought we to believe that it
was
granted to the Divine Mother,
on
whom, certainly we must suppose that God,
having condescended to make
her His Mother, also
conferred greater gifts than
on all
other creatures. "From her,"
says the same holy Doctor, "He received
His human nature, and therefore she must have obtained a greater plenitude of grace from
Christ than all others." "For being a
mother," Father Suarez says, "she
has a sort of special right to all the gifts of her Son;" and as, on
account of the hypostatic union,
it was right that Jesus
should receive the plenitude of all graces,
so, on account of the divine maternity, it
was
becoming that Jesus should
confer,
as a natural debt, greater graces
on Mary than He
granted to all
other saints and
angels.
Thus, from the beginning of her life, Mary
knew God, and
knew Him so that "no
tongue" (as the angel
declared to
Saint Bridget) "will ever express how
clearly this Blessed Virgin understood His greatness in that very first moment of her
existence." And thus enlightened,
she instantly
offered
her entire self
to
her Lord,
dedicating herself,
without reserve,
to His
love and glory. "Immediately," the angel went on to
say, "our Queen determined to sacrifice her will to God,
and to give Him all her love for the whole of her life. No one can understand how entire
was the subjection in which she then placed her will, and how fully she was determined to
do all according to His pleasure."
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Education of the Virgin - by
TIEPOLO, Giovanni Battista -
from S. Maria della Consolazione (Fava), Venice
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But the Immaculate Child, afterwards
understanding that her
holy parents,
Joachim and
Anne,
had promised God, even by vow, as many authors relate, that if He
granted them
issue,
they would consecrate
it
to
His
service
in
the temple; as it was, moreover, an ancient custom
amongst the Jews
to take their
daughters
to the temple, and there
to leave
them for their education (for which purpose there were cells contiguous),
as it is recorded by Baronius, Nicephorus, Cedrenus,
and Suarez, with Josephus, the Jewish
historian, and also on the authority of Saint John Damascen, Saint
George of Nicomedia, Saint Anselm, and Saint Ambrose,
and, as we may easily gather from the Second Book of Machabees, where,
speaking of Heliodorus, who besieged the temple, that he might gain
possession of the treasure there deposited, says, "Because
the place was like to come into contempt ... and the virgins also that were shut up came
forth, some to Onias." Mary
hearing this, I say, having scarcely attained the age of three years, as Saint Germanus
and Saint Epiphanius attest -- the latter of whom says, "In her third year she was brought to the temple" --
an age at which children are the most desirous and stand in the greatest need of their
parents' care, she
desired to
offer and solemnly
to
consecrate herself
to God,
by presenting herself
in the temple.
Hence, of her own accord, she
requested her parents, with earnestness,
to take
her there, that they might thus accomplish
their promise. And her holy mother, says Saint
Gregory of Nyssa, "did not long delay leading her
to the temple, and offering her to God."
Behold now Joachim and Anne, generously sacrificing
to God the most precious
treasure that they possessed in the world, and the one
which was dearest to
their hearts,
setting
out from Nazareth,
carrying their
well-beloved little daughter in turns, for she could not otherwise have undertaken so long a
journey as that from Nazareth
to Jerusalem,
it being a distance of eighty miles, as
several authors say. [Refer to Roads
& Caravan Routes of Ancient Palestine] They were accompanied by few
relatives, but choirs of angels, according to Saint
George of Nimoedia,
escorted and
served
the Immaculate little Virgin, who was about
to
consecrate
herself
to the Divine Majesty. "How
beautiful are thy steps, O prince's daughter!" O, how beautiful (must the
angels have sung), how
acceptable to God
is thy every step,
taken on thy way
to
present and
offer thyself
to Him! O noble daughter, most beloved
of our common Lord!
"God Himself, with the whole heavenly court,"
says Bernardine de Bustis, "made great
rejoicings on that day, beholding His spouse coming to the temple."
"For He never saw a more holy creature, or one whom He so
tenderly loved, come to offer herself to Him." "Go then" (says Saint Germanus, archbishop
of Constantinople), "go, O Queen of the world, O
Mother of God, go joyfully to the house of God, there to await the coming of the Divine
Spirit, Who will make thee the Mother of the Eternal Word." "Enter with exultation the courts of the Lord, in expectation of the
coming of the Holy Ghost, and the Conception of the only-begotten Son of God."
When the holy company
had reached the temple
the fair child
turned to
her parents, and
on
her knees
kissed
their hands, and
asked their
blessing; and then, without again
turning
back, she
ascended
the fifteen steps of
the temple (according to Arius Montano, quoting Josephus),
and as we are told by Saint Germanus,
presented
herself
to the priest,
Saint Zachary. Having done this, she
bade farewell to the world, and renouncing all the pleasures
which it promises to its votaries, she
offered
and consecrated herself
to her Creator.
At the time of the deluge a raven sent out of the ark
by Noah, remained to feed on the dead bodies; but the dove,
without resting her foot, quickly "returned to him into the
ark" (Genesis 8:9). Many who
are sent by
God into this world unfortunately
remain
to feed on earthly goods. It was not thus that Mary,
our heavenly dove, acted; she
knew full well that God should be our
only good, our only hope,
our only love; she
knew that the world is full of dangers,
and that he who leaves it the soonest is freest from its snares:
hence she sought to do this in her tenderest years, and as soon as possible shut herself up in the sacred retirement of the temple,
where she could better
hear
His voice, and
honor
and love Him
more. Thus did the Blessed Virgin in her very first actions
render
herself entirely
dear and agreeable
to her Lord, as the holy Church
says
in her
name:
"Rejoice with me, all ye who love God; for when I was a
little one I pleased the Most High." For this reason she was likened to the
moon; for
as the moon completes her course with greater velocity than the other planets, so did Mary
attain perfection
sooner than all the Saints,
by giving herself
to God promptly and without delay, and making herself all His
without reserve. Let us now pass to the second point,
on which we shall have much to say.
 Second point
-- The enlightened child
well knew that God
does not accept a
divided
heart, but wills that, as He
has
commanded,
it should
be
consecrated
to His love
without the least reserve: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with thy whole heart" (Deuteronomy 6:5). Hence from
the first moment of her life she
began to love
God with all her strength,
and gave herself
entirely to Him. But still her most holy soul
awaited with the most ardent desire the moment when she
might consecrate herself
to Him
in
a more solemn and
public way. Let us, then, consider
with what fervor this loving and
tender Virgin, on finding herself
actually enclosed in the
holy place, first
prostrate, kissed that ground as the house of her
Lord: and then
adored
His Infinite Majesty,
thanked
Him for the favor she
had received in being thus brought to dwell for a time in His
house, and then offered her
entire self to her
God, wholly, without reserving anything--all
her
powers and all her senses, her
whole mind and her
whole heart, her
whole soul and her
whole body; for then it was, according to many authors, that to please God "she vowed Him
her virginity," a vow which, according to the Abbot Rupert,
"Mary was the first to make." And the
offering she then
made of
her entire self was without any reserve as
to time, as Bernardine of Bustis declares: "Mary
offered and dedicated herself to the perpetual service of God"; for her intention
was to dedicate
herself
to the service of
His Divine Majesty in the temple
for her whole life, should such be the
good
pleasure of God, and never to leave that sacred
place. O, with what effusion of soul
must she then have exclaimed, "My beloved to me, and I to Him!" (Song of
Solomon 2:16). Cardinal Hugo paraphrases these words, saying,
"I will live all His, and die all His."
"My Lord and my God," she
said, "I am come here to please Thee alone, and to give Thee all the honor
that is in my power; here will I live all Thine, and die all Thine, should such be Thy
pleasure; accept the sacrifice which Thy poor servant offers Thee and enable me to be
faithful to Thee."
 Here let us consider how holy was the life which Mary
led in the temple, where, as "the morning
rising" (Song of Solomon 6:10), which rapidly bursts out
into the full brightness of mid-day, she
progressed
in perfection. Who can ever
tell the alway-increasing brightness with which her
resplendent virtues shone forth from day to
day: charity, modesty,
humility, silence,
mortification, meekness.
This fair olive-tree, says Saint John Damascen, planted
in the house of God, and nurtured
by the Holy Ghost,
became the dwelling-place
of all virtues; "led to
the temple, and thenceforward planted in the house of God, and cultivated by the Spirit,
she as a fruitful olive-tree became the abode of all virtues." The same Spirit says elsewhere, "that
the countenance of the Blessed Virgin was modest, her mind humble, her words proceeding
from a composed interior were engaging." In another place he asserts that
she
turned her thoughts
far from
earthly
things,
embracing all virtues;
and thus exercising herself
in perfection, she
made such rapid progress in a short time, that she
merited
to become a
temple worthy of God.
Saint Anselm also speaks of the life of the Blessed
Virgin
in the temple, and says
that "Mary was docile, spoke little, was always composed,
did not laugh, and that her mind was never disturbed. She also persevered in prayer, in
the study of the sacred Scriptures, in fastings, and all virtuous works."
Saint Jerome enters more into detail. He says that Mary
thus regulated in her life: In the morning
until the third hour she remained in
prayer;
from the third hour until the
ninth she
employed herself with work; and from the
ninth hour she again
prayed
until the angel brought her her food, as
he
was wont to do. She was always the first in
watchings, the most exact in the observance of the Divine
law, the most profoundly humble, and the
most
perfect in every virtue. No one
ever saw her angry: her
every word carried such sweetness with it that it was a witness to all that God
was with her.
We read in Saint Bonaventure's Life
of Christ, that the Divine Mother
herself
revealed to Saint Elizabeth of
Hungary that "when her father and mother left her
in the temple, she determined to have God alone for her Father, and often thought how she
could please Him most." Moreover, as we learn from the Revelations
of Saint Bridget, "she determined to consecrate
her virginity to Him, and to possess nothing in the world, and to give Him her entire
will." Besides this, she
told Saint Elizabeth that of all the commandments
to be observed she especially kept this one
before her eyes: "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God"; and that at midnight she
went before the altar of the temple to beg that He
would grant her the grace
to observe them all, and also that she might
live to see the birth of the Mother
of
the Redeemer,
entreating Him at
the same time to preserve her eyes
to
behold her, her tongue
to praise her, her
hands
and feet to serve her,
and her knees
to
adore
her Divine Son
in her
womb.
Saint Elizabeth, on hearing this, said, "But
Lady, wast thou not full of grace and virtue?" Mary
replied, "Know that I considered myself most vile and
unworthy of Divine grace, and therefore thus earnestly prayed for grace and virtue."
And finally, that we might be convinced of the absolute necessity under which we all are
of asking the graces that we require
from
God, she
added: "Dost thou think that I
possessed grace and virtue without effort? Know that I obtained no grace from God without
great effort, constant prayer, ardent desire, and many tears and mortifications."
 But above all we should consider the
revelation made to Saint Bridget of the virtues
and practices
of the Blessed
Virgin in her childhood, in
the following words: "From her childhood Mary was
full of the Holy Ghost, and as she advanced in age she advanced also in grace.
Thenceforward she determined to love God with her whole heart, so that she might never
offend Him, either by her words or actions; and therefore she despised all earthly goods.
She gave all that she could to the poor. In her food she was so temperate, that she only
took as much as was barely necessary to sustain her body. Afterwards, on discovering in
the Sacred Scriptures that God was to be born of a Virgin, that He might redeem the world,
her soul was to such a degree inflamed with Divine love, that she could desire and think
of nothing but God; and finding pleasure in Him alone, she avoided all company, even that
of her parents, lest their presence might deprive her of His remembrance. She desired,
with the greatest ardor, to live until the time of the coming of the Messiah, that she
might be the servant of that happy Virgin, who merited to be His Mother."
Thus far the Revelations of Saint Bridget.
Ah, yes, for the love of this exalted child the Redeemer
did indeed hasten His
coming into the world; for whilst she,
in her humility,
looked upon herself
as unworthy to be the servant of the Divine Mother,
she was herself
chosen to be this Mother;
and by the sweet odor of her
virtues and her
powerful prayers she
drew
the Divine Son
into
her virginal womb. For this reason Mary
was called a
turtle-dove
by her Divine Spouse: "The
voice of the turtle is heard in our land" (Song of Solomon
2:12). Not only because as a turtle-dove she
always loved solitude,
living in this world as in a desert, but also because, like a turtle-dove,
which always sighs for its companions, Mary
always sighed in the temple, compassionating
the miseries of the
lost world, and
seeking
from God the redemption
of all. O, with how much greater feeling and fervor than the prophets did she repeat their
prayers and sighs, that God would send the promised Redeemer!
"Send forth, O Lord, the Lamb, the ruler of the earth"
(Isaiah 16:1). "Drop down dew, ye heavens,
from above, and let the clouds rain the Just!" (Isaiah
45:8)
In a word, it was a subject of delight to God
to behold this tender Virgin
always ascending towards the highest perfection,
like a pillar of smoke, rich in the sweet odor
of all the virtues, as the Holy Ghost Himself clearly
describes
her
in the sacred
Canticles: "Who is she that goeth up by
the desert as a pillar of smoke, of aromatical spices, of myrrh and frankincense, and of
all the powders of the perfumer?" (Song of Solomon 3:6).
"This child," says Saint
Sophronuius, "was truly God's garden of delights;
for He there found every kind of flower, and all the sweet odors of virtues."
Hence Saint John Chrysostom affirms, that God
chose Mary
for
His Mother
in this world because He did not find on
earth a Virgin more holy
and more perfect than she
was, nor any dwelling more worthy than her
most sacred womb. Saint Bernard also says, "that there was not on earth a more worthy place than the virginal
womb." This also agrees with the assertion of Saint Antoninus,
that the Blessed Virgin,
to be
chosen for, and
destined to the
dignity
of the Mother
of God, was necessarily so great and consummate in perfection as to surpass all other creatures:
"The last grace of perfection is that which prepared her
for the conception of the Son of God."
As, then, the holy child Mary
presented
and offered herself
to God
in
the temple
with
promptitude
and without reserve, so let us also present ourselves this day
to
Mary without
delay and
without reserve; and let us
entreat her
to offer us to God, Who
will not reject us when He sees us
presented
by the hand of that blessed creature,
who was the living temple
of
the Holy Ghost, the delight
of
her Lord,
and the chosen Mother
of
the Eternal
Word. Let us also have unbounded confidence in this
high
and gracious Lady, who rewards, indeed, with the greatest love the homage that she
receives from her
clients, as we may gather from the following example.
Example
We read in the life of Sister Domenica del Paradiso,
written by the Dominican Father Ignatius del Niente, that she was born of
poor parents, in the village of Paradiso, near Florence.
From her very infancy she began to serve the Divine Mother.
She fasted every day in her honor, and on Saturdays
gave her food, of which she deprived herself, to the poor. Every Saturday
she went into the garden and into the neighboring fields, and gathered all the flowers
that she could find, and presented them before an image of the Blessed
Virgin with the Child in her arms, which she kept in the house. But let us
now see with how many favors this most gracious Lady
recompensed the homage of her servant. One
day, when Domenica was ten years of age, standing at the window, she saw
in the street a lady of noble mien, accompanied by a little child, and they both extended
their hands, asking for alms. She went to get some bread, when in a moment, without the
door being opened, the saw them by her side, and perceived that the child's hands and feet
and side were wounded. She therefore asked the lady who had
wounded
the child. The mother answered, "It
was love." Domenica, inflamed with love
at the sight of the beauty and modesty of the child, asked him if the
wounds pained him?
His only answer was a smile. But, as they were standing near the statue of Jesus and Mary,
the lady said to Domenica: "Tell me, my
child, what is it that makes thee crown these images with flowers?" She
replied, "It is the love that I bear to Jesus and Mary."
"And how much dost thou love them?" "I love them as much as I can." "And how much canst thou love them?" "As much as they enable me." "Continue, then," added the lady, "continue to love them; for they will amply repay thy love in heaven."
The little girl then perceiving that a
heavenly
odor came forth from those wounds, asked the mother with what ointment she
anointed them, and if it could be bought. The lady answered, "It
is bought with faith and good works." Domenica then
offered the bread. The mother said, "Love is the food of my
Son; tell Him that thou lovest Jesus, and He will be satisfied." The
child at the word love seemed filled with
joy, and turning towards the little girl, asked her how much she
loved Jesus. She answered that she
loved Him so much, that night and day she always thought
of Him, and sought for nothing else but to
give Him as much pleasure as she possibly
could. "It is well," he replied; "love Him, for love will teach thee what to do to please Him."
The sweet odor which exhaled form those
wounds then increasing, Domenica
cried out, "O God! This odor makes me die of love."
If the odor of a child is so sweet, what must that of
heaven be? But behold the scene now
changed; the Mother appeared clothed as a
Queen, and the
Child resplendent with beauty
like the sun. He took the flowers and scattered them on the head of Domenica,
who recognizing Jesus and Mary in those personages, was already prostrate
adoring them. Thus the vision ended. Domenica afterwards took the habit
of a Domicaness, and
died
in the odor of sanctity in the
year 1553.
Prayer
O beloved Mother of God, most amiable
child Mary,
O that, as thou didst present thyself in the temple,
and with promptitude and without reserve,
didst consecrate thyself to the glory and love of God,
I could offer thee, this day, the first years of my life,
to devote myself without reserve to thy service,
my holy and most sweet Lady!
But it is now too late to do this;
for, unfortunate creature that I am,
I have lost so many years in the service of the world and my own caprices,
and have lived in almost entire forgetfulness of thee and of God:
"Woe to that time in which I did not love thee!"
But it is better to begin late than
not at all.
Behold, O Mary, I this day present myself to thee,
and I offer myself without reserve to thy service
for the long or short time that I still have to live in this world;
and in union with thee I renounce all creatures,
and devote myself entirely to the love of my Creator.
I consecrate my mind to thee, O
Queen,
that it may always think of the love that thou deservest,
my tongue to praise thee, my heart to love thee.
Do thou accept, O most holy Virgin,
the offering which this miserable sinner now makes thee:
accept it, I beseech thee, by the consolation that thy heart
experienced when thou gavest thyself to God in the temple.
But since I enter thy service late,
it is reasonable that I should redouble my acts of homage and love,
thereby to compensate for lost time.
Do thou help my weakness with thy powerful intercession, O Mother of Mercy,
by obtaining me perseverance from thy Jesus,
and strength to be always faithful to thee until death;
that thus always serving thee in life, I may praise thee in Paradise for all eternity.
Amen.
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