Mary Is a Model to Religious Persons in Her Presentation in the Temple

It is an ancient and well-grounded tradition that Mary was led to the Temple to be presented to the Lord at three years of age, and that she dwelt in that sacred abode until the age of fourteen that is to say, as long as was permitted by the laws of the Sanhedrim. Saint Bonaventure relates to us the life led by the Most Holy Virgin in that voluntary retirement. 'We may learn,' says this Father, 'what Mary did in the Temple from her own revelations to one of her faithful servants, supposed to be Saint Elizabeth.' Amongst other things we read as follows: 'As soon as I was left in the Temple by my parents, I determined in my heart to look upon God as my Father. I often considered what I could do to merit His grace, and I began to instruct myself in His holy law. But of all the Divine precepts, these three principally occupied my attention: (1) Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength; (2) thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; (3) thou shalt hate thy enemy.

God had commanded all the Hebrews to visit the Temple, but all, rich and poor, were forbidden to enter it empty-handed: Non apparetis in conspectu meo vacuus. The offering, however, was not the same for all. The rich were to give according to their riches, the poor according to their poverty, and thus all were able to observe the precept. From this we may understand that when seculars come to God and offer Him the desire and will, they entertain to follow and observe His Divine commandments. He will be satisfied with this offering, and if they put it in practice faithfully, they will obtain eternal life. But let those souls who are rich in means for doing great things for the glory of God, such as religious persons, beware lest they present themselves with the offering of the poor - that is, of seculars; for God will not be satisfied with such an offering. Our Lord, in calling you, my dear sisters, into Holy Religion, enriched you with His graces, and on this account He requires much from you; that is, He will have your offering to be of all that you are, and of all that you possess, without any reserve.

The Blessed Virgin, in her Presentation, made an offering pleasing to God; offered not only the dignity of her person (the most excellent amongst pure creatures), but all that she possessed. How happy are the Religious who, by means of their vows, have consecrated all to God, dedicating to Him their bodies, their hearts, and all that they possess; renouncing riches by the vow of poverty, pleasures by the vow of chastity, and their whole will by the vow of obedience! Worldlings, you may enjoy your riches if you will, but do not abuse them, nor wrong anyone. The pleasures that Holy Church permits are lawful; you are not prohibited in a thousand circumstances from following your own will, provided it be not contrary to that of God. But you, Religious, should offer all to God, without any reserve. He wishes your offering to be entire, such as is the gift He makes to you of Himself in the Divine Sacrament of the Altar. Forget not that you cannot deceive Him, and if you say that you wish to consecrate yourselves perfectly to His Divine Majesty, and do not really do so, you are in danger of being punished like Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the Holy Ghost.

Now, the Blessed Virgin was always perfectly obedient to the Will of God, from the first instant of her conception, without ever changing or suspending for a moment the resolution she had formed to serve Him.

Do we not daily experience how changeable is man in his good resolutions? How often, even in one hour, do we not like and dislike the same thing, and allow ourselves to be moved by excessive joy or excessive sadness! This was not the case with Our Lady; she hourly became more perfectly united to God, and merited fresh graces, and the more she received, the more did she render her soul worthy to receive them. By these means she was always strengthening her first resolution, so that the only change that could have been perceptible in her was the progress she made from one degree of perfection to another, through the practice of every virtue. It was for this purpose that she wished to retire into the Temple, not through any need she had of this retreat, for her perseverance was assured by her consecration at the first moment of her existence, but in order to instruct us, who are so changeable and inconstant, that it is our duty to make use of every means in our power to strengthen and preserve our good resolutions.

Imitate the Most Holy Virgin also in this. Dedicate, therefore, yourselves entirely to God; and whenever you renew your consecration, you will acquire new strength and vigour in the service of His Divine Majesty. Renew your resolutions, renew them frequently and with fidelity, to the end of your life. This was the careful practice of all the Saints of both the Old and of the New Testament. Our nature is of itself weak and easily depressed when there is a question of virtuous resolutions. The earth itself has its periods of weakness, and refuses to be always yielding its produce; so it lies barren in winter. But when the spring arrives it renews itself, and having recovered fresh vigour, it gives us the benefit of its fruits.

For this reason Holy Church, like a wise Mother, puts before us from time to time, during the course of the year, special festivals, to animate us to renew our good resolutions. Who will not renew his soul on the solemn festivals of Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas, by holy affections and firm resolutions to live more virtuously? But besides the observance of all these festivals, it has ever been a laudable custom for persons more especially consecrated to God, such as Religious, to choose one day in particular during the course of the year upon which to renew their vows, and by so doing to obey the great Apostle, who counsels us to confirm our vocation.

Divine Providence has permitted for our instruction, that Our Lady should renew in her Presentation the sacrifice which she had made of her whole self at the moment of her Immaculate Conception. Do you, then, religious souls, make this renewal in imitation of her, and do it with great fervour of spirit, with profound humility, and ardent charity. Place your hearts, your souls, and your entire being in the hands of this Holy Virgin; she will present you to the Most Holy Trinity, and you will obtain a thousand blessings in this life, and will be enabled to arrive at eternal glory in the next.

'I kept the commandments in my heart, and I quietly embraced all the virtues that they contain. It is thus that I wish you to conduct yourself. In fact, the soul can possess no virtue whatever if it do not love God with all its powers, because it is from this love alone that the fulness of grace (without which virtue will never be preserved in the soul) descends to us; but it will pass like running water and vanish if the soul hates not its enemies, which are sin and vice. He who desires to acquire and preserve grace must accustom his heart, then, to the exercise of this love and of this hatred, and it is in this that I wish to be imitated by you.'

The faithful servant of Mary, having heard these words, replied: 'My sweetest Lady, wast thou not already full of grace and virtue?' The Blessed Virgin replied: 'Be certain that I believed myself to be the vilest sinner, and, like you, unworthy of grace. You perhaps believe, my daughter, that all the grace which I possessed was acquired without difficulty. But it was not so. On the contrary, I received no grace or favour without constant prayer, ardent desire, deep devotion, and many tears, with long afflictions, excepting, however, the grace of sanctification, which was given to me from my conception in my mother's womb, and, as far as I knew, I never said or thought of anything but what was pleasing to my God.' She added: 'Be assured also that no grace descends into the soul, except through the channel of prayer and corporal mortification. But as soon as we have given to God all that we possess, He Himself comes quickly to dwell within us, bringing with Him such inestimable gifts that the soul feels her heart to fail; she loses the remembrance of having ever done or said anything acceptable to God, and she becomes more and more vile and contemptible in her own eyes.' - Maria Regina e Madre Dei Santi, by l'Abate Guyard, Vicar General of Montalbano.

Spiritual Flowers

Flowers fade quickly if they are much handled, but if they are not touched they may be preserved a long time. - Thomas À Kempis

The root of the plant is hidden under ground and trodden under foot; it has neither odour nor beauty, and yet it gives life to the flower. Thus a humble soul may, like Mary, be despised, it may be trodden upon, forgotten; but this is the way for it to produce flowers and fruits for eternal life. - Nouet

The lily is the symbol of chastity; it preserves its whiteness and sweetness in the midst of thorns, so long as it is left untouched, but as soon as ever it is plucked it emits so overpowering an odour that it causes headache. - Saint Francis of Sales

Whiteness is not an essential property of the rose - indeed, red roses are more beautiful and of sweeter odour; but it is the property of the lily. Let us endeavour to be what we are, and as justly and perfectly as possible, that we may do honour to our Maker. - Saint Francis of Sales

Example

The edifying Death of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal

It was on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary that this Saint was attacked by the first serious symptoms of her fatal illness. On the eve of the feast she was in the refectory, and after the blessing of the table she knelt down, and with her arms in the form of a cross repeated twice these words: O Mater Dei, memento mei. She then commented upon these words thus: 'Holy Mother of God, by your Immaculate Conception, remember me and assist me always, especially at the hour of my death.' She remained for a long time afterwards in the same posture, absorbed in profound recollection.

The following day she was confined to her bed to rise no more. Her illness increasing every hour, she knew that her end approached, and thought only of preparing herself to appear before God. She received the last Sacraments with striking fervour, and preserved her calmness and serenity amidst the tears and sobs of all the community. During her intense sufferings she was heard to address the following prayer to the Most Holy Virgin: 'O Mary, Mother of Grace, Mother of Mercy, defend me from the snares of the infernal enemy, and receive my soul into your hands at the moment of my death.' She kept a picture of her Protectress always near her bed; and when her speech failed she made great efforts to turn her eyes frequently towards this dear picture, and before she breathed her last asked to kiss it once more, and to have it buried with her in the tomb.

Prayer - O Mary, the purest of Virgins! terrified at my weakness and at the dangers that surround me, I recommend to thy loving care with all confidence the chastity of my soul and body. Permit me not, O Queen of the Angels, to be defiled by the least stain after having been adorned with purity and innocence, like a vessel of honour and glory. Banish from my heart all sensual desires, evil thoughts, and irregular affections. To thy love, O my good Mother, do I confide my heart; purify it, render it worthy to be offered to thy Beloved Son, that, having here on earth imitated thee in the most beautiful of thy virtues, I may enjoy with thee for ever in heaven the happiness promised to the clean of heart. Amen.

Ejaculation - Grant, O my God, that through Mary I may belong entirely to Jesus!

Practice - If you should meet with any contradiction to-day, preserve your peace of soul.

- text taken from the book A Month of Mary According to the Spirit of Saint Francis de Sales, by Father Gaspar Gilli