The Most Holy Virgin

It is an ancient tradition that t he Blessed Virgi la sainte Vierge Mother of Jesus, presented at the Temple in her childhood. n, in her childhood, was solemnly offered to God in the temple; this is what gave rise to the feast celebrated today. It is called the Presentation, and the Greeks often give it the name of the Entry of the Blessed Virgin into the temple. It is mentioned in the oldest martyrologies, as well as in a constitution of the Emperor Manuel, reported by Balsamon. We have several discourses on this feast, authored by: Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, in the 13th century; Saint Tarasius, Patriarch of the same Church; the Emperor Leo the Philosopher; George, who was not Archbishop of Nicomedia, as Surius claims, but chancellor of the church of Constantinople, etc. It passed from the Greeks to the West, and it was celebrated in Avignon in 1372. Three years later, it is named in a letter from Charles V, King of France. Sixtus V ordered in 1585 that its office be recited throughout Sixte-Quint Pope who edited the works of Ambrose. the entire Church. According to Molanus, Pius II and Paul III had published it and attached indulgences to it.

Who could say with what holy dispositions Mary made this offering of herself to God? She dedicated and consecrated herself in the depths of her heart in a manner so pure and so eminent that never had angel or man dedicated himself to God with such purity and such love.

Heavenly spirits, seeing her courageously climb the steps of the temple and approach the sanctuary with an innocence, a gravity, a modesty, and a fervor entirely celestial, must have cried out with the Spouse of the Canticle: "How charming are your steps and how pleasant your footwear, O prince's daughter! How beautiful you are, how many attractions and graces you have, and how wonderful are the delights with which you are filled and which you give to those who look upon you!"

In this august ceremony, Mary separated herself from what she held most dear on earth and which most deserved her affections and, to obey the voice of God in Psalm XLIV, she forgot her people and her father's house. Joachim and Anne, for their part, gave to God what they had most precious and which was worth more than all the treasures of the world, and one saw then in the temple the most excell ent ho temple Place of the consecration and education of Mary. st that had ever been offered before the throne of the divine Majesty. But what were the employments of this incomparable virgin during the twelve years she remained enclosed there? We shall say in four words that she behaved there as a humble slave devoted to the service of her Lord, as a careful and intelligent disciple, applied to the lessons of her master, as a faithful spouse, anticipated by the caresses of her Spouse, and as a most pure victim immolating herself on the altar of her God. She said unceasingly what she has since said with such happiness: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word!" and, in this sentiment, she was the first at work, the most fervent in the offices of the temple, the most obedient to the priests, who represented to her the authority of God, and the most annihilated and humbled in the consideration of his adorable presence.

Epiphanius, a priest of Constantinople, believes that she learned the Hebrew language there, so as to be able to read the sacred books in their original tongue, and that she was also shown how to work with wool, thread, silk, and gold, so that she might manufacture or enrich the priestly ornaments.

Her sweetness and consolations as a spouse were no less. Saint John Chrysostom, explaining these words of the angel Gabriel in the first chapter of Saint Matthew: "Do not fear, Joseph, son of David, to take Mary as your wife," says that it was the custom among the Jews that, when a man had married a young girl who was not yet of marriageable age, he would take her into his own home to be himself the witness and guardian of her purity; Roman laws have since ordained the same thing. It seems that the Holy Spirit wished today to have regard for this custom. Mary was his spouse, but she was still very young; what does He do? He leads her into His house, which is the temple, in order for her to be raised there in an innocence and holiness worthy of her divine vocation. Three parts were distinguished in the temple: the Court, where everyone entered; the Holy Place, where the priests offered sacrifices, and the Holy of Holies, where only the high priest had the power to enter for the most august ceremonies. Saint Evodius, Patriarch of Antioch, and Saint Germanus of Constantinople, say without hesitation and as a thing known by an indubitable tradition, that Mary not only had permission to offer her prayers in the secret place destined for virgins, but that by a special privilege, she also had entry into the holiest part of the temple, at the foot of the Ark of the Covenant. It was there that, withdrawn all alone, she Arche d'alliance Sacred chest containing the Tablets of the Law. poured out her heart before God; it was there that she conversed tenderly with Him.

This quality of spouse did not prevent her from being, in the temple, the host and the victim of her God; she immolated herself continually to His glory; she made there every day a morning sacrifice and an evening sacrifice: a morning sacrifice, through acts of faith, trust, pure love, adoration, and praise; an evening sacrifice, through works of mortification and penance. Nothing was lacking in these sacrifices; they were entire and without reserve: for Mary never had any disordered affection nor any attachment to the creature: her renunciation was general, and nothing could please her but God alone. They were voluntary and she performed them with joy, for one can say of her what the prophet Isaiah says of her son: Oblata est quia ipsa voluit; "She was offered, because she herself willed it." Finally, they were accompanied by stability and perseverance, for many hold that it was at this time that she made a perpetual vow of virginity, and there are ev en doctors who believe tha vœu perpétuel de virginité Commitment of perpetual chastity made by Mary. t she had made it before her presentation. Saint Ambrose and Saint Jerome further consider here her modesty, her silence, her recollection, her assiduity in prayer, her charity for her companions, the care she took to inspire them with good and to lead them to sublime virtues, and her faithfulness in perpetually rendering thanks to her sovereign benefactor.

We leave it to the reader to make deeper meditations on the whole sequence of this mystery, contenting ourselves with noting that we must draw two great instructions from it: the first, not to delay in giving ourselves to God through a perfect conversion, just as Mary presented herself at the temple from her tenderest childhood. Indeed, we do not owe Him only our advanced age and our old age, but we owe Him all our years, all our hours, and all our moments, since, receiving them all from Him, it is just that we employ them only for His service. The second is to faithfully discharge our vows and our promises to God, as Mary discharged with such religion the vow that her parents had made for her birth, following this word of the King-Prophet: Vovete et reddite; "it is not enough to make vows, one must fulfill them." The vow is a contract that we enter into with God, in which we promise Him and He promises us; He will not lack fidelity in giving us what He has promised us; let us not lack accuracy in rendering to Him what we have promised Him. If we want our offerings to be perfectly pleasing to Him, let us unite them with those of our august Queen; let us make them with innocence, that purity of intention and that fervor which appeared in her presentation, and let us implore her help, so that, just as she never relaxed from her first resolutions, so we may remain firm, constant, and unshakable in the love of our sovereign Lord.

Popular art has treated the subject of the Presentation at the Temple: Mary is depicted being received by the high priest at the foot of the altar. Behind her are Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. In the sanctuary, behind the altar, the young Virgin, placed as if on a stone block, is fed by an angel until the age of twelve.

We have preserved the account o f Fr. G P. Giry French hagiographer, author of the version of the narrative presented. iry.