Rejoicing in the overwhelming trust she has placed in God
Reflections on the readings for the Memorial of the Presentation (November 21, 2020): RV 11:4-12; PS 144:1,2,9-10; LK 20:27-40
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days
Some early writings that are not part of Scripture, say that Saints Joachim and Anne had long prayed for a child before the Lord answered them with the extraordinary gift of a child. Mary would become the Mother of the Messiah...
Just as it is a great joy to meditate on the infancy narratives of Jesus in the Gospels, today we have the opportunity to ponder the early life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Nothing about her conception, birth, or presentation that we honor on this feast is recounted in the Bible. Yet the possibility of her parents arranging to bring their small daughter to the Jerusalem Temple in deep gratitude to Almighty God is an appealing one. Some early writings that are not part of Scripture, say that Saints Joachim and Anne had long prayed for a child before the Lord answered them with the extraordinary gift of a child. Mary would become the Mother of the Messiah, our Savior and the Son of God, even though her parents could not know this.
Surely in her childhood Mary learned the beautiful Psalms that must have expressed her own utter devotion to God. Included among them is this the reading from today’s Mass, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock… My mercy and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield, in whom I trust.… O God, I will sing a new song to You; with a ten stringed lyre I will chant your praise” (Psalm 144:1, 2, 9). Whether as a little girl at the Presentation, a young woman at the Annunciation, or a mother watching her Son die on a cross, Mary never held back on anything asked of her by the God she loved then, and loves now. She embraces the Divine Will with her body and soul, her heart and mind. And because God loves each and every one of us, she does, too. She will always aid in our salvation if we put ourselves in her care, with true childlike trust.
Suggested missionary action: Today, we can honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus and ours as well, by offering a World Mission Rosary for the help, protection and spiritual welfare of missionaries and all those they serve in every land.
