the presentation of mary

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Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

• November 21
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Image:   Presentation of Mary in the Temple  | Alfonso Boschi | photo by sailko

Saint of the day for november 21.

The Story of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary’s presentation was celebrated in Jerusalem in the sixth century. A church was built there in honor of this mystery. The Eastern Church was more interested in the feast, but it does appear in the West in the 11th century. Although the feast at times disappeared from the calendar, in the 16th century it became a feast of the universal Church.

As with Mary’s birth, we read of Mary’s presentation in the temple only in apocryphal literature. In what is recognized as an unhistorical account, the  Protoevangelium of James  tells us that Anna and Joachim offered Mary to God in the Temple when she was 3 years old. This was to carry out a promise made to God when Anna was still childless.

Though it cannot be proven historically, Mary’s presentation has an important theological purpose. It continues the impact of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the birth of Mary. It emphasizes that the holiness conferred on Mary from the beginning of her life on earth continued through her early childhood and beyond.

It is sometimes difficult for modern Westerners to appreciate a feast like this. The Eastern Church, however, was quite open to this feast and even somewhat insistent about celebrating it. Even though the feast has no basis in history, it stresses an important truth about Mary: From the beginning of her life, she was dedicated to God. She herself became a greater temple than any made by hands. God came to dwell in her in a marvelous manner and sanctified her for her unique role in God’s saving work. At the same time, the magnificence of Mary enriches her children. They—we—too are temples of God and sanctified in order that we might enjoy and share in God’s saving work.

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The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

When Mary was asked to be the mother of the Savior, she was completely free to accept or reject the offer. Her response, “Let it be done to me,” was a great act of faith. Because she did not understand what was happening, she must have known that there would be difficulties ahead.

She replied yes to the angel's announcement and agreed to become the mother of Jesus, and the Church has declared Mary to be the Mother of God. Because she was the first to say yes to the Messiah, the Church has declared her to be the Mother of the Church.

The feast of the presentation of Mary dates back to the 6th century in the East and the 15th century in the West. It is based on an ancient tradition that says Mary was taken to the temple in Jerusalem when she was 3-years-old and dedicated to God. What we celebrate on this day is the fact that God chose to dwell in Mary in a very special way. In response, Mary placed her whole self at the service of God. Every moment since your Baptism, God invites you to be open to his grace and dedicate yourself to him, as Mary did.

from Saints and Feast Days , by Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio

Image credit: Presentation of Mary by Titian, 1538. Public Domain via Wikimedia.

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple recalls – according to the apocryphal gospels, the day on which Mary, while still a child, was brought to the temple in Jerusalem to be offered to God. The Church wants to emphasize not so much the historical event in itself, of which there is no trace in the Gospels, but the total gift that Mary made of herself, by listening: “ Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it” (Lk. 11:28). This experience prepared the young girl from Nazareth to become the “temple of the Son of God”.

The celebration of this feast dates back to the 6 th century in the East with the dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary the New built by the Emperor Justinian I near the ruins of the temple in Jerusalem. There is evidence that various monasteries in Italy celebrated the feast in the 9 th century. It was not until the 15 th century that it was included in the Roman Missal.

This is also the on which the Church celebrates the World Day of Cloistered Life, established by Pope Pius XII in 1953.

While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother”. (Mt. 12:46-50)

Bonds of love, not of blood

For the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the liturgy proposes the passage from Matthew that speaks about how we are “related” to Jesus. It is a relationship not formed by blood, but by imitation: “ Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother”. To become a member of “His family”, one must do so not by blood or belonging to a particular religion. Rather, it is a free and personal choice that translates into a commitment to do the will of the Father.

Mary, the first disciple

Confirming what has just been said, Jesus Himself said this in responding thus to a woman who was praising His Mother: “ ‘ Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.’ He replied, ‘Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.’ ” Mary is the woman who knows how to listen, who knows how to contemplate, who knows how to refer everything to her Son – “ Do whatever He tells you” (Jn. 2:5). Mary is the One who never abandoned her Son Jesus, not even along the way of the Cross. She “stood” under the Cross. She is a disciple who never abandons the Lord Jesus, who always “stands behind” Him.

Mary, model for Christians

All of this can help us imitate the Virgin Mary. Every Christian is called to look at Mary so as to learn from her, to entrust themselves to her intercession and to guard the “purity of the faith” against any idols that surround us.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

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Why do we celebrate Mary’s presentation?

It is true that scholars debate the authenticity of the feast of the Presentation of Mary, which finds its origin in the apocryphal work  The Protoevangelium of James . As a devotee of the Marian biographies published by Maximus the Confessor, Venerable Maria of Agreda and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, I can affirm each gives an account of Mary’s presentation in the temple at the age of 3. Rather than dwelling on the historicity of today’s event, though, let’s lend our meditation to the feast itself — more specifically: Why do we celebrate Mary’s presentation? The answer is straightforward: The life of Mary provides an example for us, especially in our own spiritual lives. Christians can appropriate spiritual insights for ourselves from the feast of Mary’s Presentation.

The importance of pilgrimage

Tradition believes that Joachim and Anne were barren, and for that reason people of the biblical era would have viewed the couple with suspicion and looked down on them. Like any other couple hoping to conceive, Joachim and Anne prayed to God, asking for the blessing of a child. God heard their prayer, and they were grateful to Him. The story of Joachim and Anne like the Old Testament account of the barren Hannah, who begged God for a child and later gave birth to Samuel. Maximus the Confessor, draws out the similarity in his  The Life of the Virgin , comparing the name Hannah and Anna. The Presentation of Mary reminds us of Hannah’s willingness to offer Samuel back to God because Joachim and Anne bring the child Mary to the temple in a similar fashion at the age of 3.

Joachim, Anne and Mary lived in Nazareth, meaning if they presented Mary in the temple they had to go on a pilgrimage. Many Catholics go on pilgrimage. 2017 was a popular year for pilgrimage because of the centennial anniversary of the Fatima apparitions. There are pilgrimage sites all over the world, including the Holy Land, Marian apparition sites and shrines to saints. A person might go on pilgrimage because of their fascination with a place or story of a saint, or to ask God for a special favor. The Presentation of Mary reminds us that we can go on a pilgrimage of thanksgiving, to give thanks to God for a blessing received. In their gratitude, Joachim and Anne pledged to dedicate Mary to God and give her to His service in the temple. To carry this out, it meant they had to make sacrifice and go on pilgrimage.

 Mary’s choice for God

The Presentation of Mary also highlights the fact Mary chooses God at this point in her life, even if at such a young age. On Dec. 8 the Church celebrates Mary’s preservation from Original sin, called her Immaculate Conception. We could say that God chose Mary, as he foresaw the merits of Christ’s cross and applied them to Mary. But the Presentation allows Mary to exercise her free will and choose to live her life devoted to God. Mary’s choice lends us an example to follow. Each day is an opportunity for us to renew and recommit ourselves to the Lord’s service, just as she did in the temple.

Mary’s preparation for Advent

The biographies of Mary suggest Mary remained in the temple after her Presentation. This means she dedicated herself in service to the temple and to whatever tasks she was assigned. It was a time of spiritual formation. She heard the word of God proclaimed, including the prophecies that would be fulfilled through her. Perhaps hearing the story of Hannah and Samuel resonated with her as she would later make Hannah’s prayer her own in the Magnificat. She also would have spent much time in personal prayer, living in the presence of the Holy of Holies only to receive the All Holy One within her very being at the Annunciation. Catholics can look back and see Mary’s time in the temple, from the age of 3 to 12, as a time of advent and preparation. God called her to be there, and, in turn, she chose God. Because of this, God prepared her to receive the savior of the world. The celebration of Mary’s presentation in the temple is an anticipation of the Advent we commence around the time of this feast. Throughout the holy season of Advent, with Mary we can listen to the prophecies, watch and pray for the coming of the Dawn from on high.

The historical details of Mary’s presentation should not be our primary concern in celebrating her feast. The tradition of observing it reminds us that Mary lived her life for God, and we should too. She is the model of the Church, and in her life we find the example for how to live our own.

Fr. Looney is a priest of the diocese of Green Bay.

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Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Feast day: Nov 21

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The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated every year on November 21, commemorates (in the words of the Liturgy of the Hours, the daily prayer of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church) "that dedication of herself which Mary made to God from her very childhood under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who filled her with grace at her Immaculate Conception ." Also known as the Dedication of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the feast originated in the East, where it is called the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos Into the Temple.

Quick Facts

• Date: November 21.
• Type of Feast: Memorial.
• Readings: Revelation 4:1-11; Psalm 150:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6; Luke 19:11-28 ( full text here )
• Prayers: The Hail Mary
• Other Names for the Feast: The Dedication of the Blessed Virgin Mary; The Presentation of Mary; The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos Into the Temple

History of the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

While the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was not generally celebrated in the West until the 11th century, it appears in most of the earliest calendars of the Eastern Churches. Derived from accounts in apocryphal literature, especially the Protoevangelium of James , the feast seems first to have appeared in Syria, where the Protoevangelium and other apocryphal books, such as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew , originated. The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary first rose to prominence, however, in Jerusalem, where it was associated with the dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary the New.

That basilica was built near the ruins of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the Protoevangelium of James and other apocryphal works told the story of Mary's presentation at the Temple at the age of three. In gratitude for being granted a child after years of infertility, Mary's parents, Saints Joachim and Anna , had vowed to dedicate Mary to the service of God at the Temple. When they presented her at the Temple at the age of three, she stayed willingly, showing her dedication to God even at that young age.

The Presentation and the Protoevangelium of James

The Protoevangelium of James, while an extrabiblical document, is the source of many details of Mary's life that became universally accepted by the Church, including the names of her parents, the story of her birth , her age at her betrothal to Saint Joseph, and Saint Joseph's advanced age and his status as a widower with children by his first wife. It also played a large role among Christians, both Eastern and Western, in recognizing Mary as the new Temple, the true Holy of Holies. When Mary left the Temple at the age of 12 after her betrothal to Joseph, she remained pure and chaste, and at the Annunciation , God came to dwell in her.

The Spread of the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary first made its way to the West through monasteries in Southern Italy in the ninth century; by the 11th century, it had spread to other locales but was by no means universally celebrated. Under the influence of a French nobleman, Philippe de Mazières, Pope Gregory XI began celebrating the feast during the Avignon papacy.

Pope Sixtus IV first placed the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the universal calendar in 1472, but in the Tridentine reform of the calendar in 1568, Pope Pius V removed the feast. It was restored 17 years later by Pope Sixtus V and remains in the Roman calendar today as a memorial.

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Lessons from the Presentation of Mary

My oldest child was baptized on the feast of the Presentation of Mary. I didn’t realize that that was the day’s feast at the time, because it fell on a Sunday that year (and the feast of Christ the King took precedent). I was delighted to realize that she was baptized on so fitting a feast.

The feast of the Presentation of Mary, recalls the tradition that, as a young child, Mary was presented to the temple by her parents, in order to be raised there. This, of course, calls to mind other instances in Scripture where a child is dedicated to God from a young age. The first to come to mind is the story of Samuel, whose mother, Hannah, prayed for a child and gratefully presented her son to the temple once he was weaned. Like Hannah, tradition holds that Sts. Anne and Joachim (the parents of Mary) prayed for a child for many years, before being given Mary.

The idea of presenting a toddler or preschooler to a temple to be raised sounds like abandonment to our modern ears. I remember the year that my oldest daughter turned three (the age that it is traditionally thought that Mary was entrusted to the temple). I took her to Mass on the feast of the Presentation of Mary that year, to celebrate the anniversary of her baptism. Suddenly, it hit me – this beautiful, funny, adorable little person in my arms was the same age that Mary was, when her parents presented her. My heart ached at the thought of having to give up my own sweet daughter at such a tender age, and I was grateful that it wasn’t necessary.

Certainly, the concept of entrusting a child to the temple sounds like abandonment. In a sense it is, but not in the sense that we may be thinking of. The child would have been well provided for in the temple, would not have wanted for food, clothing, shelter, or education. The parents certainly didn’t forsake the child. In fact, most images of the Presentation of Mary show the high priest of the temple eagerly waiting for her, with his arms wide open. Mary certainly would have been well cared for.

However, there is another sense of the word “abandonment.” In the spiritual tradition, when we speak of abandonment, we are referring to a complete and total entrusting of one to God’s love and providence. In this sense, what Anne and Joachim did was abandonment – total and utter abandonment to the will of God in the life of their daughter.

Another key feature of images of Mary’s Presentation is the willingness with which she entered the Temple. I have a toddler daughter of my own, and I can’t image her skipping up the steps of the church into the arms of a priest or nun (and her father works at a seminary, so she actually is friends with a number of priests and nuns!). She would certainly resist, and a parting like this would be traumatizing for both of us. But this isn’t the case for Mary. The tiny child shown in these images eagerly and peacefully looks up to the Temple. We don’t know exactly how Mary reacted to the parting with her parents, but this depiction of her makes perfect sense. This is she whose son would later say, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Of course she, too, would long to be close to God.

As a mother, I can only imagine how tremendously painful this would have been for Mary’s parents (especially her mother, who had probably only recently weaned her). Presenting Mary to the Temple was no small sacrifice on their part.

For my fellow parents, the inference is simple – do we relinquish our children to God’s plan for their lives? Or do we constantly try to conform them to our own desires? Are we willing to abandon our children to the work of God’s providence in their lives?

For all of us – parents and non-parents alike – there is an even stronger message. Do we long for God the way that Mary did? Do we find ourselves running and leaping up the steps of the Temple, or dragging our feet at the realization that doing so means time taken away from checking Facebook/tuning in to the football game/binging on a TV series on Netflix/sleeping an extra hour? I am fairly certain that Mary would have missed her parents. But I also am certain that she entered the Temple with joy. There is nothing wrong with browsing Facebook (or whatever your social media outlet of choice may be). There is nothing wrong with following your favorite sports team, or sleeping in on occasion, or relaxing with a good book and a mug of coffee or a glass of wine. Of course, there is nothing wrong with loving your children and not wanting to let go of them. There is, however, something wrong with loving each of these things more than God. There is something out of order when our longing for something else makes us less free to long for God.

What is preventing us from dancing up the steps of the Temple, into the arms of God?

image: Renata Sedmakova / Shutterstock.com

By Michele Chronister

Michele Chronister is a wife, and mother to three little girls and one little one in heaven. She received her BA and MA in theology from the University of Notre Dame (’09 and ’11). She is the author of a number of books, including Handbook for Adaptive Catechesis, the co-author of Faith Beginnings – Family Nurturing from Birth Through Preschool, editor of the book Rosaries Aren't Just for Teething, as well as an assortment of Catholic children's books. In addition to writing, she also homeschools her daughters, and is the social media manager for the Office of Natural Family Planning in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. When her oldest was a baby, she realized that their family life had taken on a sort of monastic rhythm – eat, pray, play, sleep. Prompted by this, she started the blog My Domestic Monastery ( www.mydomesticmonastery.com ), where she shares inspiration for families wanting to grow in holiness.

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The Presentation of Mary: All the House of Israel Loved Her

Why do we love the Blessed Virgin Mary? Because we loved her Son first. Thus, Mary has become the Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted and the Help of Christians everywhere.

Angelo Stagnaro, November 21, 2016 – National Catholic Register

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the holidays that seems to get lost in all of the Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations every year. But, despite it not being as flashy of other beloved Marian holidays such as the Annunciation or the Assumption, it behooves a Christian to pause at this time every year to consider what this feast means.

This feast is one of a series of three Marian feasts that mirror those of Christ―her birthday (September 8), a celebration of her Holy Name (September 12) and her presentation in the Temple (November 21). The Christian will note that these are the three holidays in which we celebrate the major milestones of Christ’s infancy as well. ( i.e. , Christmas (December 25), the Holy Name of Jesus (January 3) and His Presentation at the Temple (February 2).

On November 21, hundreds of millions of Christians will celebrate the momentous occasion of Sts. Joachim and Anne bringing their child, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the Temple in Jerusalem for a blessing.

Yes… even Jesus had grandparents. Doting, wonderful, Jewish grandparents. If Joachim and Anne had raised such a wonderful child as the Blessed Virgin Mary, imagine how great they must have been as Jesus’  nono  and  nona .

Who couldn’t love a grandmother? In Italy, they are revered. There are even “Best Nona” contests held throughout the country. There’s an old expression used there to remind naughty children what the pecking order in the universe is: God, grandmother and mother… in that order. Everyone else falls in line from there on and they do so happily. After these hallowed three, it’s catch as catch can.

Considering this universal reverence, it only follows that we as a Church would want to know about Christ’s grandparentage. If we all have wonderful grandmothers who helped to form us in faith, certainly our Lord would have had one. As it so happens, according to the non-canonical  Protoevangelium of St. James  written in AD 200, we know Christ’s maternal grandparents were Sts. Anne and Joachim. In many ways, the story of St. Anne parallels that of Hannah bearing Samuel (1 Samuel 1). It’s interesting to note that  Anne  and  Hannah  are the same name in Hebrew. For those who are counting, according to St. Matthew’s Gospel, Christ’s paternal grandfather was named Jacob (Matthew 1:12). St. Luke lists his name as Heli (Luke 3:23). I’ve come across no reference to Jacob’s wife but, as a grandmother, how could she be anything less than wonderful and saintly?

The  Protoevangelium  describes Joachim as a rich farmer and herdsman and a native son of Nazareth. Akar, Anne’s father, gave up his nomadic ways and brought his wife to Nazareth to give birth to their daughter. Joachim married Anne when he was still a young man and Anne was in her forties. The couple was childless and greatly reviled because, among the ancient Jews, childlessness was seen as a curse and a mark of unworthiness. After fervent prayers on both of their parts, an angel appeared to Anne assuring her that she would give birth a child who would be praised throughout the world. At that, Anne replied to the angel that she would raise the child as a gift to God, dedicating the child to serving Him in holiness. At the same moment, another angel delivered the same message to Joachim who then ran home to share the news with Anne. Tradition teaches that the blessed grandparents lived to see Jesus’ birth and subsequent dedication at the Temple at Jerusalem.

According to the apocryphal  Infancy Narrative of James , once Mary was born, her parents brought her to the Temple to consecrate her to God.

In the similarly apocryphal  Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew  and the  Gospel of the Nativity of Mary , the Blessed Virgin was taken to the Temple at around the age of three to fulfill a vow her parents. Upon seeing her, a priest of the Temple greeted her with words reminiscent of the  Magnificat ―”All of Israel loved her.”

According to this document, Mary remained in the Temple to be educated in the Faith until the age of 12.

Of course, this is all from apocryphal texts but, though he noted their dubious origin, Pope Paul VI described their content in the 1974 encyclical  Marialis Cultus , saying “despite its apocryphal content, it presents lofty and exemplary values and carries on the venerable traditions having their origins in the Eastern churches.”

This feast day has been celebrated by the Church since the sixth century.

This feast is an opportunity for Christians to stop and consider Mary’s role in salvific history. It was her assent to God that eradicated Eve’s willful “no.” It was Mary’s self-giving that countermanded Eve’s selfishness. It was Mary’s trust in God that set us upon the Road to Salvation — as opposed to Eve’s trust in the Serpent, which set our species upon the Road to Perdition.

Mary was predestined to become the living temple of God, the Throne of Wisdom, the Ark of the Covenant, the Mirror of Justice, Mystical Rose and the Cause of our Joy… and our Joy is Christ Himself.

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Truth, Goodness, and Beauty

The Presentation of Mary

• November 21, 2023

Dr. Marc Tinsley

Trusting in God’s plan of salvation, the Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents brought her to the Temple of Jerusalem and dedicated her to God when she was just three years old.

Mary’s consecration at the Temple by her parents was in thanksgiving. When Joachim and Anne were still childless and unable to conceive, they received a heavenly message promising them a child.

Mary remained in the Temple after her presentation, dedicating herself in prayer and service. It was in the Temple that she received the spiritual formation that would prepare her to be the Virgin Mother of God.

Following Mary’s Immaculate Conception and her birth, apocryphal sources describe her presentation at the Temple as a child. The event is not recorded in the Gospels but is compatible with Sacred Scripture and Tradition.

Commemorating Mary’s presentation reinforces the fact that she was chosen by God and consecrated to the Lord from an early age by her parents.

The Catholic Church honors Mary’s purity and the faith of her parents on the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple, celebrated each year on November 21.

God prepared Mary in every possible way:

Preparing Mary to be the Mother of God:

Then the LORD God said to the snake: Because you have done this, cursed are you among all the animals, tame or wild; On your belly you shall crawl, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel. Genesis 3: 14-15

Entering the palace of the King:

Mary was completely dedicated to God from childhood:

“God sent forth his Son”, but to prepare a body for Him, He wanted the free co-operation of a creature. For this, from all eternity God chose for the mother of his Son a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, “a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary”: The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the part of the predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in the coming of death, so also should a woman contribute to the coming of life. Catechism of the Catholic Church 488

The child Mary was different:

Mary was set apart for an extraordinary life:

The Sacred Scriptures of both the Old and the New Testament, as well as ancient Tradition show the role of the Mother of the Savior in the economy of salvation in an ever clearer light and draw attention to it. The books of the Old Testament describe the history of salvation, by which the coming of Christ into the world was slowly prepared. These earliest documents, as they are read in the Church and are understood in the light of a further and full revelation, bring the figure of the woman, Mother of the Redeemer, into a gradually clearer light. When it is looked at in this way, she is already prophetically foreshadowed in the promise of victory over the serpent which was given to our first parents after their fall into sin. Likewise she is the Virgin who shall conceive and bear a son, whose name will be called Emmanuel. She stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who confidently hope for and receive salvation from Him. With her the exalted Daughter of Sion, and after a long expectation of the promise, the times are fulfilled and the new Economy established, when the Son of God took a human nature from her, that He might in the mysteries of His flesh free man from sin. Pope Paul VI, Lumen Gentium , 21 November 1964

All the conditions of the most perfect sacrifice:

Mary’s parents offered all that they had:

The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church

Resting in the teaching of the church:.

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The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Religious parents never fail by devout prayer to consecrate their children to the divine service and love, both before and after their birth. Some amongst the Jews, not content with this general consecration of their children, offered them to God in their infancy, by the hands of the priests in the temple, to be lodged in apartments belonging to the temple, and brought up in attending the priests and Levites in the sacred ministry. It is an ancient tradition, that the Blessed Virgin Mary was thus solemnly offered to God in the temple in her infancy. This festival of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, or, as it is often called by the Greeks, the entrance of the Blessed Virgin into the Temple, is mentioned in the most ancient Greek Menologies extant.

By the consecration which the Blessed Virgin made of herself to God in the first use which she made of her reason, we are admonished of the most important and strict obligation which all persons lie under, of an early dedication of themselves to the divine love and service. It is agreed amongst all masters of Christian morality, that everyone is bound in the first moral instant of the use of reason to convert his heart to God by love; and if divine faith be then duly proposed to him (which is the case of Christian children) by a supernatural assent to it, he is bound then to make an act of faith; also an act of hope in God as a supernatural rewarder and helper, and an act of divine charity. Who can be secure that in the very moment in which he entered into his moral life and was capable of living to God, did not stain his innocence by a capital omission of this duty? How diligent and solicitous are parents bound to be in instructing their children in the first fundamental mysteries of faith, and in the duty of prayer, and in impressing upon their tender minds a sense of spiritual things in a manner in which their age may be capable of receiving it. These first fruits of the heart are a sacrifice of which God is infinitely jealous, an emblem of which were all the sacrifices of first fruits prescribed in the old law, in token that he is our beginning and last end. Such a heart, adorned with the baptismal grace of innocence, has particular charms. Grace recovered by penance is not like that of innocence which has never been defiled; nor is it the same happiness for a soul to return to God from the slavery of sin, as for one to give him her first affections, and to open her understanding and will to his love before the world has found any entrance there. The tender soul of Mary was then adorned with the most precious graces, an object of astonishment and praise to the angels, and of the highest complacence to the adorable Trinity, the Father looking upon her as his beloved daughter, the Son, as one chosen and prepared to become his mother, and the Holy Ghost as his darling spouse.

Her first presentation to God, made by the hands of her parents and by her own devotion, was then an offering most acceptable in his sight. Let our consecration of ourselves to God be made under her patronage, and assisted by her powerful intercession and the union of her merits. If we have reason to fear that we criminally neglected this duty at the first dawning of our reason, or, if we have since been unfaithful to our sacred baptismal engagements, such is the mercy and goodness of our gracious God, that he disdains not our late offerings. But that these may be accepted by him, we must first prepare the present he requires of us, that is, our hearts. They must be washed and cleansed in the sacred laver of Christ's adorable blood, by means of sincere compunction and penance; and all inordinate affections must be pared away by our perfectly renouncing in spirit, honours, riches, and pleasures, and being perfectly disengaged from creatures, and ready to do and suffer all for God, that we may be entirely his, and that neither the world nor pride, nor any irregular passion may have any place in us. What secret affections to this or that creature lurk in our souls, which hinder us from being altogether his, unless they are perfectly cut off or reformed! This Mary did by spending her youth in holy retirement, at a distance from the commerce and corruption of the world, and by the most assiduous application to all the duties and exercises of a religious and interior life. Mary was the first who set up the standard of virginity; and, by consecrating it by a perpetual vow to our Lord, she opened the way to all virgins who have since followed her example. They, in particular, ought to take her for their special patroness, and, as her life was the most perfect model of their state, they ought always to have her example before their eyes, and imitate her in prayer, humility, modesty, silence, and retirement.

Mary lived retired until she was introduced into the world and espoused to St. Joseph. Some think her espousals were at first only a promise or betrothing: but the ends assigned by the fathers, seem rather to show them to have been a marriage. These are summed up by St. Jerome as follows: that by the pedigree of Joseph, the descent of Mary from the tribe of Juda, might be demonstrated; that she might not be stoned by the Jews as an adulteress; that, fleeing into Egypt, she might have the comfort and protection of a spouse. A fourth reason, says St. Jerome, is added by the martyr Ignatius: that the birth of the Son of God might be concealed from the devil. The words of that apostolic father are: "Three mysteries wrought by God in silence were concealed from the prince of this world. the virginity of Mary, the bringing forth of her Son, and the death of the Lord." Not that God could fear any impediment to his designs from the devil; but he was pleased to effect these mysteries in silence and without worldly show and noise, that pride and hell might, by his all-wise and sweet providence, be more meetly triumphed over, whilst the devil himself hastened his own overthrow by concurring to the mystery of the cross. From the marriage of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph, St. Austin shows that marriage requires no more than the mutual consent of the will between parties who lie under no impediment or inability to an indissoluble individual society of life. In this holy marriage we admire the incomparable chastity of Mary and Joseph; and the sanctity and honour, as well as the patronage and example, which that holy state receives from this mystery. In certain particular churches the espousals of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph are honoured with an office on the 23rd of January.

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Memorial of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary

Lectionary: 680

Below are the readings suggested for today's Memorial. However, readings for the Memorial may also be taken from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, #707-712.  

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Presentation of Mary

The presentation of mary in the temple.

On this day, the Church celebrates the mystery of Mary’s first encounter with her God.  With her YES, she goes up the steps of the Temple “without looking back”. She leaves everything and offers herself as a holy host, pleasing to God, giving herself entirely and forever. She is seduced by her God and she has allowed herself to be seduced.  Mary becomes God’s most pure temple. She remains in the temple in his presence.

Mary puts herself at the disposal of her God, simply, totally, humbly. Her gift is free and absolute. She desires only one thing: to be the little servant of the Lord who offers herself to her Master. God to whom she offers herself is her life, her joy, her happiness. That is why, the Feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple on  November 21 st , is the feast of the first yes , the feast of take Lord and receive.

THE BLESSED VIRGIN AND MARIE RIVIER

“the story of the life of madame rivier is almost solely the story of her devotion to the blessed virgin, of an uninterrupted reciprocity of trust and favors, of prayers and graces obtained by the intercession of the virgin mary.”, -monsieur hamon – the first biographer of blessed marie rivier.

It is in Montpezat, at the foot of the Pietà, that little Marie Rivier lets herself be seized by a mystery that is beyond her comprehension.  From this long contemplation of the dead Son being offered and of his broken-hearted Mother, she will learn the depths to which an offering of love can lead. Like Jesus and Mary, Marie Rivier’s heart will become ever more deeply a heart filled with compassion.

We can affirm that, from her childhood to the very last hours of her life, Marie Rivier placed herself totally in the hands of the Virgin Mary.  Over the course of their encounters, a kind of complicity was created between Marie Rivier and the Virgin Mary, one that deepened over the years.

The Virgin Mary is Marie Rivier’s foremost formator.  She teaches her Jesus Christ and the meaning of adoration and offering.  The mystery of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple is the perfect response to the deepest desires of Marie Rivier’s heart: “She always wanted her life to be a continuous Presentation: Here I am!” The feast of November 21st is closely linked to the offering of Jesus, the perfect Servant, who offered himself for the salvation of the world:  Holocausts and sin-offerings you do not require, so I said: “Here I am to do your will” (Ps 40). Therefore, it is not surprising to see Marie Rivier in awe before the mystery of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple: “This feast suffocates me by the ardent desires it awakens in me to sacrifice myself with Jesus Christ”.

THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AND MARIE RIVIER IN THE HISTORY OF FOUNDATION

The Birth of a Foundress

The Foundress, Marie RIVIER, was born in Montpezat, France, on December 19, 1768. She was not yet five years old when she felt a strong urge to dedicate her life to God to teach catechism to children. Deprived of the use of her legs following a fall she had at the age of sixteen months, she tirelessly begged Our Lady: “Blessed Virgin, heal me and I will gather children for you. I will make a school for them and teach them to love you.” It is there, at the foot of the Pietà that our Congregation was born.

At this School of the Cross and of the heart, Marie Rivier takes on ever more deeply, the sentiments of Jesus and his Mother. Her heart learns to love, to love tenderly, intensely, to the very end.

With Our Lady of Mercy, her compassionate heart opens to all types of suffering.

The Healing

Partially healed on September 8, 1774, she obtained her complete healing three years later on another feast of Mary, that of her Assumption. From then on, she only lives to fulfill her promise, certain that she can expect everything from the Blessed Virgin Mary. This confidence in Mary will be hers for the whole of her life.

The Promise

On  November 21, 1796,  the Feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple, in the midst of revolutionary turmoil and against the rules of human prudence, faithful to her promise, she founded her Institute, with the approval of the Vicar General of the Diocese, Monsieur Régis Vernet, priest of Saint-Sulpice who became the Counsellor and Father of the new foundation. With four companions, she consecrates herself to God and dedicates herself to the Christian instruction of youth.

The Prophesy

Her burning love for God, her daring zeal, her passion to make Jesus Christ known and loved to the ends of the earth, her tender and boundless charity for the afflicted, the poor and the abandoned children, made Pius IX call her the Woman Apostle. She died in the hunger of her zeal on February 3, 1838. Saint John Paul II beatified her on May 23, 1982.

Marie Rivier founded 149 schools during her lifetime. She predicted: “My daughters will cross the seas”. Less than twenty years after her death, the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary under the auspices of the Blessed Virgin Mary began to spread to other European countries and established themselves in America. The daughters of the Woman Apostle have crossed the seas. Foundations have multiplied on all four continents: America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

The Interior Strength

Marie Rivier was convinced of the urgency of prayer for an apostolic life. She placed particular emphasis on the spirit of prayer, the “interior retreat”, the presence of God, the state of adoration, and offering.   She was convinced that “nothing could be done without prayer”.  She attributed all that she had accomplished through the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

THE NAMING OF A CONGREGATION

Upon hearing the name, “Presentation of Mary in the Temple,” and the brief  explanations that her devout spiritual director, Msg. Pontanier gave her on the significance of this feast, Marie Rivier suddenly felt filled with great joy and deep conviction that her most cherished wishes would be fulfilled; that the community that she so wished, be born; and that the Blessed Virgin Mary herself wanted to preside over its birth, under the patronage of one of her most touching mysteries.

The following day November 21, 1796, “was a day of extraordinary fervor.” Marie Rivier’s supernatural joy spread to all in the house.  All of them received holy Communion from Monsieur Pontanier, and all of them dedicated themselves to Mary with unanimous and devout enthusiasm, which is the sign of celestial inspiration, and of great things to come.

After the ceremony Monsieur Pontanier gave her a seal bearing the initials of the “Ave Maria,” as he said to her: “Take this, for it will be the seal of your house.” It was the seal of the Sulpicians. The devout Foundress took the seal with respect, kissed it several times, and did not  want to part with it for the rest of the day.

This is the way the Institute of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary was founded on November 21, 1796, the feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple.

Marie Rivier never forget that it was under the patronage of Mary that her Congregation was born.

  “My children, always entrust yourself unreservedly to the Blessed Virgin Mary. At the beginning of our Congregation, it is She who did everything…” (MR)

• Taken from Venerable Marie Rivier by F. Mourret translated by S Alice Lebrun, pm

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The Presentation of Mary commemorates Mary’s parents dedicating her to the temple when she was 3.

The Story of the Presentation of Mary

The earliest account of Mary’s presentation is from the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James , which was written prior to 200 AD. Saints Joachim and Anne chose to dedicate their daughter Mary in thanksgiving to God. This parallels the story of Hannah giving away her son Samuel to the Lord. When Mary turned 3, they led her to the Temple where she walked up into the arms of the high priest Zacharis. He exclaimed:

The Lord has magnified your name in all generations. In you, on the last of the days, the Lord will manifest His redemption to the sons of Israel.

After blessing her, he set her down on the third step of the Temple and the grace of God fell upon her. Tradition also says that she remained in the Temple for her education, dedicated to the Lord, until she was 12.

Liturgical Origins for the Presentation of Mary

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Solemnity of the Annunciation: ‘The Angel of the Lord Declared Unto Mary’

ROSARY & ART: The First Joyful Mystery is the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38)

“This is the beginning. This is the day. You are watching the unfolding of one of history’s great adventures.”

Those dramatic words began the 1965 sci-fi series, “Lost in Space.” They are even more fitting for the Annunciation, history’s greatest adventure.

Using our liturgical calendar, let’s put ourselves at the end of March in northern Israel more than 2,000 years ago. Living in Nazareth is a young woman named Mary. She was an observant Jewish girl raised by her parents, Joachim and Anne. She was perhaps in her teens (remember the lifespan of the times) and probably very poor. As regards the latter, so was Joseph, the man to whom she was engaged, even though — somewhere long ago — his family was part of the line of the great King David. 

On that day — a day that likely began like many others — she was probably at home. She might have been praying. She might have been doing her chores. Neither should surprise us: in her day, God was a part of everyday life. Religion was not an optional add-on, something unusual to life.

Mary becomes aware of a presence. It might not have been a presence like Joachim’s or Anna’s or Joseph’s, but she knew it was real. She knew it was not this-worldly, but she also knew it was no threat. 

The presence manifests itself and speaks. The angel speaks to her, greeting her warmly with words that alone give sense to all our lives: “The Lord is with you!” She is “highly favored,” but her favor comes from her relationship with God. What’s more, Mary herself would have understood that. She knew that, by the world’s standards, she was poor little Miriam in poor backwater Nazareth. But, more importantly, theologically she knew that what made a life a success or failure was how one stood with God.

The angel reveals God’s plan: by the power of the Holy Spirit, she will conceive and bear a son, the “Son of God.” And, to confirm that declaration by rooting it in Mary’s life, the angel mentions the now advanced pregnancy of an older relative, Elizabeth, whom everybody probably expected would die childless. But “nothing is impossible with God.”

Did Mary otherwise already know of Elizabeth’s blessed state? Was Gabriel’s word news to her? How did its subsequent confirmation by “ordinary means” (like a letter) affect Mary?

Mary doesn’t understand. She is a virgin. How will she be a mother? 

The Angel explains God’s plan. And Mary knows “nothing is impossible with God.” There’s Elizabeth. And, as a Jewish girl, she certainly knew of the great Sarah, the wife of Abraham, who, in her old age, bore the son — Isaac — who would be the father of Jacob, also known as Israel. 

Yes, “nothing is impossible with God.” And that’s good enough.

Now, all that remains is the answer. This is the day. You are watching the unfolding of man’s greatest adventure. Heaven and earth are watching what a poor girl in backwater Israel says next.

“I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done with me according to your word.”

God respects our freedom. At the same time, freedom is not neutrality: freedom exists for the good. God certainly knew the goodness of this woman to whom he gave life from her conception free of all sin: the Immaculate Conception. Mary was free. Mary loved God. What God wanted was what Mary wanted. 

“May it be done with me according to your word.”

The Gospel is terse: “Then the angel departed.” And, no doubt, a song of joy arose across heaven that, nine months from now, some Bethlehem shepherds would hear but an echo. 

What God wanted was what Mary wanted.

Is that true of me? 

Do I, a sinner, honestly pray — as I am in this Rosary — “Thy will be done” when I really sometimes mean, “My will be done?” Am I always ready to say, as Jesus would in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not My will but Thine be done!” Even when saying that will lead to hard things, as did Gethsemane?

Today, we rejoice. Today, the human Mary has shown us fellow human beings how to talk to God. She has shown us humility: awareness of who she is, and of who God is. And that is why, she will soon sing, God “has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on, all ages will call me blessed” not because of what she has done as much as what she has allowed God to do with and for her.

The same principle applies to us. God is never a threat to you. “I know the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for harm; to give you a future with hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

The Annunciation has often been depicted in art, but perhaps never more masterfully than by the early Netherlandish painter, Jan van Eyck. His “Annunciation” dates from about 1435 and hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

Looking at this painting itself should inspire your Rosary meditation, because it is replete with theological allusions, e.g., the illustrations on the floor are not just decorations but allusions to Old Testament texts foretelling the coming of the Messiah. The written bands highlight the most important words in this dialogue: “Hail, full of grace” and “I am the handmaid of the Lord.”

Unlike most Annunciation scenes, Van Eyck sets his in a church, not Mary’s home. The Church today speaks of Mary as “Mother of the Church.” But the Church is a sacrament, i.e., a visible sign of God’s invisible grace. And the Church first takes flesh here, on the Annunciation, in the form of she who was not “just” Mother of God but also Jesus’ first disciple and, by her Immaculate Conception, the first beneficiary of his Redemption. 

Jesus’ life begins today. Today — not Christmas — Jesus entered the world. Let’s not forget that when so many of his brothers and sisters are denied entrance to that world once their lives begin.

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John Grondelski John M. Grondelski (Ph.D., Fordham) is former associate dean of the School of Theology, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey. He is especially interested in moral theology and the thought of John Paul II. [Note: All views expressed in his National Catholic Register contributions are exclusively the author’s.]

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Easter Annunciation spotlights Mary: the 1st ‘Easter Woman’

NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP

I love it when the Solemnity of the Annunciation falls on the Monday after the Easter Octave ends, which happens any time March 25 falls in Holy Week or Easter Week.

It feels like an extra Easter Day because Our Lady is closely associated with Easter.

After all, if we are “an Easter people” then Mary was the first “Easter woman.” 

St. John Paul II famously said, “We are an Easter people and ‘Alleluia’ is our song.”

He said it on more than one occasion, and the more you look at how he explained it, the more one person emerges: Mary.

One thing that would make her the first Easter person is if she was the first one to see the Resurrection. The Church doesn’t teach definitively that this happened, but John Paul thought so.

But even if Mary wasn’t the first to see the Resurrection, she was the first to live it.

Easter Joy is not just joy that Jesus’s story had a happy ending, and not just joy that we will rise one day, but joy that we can “ walk in newness of life .” 

The first thing the Resurrection does for Christians is “open for us the way to a new life,” a life of grace, says the Catechism.

When he pronounced us an “Easter people” in 1986 , St. John Paul said this new life “demands a readiness to say with Mary: ‘Be it done unto me according to thy word.’”

The Risen Life we get at Easer is the life “Mary, full of grace” already lived — a life that fulfills the hope of the Our Father that his will “be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

A third way Mary is the first “Easter woman” is that she was the first adopted member of God’s family.

The next thing the Resurrection does, according to the Catechism, is “bring about filial adoption,” making us adopted sons and daughters of God. In baptism, we die and rise with Christ, and thereby “gain a real share in the life of the only Son.”

When he talks about our adoption as sons and daughters of God, St. Paul points to Mary . The Fathers of the Church call Mary “the Mother of the living,” repeating , “Death through Eve, life through Mary.”

If to be Easter people means being good adoptive sons and daughters of God, then Mary is the great Easter woman, since “By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity.”

Fourth, Mary is also the first “Easter woman” because she has already shared in the resurrection.

The last thing the resurrection does is give us the promise of life after death. “Christ’s resurrection — and the risen Christ Himself — is the principle and source of our future resurrection,” says the Catechism.

We already know what that looks like, because it happened to the Blessed Mother.  “The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians,” says the Catechism . 

Our body will enter heaven one day just like hers.

Last, if “Alleluia is our song,” it’s usually because we’re singing the Regina Caeli.

“Queen of heaven rejoice, alleluia!” begins the Easter hymn that Catholics sing more than any other, since the Regina Caeli takes the place of the Angelus, and is prayed at 6 am, noon, and 6 pm daily. 

When St. John Paul II told Black Americans in the first year of his pontificate that “We are Easter people and alleluia is our song,” he said that “Joy is the keynote of the Christian message,” starting from when the angel told Mary, “Rejoice, O full of grace, the Lord is with you” and continuing in our day. 

He instructed us to.

“Rejoice because Jesus has come into the world! … Rejoice because he rose again from the dead! … Rejoice because Jesus has come to set us free! And rejoice because he is the master of our life!”

… And do it for one more day, after the Easter Octave, for the Solemnity of the Annunciation.

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McNair Scholars Program

Home » Academics » Special Programs » McNair Scholars Program

About the McNair Scholars Program

For many university students, graduate school and doctoral programs may seem a distant goal. For first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students, continuing their education past the baccalaureate degree may seem virtually impossible.

The McNair Scholars Program is designed to  prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies  through involvement in research and other scholarly activities.

Founded in 1996 in honor of Ronald E. McNair, Ph.D., the laser physicist and Challenger space shuttle astronaut, the McNair Scholars Program was established to help first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students of any major to apply to and succeed in doctoral programs.

One of the ultimate goals of the program is to help diversify the faculty in colleges and universities as well as those employed in various areas of science.

Program Goals

The goal of the McNair Scholars Program is to help first-generation, low-income students, and especially students who are members of racial/ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education, gain access to graduate education and earn doctoral degrees (Ph.D., Psy.D., Ed.D.).

To achieve that goal, our scholars:

• Participate in research and other scholarly activities
• Enroll in appropriate graduate programs after earning their baccalaureate degree
• Continue on to a doctoral program
• Earn their doctorate-level degree

Benefits of the McNair Scholar Program

The McNair Scholars Program prepares undergraduate students by providing individual and group services designed to enhance successful entry into post-baccalaureate education. McNair Scholars Program staff and faculty mentors meet with scholars to provide them guidance toward achieving this goal. Scholars are provided with opportunities to attend seminars and conferences.

• Dedicated faculty mentor in scholar’s area of study
• Math and Verbal Skills Preparation
• Graduate School application fee waivers
• Reduced GRE test fees
• Paid summer research program, including free room and board ($2,800 stipend)
• Publication of summer research project in the McNair Research Journal
• Travel assistance to present research at conferences and visits to prospective graduate academic programs

Am I eligible for the McNair Scholars Program?

Students must meet the following criteria to be eligible for the McNair Scholars Program:

• Be an undergraduate student
• Demonstrate strong academic potential
• Complete a minimum of 60 hours of college credit before summer research begins
• At least one semester remaining before graduation
• A U.S. Citizen or Legal Permanent Resident
• Low-income and first-generation college student (neither parent received a Bachelor’s degree)
• Member of a government-recognized underrepresented racial/ethnic group in higher education (e.g., Hispanic, African American or Native American)

McNair Scholars Program Staff

Jennifer Zwahr-Castro, Ph.D. Director, McNair Scholars Program

Chaminade Tower, Room 342 210-436-3314 [email protected]

Joshua Dunn, Ph.D. Assistant Director, McNair Scholars Program

Charles Francis, Room 016 210-431-8054 [email protected]

Debbie Rivera Administrative Assistant, McNair Scholars Program

Charles Francis, Room 016 210-431-8021 [email protected]

SOUL Presentation

On Tuesday, April 16, at 6 p.m. in the Campus Ministry Lounge, the students from our 2024 Spring SOUL trip will be sharing about their experience in West Virginia, as well as possibilities for the 2025 SOUL trips.

All are welcome to attend and get involved in future planning!

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