Thoughts to Live by, 21 November

21st November, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time:

Readings— Zec. 2:14-17; (Ps) — Lk. 1:46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55; Mt. 12:46-50.

1. The apocryphal ProtoEvangelium of James in the 2nd century (non-canonical or not approved as inspired) says that at 3 yrs old Mary was brought by her parents, Joachim and Anne, to the temple to be educated and raised as a consecrated virgin. She remained in the temple precincts until she was 12, at which time Joseph was assigned as her guardian. Coptic tradition says that Joachim died when Mary was 8 yrs old and Anne died when Mary was 6 yrs old. Her entry into the Temple was to fulfill a promise made by her parents, who in their old age, longed for a child. Mary was the answer to their prayers.

2. The Feast was celebrated in the 6th century by the Eastern Church as “the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple.” It originated as a result of the dedication of the New Church of the Theotokos (Mother of God) built in 543 by the Byzantines under Emperor Justinian near the site of the ruined Temple of Jerusalem. The devotion spread to the West and became widespread. The feast appeared in the liturgical documents of the 11th century. Its celebration was extended to the Universal Church by Pope Sixtus V in 1585. A feast of popular piety, it signifies Mary’s total and lifelong dedication to God and heralds her future vocation as the sacred vessel of the Incarnation. The Feast of the Presentation of Mary is also “Pro Orantibus” Day, a day of prayer for cloistered Religious, “totally dedicated to God in prayer, silence, and concealment” (Angelus Address of Pope Benedict XVI, Nov 19, 2006).

3. 1st Reading, Zec. 2:14-17 — Zechariah envisions the defeat of Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia that were responsible for the scattering of the Jews. Then he speaks of their return to the holy city of Jerusalem. “Sing and rejoice, daughter Zion! Now I am coming to dwell in your midst” (v. 14). In the context of the Feast, “daughter Zion” can have two levels of meaning. “Daughter Zion” can refer to the Virgin Mary. She rejoices that the Lord dwells in her. It can also refer to Jerusalem or Zion. The holy city rejoices that the Lord dwells in her Temple.

4. “Many nations will bind themselves to the Lord on that day. They will be my people, and I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion of the holy Land, and the Lord will again choose Jerusalem” (vv. 15-16). The Lord wants to extend his covenant to all nations, but Judah and Jerusalem will always be the special chosen one. “Silence, all people, in the presence of the Lord, who stirs forth from his holy dwelling” (v. 17).

5. Gospel, Mt. 12:46-50 — the Family of Jesus. As Jesus is speaking to the crowds his mother and his brothers (cousins) appear and wish to speak with him. Someone tells him about this (vv. 46-47). But Jesus replies to him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” (v.48). He stretches out his hand towards his disciple, and says, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly father is my brother, and sister, and mother” (vv. 49-50).

6. It would seem that Jesus is rejecting his own mother. But he knows that his mother made the Incarnation possible by her unconditional and total obedience to God’s will when she said, “i am your maid servant. Let it be done to me according to your word.”
The words of Jesus refer to a new famlly of faith, led by the Apostles, whose spiritual mother would be the Virgin Mary.

7. Prayer — O Lord, today we venerate the glorious memory of the most holy Virgin Mary, grant, we pray, through her intercession, that we, too, may merit to receive a share from the fullness of your grace, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayers, best wishes, God bless!