The Presentation of Mary
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Today, November 21, is the Feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple in Jerusalem.
We know from Sacred Tradition, handed down by the Liturgy, that Mary was born in Jerusalem and at a very young age was brought by her parents, Joachim and Anne to the Temple, there to be educated.
St. Paul tells us by our Baptism we have become Temples of God. In 1 Corinthians he writes: “Didn't you realize that you were God's temple and that the Spirit of God was living among you?”
Mary’s entrance to the Temple in Jerusalem foreshadows her entrance into the temple of our soul to receive Jesus and form him within us.
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The question, then, is why do we need Mary to help us receive Jesus?
Jesus has no trouble giving Himself to us but we have trouble receiving Him.
This is the mission of the Holy Spirit.
He receives the Son in the Trinity, He enters Mary at her Immaculate Conception and makes her the mold of God to receive Jesus at The Annunciation.
Then, the Holy Spirit and Mary form Jesus in her.
Through all of this, the Holy Spirit receive Jesus and form Him in the world.
This is why we invite Mary - The Mold of God, into the temple of our soul to help us receive Jesus and form Him there.
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You’re used to hearing that Jesus and the Holy Spirit live in our soul, but the idea of Mary living in your soul might be very new, or even seem wrong.
St. Louis de Montfort writes that Mary is the Mold of God who enables the soul to receive the Son of the Father in us.
In the Secret of Mary, Montfort writes: Mary is…the living mold of God. In her alone the God-man was formed in his human nature…In her alone, by the grace of Jesus Christ, we are made god-like as far as human nature is capable. A sculptor can make a statue in one of two ways: By using his skill, strength, experience and good tools to produce a statue out of hard, shapeless matter; The second way is by making cast of it in a mold. The first way is long and involved and open to all sorts of accidents. It only needs a faulty stroke of the chisel or hammer to ruin the whole work. The second is quick, easy, straightforward, almost effortless and inexpensive, but the mold must be perfect and true to life and the material must… offer no resistance. Mary is the great Mold of God, fashioned by the Holy Spirit…to fashion through grace men who are like God…Everyone who casts himself into it and allows himself to be molded will acquire every feature of Jesus Christ, with little pain or effort, as befits our weak human condition.
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There are two points here, St. Louis De Montfort says, “The Mold must be perfect and true to life…” and “The material must offer no resistance.”
So first, the Holy Spirit formed Mary to be like Him, the perfect receiver of the Son. She then conceived, formed in her womb, and educated Jesus as He grew to maturity. And think about this, Mary lived with Jesus, just them, for thirty years so that means that the Son of God personally educated Mary in everything necessary to Him for thirty years.
Now, who knows Jesus the best? The apostles only spent two and a half years with Jesus. So who is in the best position to form us in the likeness of Jesus?
This is why St. Louis De Montfort encourages us to invite Mary to live in our soul through the act of consecration to her.
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St. Louis De Montfort also says the “The material must offer no resistance”
The material is our soul, so, we’re quite literally asking, what are you made of? We want Mary to mold our soul like Jesus, to mold our thoughts, our feelings, and our actions, but how can we offer no resistance?
We’re going to ask Mary to help us with our thoughts, our desires, and our actions.
In the rosary, we sit at the school of Mary, where she teaches us how to think, just as she taught Jesus.
But often we find ourselves desperately wanting something that God clearly does not want for us, we resist Him, we resist His attempt to perfect us. Entrust those disorder desires to Mary, so that she can conform them to the will of her Son.
Lastly, very often, we don’t know what to do. And so we should turn and consult with Mary. Ask her, “Mother, what do you want me to do here?” Then give her space, pay attention, and let her guide you.
On this Feast which celebrates the entrance of Mary into the temple, invite her once again to enter the temple of your soul so that she can help you receive Jesus in a greater way and form you in His likeness.