HOMILY FOR 33RD THURSDAY IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B
HOMILY FOR 33RD THURSDAY IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: “WHO IS MY MOTHER? WHO ARE MY BROTHERS?”
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mt 12:46-50
While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.”] But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? 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 heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
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The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a feast celebrated by both the Western and Eastern Churches. In the East this feast is known as “The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple.” It is interesting to note that the three feasts of the Nativity of Our Lady (September 08), the Holy Name of Mary (September 12) and her Presentation in the Temple (November 21) correspond in the Marian cycle with the first three feasts of the cycle of feasts of Jesus: namely, Christmas (December 25), the Holy Name of Jesus (Jan 03) and His Presentation in the Temple (Feb 02).
This feast began with the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary the New (popularly known as the ‘New Church of the Theotokos’) built in 543 by the Byzantines under Emperor Justinian I near the site of the ruined Temple in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, this basilica was destroyed by the Persians during the Siege of Jerusalem in 614. In the West, the celebration of this feast began in the 14th century. The date of its liturgical celebration was set on November 21.
The New Testament mentions nothing about the Presentation of Mary. Rather, this feast is derived from the apocryphal book, Protoevangelium of James, which was discovered in the 2nd century. In this apocryphal writing, it is said that Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anne, were old, wealthy but childless. But they remained faithful to the Lord, unceasing in prayer and fasting. They finally received a heavenly message that they will have a child.
The couple were blessed with a daughter and named her Mary. In thanksgiving for the gift of a child, they consecrated Mary to God. When she was three years old, in fulfillment of their promise to God, they took her to the Temple in Jerusalem.
Mary remained in the Temple until her twelfth year. And since according to Coptic tradition, her father Joachim died when she was six years old and her mother Anna also died when she was eight, it was at this point that she was assigned to Joseph as her guardian.
Today’s feast, despite its lack of concrete historical basis, is full of meaning. In the 1974 encyclical, “Marialis Cultus”, Pope St. Paul VI wrote that “despite its apocryphal content, it presents lofty and exemplary values and carries on the venerable traditions having their origins in the Eastern churches”.
For one, it suggests that from her youngest days, Mary was being prepared for her unique role and privilege as the Mother of the Son of God. It also shows clearly that true greatness does not come from birth but from the total giving of oneself to doing what God wants. And Mary is undoubtedly the example par excellence in this regard.
Furthermore, the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary gives us the opportunity to honor to Mary in her total and absolute devotion to God beginning at her immaculate conception. She listened to the voice of God since her childhood and accepted the role of being the temple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Definitely, this feast is based on Mary’s unequivocal and complete offering of herself made to the Lord all throughout her lifetime. From the very first moment of her immaculate conception, she was filled by the Holy Spirit that enlightened and inspired her to consecrate her entire life to God. All her beauty and grace, in both soul and body, were for the Lord. Everything in her life was totally dedicated and directed to Jesus, the true Temple of God.
Today as we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, may she truly inspire us to imitate her example of complete generosity and unconditional obedience and self-offering to God. Pope St. John Paul II admits that it was the Blessed Mother that inspired him to adopt the Latin words, “Totus Tuus”, as his episcopal motto.
He said: “As is well known, my episcopal coat of arms symbolically illustrates the Gospel text quoted above [Jn 19: 25-27]. The motto Totus Tuus is inspired by the teaching of St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort. These two words express total belonging to Jesus through Mary: “Totus tuus ego sum, et omnia mea tua sunt”, St Louis Marie wrote, and he translates his words: “I am all yours, and all that I have is yours, O most loving Jesus, through Mary, your most holy Mother”. This Saint’s teaching has had a profound influence on the Marian devotion of many of the faithful and on my own life.
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