HOMILY FOR NOVEMBER 21, FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
THEME: My mother and my brothers are anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven.
BY: Fr. Diotacious Chikontwe SMA
*READINGS OF THE DAY*
Zechariah 2:14-17
Resp Psalm Luke 1:46-55
Matthew 12:46-50
*LITURGICAL COLOUR*
WHITE
*INTRODUCTION*
Today we commemorate the presentation of the child Mary in the temple at Jerusalem. This feast celebrates the consecration of Mary’s life to the Lord. From the beginning of her life, she was dedicated to God by her parents, given over to God’s purposes for her life.
*ABOUT THE FEAST OF TODAY*
According to the gospels of Matthew and Luke, in her teenage years, Mary was called by God to become a greater temple than the magnificent temple in Jerusalem in which she was presented as a child. The temple in Jerusalem was the house of God, the place where God was believed to be present in a special way. God wanted Mary to become the house of the Lord in an even greater way, because she was to carry the Lord in her womb, until she gave birth to him. God came to dwell in her, through Jesus, God’s Son. Because she was open to God’s presence from the earliest years of her life, she said ‘yes’ to this wonderful calling. She gave herself over to God’s will for her life. She is the prime example of the group that Jesus refers to in this morning’s gospel reading as those ‘who do the will of my Father in heaven’.
RELATED: HOMILY FOR FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD.
*CONCLUSION*
Today’s feast celebrates the fact that from her childhood Mary had always done the will of God, and was therefore ready to become the temple of God’s Son at the time of God’s choosing. In this morning’s gospel reading Jesus declares that this true family are those who do the will of his Father in heaven. We look to Mary to show us what it means to say ‘yes’ to God’s call in our lives. Insofar as we can enter into Mary’s ‘yes’, we too will become temples of the Lord, like her. The Lord will be formed in us and we will offer him to the world by our lives, as she did.
May our Mother Mary continue to intercede and pray for us sinners who have often betrayed and hurt her Son. May all of us be shown mercy and forgiveness, and may we all draw ever closer to God, to His love and grace, now and always.
