Today we celebrate the dedication of the church of St. Mary which was built in Jerusalem near the site of the Temple. With the Christians of the East, the Latin Church also recalls on this day the tradition according to which Mary as a small child was presented to the Lord by her parents in the Temple.
We celebrate today, then, the Temple in Jerusalem which received Mary as was prescribed by Mosaic Law. Joachim and Ann, the parents of Mary, were devout Jews and fulfilled the law's demands with awe, respect and great devotion!
The Lord received Mary on that day – and the echo of the time when she herself would become a temple began to sound – when she herself would carry the Son of God in the temple of her womb before his birth!
And now today we have the opportunity to make our hearts a temple to receive her Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus in the astonishing gift of Holy Eucharist which he gave to us to be our spiritual strength and energy and motivation to accomplish good works in his name!
In the gospel passage Jesus says: my mother and my brothers and sisters are those who do the will of my Father in heaven! May we be a true relatives of Jesus today: by seeking out and doing what his Father, our Father, would have us do!
Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.
No comments:
Post a Comment