Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today we celebrate the Presentation of the Virgin Mary. It was the custom for Jewish youth to be presented in the Temple in Jerusalem. Mary was presented before God. Mary isn’t just the Mother of God. She is Our Lady of Victory. She is resplendent in her prefiguration of the glory God gives to His faithful ones.
Two witnesses are presented in Revelation today. They are killed after they have finished their testimony. They are thought to be dead and gone. Then, they rise after three and a half days. 3 ½ is symbolic for it is half of 7. Since 7 is symbolic of being perfect or complete, 3 ½ is a symbol for something being incomplete or imperfect. Since the two witnesses were dead for 3 ½ days, it can be taken to mean that the effort to defeat their witness failed. The witnesses to God lived again and would be drawn up to Heaven.
Jesus speaks of this Resurrection. He is asked about a wife who would have seven husbands who each died over the course of her life. The question is to whom she will be married when they would all rise from the dead. Jesus states that she will be married to no one at the Resurrection from the Dead, and all those who God chooses will be the Children of God. They will not be married in Heaven, since marriage is something that happens in “this age.”
God is a God of the living, not of the dead. A Scribe says that Jesus “answered well.” They couldn’t refute His claim that God doesn’t leave His faithful ones in death. We are also “Children of God.” We share in the victory of Eternal Life with our God, who is God of the living.
Mary humbly announces this victory to us. Let us turn to Mary who is a model of being a Child of God.
Reflection by Br. Matthew Marie, OSB
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources