Daily Readings for:November 21, 2013
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: As we venerate the glorious memory of the most holy Virgin Mary, grant, we pray, O Lord, through her intercession, that we, too, may merit to receive from the fullness of your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
RECIPES
ACTIVITIES
o Celebrating the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin
o Feasts of Mary in the Family
o Feasts of Our Lady in the Home
o Virgin Blessed, Thou Star the Fairest
PRAYERS
o November Devotion: The Holy Souls in Purgatory
o Little Litany of the Holy Souls
o Prayers for the Presentation
o Table Blessing for the Feasts of the Mother of God
LIBRARY
o Presentation Prefigures the Cross | Pope John Paul II
· Ordinary Time: November 21st
· Memorial of the Presentation of Mary
Old Calendar: The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today the Church celebrates the memorial of the Presentation of Mary. The three feasts of the birthday of Our Lady, the holy Name of Mary and her Presentation in the Temple correspond in the Marian cycle with the first three feasts of the cycle of feasts of our Lord: namely, Christmas, the Holy Name of Jesus, and His Presentation in the Temple (February 2).
Presentation of Mary
"Sacred Scripture contains no text concerning the event commemorated in today's liturgy. For something of a historical background one may consult the apocryphal works, particularly the Protoevangel of St. James (ch. 4:1ff). After an angel had revealed her pregnancy, Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Soon after birth the infant was brought to the sacred precincts at which only the best of Israel's daughters were admitted. At the age of three she was transferred to the temple proper (7:2). According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel (8:1).
"In the East, where the feast, celebrated since the eighth century, is kept as a public holiday, it bears the name, 'The Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple'. It was introduced at Rome by a Cypriotic legate to the papal court of Avignon in 1371. In 1472, Sixtus IV extended its observance to the whole Church. Abolished by Pius V, it was reintroduced some years later (1585)."
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.
Things to Do:
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mattathias and his sons gathered in a group apart. (1 Maccabees 2:16)
Not many of us have ever been threatened with a “your faith or your life” scenario. But most of us do feel pressured at times to compromise our faith. Mattathias knew the pressure and stood firm against it. We can too. There is hope, there is power we can draw on, and there is the promise of a final resolution. His name is Jesus!
When you feel weak, look to Jesus. He was born in weakness, but he overcame the greatest of all enemies. He knows that we run the risk of scattering—maybe not because our lives are at risk but because temptation is so strong that we lose our clarity and courage. In this way, we are no different from the disciples who scattered after Jesus was arrested. And so he tells us the same thing he told them: “Take courage, I have conquered the world” (John 16:33).
Jesus came into the world so that we might live the truth joyfully, freely, and boldly, just as he did. That’s what drew people to him. That’s what discouraged his opponents, who eventually learned that they would never convince him to turn or compromise. This is how he wants us to live too. He has promised to help us live in his victory every day. So look to him, to his light shining before you! The more joyfully and freely you live your faith, the less pressure you will feel to compromise it.
Jesus has conquered. Look to him who is slain and who has triumphed. Though you face opposition now, though you are tempted to abandon the truths you believe in, you can still remain faithful as Mattathias and his family did. Yes, it’s hard some days. But don’t give in. Talk to the Lord. Ask for his help and encouragement. Believe that in Christ you have an advocate who sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes for you. You have a redeemer who has sent his Spirit to empower you and to give you the wisdom and self-control, the joy and peace necessary to carry on, faithful, to the end.
“Jesus, fill my heart with your power and boldness. Give me your joy and peace. Lord, I need your wisdom and self-control so that I can stand firm today.”
Psalm 50:1-2, 5-6, 14-15; Luke 19:41-44