The presentation of the Blessed Virgin to the Temple

According to a pious account, the devout couple Joachim and Anna were unable to have children. They often prayed to God, asking for children. They promised that, if their prayers were answered, their child would be dedicated to serving God. God, who hears his chosen people ‘day and night’ (Lk 18:7), responded to their prayers. They had a daughter, whom they named Mary. True to their promise, they took her to the Temple in Jerusalem to serve God when she was three. Today’s holiday commemorates this event: the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple. During the service, we sing: “The Virgin gloriously enters God’s temple. She announces the coming of Christ to all…’ (Tropar). The liturgical texts also recall that the angels sang when the Virgin entered the Holy of Holies.  But why does the Eastern Church place such emphasis on the arrival of the Virgin Mary at the Temple in Jerusalem? Was her arrival really such an important moment? Yes! She entered the Temple at the age of three and spent her entire youth there in prayer and in the utmost purity, in order to become worthy of being the mother of God’s Son and our Redeemer. According to the Holy Fathers, the Virgin Mary accepted God as her Father and sought his grace. Despite her humiliation, it was because of her perfection that God chose her as the Mother of God and our Representative. Throughout her life, she set an example for us to follow, showing us how to find grace with God. A certain Catholic writer sought to convince his readers that anyone, regardless of their profession, can achieve holiness. He wrote, “Before God, there is no difference between scratching potatoes and building cathedrals. Neither potatoes nor cathedrals will enter the Kingdom of God. You will be judged solely on your good or bad intentions.” National artist Rudolf Deyl writes in his memoirs: “Many actors left the theatre rather than play the small roles assigned to them. They usually weren’t offered anything else. The great actors did not disdain small roles. There are no small tasks, only small people.’ We have not been given the extraordinary graces that have been given to the Virgin Mary, nor will we be. We have been given small tasks that each of us can handle. We all have our role in this world and need to fulfil it consistently. In one of his songs, the popular Czech singer Waldemar Matuška sings about his father, a modest man who was not particularly successful but who, because of his mindset, was greater than a king: ‘You can never lie down; you can’t be afraid of work. Just stand up for what you do and what you like.’

Very nice words! I wish they were applied in real life as well as in song. That’s what we believers are all about when we worship the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. It’s not just about singing beautiful songs about her and praying to her; it’s about following her example in our lives. The Virgin Mary was entrusted with an enormous task: to become the mother of the Saviour of the world. In her hymn, she herself acknowledges this: “He who is mighty has done great things for me” (Lk 1:49). God does not entrust us with such tasks. We only have small tasks, which are sometimes many and sometimes challenging, but still achievable. God asks us to fulfil these tasks to the best of our ability and to love them. If we follow the example of the Virgin Mary in this service, we too will find grace with God.