Wk 1 - Day 1 - "seeking true self-knowledge" (also Memorial of Mary's Presentation)

[MariaChristi]

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Today, (Nov. 21) is a perfect day to begin the First Week as outlined by St. Louis De Montfort in True Devotion, for it is a day which commemorates Mary’s presentation in the Temple by her parents when she was a young child – Mary who was conceived without sin – in the painting above shows us the humility we all need to grow in holiness. St. Louis speaks of how we need to acknowledge who we are before God:

1. During the first week they should offer up all their prayers and acts of devotion to acquire knowledge of themselves and sorrow for their sins.

Let them perform all their actions in a spirit of humility. With this end in view they may, if they wish, meditate on what I have said concerning our corrupted nature, and consider themselves during six days of the week as nothing but sails, slugs, toads, swine, snakes and goats. Or else they may meditate on the following three considerations of St. Bernard: “Remember what you were - corrupted seed; what you are - a body destined for decay; what you will be -food for worms.”

They will ask our Lord and the Holy Spirit to enlighten them saying, “Lord, that I may see,” or “Lord, let me know myself,” or the “Come, Holy Spirit”. Every day they should say the Litany of the Holy Spirit, with the prayer that follows, as indicated in the first part of this work. They will turn to our Blessed Lady and beg her to obtain for them that great grace which is the foundation of all others, the grace of self-knowledge. For this intention they will say each day the Ave Maris Stella and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin.

Litany to the Holy Spirit
Ave Maris Stella,
Litany of the Blessed Virgin

 

[7_Sorrows]

Does anyone know was there a difference between males and females being presented at the Temple according to Jewish law or customs?

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear 7_sorrows,

I’ve read several several articles on Mary’s Presentation in the Temple, but none came up with information to answer your question. You may want to search on the internet for more information specifically on Jewish traditions to find out more.

My point in making a correlation between today’s Memorial celebration of Mary’s Presentation and St. Louis de Montfort’s 33 day Journey of preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary is that Mary’s humility shines out in the picture I included. The virtue of humility needs to be prayed for, and earnestly desired by anyone who seeks TRUE Self-knowledge.

Many readers object strongly to St. Louis’ description of our fallen and corrupted nature but other saints like St. John Chrysostom have given even less “complimentary” descriptions. Many of us do not realize the effect Original Sin had on us. Baptism removes the stain of sin, but we still have the consequences of a darkened intellect and a weakened will to contend with in our struggles against evil.

Humility is the foundation for any true growth in self-knowledge. We can so easily deceive ourselves as God tells us in Psalm 36: “Sin speaks to the sinner in the depths of his heart…He so flatters himself in his mind that he knows not his guilt…”

St. Louis rightly encourages us to see by God’s Grace what we often want to ignore in ourselves : our faults and failings resulting from our corrupted nature. By God’s grace we want His Truth and not our pride which can invent “someone we think we are” rather than admit our faults and see ourselves as we truly are in God’s sight and according to the pattern we have in Jesus, through Mary. Only God knows the true depths of our hearts, and so we need the light of His Holy Spirit, and the intercession of Mary to attain true self-knowledge.

God created all of us men and women, boys and girls to know Him, love Him and serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him forever. Whatever the customs of the Jews may have been, Jesus has come to fulfill all things in Himself. As St. John of the Cross wrote: God spoke One Word, and that Word is Jesus. He is our Way, our Truth and our Life. He gave Jesus, Word Made Flesh, through the Virgin Mary.

Not sure of this helps your question, but I hope you have read or one day will read the treatise on True Devotion

 

[Greenfields]

Mother Mary pray for us.

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks again, dear Greenfields, for reading these threads and for your love of Jesus through our Mother Mary! I hope you like the painting as much as I do, for this special Memorial of the child Mary ascending the steps of the Temple. The gesture of her hand raised was significant to me, it was even more than a reverent gesture – it was almost as if she was “hiding” from the tremendous Light she could “see” by faith which came from the House of God. It spoke to me of her humility which is so important for us if we are to learn true self-knowledge from God.

Mary grew in holiness as we all do but being born without sin, and remaining sinless, she continually cooperated with the grace God gave her. Reminds me a bit of today’s Gospel from Luke which begins:

While people were listening to Jesus speak,
he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem
and they thought that the Kingdom of God
would appear there immediately.
So he said,
"A nobleman went off to a distant country
to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins
and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’…

Jesus continues with the nobleman’s return and the rewards given the two who made good use of their gold coin but no reward to the one who did nothing:

‘Take the gold coin from him
and give it to the servant who has ten.’
But they said to him,
‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’
He replied, 'I tell you,
> to everyone who has, more will be given,
> but from the one who has not,
> even what he has will be taken away.

We have been given so much in our Baptism, yet we have not always cooperated, we have not always said “Yes” to God as Mary did. Mary is our Mother; she is also our Model and the Catechism explains more:

III. MARY - ESCHATOLOGICAL ICON OF THE CHURCH

972 After speaking of the Church, her origin, mission, and destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we contemplate what the Church already is in her mystery on her own “pilgrimage of faith,” and what she will be in the homeland at the end of her journey. There, “in the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity,” “in the communion of all the saints,” The Church is awaited by the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own mother.

In the meantime the Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God.

 

[7_Sorrows]

I do like the picture you included and I also noticed her raised hand.
True Devotion is on my reading list.

The reason for my question was I was not sure at what age Jesus was presented at the Temple. For some reason I always pictured him.presented as a baby. And I see that Mary is older.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear 7_Sorrows,

Yes, you are right that Jesus was a Baby when presented in the Temple, as the Gospel tells us:

When the days were completed for their purification just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. (Luke 2: 22-24)

The account of Mary’s Presentation as a young child is not recorded in the Gospel but has been celebrated in the Church as part of Sacred Tradition. I did some further research and found this:

Today’s festival is called the Presentation of Mary, because on this day Joachim and Anna, the holy parents of the Blessed Virgin, consecrated their little daughter to the divine service in the temple at Jerusalem, and Mary consecrated herself to the Almighty. At that time, there were two ways of consecrating children: one was ordained by the law, which required every male child to be offered to God, forty days, and every female child, eighty days after its birth. This ceremony was called the consecration of the child and the purification of the mother. The second kind of consecration was a voluntary self-oblation by which some persons devoted themselves to the Almighty. There were also many parents who either before, or immediately after their child’s birth, consecrated it to the service of the Lord, sometimes for a few years, sometimes for life. To this end several separate dwellings had been erected in connection with the Temple, for men, women, youths and maidens, where they remained for the time which had been fixed by themselves or their parents. … In the second book of the Maccabees, we find mention of virgins, who lived and were educated in the Temple, that is, in a building annexed to it.

Full article can be read HERE

PS So happy to read that True Devotion is on your reading list! If you don’t have your own copy yet, you can click on the link (in the title) and begin to read today!

 

[7_Sorrows]

Thanks for the information! That does answer my question. I did know there was a requirement for male children, but I wasn’t sure about females. Thanks for posting.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear 7_Sorrows,

The Lord must have wanted you to know this information! His Loving Providence is always at work…He sometimes provides things quite unexpectedly! As was the case in my finding this article We have so much to thank Him for in our lives, not just today but everyday, and even for our trials. So often we forget that trails can help us grow in holiness! (cf James 1: 2-4)

Today I finished reading the Letters written by St. Louis de Montfort. A friend of ours had given us a book entitled “God Alone” published by Montfort Publications, Bayshore NY; containing the "Collected Writings of St. Louis de Montfort translated into English, with few exceptions. I had never read his letters before and they helped me to appreciate this holy priest even more.

I hope you will not only read "True Devotion, but perhaps also “The Love of Divine Wisdom”. Both can be purchased via Amazon or read online. I linked both books to the amazon site for purchase, this time.

 

[7_Sorrows]

I recently moved and joined a parish dedicated to Mary and her Immaculate
Conception. So Mary and I are growing closer. I also attended Mass yesterday remembering her Presentation at the Temple.

 

[MariaChristi]

Ah, my dear 7_Sorrows, God has His eye on you! How Good He is and how true to His Word, see Rom 8:28!

 

[7_Sorrows]

Just removed The Secret of the Rosary this morning from my bookshelf along with
True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin.
Hope to be able to start one of the books today. Do you recommend I read one before the other @MariaChristi

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear 7_Sorrows,

Perhaps you’ve already started one of the 2 books, but I read “True Devotion” first, and the “Secret of the Rosary” later. I’ve read True Devotion several times and continue to be blessed by it. All of his works that I have read have blessed me, so I believe you’ll be blessed also – no matter which one you begin first.

For me, True Devotion is more comprehensive. It leads one to Consecrate oneself Totally to Jesus through Mary, and can help you to pray the Rosary – at least it continues to do that for me. I have not read the Secret of the Rosary in awhile now, but I pray my Rosary every day, and continue to read and re-read True Devotion.

Take time with St. Louis de Montfort’s writing – asking the Holy Spirit to help you love Jesus through Mary, believe in God’s Love to accomplish that good for you, with all the graces you need to grow spiritually. As I wrote to someone else recently, the more you read his treatise on True Devotion the more you learn from the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

St. Louis himself wrote these words of encouragement:

… The Holy Spirit, finding his dear Spouse present again in souls, will come down into them with great power. He will fill them with his gifts, especially wisdom, by which they will produce wonders of grace. My dear friend, when will that happy time come, that age of Mary, when many souls, chosen by Mary and given her by the most High God, will hide themselves completely in the depths of her soul, becoming living copies of her, loving and glorifying Jesus? That day will dawn only when the devotion I teach is understood and put into practice. Ut adveniat regnum tuum, adveniat regnum Mariae: “Lord, that your kingdom may come, may the reign of Mary come!” (From: True Devotion, paragraph 217 in chapter 6 - “Wonderful Effects of This Devotion”

 

[7_Sorrows]

No, I haven’t started either of them yet so I will take your advice.
I have set up a little shrine so to speak with religious items of Mary, a picture of a monstrance with a host, an item of St. Michael, the Holy Family and the Sacred Heart of Jesus and I pray the Rosary every night in front of these and I have been very
diligent about praying the Rosary daily.
Thanks for your advice.

 

[MariaChristi]

What a joy to read your reply!!! What blessings await you, as you begin to draw closer to Jesus through Mary! Praying the Rosary every day is important for all who need our prayers.

We have three special “Marian days” this week: Nov. 27 is the Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Nov.28 is the Feast of Our Lady of Kibeho (Africa) and of Course this Saturday Dec. 1 is the First Saturday – a day of special reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Having a little shrine can help to focus your prayer. I like to pray before a Crucifix with a picture of Mary and also the Trinity – It was made from an artist’s sketch of an apparition which Sister Lucia had. It helps me to focus, when I get distracted. Often I like to pray with my eyes closed, but when my mind starts to wander I open them to re-focus.