Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Presentation of Our Lady. At a tender age, the Immaculate Virgin was brought to the Temple by her parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne, where she was consecrated to God’s service.
See also:
Mass Readings
First Reading – 1 Mac 4:36-37, 52-59
Judas and his brothers said, “Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it.” So the whole army assembled, and went up to Mount Zion. Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight, they arose and offered sacrifice according to the law on the new altar of burnt offerings that they had made. On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had defiled it, on that very day it was reconsecrated with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals. All the people prostrated themselves and adored and praised Heaven, who had given them success. For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar and joyfully offered burnt offerings and sacrifices of deliverance and praise. They ornamented the facade of the temple with gold crowns and shields; they repaired the gates and the priests’ chambers and furnished them with doors. There was great joy among the people now that the disgrace of the Gentiles was removed. Then Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the anniversary every year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev.
OR: Zechariah 2:14-17
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. The LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land, and he will again choose Jerusalem. Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD! He stirs forth from his holy dwelling.
Responsorial Psalm – 1 Chronicles 29:10bcd, 11abc, 11d-12a, 12bcd (R. 13b)
R. We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.R.
“Blessed may you be, O LORD,
God of Israel our father,
from eternity to eternity.” R.
“Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power,
majesty, splendor, and glory.
For all in heaven and on earth is yours.” R.
“Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor are from you.” R.
“You have dominion over all,
In your hand are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all.” R.
OR:
Responsorial Psalm – Lk 1:46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55</h5
R. (49) The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
or: R. O Blessed Virgin Mary, you carried the Son of the eternal Father.
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” R.
“For he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.” R.
“He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.” R.
“He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.” R.
“He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.” R.
Gospel – Lk 19:45-48
Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.
OR:
Gospel – Mt 12:46-50
While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Featured Saints
St. Gelasius I, Pope (†496). To avoid the imperial authority from harming the unity of the Church, he clearly explained the competencies of the two powers and their mutual independence.
St. Agapius of Caesarea, martyr (†306). After suffering torture and imprisonment for two years in Caesarea Maritima, he was drowned by being thrown into the Mediterranean with stones bound to his feet.
St. Rufus, of whom St. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, calls “elect in the Lord”.
Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd, virgin (†1902). She founded the Institute of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in Rome, to help immigrants from her homeland, Poland.
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