V. María de Jesús de Ágreda: CITY OF GOD PART I THE CONCEPTION BOOK II
Treats of the presentation of the Princess of Heaven in the temple, the favors She received at the hand of God, the sublime perfection with which She observed the rules of the temple, the heavenly excellence of Her heroic virtue and visions, Her most holy espousal and other events up to the incarnation of the son of God.

Chapter I

OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE MOST HOLY MARY IN THE TEMPLE AT THE AGE OF THREE YEARS.

413. Among the types which foreshadowed the most holy Mary in the written Law, none was more expressive than the ark of the covenant, not only on account of the material of which it was constructed, and its contents, but also on account of the purposes for which it served and the effects which the Lord wrought through it and in connection with it in the ancient synagogue. It was all a prototype of this Lady and of what She was to do in the new Church of the Gospel. The, incorruptible cedar, of which it was made, not by chance, but by divine disposition (Exod, 25, 10), typified clearly our mystical Ark Mary, free from the corruption of actual sin and from the secret worminess of original guilt with its inseparable ferment of disorderly passions. The finest and purest gold (Exod, 25, 11), which covered it on the outside and inside, certainly indicated the most perfect and exalted graces and gifts, which shone forth in her heavenly thoughts, in her works and activities, in her habits and the operations of her faculties; so that in no exterior or interior part of this mystical Ark could be discerned ought, which at any moment of time was not entirely covered by the gold of the most exquisite and finest carat.

414. The stone tablets of the law, the vase of the manna and the miraculous staff (Heb. 9,4), which that ancient ark contained and preserved, cannot be surpassed in expressive significance of the eternal and incarnate Word, enclosed within that living Ark the most holy Mary, for He was her Onlybegotten Son, the living foundation-rock of the evangelical Church (I Cor. 3, 11). In this virginal ark of Mary was placed the key-stone which was to join the Gentiles and the Jews, and was torn from the mountain of its eternal generation (Ephes, 2, 20) in order that on it might be written by the finger of God the new Law of grace. Thus in the old ark Mary was foreshadowed as the great Queen, who was to be the depositary of all that God provided and operated for his creatures. She also enclosed within Herself the manna of the Divinity and of grace, and the wonder-working staff of miracles and prodigies, so that this heavenly and mystical Ark alone contained the fountain of grace, namely God himself, overflowing into the rest of mankind and forming the nucleus of all the miracles and prodigies of God. In Mary therefore all that the Lord desired to operate and manifest is contained and deposited.

415. Accordingly the ark of the testament (not in itself, but on account of the truth which it foreshadowed) served as the seat and foot-stool of propitiation, where the Lord was seated in the tribunal of his mercies, to listen to his people. to answer them and distribute his gifts and favors; for the ancient ark typified most holy Mary, the throne of grace and the true mystical propitiatory which He had expressly made for his indwelling. Thus it seems that the tribunal of the divine justice remains set up in God himself, while the propitiatory and the tribunal of his mercy was set up in Mary, in order that to Her, as a throne of grace, we might approach in assured confidence to present our petitions for those benefits, graces and mercies, which outside of the Queen Mary, are unheard of and unattainable by the human race.

416. Such a sacred and mysterious Ark, constructed by the hands of the Lord himself for his habitation and as the propitiatory of his people, could not remain with propriety outside of his temple, where was preserved that other material ark, which was only a figure of this spiritual and true Ark of the new covenant. Therefore its Author ordained that She be placed in his house and temple as soon as the first three years of her infancy should be completed. But I am astonished to find a wonderful difference in regard to that which happened with the primitive and figurative ark and that which came to pass with the second and true ark of the covenant. For, though the ancient ark had no other importance than that of presignifying Mary and the mysteries connected with Her, when the king David transferred it to different places, and when afterwards Solomon his son placed it in the temple, as in its proper place of rest, all was done with great festivities and rejoicings of that ancient people, as is shown by the solemn processions arranged by David from the house of Abinadab to the house of Obededom (II King 6, 10), and thence to the tabernacle of Sion, his own city (Ibid. 12); likewise, when Solomon transferred it from Sian to the new temple, which he had built as the house of God and of prayer by command of the Lord.

417. On all these occasions the ancient ark of the Testament was borne along in public veneration and most solemn celebrations, amid the strains of music, dancing, sacrifices, the rejoicings of the kings and of the whole people of Israel, as is related in the sacred history of the second and third book of the Kings and the first and second of Paralipomenon. But our true and mystical Ark, the most holy Mary, although She was the most precious, the most estimable and worshipful of all the creatures, was not brought to the temple with such solemn show and public ostentation; during the transferring of this mysterious Ark, the sacrifice of animals, the royal pomp and the royal majesty were wanting. She was carried from the house of her father Joachim in the arms of her humble mother Anne, who, though she was not very poor, wished to heal, her beloved Daughter on her arms in order to present Her in the temple without ostentation of riches, alone and unnoticed by the people. The glory and majesty of this procession, according to the wishes of the Most High, was to be divine and invisible. All the sacraments and mysteries of the most holy Mary are so exalted and hidden that according to the inscrutable decrees of the Lord many of them are concealed to this day. He it is that holds in his hands the time and the hour for the revelation of all things, and of each one in particular.

418. Lost in admiration of this wonder, prostrate in the presence of the Most High and in the praise of his high judgments, I was favored by his Majesty with the following explanation: “Understand my soul, that if I provided that the ark of the old Testament be venerated with so much festivity and outward show, it was because it was an express figure of Her, who was to be the Mother of the incarnate Word. The first ark was material and irrational, and this ostentation and celebrity could be arranged for it without difficulty; but during her life on earth in mortal flesh, I would not permit such celebration in connection with the true and living ark, Mary; for thou and the rest of the souls are to look upon Her as an example during your pilgrimage. I do not desire those who are written in my memory for eternal election to expect honors and the inconsiderate praise and applause of men as a part of their reward for working in my honor and service during mortal life. Nor must they be put in danger of dividing the love of their God, who justifies them and makes them saints, with those who merely proclaim them as such. The one and only Creator has made them and sustains them, illumines and defends them; therefore their love and attention must be single and undivided, and it must not be diverted even by a thankful regard for those who honor them as just. The love of God is most sensitive, the human will is most frail and limited; if it is divided, it can only be small and very imperfect in its activity, easily coming to nought. Therefore I did not wish Her, who was to be the example of all holiness and who was free from all danger of a fall through my protection, to be renowned, or specially honored during her life, nor was She to be brought to the temple amid the outward show of honor.”

419. “Moreover, I have sent my Onlybegotten from heaven and have created Her, who was to be his Mother, for the very purpose of drawing the world from its error and of undeceiving mortals, who have established the unjust and sinful law, that the poor are to be despised and the rich esteemed. That the humble are to be humiliated and the proud to be exalted, the virtuous to be maligned and the sinful applauded, that the timorous and modest are to be considered as fools and the arrogant to be held as valiant, that poverty should be considered as shameful could be arranged for it without difficulty; but during her life on earth in mortal flesh, I would not permit such celebration in connection with the true and living ark, Mary; for thou and the rest of the souls are to look upon Her as an example during your pilgrimage. I do not desire those who are written in my memory for eternal election to expect honors and the inconsiderate praise and applause of men as a part of their reward for working in my honor and service during mortal life. Nor must they be put in danger of dividing the love of their God, who justifies them and makes them saints, with those who merely proclaim them as such. The one and only Creator has made them and sustains them, illumines and defends them; therefore their love and attention must be single and undivided, and it must not be diverted even by a thankful regard for those who honor them as just. The love of God is most sensitive, the human will is most frail and limited; if it is divided, it can only be small and very imperfect in its activity, easily coming to nought. Therefore I did not wish Her, who was to be the example of all holiness and who was free from all danger of a fall through my protection, to be renowned, or specially honored during her life, nor was She to be brought to the temple amid the outward show of honor.”

419. “Moreover, I have sent my Onlybegotten from heaven and have created Her, who was to be his Mother, for the very purpose of drawing the world from its error and of undeceiving mortals, who have established the unjust and sinful law, that the poor are to be despised and the rich esteemed, that the humble are to be humiliated and the proud to be exalted, the virtuous to be maligned and the sinful applauded, that the timorous and modest are to be considered as fools and the arrogant to be held as valiant, that poverty should be considered as shameful and unfortunate, while riches, pomp, ostentation, splendor, honors, perishable pleasures should be sought and prized by foolish and carnal men. All this the incarnate Word and his Mother, in coming among them, were to reprove and condemn as deceitful and false, so that mortals might perceive the terrible danger of loving and entertaining so blindly the deceitful sensible pleasures, in which they live. Through this insensate love it happens that they so persistently fly from humility, meekness and poverty and evade all that pertains to the true virtue of penance and abnegation of self. And yet these virtues are truly acceptable in my eyes and according to my justice; for the holy, the honorable, the just actions, are to be rewarded with eternal glory, whereas the contrary ones are to be visited by everlasting punishment.”

420. “This truth earthly and carnal eyes do not see, nor do they care to attend to the light which teaches them. But thou, soul, observe it and write it in thy heart, taking an example from the incarnate Word and from his Mother, and imitating Them closely therein. She was holy and, in my estimation, most acceptable to Christ; to Her was due all the veneration and worship of men, and even more than they could give; yet I provided and ordained in her regard that She receive no honor or recognition at that time, so that She, as the Mistress of truth, might be the most shining example of all that is holy, perfect, estimable and safest for the instruction and guidance of my elect. She was to be the shining example of humility, of retirement, of contempt and horror for the dreadful vanity of the world, of love for sufferings, tribulations, insults, afflictions and dishonors inflicted by creatures. All holiness is adverse and contrary to the applause, honors and estimation of the world, and I decreed that the most pure Mary should not be burdened by them, nor do I desire that my friends should enjoy or be pleased with them. If for my glory it sometimes happens that they become known to the world, it is not because they have desired it or looked for it; but because they, always remaining in the humility and in the sentiment proper to their state, resign themselves to my Providence. For themselves and as far as they are concerned, they seek and love that which the world despises and which the incarnate Word and his most holy Mother strove after and have taught.” This was the answer which the Lord gave to my wondering inquiry and thus did He instruct me in regard to what I should seek and strive after.

421. The three years’ time decreed by the Lord having been completed, Joachim and Anne set out from Nazareth, accompanied by a few of their kindred and bringing with them the true living Ark of the covenant, the most holy Mary, borne on the arms of her mother in order to be deposited in the holy temple of Jerusalem. The beautiful Child, by her fervent and loving aspirations, hastened after the ointments of her Beloved, seeking in the temple Him, whom She bore in her heart. This humble procession was scarcely noticed by earthly creatures, but it was invisibly accompanied by the angelic spirits, who, in order to celebrate this event, had hastened from heaven in greater numbers than ordinary as her bodyguard, and were singing in heavenly strains the glory and praise of the Most High. The Princess of heaven heard and saw them as She hastened her beautiful steps along in the sight of the highest and the true Solomon. Thus they pursued their journey from Nazareth to the holy city of Jerusalem, and also the parents of the holy child Mary felt in their hearts great joy and consolation of spirit.

422. They arrived at the holy temple, and the blessed Anne on entering took her Daughter and Mistress by the hand, accompanied and assisted by saint Joachim. All three offered a devout and fervent prayer to the Lord; the parents offering to God their Daughter, and the most holy Child, in profound humility, adoration and worship, offering up Herself. She alone perceived that the Most High received and accepted Her, and, amid divine splendor which filled the temple, She heard a voice saying to Her: “Come, my Beloved, my Spouse, come to my temple, where I wish to hear thy voice of praise and worship.” Having offered their prayers, they rose and betook themselves to the priest. The parents consigned their Child into his hands and he gave them his blessing. Together they conducted Her to the portion of the temple buildings, where many young girls lived to be brought up in retirement and in virtuous habits, until old enough to assume the state of matrimony. It was a place of retirement especially selected for the first-born daughters of the royal tribe of Juda and the sacerdotal tribe of Levi.

423. Fifteen stairs led up to the entrance of these apartments. Other priests came down these stairs in order to welcome the blessed child Mary. The one that had received them, being according to the law one of a minor order, placed Her on the first step. Mary, with his permission, turned and kneeling down before Joachim and Anne, asked their blessing and kissed their hands, recommending herself to their prayers before God. The holy parents in tenderest tears gave Her their blessing; whereupon She ascended the fifteen stairs without any assistance. She hastened upward with incomparable fervor and joy, neither turning back, nor shedding tears, nor showing any childish regret at parting from her parents. To see Her, in so tender an age, so full of strange majesty and firmness of mind, excited the admiration of all those present. The priests received Her among the rest of the maidens, and saint Simeon consigned Her to the teachers, one of whom was the prophetess Anne. This holy matron had been prepared by the Lord by especial grace and enlightenment, so that She joyfully took charge of this Child of Joachim and Anne. She considered the charge a special favor of divine Providence and merited by her holiness and virtue to have Her as a disciple, who was to be the Mother of God and Mistress of all the creatures.

424. Sorrowfully her parents Joachim and Anne retraced their journey to Nazareth, now poor as deprived of the rich Treasure of their house. But the Most High consoled and comforted them in their affliction. The holy priest Simeon, although he did not at this time know of the mystery enshrined in the child Mary, obtained great light as to her sanctity and her special selection by the Lord; also the other priests looked upon Her with great reverence and esteem. In ascending the fifteen stairs the Child brought to fulfillment, that, which Jacob saw happening in sleep; for here too were angels ascending and descending: the ones accompanying, the others meeting their Queen as She hastened up; whereas at the top God was waiting in order to welcome Her as his Daughter and Spouse. She also felt by the effects of the overflowing love, that this truly was the house of God and the portal of heaven.

425. The child Mary, when brought to her teacher, knelt in profound humility before her and asked her blessing. She begged to be admitted among those under her direction, obedience and counsel, and asked her kind forbearance in the labor and trouble, which She would occasion. The prophetess Anne, her teacher, received Her with pleasure, and said to Her: “My Daughter, Thou shalt find in me a helpful mother and I will take care of Thee and of thy education with all possible solicitude.” Then the holy Child proceeded to address Herself with the same humility to all the maidens which were then present; each one She greeted and embraced, offering Herself as their servant and requesting them, as older and more advanced than She in the duties of their position, to instruct and command Her. She also gave them thanks, that without her merit they admitted Her to their company.

www.ecatholic2000.com/agreda/vol1/vol1.shtml

The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary
by Blessed Anna Katharina Emmerick

III. THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN IN THE TEMPLE [58]

1. PREPARATION IN ST. ANNE'S HOUSE.

[On October 28 ^th, 1821, Catherine Emmerich described in these words what she was at that moment seeing in a waking vision:] The child Mary will, I think, soon be brought to the Temple in Jerusalem. Already some days ago I saw the three-year-old child Mary standing before Anna in a room in her house and being instructed in her prayers, as the priests were soon to come to examine the child in preparation for her reception in the Temple. Today a feast in preparation for this event is taking place in Anna's house, and guests are gathering there--relations, men, women, and children. There are also three priests, one from Sephoris (a nephew of Anna's father), one from Nazareth, and a third from a place on a mountain some four hours from Nazareth. The name of this place begins with the syllable Ma. [59] These priests have come partly to examine the child Mary to see whether she is fitted for dedication to the Temple, and partly to give directions about her clothing, which has to comply with a prescribed ecclesiastical pattern. There were three sets of garments, each consisting of a kind of petticoat, a bodice, and a robe of different colors. There were also two wreaths of silk and wool, and an arched crown. One of the priests himself cut out some pieces of these garments and arranged everything as it should be.

[A few days later (on November 2 ^nd) Catherine Emmerich continued:] Today I saw great festivities in the house of Mary's parents. (I am not sure whether this actually happened then or whether it was a repetition of an earlier vision, for I had seen something like it before during the last three days, but because of much suffering and many interruptions it escaped my mind.) The three priests were still there, and besides them there were several relations of the family with their little daughters; for instance, Mary Heli and her seven-year-old child Mary Cleophas, who is much stouter and sturdier than the child Mary. Mary is very delicately formed, and has reddish-fair hair, smooth, but curly at the ends. She can already read, and all are astonished at the wise answers she gives. Maraha, Anna's sister from Sephoris, is also there with a little daughter, and so are other relations with their little girls.

The garments, which had been partly cut out by the priests, had now been finished by the women. During the ceremony the child was dressed in them several times and asked various questions. It was all very solemn and serious, and though the old priests sometimes smiled gently during the proceedings, they were greatly impressed by Mary's wise answers and by her parents' tears of joy. The ceremony took place in a square room near the eating room. It was lit by an opening in the roof covered with gauze. A red carpet was spread on the floor, and on this stood an altar table with a red cloth and a white one over it. Above this table was a picture in some sort of embroidery or needlework which hung like a curtain in front of a kind of little cupboard containing scrolls of writings and prayers. (It was a picture of a man, I think of Moses. He was dressed in a flowing praying-mantle like the one he wore when he went up the mountain to ask something of God. In the picture he was not holding the Tables of the Law in his hand; they were hanging at his side or on his arm. Moses was very tall and broad-shouldered. He had red hair. His head was very long and pointed, like a sugarloaf, and he had a big hooked nose. On his broad forehead he had two protuberances like horns, turned inwards towards each other. They were not hard like animals' horns, but had soft skin, as it were ribbed or streaked, and only projected slightly from the forehead like two small lumps, brownish and wrinkled. He already had them as a child, but then they were little warts. This gave him a very strange appearance, which I never liked because it reminded me involuntarily of pictures of Satan. I have several times seen protuberances like these on the foreheads of old prophets and of some old hermits. Some of these had only one, in the middle of the forehead.) On the altar lay Mary's three sets of ceremonial garments as well as many other stuffs presented by her relations on the occasion of the child's entry into the Temple. There was a sort of little throne raised on steps in front of the altar. Joachim and Anna and the other relations were gathered round, the women standing at the back and the little girls beside Mary. The priests entered barefooted. There were five of them, but only three took part in the ceremony in their vestments. One of the priests took the garments from the altar, explained their significance, and handed them to Anna's sister from Sephoris, who dressed the child in them. First of all she put on her a little yellow knitted dress, and over it a colored scapulary or bodice decorated at the breast with cords. It was put over her head and tied round her. Over this she wore a brownish robe with armholes, over which hung pieces of the stuff. This robe was open at the neck, but closed from the breast downwards. Mary wore brown sandals with thick green soles. Her reddish-fair hair, curling at the ends, had been combed smooth, and she wore a wreath of white wool or silk ornamented at intervals with striped feathers, of a finger's breadth and curving inwards. I know the bird in that country from which these feathers come. A big square cloth, ash-gray in color, was then thrown over the child's head like a cloak. It could be drawn together under the arms, which rested in its folds as in slings. It seemed to be a penitential or praying garment or a traveling cloak.

As Mary stood there in this dress, the priests put to her all manner of questions which had to do with the way of life of the virgins of the Temple. Among other things they said to her: When your parents dedicated you to the Temple, they made a vow on your behalf that you should never taste wine, vinegar, grapes, or figs; what will you yourself now add to this? You may reflect on this during the meal. Now the Jews, and especially the Jewish girls, were very fond of drinking vinegar, and so was Mary. After more of such questions, the first set of garments was removed and the second put on. First a sky-blue dress, then a bodice more ornamented than the first one, a bluish-white robe, and a white veil shimmering like silk, with folds at the back of the neck like a nun's headdress and fastened round the head by a wreath of silk flower buds with little green leaves. Then the priests put a white veil over her face, drawn together above so as to cover her head like a hood. It was held by three clasps which enabled the veil to be thrown back to uncover either a third, a half, or the whole of the face. She was instructed in the use of this veil: how it was to be lifted and then dropped at meals, and when she had to give answers to questions, and so forth. She was also instructed in many other rules of behavior during the meal of which the whole party partook in the next room. Mary's place at table was between two priests, with another facing her. The women and little girls were at one end of the table, separate from the men. During the meal the child was examined several times by question and answer in the use of the veil. They also said to her: You are still allowed to eat any kind of food', and handed her various dishes in order to test her power of self-denial. But Mary partook of only few dishes and but little of each, and filled her hearers with great amazement by the childlike wisdom of her answers. I saw that during the meal and during the whole examination there were angels beside her, helping and guiding her.

When the meal was over, all went once more into the other room and stood before the altar, where the child was again undressed and then clothed in ceremonial garments. [Please refer to Figure 5.] This time she wore a violet-blue dress woven with a pattern of yellow flowers; over this was a bodice or corset embroidered in different colors ending in a point and fastening under the arms, where it gathered and held the fullness of the dress. Above this was a violet-blue robe, fuller and grander than the other ones, and ending in a short, rounded train. Down each side of the front of this robe were embroidered three silver stripes with what seemed to be little gold rosebuds strewn between them; the robe was fastened across the breast by a band which ran through and was held by a clasp on the bodice. The robe was open down to the lower edge of the bodice, and formed two pockets at the sides in which the arms rested. Below the bodice the robe was fastened with buttons or hooks, but showed five stripes of the silver embroidery running down to the hem. The hem itself was also embroidered. The back of this robe fell in ample folds, projecting beyond the arms on either side. Over this was thrown a great gleaming veil shot with colors, white and violet-blue. The crown which was now put on her head was a broad band of thin metal, wider above than below, its upper edge surmounted by points with knobs. Over the top of the crown five metal bands met in a central knob. These bands were covered with strands of silk, and the outside of the broad metal band was ornamented with little silk roses and five pearls or precious stones. The inside of the band shone like gold. Mary, dressed in these ceremonial garments, the significance of each of which had been explained to her by the priest, was led up the steps and placed before the altar. The little girls stood beside her. She then declared what she would bind herself to give up when in the Temple. She said that she would eat neither meat nor fish and would drink no milk, but only a drink made out of the pith of a reed and water, such as poor people drink in the Promised Land, like rice-water or barley-water with us; sometimes she would put a little terebinth juice into the water. This is like a white treacly oil, very refreshing but not so delicate as balsam. She gave up all spices, and said that she would eat no fruit except a kind of yellow berry that grows in clusters. I know it well; in that country it is eaten only by children and poor people. She said that she would sleep on the bare earth and would rise three times in the night to pray. The other temple maidens rose only once.

Figure 5. Mary in ceremonial garments.

Mary's parents were deeply moved by her words. Joachim, taking the child in his arms, said, weeping: O, my dear child, that is too hard, your old father will never see you again if you mean to live so austerely.' It was very touching to hear. The priests, however, told her that she was to rise only once in the night, like the others, and they made the other conditions milder. For example, on great feast days she was to eat fish. (There was a great fish market in Jerusalem in the lower part of the town supplied with water from the pool of Bethesda. Once when it dried up, Herod wanted to make an aqueduct and fountain, [60] and to meet the expense by selling sacred vessels and vestments from the Temple. This caused a real uproar. The Essenes came from all parts of the country to Jerusalem to resist it, for, as I have just remembered, it was the Essenes who had charge of the priestly vestments.)

The priests also said to the child Mary: Many of those virgins who are accepted by the Temple without payment or outfit are obliged, with the consent of their parents, to wash, as soon as they are strong enough, the bloodstained garments of the priests and other rough woolen cloths. This is hard work and often means bloody hands. But this you need not do, seeing that your parents are paying for your sojourn in the Temple.' Mary declared at once without hesitation that she would gladly undertake this work if she were considered worthy. While these questions and answers were being made, the clothing ceremony came to an end. During these holy proceedings I often saw Mary appear so tall among the priests that she stood high above them, whereby I was given a picture of her wisdom and grace. The priests were filled with joyful astonishment. At the end of the ceremony I saw Mary being blessed by the first among the priests. She stood on a little elevated throne between two priests, and the one who blessed her stood facing her, with others behind him. The priests prayed from scrolls, answering each other, and the first one held his hands over her as he blessed her. At this moment I was granted a wonderful insight into the inner being of the holy child Mary. I saw her as if transfused with light by the priest's blessing, and under her heart in an indescribable glory of light I saw the same appearance as I had seen in contemplating the Holy of Holies in the Ark of the Covenant. In a shining space shaped like Melchizedek's chalice I saw indescribable figures of the blessing in the form of light. It was as though corn and wine, flesh and blood, were striving to unite with each other. I saw at one and the same time how, above this appearance, her heart opened like a temple door; and how this mystery, surrounded by a kind of canopy of symbolic jewels, passed into her opened heart. It was as though I saw the Ark of the Covenant entering the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Thenceforth, the highest good then on earth was enshrined in her heart. Then I saw only the holy child Mary filled with a glow of burning devotion. I saw her as though transfigured and hovering above the ground. During this vision I perceived that one of the priests (I think it was Zechariah) had been inspired with an inner conviction that Mary was the chosen vessel of the mystery of salvation; for I saw him receive, a ray from the blessing which in my vision had entered into her.

The priests now led the child, blessed and arrayed in her finest ceremonial garments, up to her parents, who were much moved. Anna lifted Mary up to her breast and gave her an affectionate but solemn kiss. Joachim, with deep emotion, gave her his hand seriously and reverently. Mary's elder sister embraced the blessed child in her beautiful dress in a much more lively manner than Anna, who did everything with reflection and moderation. Mary Cleophas, Mary's niece, threw her arms joyfully round her neck like any child. After Mary had been saluted by all present, her ceremonial garments were taken off, and she appeared once more in her ordinary ones. Towards evening several of the guests, including some of the priests, went away to their homes. I saw them standing up to take a light meal; there were fruits and rolls of bread in bowls and dishes on a low table. They all drank out of one goblet. The women ate separately.
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Saints of the Day:
Mary Mother of the Church
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin
Our Lady of Health
Our Lady of Quinche
—
Amelberga of Susteren
Celsus the Martyr
Clement the Martyr
Demetrius of Ostia
Digain
Eoin O’Mulkern
Gelasius I, Pope
Gelasius O’Cullenan
Heliodorus of Pamphylia
Hilary of Vulturno
Honorius of Ostia
Maria Franciszka Siedliska
Maurus of Cesena
Maurus of Porec
Maurus of Verona
Nicholas Giustiniani
Rufus of Rome
—
Martyrs of Asta – 3 saints
—
Colman Iomramha of Inishmore
Columba the Younger
Launo of Thouars
catholicsaints.info/21-november/

Saturday of the Thirty-third week in Ordinary Time

2nd book of Maccabees 6:1-13.
As King Antiochus was traversing the inland provinces, he heard that in Persia there was a city called Elymais, famous for its wealth in silver and gold,
and that its temple was very rich, containing gold helmets, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander, son of Philip, king of Macedon, the first king of the Greeks.
He went therefore and tried to capture and pillage the city. But he could not do so, because his plan became known to the people of the city
who rose up in battle against him. So he retreated and in great dismay withdrew from there to return to Babylon.
While he was in Persia, a messenger brought him news that the armies sent into the land of Judah had been put to flight;
that Lysias had gone at first with a strong army and been driven back by the Israelites; that they had grown strong by reason of the arms, men, and abundant possessions taken from the armies they had destroyed;
that they had pulled down the Abomination which he had built upon the altar in Jerusalem; and that they had surrounded with high walls both the sanctuary, as it had been before, and his city of Beth-zur.
When the king heard this news, he was struck with fear and very much shaken. Sick with grief because his designs had failed, he took to his bed.
There he remained many days, overwhelmed with sorrow, for he knew he was going to die.
So he called in all his Friends and said to them: "Sleep has departed from my eyes, for my heart is sinking with anxiety.
I said to myself: 'Into what tribulation have I come, and in what floods of sorrow am I now!
Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule.' But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem, when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver that were in it, and for no cause gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.
I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me; and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land."

Psalms 9(9A):2-3.4.6.16b.19.
I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I will delight and exult in your name;
I will sing hymns to your name, Most High.

For my enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out forever and ever.

The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.
The needy will never be forgotten,
nor will the hope of the afflicted ever fade.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 20:27-40.
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus,
saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.'
Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second
and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her."
Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called 'Lord' the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."
Some of the scribes said in reply, "Teacher, you have answered well."
And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

Commentary of the day : Theodore of Mopsuestia
Birth into the new creation