Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary -21st November

 

The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated annually on November 21st, commemorates the presentation of the Blessed Virgin as a child by her parents in the Temple in Jerusalem. Before Mary’s birth, her parents received a heavenly message that they would bear a child. In thanksgiving for the God’s gift of Mary’s birth, they brought her to the Temple to consecrate their only daughter to The Lord.The celebration of the Feast is first documented in the 11th century within the Byzantine Catholic Church. It was introduced into the Roman Catholic Church in the 15th century by Pope Gregory XI, then removed from the calendar by Pope Pius V in the mid 16th century. Pope Sixtus V later reestablished the feast in 1585, and it is still celebrated today, commemorating the faith of her parents, Joachim and Anne, and the purity of Mary.

Prayer for the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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
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, forever and ever.
Amen.

A prayer to Our Lady to celebrate the Feast of her Presentation in the Temple, by St Alphonsus Liguori from ‘the Glories of Mary’

Oh holy Lady know that already through thy prayers the Son of God is hastening to come and redeem the world, and know that thou art the blessed one chosen to be the Mother of God, most holy Child, thou prayest for all, pray also for me.
Thou hast consecrated thyself wholly even from infancy to the love of thy God. Obtain for me at least during the remaining years of my life that I may live for God alone.
Today, together with thee, I renounce all creatures, and consecrate myself to the love of my Lord. I also offer myself to thee, oh my queen to serve thee forever. Accept me for thy special servant and obtain for me the grace to be faithful to thee and to thy Son, so that I may come one day to praise thee and love thee in paradise.
Amen.

Prayer

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known, that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother! To thee to do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer me.
Amen.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary

O blessed Virgin Mary! who can duly thank thee, or herald forth thy praises, who, by the assent of thy single will, didst rescue a fallen world? What honor can be paid to thee by our weak human nature, which, by thy intervention alone, hath found the way to return to grace and life? Accept then, such poor thanks as we have here to offer, unequal to thy merits though they be; and, accepting our good desires, obtain by thy prayers the remission of our offenses. Graciously hear our prayers, and obtain for us the remedy of reconciliation.

May the offering we make to God through thee, through thee be acceptable in his sight; and may that be granted which we ask with trustful heart. Accept our offerings, grant us our petitions, banish our fears; for thou art the sole hope of sinners. Through thee we hope for forgiveness of our sins; and in thee, most blessed Lady, is the hope of our reward.

Holy Mary, succor the wretched, help the fainthearted, comfort the sorrowful, pray for the people, shield the clergy, intercede for holy women; let all who celebrate thy holy commemoration feel thy protection. Be thou at hand, ready to aid our prayers, and obtain for us what we desire. Make it thy care, blessed Lady, to intercede ever for the people of God–thou who didst deserve to bear the Redeemer of the world, who liveth and reigneth, forever and ever.
Amen.

Prayer on Presentation of Mary

Eternal Father, we honor the holiness and glory of the Virgin Mary. May her prayers bring us the fullness of your life and love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Prayer for the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

O God, Who didst will that on this day
the blessed ever Virgin Mary,
the dwelling-place of the Holy Ghost,
should be presented in the temple:
grant, we beseech Thee,
that through her intercession,
we may be made worthy to be presented in the temple of Thy glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son,
Who liveth and reigneth with Thee
in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God,
world without end.
Amen.

Short Prayer on the Presentation of Mary

Heavenly Father, the Blessed Virgin Mary was dedicated to You by her parents when she was three. In the temple, she joined the girls who spent their days praying, reading Scripture, and serving the temple priests. Her holiness was very evident, and the high priest thought that You probably had great plans for her. I ask Mary to pray for the plans You have for my life. Where I have strayed onto a road of my own choosing, give me her hand to guide me back to where You want me. Where I need to wait for a new plan to begin, give me the grace remain patient and say, “Your will be done.” Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for me.
Amen.

Novena for the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

This Novena begins November 13th and ends November 21st, the Feast of Presentation of the Blessed virgin Mary.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen

1. O great Virgin and dear Mother! by the marvellous promptitude with which you dedicated your earliest years to the service of God, obtain that we may from this time forward be enabled to consecrate our hearts to the divine service without ever being diverted from our purpose.
Pray one Ave Maria

2. O great Virgin and dear Mother! by that seraphic zeal with which in your childhood you served in the temple, thereby becoming an object of admiration to angels and men, obtain for us that we may approach the holy Sacraments with the true spirit of devotion.
Pray one Ave Maria

3. O great Virgin and dear Mother! by the admirable courage with which you subdued your attachment to home and parents, in your first years of life, that you might devote yourself to the service of God, obtain for us that, no longer seduced by the deceits of our enemies, we may be able to keep our hearts detached from all earthly things, seeking for our true and perfect good alone, and may enjoy one day with you the eternal delights of Paradise.
Pray one Ave Maria

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Novena in Honor of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Beginning November 12)

[i. 300 Days each day.
ii. Plenary on the Feast or during the Octave. I, II, IV.
(See Instructions, p. 1.)]

1st, 4th and 7th Days – November 12, 15, and 18

Mary, Mother of God, tradition tells us that when you were three years of age, your parents, Joachim and Anne, took you to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill their vow. The holy couple offered you to God by the ministry of the priest in charge, who invoked the blessing of God upon you and your parents. How fervently your mother and father thanked God for having given you to them and begged Him to accept the offering that they were making! They then left a small offering of silver required by the Law of Moses.

What a beautiful example for parents to imitate! Their children also belong to God, for they are His gift. Teach parents to care for their children as God’s sacred trust, to guard them from sin and to lead them in the way of virtue. May they consider it to be the greatest privilege bestowed upon them by God to dedicate their sons and daughters to His holy service. Help them to become worthy of this blessing through their own prayers and good example.

Mary, my Mother, your first presentation to God, made by the hands of your parents, was an offering most acceptable in His sight. Let my consecration of myself to God be made under your patronage and assisted by your intercession and in union with your merits. Amen.

Then follows Pater, Ave, Gloria Patri, and the Litany of Loreto, Memorare, and Act of Consecration.

Mary, Mother of God, and Mother of Mercy, pray for me and the departed.

2nd, 5th, and 8th Days – November 13, 16, and 19

Mary, Mother of God, already in your childhood you dedicated yourself to the love and service of God. Led by divine inspiration to His house, you prepared yourself for your sublime dignity of Divine Motherhood in silence and solitude with God. Though the designs of God were unknown to you, you nevertheless detached your heart from the world in order to give all your love to God.

Consecrated to the Lord, you may have remained in the Temple until the age of 12. When you later returned to your home, you were under the loving care of your mother, Saint Anne. With her you loved to sing the psalms and canticles of the inspired authors of your nation. From Anne you heard the touching story of the Chosen People. You learned to read the sacred books by yourself and tried to penetrate their hidden meaning. You often discussed the coming of the Messiah, since you knew He would be of your race and family.

Mary, my Mother, you were laying the foundation of that hidden life in which, by the practice of the highest virtues, you were to reach that sublime degree of holiness to which you were predestined as Mother of the Son of God and Mother of all the souls for whom He was to die. Attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, you diligently gathered up all His lessons, preserving them in your soul with zealous care. Amen.

Then follows Pater, Ave, Gloria Patri, and the Litany of Loreto, Memorare, and Act of Consecration.

Mary, Mother of God, and Mother of Mercy, pray for me and the departed.

3rd, 6th and 9th Days – November 14, 17, and 20

Mary, Mother of God, may the perfect gift of yourself to God through love in your presentation in the temple be an inspiration to me. You loved God with your whole heart and mind and strength. Obtain for me the grace to love God with my whole heart—so that all the love my heart is capable of may be consecrated to Him, and all other affection subordinated to the love I owe God.

Help me to love God with my whole soul—so that all the faculties of my soul may be consecrated to Him, and that I may make use of them only to make Him known, loved and served.

Help me to love God with my whole mind—so that my mind may be habitually occupied with God and that I may value His good pleasure above everything else, above my convenience, above all earthly treasures, above all knowledge and friendship, above health and life.

Help me to love God with my whole strength—so that I may consecrate undividedly, unreservedly and continually to His service, my life, my health and all I am and have.

Mary, my Mother, pray that the love of God above all things and detachment from the world and its false pleasures, may also make my soul the temple of the living God. After your example, I desire to be known to God and unknown to men, to possess God and to be forgotten by creatures. May God dwell in me and may I live to Him alone through frequent Holy Communion and still more frequent prayer so that God may direct my whole life—my thoughts, words and actions—to His greater honor and glory. Amen.

Then follows Pater, Ave, Gloria Patri, and the Litany of Loreto, Memorare, and Act of Consecration.

Mary, Mother of God, and Mother of Mercy, pray for me and the departed.