Presentation Day Novena 2014 “The Lord God put grace upon the child…” ( Protevangelium of James, 2 nd Century)
The novena this year focuses specifically on Mary the Mother of God. We have chosen Gospel stories that highlight significant events in the life of Mary and her Son, Jesus. These are bookended by the ancient story of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple. We have not suggested any hymns or music to use during the novena days. This allows you to choose appropriately from your own library. May these days and our great titular feast day, be a source of many blessings for our whole Presentation family. 2
“We are each given the gift of our journey. Some days we walk with delight and a lightness that is filled with clarity and focus, confidently proceeding with the knowledge that we are companioned and supported as our life unfolds. Our awareness of the Divine presence is amazingly vivid. The map seems clear, the obstacles seem manageable, and our provisions substantial. We walk with the assurance of knowing that there is nothing That can keep us from Love!” (Taken from Journey of the Soul, Doria Klein CSA) 3
DAY 1 : 12 Nov. “…and the Lord God sent grace upon her; and she danced with her feet and all the house of Israel loved her.” Today we remember our Presentation family in New Zealand and Latin America. We begin our Novena with a reflection on the story of Mary’s entrance into the Temple as a very young child with the reminder that Mary was chosen by God for her special role as the Theotokos or Birthgiver of God. The story is part of Tradition rather than being found in the New Testament, but we are prepared for it in the prophesies of the Old Testament, Especially in the Book of Isaiah 60:5ff; 61:10, and the words of Ps. 45: 10-15. (adapted from Focus Units of Department of Christian Education ) “Joachim placed her on the third step of the altar, and the Lord God put grace upon the child, and she danced for joy with her feet, and the whole house of Israel loved her. And her parents went down wondering, praising and glorifying the almighty God because the child did not turn back. And Mary was in the Temple nurtured like a dove and received food from the hand of an angel. ” (from Protevangelium of James , Second Century). The Virgin “appears in the temple of God”, an experience she shares with her son, Jesus, whose presentation in the Temple is also celebrated. In the Eastern Church the feast refers to Mary herself as “the pure Temple of the Saviour.” She is the dwelling place of God incarnate. Reflective Silence…… (quiet reflective music) 4
“The virgin appears in the temple of God, In anticipation proclaiming Christ to all, Let us rejoice and sing to her: Rejoice, O fulfilment of the Creator’s dispensation!” (Eastern Orthodox Troparion of the Feast) Presentation of Mary in the Temple; window in the Iona Chapel WA Paul says ‘you are God’s temple’ (1Cor 3:16), ‘your body is a temple of the Living God’ (1 Cor 6:19), and the Gospels promise a rebuilt temple, meaning the community of believers. God dwells with us in the heart of the Christian community. Not only is the Christian community the Dwelling Place of God, but in the Johannine and Pauline writings the whole cosmos is infused with God’s presence. For Paul, since the resu rrection, ‘creation groans in a continuous act of giving birth’ (Rom.8:22). John writes: ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt (literally, tabernacled) among us (Jn 1:14). Jesus is the new Temple – the new dwelling place of God among us (Jn 2:21) and Mary, because she bears God in her womb, is the new Ark of the Covenant, the new dwelling place of God. She bears the new Temple in her womb. We too have a part in this drama. Because Nano becomes Christ working in the garrets and schools of Cork, She too images the presence of God, a disciple of the New Temple, feeding and nurturing all in her path. (Adapted from Marlette Black, Presentation Charism and Spirituality, 2010) As we ponder reflectively on Mary’s Presentation in the Temple: “ Let us reverently enter into the temple of our own b eings, seeking out, celebrating and nurturing God’s 5
presence in the desires of our hearts and the work of our hands.” Presentation of Mary from the Melkite Liturgy We pray....... The angels were stunned as they beheld the most pure one coming in, and they said: O Wonder. The Virgin enters into the Holy of Holies. O Mother of God, you are the precious Ark of God: no profane hand may touch you. But the lips of the faithful will never cease to sing your praise, repeating with joy the angel's word: O pure Virgin, you are indeed raised above all creatures. Blessing…… “May your roots go deep And deeper still Into the holy ground of God.” (Jan L. Richardson, In the Sanctuary of Women, p.126) 6
DAY 2:13 th Nov “Let what you have said be done to me.” Today we remember our Presentation family in the Philippines and Thailand. READING: Luke 1:31-38, “…you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end. Mary said to the angel “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “ The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. ” Let us sit with and savour the Word……. “Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Mary said “yes” for th e human race. Each of us must echo that ‘ yes ’ for our lives… 7
The Annunciation Cast from afar before the stones were born And rain had rinsed the darkness for colour, The words have waited for the hunger in her To become the silence where they could form. The day’s last light frames her by the window, A young woman with distance in her gaze, She could never imagine the surprise That is hovering over her life now. The sentence awakens like a raven, Fluttering and dark, opening her heart To nest the voice that first whispered the earth From dream into wind, stone, sky and ocean. She offers to mother the shadow’s child; Her untouched life becoming wild inside. (John O’Donohue, conamara blues, p.36) Pause for reflection….. What words, thoughts or phrases speak to you? You may wish to share these with others….. Julian of Norwich (14 th Century) tells us that she saw Mary’s : “spirituality in her bodily likeness, a simple, humble maiden, young in years, of the stature which she had when she conceived. Also God showed me part of the wisdom and truth of her soul, and in this I understood the reverent contemplation with which she beheld her God, marvelling with great reverence that he was willing to be born of her who was a simple creature created by him .” (J. Robert Baker, et. al. in A Sourcebook about Mary, p.32) 8
The following may be read for further reflection or sharing. Annunciation In prayer Miryam watched. Eyes of her soul turned inward, she watched. Ears of her spirit stretched out, she watched. Watched for Yahweh in silence. In awe Miryam listened. With the firm beat of her heart, she listened. With the deep stroke of her breath, she listened Listened for Yahweh in stillness. The Shadow streamed into her being. Greeting the core of her soul. Hearing, she stretched for the life source. Embracing the quickening call. (Ann Johnson, Miryam of Nazareth, p. 72) We pray….. With Mary who throughout he r life was open to God’s Spirit. May we too, have the grace to open our lives to all that you would call us to be. We ask this through Jesus the Incarnate Word. Amen. 9
DAY 3. 14 th Nov. “Then the angel left her.” Today we remember our Presentation family in Canada The silence that follows is positive and creative – it is the silence that belongs to the very fabric and structure of humanity, and Mary, the pattern and model of what it means to be a person – after Jesus, her Son, exemplifies the essential human quality of silence. St Gregory tells us that stillness or silence of the heart is nothing else than an attitude of attentive listening. Listening is only possible when there is silence in the human person, listening and silence belong together, as the psalmist tells us “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). To be silent in prayer is to listen to God. Silence is presence at the heart of which is God. Silence is not emptiness but fullness, not the absence of speech but the awareness of God’s immediacy. Silence is waiting on God, and Mary is depicted in the Gospels as one who listened, as one who “treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2: 52b). 10
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