ORIGIN AND MEANING OF THE FEAST.—Under the old law, Jewish parents were accustomed to consecrate their children to God, that they might devote themselves to His service in the Temple, and, according to an ancient tradition, Mary was thus offered to God at a very early age : one of the apocryphal Gospels says that she was only three years old at the time.

The Feast of the Presentation of Mary is kept by the Greeks and Armenians, as well as the Latins, on November 21; in the Greek Church it is called the Feast of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple. Simeon Metaphrastes speaks of it as established at Constantinople in 730, and in 1143 the Emperor Emmanuel Comnenus mentions it among the feasts known to the whole Church. At the request of the Ambassador of the King of Cyprus to Pope Gregory XI., who was then re siding at Avignon, the Papal Curia adopted it in 1372. Passing thence into several other kingdoms and churches, the solemnity was introduced into the Roman Breviary by Sixtus IV., abolished by St. Pius V., and restored by Sixtus V., principally in consequence of the representations of Father Turrian, S.J . Pope Clement VIII. approved the Office in its present form, in which the Presentation is mentioned only in the collect, the fourth lesson ( taken from St. John Damascene) , and the response after the Eighth Nocturn.

PLAN OF THE MEDITATI0N.—Many pious and learned writers, and even great theologians, believe that Mary, by a special privilege, received the perfect use of reason in the very first moment of her existence. The present feast, then, recalls to us her vow of virginity comprised in the entire offering of herself, or the solemn ratification of that consecration. Many religious communities have been led by this belief to adopt the practice of taking or renewing their vows on this day. In any case, it is impossible to doubt that Mary, from the first dawn of reason, was consecrated wholly to God. Three points, then, are naturally indicated for our meditation : her offering of herself was (1) prompt; (2) entire; (3) perpetual.

"Deus cordis mel et pars mea Deus in aeternum"

—Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion for ever (Ps. lxxii. 26).

First Prelude—Let us imagine St. Joachim and St. Anne leading their little daughter up the steps of the Temple.

Second Prelude.—Let us ask the grace to give to the complete sacrifice of Mary that admiration which, while it increases our reverence for our dear Mother, kindles in us a resolution to imitate her.

(1) Prompt.—Scarcely had Mary begun to under-stand the nature of God when she felt an irresistible desire to return to Him. As she came from Him, so she hastened to take refuge with Him. To whom else could she turn but to God ? How beautiful it is to contemplate the early life of the Blessed Virgin, and the consolation she felt all through her life of having belonged to God, and God only, from the first moment of her being!

(2) Joyful in its Promptness.—She gave herself up, but without any regret. Her heart was full of joy and holy pride when she felt that she was accepted by a God of infinite goodness and holiness.

(3) In our relations with God, have we realized the truth of the proverb, Bis dat qui cito dat, He gives twice who gives quickly, and the words of Holy Scripture " God loveth a cheerful giver " ? It may be that years of sinful living have kept us far from God, and that when grace has urged us to return we have delayed and made excuses. How we have hesitated, and how ungenerous we have been! How we have wished in our hearts that God would be satisfied with less! And at last we have turned to Him as if under compulsion an d against our will.

(4) We must make up for this wasted time, for this lamentable want of generosity towards God, by a perfect readiness to do all that we can to serve Him. Perhaps now we live for God, but we need to renew our offering again and again with cheerfulness, and prove our sincerity by laying aside all hesitation and sluggishness in His service.

1. Mary was not only given promptly to God, hut she was also given entirely. No venial sin, no blemish of any kind, impaired the perfection of the offering. No created thing could restrain her in her zeal for God ; nothing could tempt her or turn her for a moment from her Creator. On the contrary, all things around her served only as additional incentives, urging her towards that God Whom she loved so well. All her feelings and affections combined to form an example of a perfect life, given entirely to God.

2. How imperfect are all our offerings ! How many things distract us from God ! Weigh well the formula of self-consecration which are put before the faithful. Can we repeat them sincerely ? Whether priests or religious, are we so entirely devoted to God that we can in good faith subscribe to these professions ? A really complete offering implies the renunciation of all the good things of this world, and yet we find ourselves seeking after the comforts and luxuries of life. It demands the severance of natural ties which hinder our progress towards perfection, and we refuse to endure the separations which the service of God requires. It involves renunciation of self, of interior satisfaction, and yet we crave for sensible consolations, and allow ourselves to ‘be cast down by the least feeling of spiritual dryness.

How inconsiderate we are in thus dividing our allegiance ! for we lay up only trouble and vexation for ourselves, and the division of our affections leads to heart-rending anguish.

1. Mary belonged to God irrevocably. Neither time nor the accidents of life could ever for a moment shake her resolution. Not only was her offering, prompt and complete as it was, never withdrawn, but she was always perfectly willing, if necessary, to renew the sacrifice which had once been made.

2. How excellent a thing is constant perseverance in good ! What a proof of high character and what a victory over oneself ! The man who perseveres seems to rise superior to time and the chances of this life, and to belong already to eternity.

If we have not retracted our promise or our offering, have we thoroughly realized what perfect constancy means? It is not enough to accept our position with resignation ; it means that we must be ready and willing, whenever necessary, to repeat the irrevocable act of dedication. Have not our difficulties and trials hitherto made us look back and indulge in reflections whose only result is to weaken our will and lessen our merit? These repinings are the canker-worm of our good actions.

(3) Let us exert our will and often renew our good intentions, and thus strive to attain to perfect constancy.

While we rejoice with our dear Mother, let us beg her to obtain for us the grace to imitate her. Let us ungrudgingly renew the sacrifice of all we possess for God’s sake, and say to Him with St. Ignatius : " 0 Eternal Lord of all things, with the support of Thy help and Thy grace I come to make the offering of my whole self to Thee. In presence of Thy infinite goodness, in the sight of Thy glorious Mother and all the Saints, I protest that my will and desire are all for Thy greater glory, and that I am ready to share with Thee all the insults and outrages that are offered to Thee, and to sacrifice all interior and exterior consolation for Thy sake, if it please Thy sacred Majesty to choose and accept me for this purpose."