Episode Transcript  

One

Mary’s Presentation in the Temple

Today, November 21, we celebrate one of the most hidden yet beautiful mysteries of Mary’s life — her Presentation in the Temple.

Imagine the little girl Mary, led by her parents Joachim and Anne, walking up the steps of the Temple in Jerusalem. She is going to live entirely for God — to belong to Him alone. That moment reveals who Mary is: the Temple of the Holy Spirit prepared for the coming of the Son of God.

Sacred Tradition, handed down by the Liturgy, tells us that Mary was born in Jerusalem and at a young age was brought by her parents to the Temple to be educated.

We call this event the Presentation of Mary in the Temple. It is different from the Presentation of Jesus, when Mary and Joseph brought the Infant Jesus to the Temple forty days after His birth.

But why is this hidden event so important for us today? Because Mary’s entrance into the Temple foreshadows something far greater — her entrance into the temple of our soul.

Two

We Are the Temple of God

St. Paul tells us that by faith and Baptism we have become the temples of God.

He writes in 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Do you not realize that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

At Baptism, the Holy Spirit enters our soul to conceive and begin to form Jesus within us.

But the Holy Spirit does not do this alone. The Spirit conceives and forms Jesus in us with and through Mary.

St. Louis de Montfort, St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Second Vatican Council, and the Catechism all teach this same truth:

Just as the Holy Spirit and Mary formed Jesus in her womb,

So too the Holy Spirit and Mary form Jesus in you.

It is not just the Holy Spirit who comes into your soul at Baptism, but also Mary — because it is always the Holy Spirit with Mary who conceives and brings Christ to birth in our soul.

So, Mary’s entrance into the Temple in Jerusalem foreshadows her entrance into the temple of your soul at Baptism — that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, she might conceive and form Jesus within you.

Three

The Power of Knowing Mary’s Role

St. Louis de Montfort explains that the Holy Spirit became fruitful only through Mary.

It was with her, in her, and of her that the Spirit brought forth Jesus Christ, and the Spirit will continue to form Christ in souls through her until the end of time.

Montfort writes:

“For this reason, the more the Holy Spirit finds Mary…in a soul, the more powerful and effective He becomes in producing Jesus Christ in that soul and that soul in Jesus Christ.”

So, the more we invite Mary into the temple of our soul, the more the Holy Spirit can form Jesus within us.

This is how holiness works — the Spirit and Mary working together, silently forming Christ in us as they once formed Him in her.

Four

Mary Living in the Temple of Our Soul

You may be used to the idea that Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwell within your soul. But the idea of Mary living in your soul might feel new or even strange.

Yet this is what the Church and the saints invite us to see:

Jesus wants to give His life to us through the Mass and the Sacraments, but because of our pride, sin, and disordered attachments, we often resist His grace.

So, the Holy Spirit comes to help us in our weakness — and He does this with and through Mary.

St. Louis de Montfort gives a powerful image to explain this mystery.

If a sculptor wants to make a perfect image of a person, he can either chisel away at a block of marble — a long, difficult process that risks many mistakes — or he can pour some liquefied material into a perfect mold.

Montfort writes:

“Mary is…the living mold of God. In her alone the God-man was formed in His human nature… In her alone, by the grace of Jesus Christ, we are made godlike as far as human nature is capable. Everyone who casts himself into this mold and allows himself to be molded will acquire every feature of Jesus Christ, with little pain or effort, as befits our weak human condition.”

Mary, then, is the living mold of God — perfectly shaped by the Holy Spirit to form us into the likeness of Christ, gently and faithfully.

Five

The Material Must Offer No Resistance

If we are to be formed in the likeness of Christ, St. Louis de Montfort says two things are necessary: the mold must be perfect, and the material must offer no resistance.

The mold — the Holy Spirit and Mary — is perfect. The only question then is whether we will offer no resistance. Will be docile to their work? 

So then, what can we do to become more receptive, so that Mary and the Holy Spirit may form Jesus within us? Three things:

1. Consecrate yourself to Mary.

Invite her to dwell in the temple of your soul so that she and the Holy Spirit may receive and form Jesus in you.

1. Imitate Jesus in Nazareth.

Live in imitation of Jesus as he was a little boy growing up under her care. Develop a personal relationship with Mary. Talk with her, listen to her in your heart, try to do what she inspires within you.

1. Learn in the School of Mary.

We need to meditate on the word of God in the Rosary which is the School of Mary.

St. John Paul II writes:

“The Rosary mystically transports us to Mary’s side as she watches over the human growth of Christ in the home of Nazareth. This enables her to train us and to mold us with the same care, until Christ is fully formed in us” (cf. Gal 4:19).

Resolution

Today, as we celebrate the Presentation of Mary, imagine her walking up the steps of your soul — ready to enter and take her place within.

Open the doors of your heart. Invite her in.

Then speak with her often today.

And since we are praying the Rosary – you are already learning at her School!

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