The Presentation of Mary
Oh my God, how I wish I could adequately picture to myself the sweetness and consolation of this trip from Saint Joachim’s home to the Temple of Jerusalem! What contentment this little child displayed in seeing that the long-awaited hour had finally come! Those who went to the Temple to adore and offer gifts to the divine majesty sang all along the way. The royal prophet David composed a psalm expressly for this purpose, and Holy Church has us say it every day in the divine office: Beati immaculati in via (Ps 119)—happy are they whose way is blameless, who walk in your way, Lord, without stain of sin. “In your way”—that is to say, in the observance of your commandments.
The blessed Saint Joachim and Saint Anne sang this canticle along the way, and our glorious Lady and Mistress with them. O God, what melody! How she sang it a thousand times more sweetly than the angels ever sang. So much were the angels taken with this that choir after choir of them came to hear the heavenly harmony. The heavens opened up and they leaned over the balustrades of the heavenly Jerusalem to see and admire this darling child.
Saint Francis de Sales
No comments:
Post a Comment