Be Present To The Spirit

How did the Virgin Mary come to be a woman “full of grace”? It was her close association with the holy Temple, as today’s feast (Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary) reminds us. Although not recorded in the Bible, an early document attributed to the apostle James (the apocryphal Gospel of James) tells us Mary was born to Joachim and Anne in a Jerusalem neighborhood near the Temple. According to legend, she was presented in the Temple at age 12 and lived in seclusion there to learn the Law. The meaning of this story is that Mary lived in God’s presence until God chose to reside in her. Live mindfully in the presence of God.