CHAPTER XII Of the Purification of Blessed Mary, and the Presentation of Jesus
CHAPTER XII
Of the Purification of Blessed Mary, and the Presentation of Jesus
I BLESS Thee, and give thanks to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, Fountain of purity, for Thy lowly Presentation in the Temple of God, where, with victims and with gifts, Thou wast offered by Thy parents as one of the sons of Adam, and wast redeemed with five shekels of silver, as if Thou hadst been some chattel of a slave, sold and bought back again.
I bless Thee, for Thy lowly obedience to the Law of God, O most Holy Redeemer of the world, Who—Thyself free from any debt of sin—didst make Thyself subject to all the ordinances of the Law, that Thou mightest be to us an example of perfect obedience.
I glorify Thee for the exceeding humility of Thy most blessed Mother, and for her obedience, of her own free choice, to the Law of Moses: for, although she was both before and after child-birth, a Virgin undefiled, yet did she not think scorn of submitting to the rite of Purification.
O most pleasing oblation! O most sweet satisfaction! For it was free: it was full: and it was faultless.
But what shall I offer, what shall I render unto Thee, my Lord and my God, for all Thy benefits to me? O how needful for me is purification, for the washing away of my sins; how expedient for me is satisfaction for my acts of transgression—for me who am polluted with the stains of so many sins.
To Thee, therefore, O most gracious Lord Jesus Christ, to Thee do I look up, beseeching Thee, that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to make satisfaction for me, and to wash away my sins by Thy most pure oblation of Thyself: that so, cleansed and purified by Thy grace, I may win an entrance into the Temple of Thy heavenly Abode, there to praise Thy Holy Name for ever.
And do Thou also, Holy Mother of God, glorious Virgin Mary, pray for me that my sins may be forgiven: that there may be granted to me time for repentance, and a firm purpose of amendment, by the help of God’s grace: and that there may be nothing wanting in me to win back my place in God’s favour. Do thou plead for me, O most gracious Mother, by offering thyself, together with thy most dearly beloved Son, before our Father in heaven. May thy virginal purity atone for my impurities, whether of body or of soul; may thy love inflame the coldness of my heart; may thy humility subdue my pride; may thy voluntary obedience break down the hardness of my perverse will.
I place myself in thy hands, and in those of thy dearly-beloved Son: and whatever I can do, that I shall always be ready to do, in His service, and in thine.
I offer a pair of turtle doves, to wit, a twofold compunction of heart, first by way of grieving for my sins and shortcomings, and next by way of sighing for the joys that have no end.
I also present willingly, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord, two young pigeons: earnestly desiring, that is, to keep a twofold simplicity of heart, first by way of rendering to no man evil for evil, and next by way of overcoming evil with good.
For all which do Thou vouchsafe to grant me Thy grace, O kind Jesus, Who wast on this day presented in the Temple by Thy lowly virgin Mother, and wast taken up with joy into the loving arms of the just and devout Simeon.