MARY was no sooner born than she consecrated her entire being to the
service of Divine Love, and as soon as she acquired the use of her
tongue she employed it in chanting the praises of the Lord. He
inspired her, when she had attained the age of three years, to leave
the home of her parents and retire into the Temple to serve Him more
perfectly. During her tender years the life of this glorious Virgin
was full of wisdom and discretion, and the cause of astonishment to
her parents, for her actions and words were very different from those
of other children, since she had the full use of her reason. It was
therefore necessary to hasten the period for taking her to the Temple
and consecrating her to the Divine service, amongst the other maidens
already consecrated. They, therefore, took the little Virgin and
partly led and partly carried her to the Temple of Jerusalem. Mary
certainly had nothing to fear from the influences of her home, but she
wished to teach us by her example that we should omit nothing, as St.
Paul so earnestly teaches, to make our calling and election sure.
All who repaired to the Temple to present their offerings chanted as
they went the Psalm: _Beati immaculati in via qui ambulant in lege
Domini--'Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of
the Lord'_. With what grace and melody must not our glorious Queen and
Mistress have intoned this canticle when she walked towards the
sanctuary where her God wished to prepare her to become, not only His
Spouse, but His Mother, the blessed among all women! The very Angels
were so pleased at the sight of such love, fervour, and humility, that
they descended in choirs to listen to the harmony. With what joy was
she not filled when she arrived at the threshhold of the Temple, and
when she mounted the fifteen steps of the sanctuary! She came to
dedicate herself unreservedly to God. If her youth had not forbidden
it, she might thus have addressed the holy matrons who had charge of
the consecrated children in the Temple: Here am I; consider me in your
hands as a piece of soft wax; dispose of me as you will, I shall never
make any resistance. She was so docile that she allowed herself to be
guided by others in such a manner as never to show the slightest
inclination to one thing more than another. She abandoned herself
totally and perfectly to the Divine Will, so that she was a marvel to
all who knew her.
In order to profit in a Christian manner by the example that Mary
gives us in this mystery, three points can be considered: firstly,
that Mary was presented to God in His Temple from her tenderest
infancy, and thus separated from her parents; secondly, that she makes
a great part of the journey on foot, and the rest of the journey she
is carried in the arms of her parents; thirdly, that she dedicates and
offers herself entirely to God, without any reserve.
As to the first point, which is to dedicate one's self to God from
one's infancy, how, you will ask, can we imitate Mary in this, for we
have already passed the age of childhood, and it is impossible to
recover lost time? You are deceived. If virginity can be repaired by
means of humility, cannot lost time be repaired by making a fervent
and good use of the present? I acknowledge that the happiness of those
who have dedicated themselves entirely to God from their infancy is,
indeed, enviable, and He seems to receive such an offering with
special complacency. He complains, through one of His prophets, that
'_men had so perverted their way, that even from their youth they had
abandoned the path of salvation for that of perdition_.' Children are
neither good nor bad so long as they are incapable of distinguishing
good from evil. But when they have attained the use of reason, too
often they turn to that which is evil. Hence God says by His prophet:
_Dereliquerunt me fontem aquae vivae--'They have forsaken Me, the
fountain of living water, to follow the way of iniquity_.'
Another proof of the ardent desire of the Divine Goodness for our
youthful service is found in the words of the same prophet; _Bonum est
viro cum portaverit jugum ab adolescentia sua--'It is good for a man
to have borne the yoke from his youth_.' But it need not be supposed
that the youth of which the prophet speaks is only that of years. When
the Beloved in the Canticle of Canticles turns to her Spouse and says
to Him: _Oleum effusum nomen tuum, ideo adolescentulae dilexerunt te--
'Thy name is as oil poured out, therefore young maidens have loved
Thee_,' do you believe she speaks of maidens who are young in years?
No; but of those who are young in fervour and courage, but who have
consecrated to the service of Holy Love all the moments of their life
and all the affections of their hearts.
It is the present time, the present moment, that we should turn to
profit; because the past has escaped us, and the future is not in our
power. But you ask, How can we repair lost time? You can do it by the
use of fervour and diligence during the time that remains for your
pilgrimage upon earth. Stags do not always run at an extraordinary
speed, but yet, when pursued by the hunter, they quicken their
movement and seem rather to fly than to run. This is a model for us.
We must not only run, but fly in the way of perfection. Therefore let
us, with holy David, beg our Lord to give us _the wings of a dove_,
that we may fly without stopping, until we gain our hiding-place in
the walls of the holy city of Jerusalem; that is to say, until we find
ourselves united to our Lord crucified upon Calvary, through an entire
and perfect mortification of all our inclinations and affections.
Oh, how happy are those souls who follow the example of this Sacred
Virgin, and dedicate themselves from their tender years to the service
of God! Fortunate are they to have retired from the world before they
were known to it! Like delicate flowers scarcely yet open, nor touched
by the heat of concupiscence, they exhale a most sweet odour in the
Divine Presence by means of their virtues and innocence.