YOU Bear the Mark of Mary

Revelation 11:19 “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.”

In November we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of Mary. Tradition tells us that Mary’s parents Sts. Joachim and Anne were unable to conceive. They spent many years praying for a child and upon finally conceiving Mary vowed to dedicate her to the Temple. During this time, children could be dedicated to the temple by their parents and there they would live full-time, praying and assisting in the work needing done around the temple. So this is what we celebrate today, the day when Sts. Anne and Joachim brought Mary to the temple and essentially gifted her to the Lord for service in His temple. We are told she was 3 years old. Since she was given all the graces, she had her full use of reason and was able to go willingly and excitedly. But still this always makes me pause as a parent… they prayed so hard and waited so long for a child… to have her for only three short years and then willingly give her back to God. And what a gift of a child she must have been to her parents, making their letting her go all the more of a sacrifice.

I was doing something random like brushing my teeth or something the other day and just happened to look down at my left hand. I noticed my palm and how the crease lines in my palm make kind of a shape like the letter M, a style of M that looks like the M seen in many representations of the Auspice Maria symbol- the little symbol that I’m sure you’ve seen with the letters M and A intertwined- and means “under the protection of Mary”. And I just stood there and stared at my hand in disbelief… I am a Mama Mary girl. My heart is so Marian through and through. I had a re-conversion and then subsequent healing both through the intercession of Mary. Ever since then I’ve felt wholly indebted to her and consider myself one of her devoted daughters. I’ve purchased Marian clothing, jewelry, and home decor all without realizing I had my Mama’s letter etched in my very skin. All this time, I’ve had her M on my hand without ever noticing it.

If you haven’t already, take a peek down at your palm, I’m willing to bet you can make out an M on there… it’s like this hidden little secret- we all have our Mama’s mark. And I love celebrating this fact on the Feast of the Presentation because like Sts. Joachim and Anne, we all present and offer things dear to us to God. But thanks to Joachim and Anne’s offering of Mary, we now have their daughter as the one whom we present our offerings through… when we present them to her, she takes them and makes them pleasing and perfect for Jesus and then takes them to Him for us. What a blessing she is to us! So next time you’re faced with something difficult, look down at your hand, may it serve always as a reminder that you bear her mark, you’re under the protection of your Heavenly Mama, and present the difficulties to her. Blessed Mother, pray for us.

Listen to the audio version of this reflection here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXWRmuTcR-8