Ordinary Time: November 21st

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MASS READINGS

November 21, 2007 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Eternal Father, we honor the holiness and glory of the Virgin Mary. May her prayers bring us the fullness of your life and love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Recipes (2)

• St. Mary's Mocha Surprise
• Vuccidrato -- Mary's Palms

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Activities (10)

• Celebrating the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin
• Feasts of Mary in the Family
• Feasts of Our Lady in the Home
• Marian Hymn: ’Tis Said of Our Dear Lady
• Marian Hymn: Ave Maria Dear
• Marian Hymn: Beautiful, Glorious
• Marian Hymn: Salve Regina
• Marian Hymn: Stella Matutina
• Marian Hymn: Virgin Blessed, Thou Star the Fairest
• Mary Garden

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Prayers (7)

• November Devotion: The Holy Souls in Purgatory
• Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Litany of Loreto)
• Little Litany of the Holy Souls
• Prayers for the Presentation
• Prayer for a Happy Death
• Daily Acceptance of Death
• Table Blessing for the Feasts of the Mother of God

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Library (1)

• Presentation Prefigures the Cross | Pope Saint John Paul II

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Blog & Podcasts (2)

• Sing of Mary, 2: A True Song of the Undeserving Poor
• Sing of Mary, 3: Living the Rosary

» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of the Presentation of Mary. The three feasts of the birthday of Our Lady, the holy Name of Mary and her Presentation in the Temple correspond in the Marian cycle with the first three feasts of the cycle of feasts of our Lord: namely, Christmas, the Holy Name of Jesus, and His Presentation in the Temple (February 2).

Presentation of Mary
"Sacred Scripture contains no text concerning the event commemorated in today's liturgy. For something of a historical background one may consult the apocryphal works, particularly the Protoevangel of St. James (ch. 4:1ff). After an angel had revealed her pregnancy, Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Soon after birth the infant was brought to the sacred precincts at which only the best of Israel's daughters were admitted. At the age of three she was transferred to the temple proper (7:2). According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel (8:1).

"In the East, where the feast, celebrated since the eighth century, is kept as a public holiday, it bears the name, 'The Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple'. It was introduced at Rome by a Cypriotic legate to the papal court of Avignon in 1371. In 1472, Sixtus IV extended its observance to the whole Church. Abolished by Pius V, it was reintroduced some years later (1585)."

—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

Things to Do:

• Meditate on the mystery of Mary's temporary dwelling in the sanctuary of the Old Covenant as a preparation for the approaching season of Advent.

• Read about the Presentation of Mary at Vatican News.

• See the Presentation of Mary altar and painting in St. Peter's Basilica.

• Learn more about Mary in the Byzantine Liturgy and say one of the beautiful prayers of the Eastern liturgy in honor of Mary.