And You, Yourself, a Sword Will Pierce 

The fourth Joyful Mystery of the rosary, the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, seems like it might better fit into the sorrowful mystery category. Mary recieves the ominous news that she will undergo tremendous suffering in conjunction with her Son. It is however in the context of a joyful moment because the baby is presented to God at Israel's holiest site and what Jesus calls later, the 'home of the Father'. Often times in life one single moment can be bitter sweet. There are times when our lives are taken up into the Paschal Mystery where the sorrowful 'Good Friday' moments and the joyful 'Resurrection' intersect. This is what recent mystics, Saints and scholars reflect on in light of the Scripture passage below. 

The Presentation in the Temple

"When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord', and to offer the sacrifice of 'a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,' in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: 'Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel'.

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, 'Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed' ”(Luke2:22-35).

Pope St. John Paul II considered Simeon's words to be a call to mission. “Simeon’s words seem like a second Annunciation to Mary, for they tell her of the actual historical situation in which the Son is to accomplish his mission, namely, in misunderstanding and sorrow. While this announcement on the one hand, confirms her faith in the accomplishment of the divine promises of salvation, on the other hand, it also reveals to her that she will have to live her obedience of faith in suffering, at the side of the suffering Savior, and that her motherhood will be mysterious and sorrowful” (2).

Christ, the fruit of Mary’s womb, the fruit of her assent, was presented at the temple. “She had fulfilled the first part of her task; the fruit of her assent is there, and it almost seems as though her mission were receding. But with Simeon’s words, her mission enters into her once again. Once again she accepts it, no longer as a personal mission but as the Son’s mission, a mission of suffering” (1).  

The Presentation was a sort of ritualistic prototype of the Calvary event. A mother offers the Son to the Father at the Temple and in return receives suffering. Rev. William G. Most expressed this well, “His presentation in the Temple was most difficult: We might well call it the offertory of the great sacrifice. Other parents bought their sons back from the service of God. She, in obedience to the law, went through that same ritual. But she would know it was not buying Him back. Rather, it was giving Him over” (3). The scriptural exegesis supporting this concept is laid out by G.Leonardi who saw a connection in the word “present” to the Levitical offerings presented and also to Roman 12:1 in which St. Paul talks about “offering your bodies as a living sacrifice” (4).

“Now, by the hands of Mary—this is significant —Jesus was presented in the temple to fulfill the will of the Father, and to begin the public oblation of himself which would be completed by his immolation on the cross” (5). There’s a unity of mission for the two whose obedient hearts were in union. “But she , his mother, took his mission under her care, and with it accepted the heavy sorrow that was to be his” (6). Given the crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth, the victory of the mission was shared with her as well.

Though we rely solely on tradition, it’s interesting to note that the Presentation of Mary at the Temple (which is celebrated on Nov.21) is also seen as an offering of Mary herself, not just of the required offering of silver. “Mary, Mother of God, tradition tells us that when you were three years of age, your parents, Joachim and Anna, took you to the temple in Jerusalem to fulfill their vow. The holy couple offered you to God by the ministry of the priest in charge…your first presentation to God, made by the hands of your parents, was an offering most acceptable in His sight” (7).

This represents the first of seven traditional sorrows that Mary would undergo in her life. While Mary was preserved from sin, she was not preserved from suffering in the valley of tears. With the third sorrow, when she temporarily lost Jesus, she experienced the pain that we who have committed mortal sin experience. She was cut off and desperate to find that union again. The difference is that for sinners, there's an element of shame. See below...

The First Sorrow: The Prophecy of Simeon and Anna.
The Second Sorrow: The Flight into Egypt. 
The Third Sorrow: The Loss of the Child Jesus. 
The Fourth Sorrow: The Condemnation of Jesus. 
The Fifth Sorrow: The Crucifixion of Jesus. 
The Sixth Sorrow: The Retrieval of Jesus' Body. 
The Seventh Sorrow: The Burial of Jesus.

End Notes:

1. Von Speyr, Adrienne. The Handmaid of The Lord. New York: David McKay Co., 1955. p.79

2..Miravalle,Mark. Mary, Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate :Foundational Presence in Divine revelation, Mary Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate, Theological Foundations. Santa Barbara: Queenship Publishing Co., 1995. p.256

3.  Most, William. Mary Coredemptrix in Scripture: Cooperation in Redemption, Mary Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate, Theological Foundations. Santa Barbara: Queenship Publishing Co., 1995. p.157.

4. Manelli, Stefano. Mary Coredemptrix in Sacred Scripture, Mary Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate, Theological Foundations II . Santa Barbara: Queenship Publishing Co.,1995.p.88

5. Resch, Peter. A Life of Mary Co-redemptrix. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Co.,1954.p.54

6. ibid

7.Lovasik,Lawrence G. Our Lady in Catholic Life. New York: The Macmillian Co., 1957.p.214