THE PRESENTATION OF OUR LADY
Continued
2. The Value of Virginity.
From this you can deduce what this mysterious virtue means for God and for Mary. Although without any counsel or command to follow, without either any example to guide Her, Mary seems to guess the value of virginity in God's eyes; and realizing that it gives Him pleasure and glory decides to embrace it. She could see that this virtue, unknown as it was in Her world, would not be appreciated; that, indeed, all Her companions and even Her very relations would deem Her dishonored.
She foresaw that to be a virgin would draw down on Her sorrow, reproaches, rudeness and contempt. However, She does not hesitate. God wants it, that suffices. The rest She will leave in the hands of God. What an example of detachment and generosity for us, who are always complaining, we who are so reluctant to obey that at times we even refuse Him. So half-hearted is our surrender, so calculating are we when it is a matter of making a heavy sacrifice.
But God was already preparing Her reward. God cannot be beaten in generosity. When we are generous with Him, He overwhelms us with new graces and favors. Mary thought that by that pledge She was renouncing to be the Mother of God, that as She later on told the angel the divine maternity was not possible for Her. And yet the reward of that vow of virginity was none other than that God appoints Her to be His Mother. How great is God in His rewards, but especially how generously He rewards virginity and purity. How great must be the value of this virtue when it so attracts and enamors the Heart of God!
[From 'Marian Meditations' Book]
From this you can deduce what this mysterious virtue means for God and for Mary. Although without any counsel or command to follow, without either any example to guide Her, Mary seems to guess the value of virginity in God's eyes; and realizing that it gives Him pleasure and glory decides to embrace it. She could see that this virtue, unknown as it was in Her world, would not be appreciated; that, indeed, all Her companions and even Her very relations would deem Her dishonored.
She foresaw that to be a virgin would draw down on Her sorrow, reproaches, rudeness and contempt. However, She does not hesitate. God wants it, that suffices. The rest She will leave in the hands of God. What an example of detachment and generosity for us, who are always complaining, we who are so reluctant to obey that at times we even refuse Him. So half-hearted is our surrender, so calculating are we when it is a matter of making a heavy sacrifice.
But God was already preparing Her reward. God cannot be beaten in generosity. When we are generous with Him, He overwhelms us with new graces and favors. Mary thought that by that pledge She was renouncing to be the Mother of God, that as She later on told the angel the divine maternity was not possible for Her. And yet the reward of that vow of virginity was none other than that God appoints Her to be His Mother. How great is God in His rewards, but especially how generously He rewards virginity and purity. How great must be the value of this virtue when it so attracts and enamors the Heart of God!
[From 'Marian Meditations' Book]
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