* February 2 – The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple  * Mary is at the heart of the battle  --- An initiative of the Mary of Nazareth Association February 2 – The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple  Mary is at the heart of the battle "A sword will pierce your very soul," is what the aged Simeon predicted to Mary on the day of the presentation of Jesus in the Temple... Mary is at the heart of the battle waged for or against her Son. The sword announced by Christ passes also through her, inviting us all to total abandonment. The more Mary lost her Son in a physical sense, the more she received him in faith. The next important episode after the presentation—the disappearance of Jesus, found in the Temple—illustrates this concept. The more Mary becomes "the one who hears the word of God and puts it into practice," the more she is revealed as the Mother of God. The divine motherhood is not only a physical reality, it is above all a matter of faith. And when, before the crucified Christ, she physically lost her Son, she found him again, whole, as her glorious Son, present in the Church. The law of the sword of Christ is the law by which we must lose in order to find. It is the law of total poverty in order to possess everything, to surrender ourselves in faith in order to be fully satisfied, comforted, and saved. Mary becomes, once again, the model of the perfect disciple, of the one who is faithful, and redeemed.  Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi President of the Pontifical Council for Culture Excerpt from his homily for the feast of the Presentation, given on January 2, 2013 (Zenit.org) Presentation at the Temple by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, 1342 (Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence). [Wikipedia] www.mariedenazareth.com Let’s pray together  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.