The presentation; a child is dedicated to God. In our modern times, we may be quick to consider this in opposition to the freedom of a child, a taking away of their choice of faith as they grow. That a dedication of a child strips a child of the free will they have to choose to dedicate their lives to God. This is not so. 

If we truly believe our faith, then we know God is creator of all. To offer a child to God, is embracing that which is already truth – namely that this child belongs to God. Anne and Joachim cooperated with this truth. Indeed, Mary may have been presented in the temple before the age of reason, but God did not strip her of her free will to choose him as she grew in faith and reason.  

After Mary’s presentation it’s possible she would have continued to lead an ordinary, quiet, humble, life with Anne and Joachim in her childhood. It’s also possible she may have began to learn and serve in the temple. Regardless of where she was, she would have learned to read and breathe the word of God, she would also have assisted and worked in whatever capacity she was called upon by those who loved and cared for her, to serve and love in the home or in the temple.

This is where she would have learned the true meaning of being dedicated to God, and the challenges of being entirely devoted to him. As a faithful disciple, who although without original sin, still grew to love God, and still faced emotions and difficulties that belongs to the human experience and that of encountering another.     

Her parents led by example in dedicating their young daughter to God not only on that one day, but also in the moment by moment; compassion and generosity in the way she served those around her, discipline to the tasks placed before her, sincerity in her communal and private prayers. Perhaps the greatest YES, she ever gave was that of the annunciation, but it would not have been her first. The little ways that she said yes to God, allowed her to give her Fiat at the annunciation. 

But her dedication to God did not end here either.

Instead, she continued to place herself in the care of God. She placed her heart that loved the man of God, Joseph, into the hands of God at their betrothal. She placed her trust in God when Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt. She placed her faith in God and in his Son at the miracle of the Wedding feast at Cana.

So many moments, the ones we know of and the ones we do not, where she chose over and over to dedicate her entire self to God. Even to the point of giving her own son’s life, her own flesh and blood, on the cross. To not only bear witness to his sorrow, but to encourage him to continue to carry the weight of the sin of the world.

Throughout it all, she pondered these things in her heart. She spoke with God, without ceasing. As Romano Guardini puts it, ‘Inwardly she accompanies the incomprehensible figure of her son, every step of the journey, however dark. Perseverance in faith, even on Calvary – this is Mary’s inimitable greatness. 

Her dedication was not simply of a mere servant obeying her master. But that of love, in unity with love. Dedicated completely and solely to God, she was the only one capable of receiving God in the flesh. She who gave herself completely in every moment, was the only one who could make room for the Son of Man to enter the world. She not only carried God made man, but through her body and blood, she became one with him. In complete unity in body, heart and will. The word of God, first in her heart, then through her womb and with her will united to His, became flesh. She therefore could not simply support him to Calvary, she was one with him in Calvary.

The presentation of the Blessed Virgin is a reminder to us of the dedication of our entirety, solely to God, not only by being called by him, but also in our freedom to choose him, each moment of each day. So that, through Mary, we too may become united to Jesus, himself. Once united with him like her, we become one with the divine will. 

The dedication of our lives and who we are, is no longer a difficult choice that requires weighing up our decision making, and exercising effort and energy. Instead, it simply is, because we quite simply are one. 

~ Stina Constantine  

Stina has a bachelor in Psychology and a Masters in Social Work. By day she supports families of children with cancer and other life threatening illnesses in one job, and safely helps bring together separated families of high conflict in another. By night she’s a ballroom dance instructor and a podcast host. She was also young, female City Ambassador of 2019, Miss Wagga Wagga.

Being passionate about human growth and goodness, she is the founder and managing director of a Christian Ministry, Virtue Ministry, travelling to schools, retreats, and conferences across the nation, speaking with young people and young adults about self-knowledge, human excellence, goodness, and healthy relationships to become all that we were made to be. As the host of their new Podcast ‘Living Fullness’, she sits down with her long-standing friend, a catholic priest, to talk about all things male and female friendships.