St. Tikhon Zadonsky
According to the writings of the Fathers and writers reliable
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When the all-pure and all-blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God reached the age of three, her parents, the righteous Joachim and Anne, is remembered as the time of their infertility, they promised God to devote to him the child was born. They decided to realize their promise and invited all their relatives in their home in Nazareth. And that gathered members of the royal family of Joachim and those of the priestly line of Anne, accompanied by a choir of young girls gathered for the occasion. Candles were prepared in large numbers and the all-pure Virgin Mary was covered with royal ornaments.
Mandez the pure Jewish girls, with candles lit (Ps.65, 13 & 19) Joachim said by the mouth of St. Jacques, the first archbishop of Jerusalem. And Saint Germain, Patriarch of Constantinople, add on behalf of St. Anne: I will carry to You vows that my mouth has uttered in my tribulation and for that, now I gather a choir of young girls with candles, which I call the priests and I gathered my parents, saying: Rejoice with me all because today, I realize myself as a mother driving my daughter, not an earthly king but God Himself, Heavenly King, to offer him!
He agreed, moreover, as noted by St. Theophylact of Bulgaria, the divine child gave to the temple entrance worthy of his condition. It was a pearl, so pure and so clear was presented in a different setting than the rags of poverty. It happened so it was adorned with royal robes, which came even enhance its glory and beauty.
Everything was organized for one admission to any temple of glory and honor, the procession marched for three days of travel that would take him from Nazareth to Jerusalem.
Arrived in Jerusalem, he entered solemnly in the temple, with its members the living temple of God, the all-pure Virgin Mary. At the head stood the Youth Choir girls with lighted candles, as stated Tarasius Saint, Archbishop of Jerusalem, St. Anne who wrote these words: go head virgins carrying candles and precede us, the young child and my God! And now the holy parents behaved with dignity and sweetness the girl that God had given them, holding each hand. The multitude of relatives, neighbors and acquaintances watched with joy, carrying candles and also surrounding the All-holy Virgin as the stars of the sky around the moon light. What a surprise in Jerusalem!
But again quote St. Theophylact the girl forgets home her father when she was carried to the King who wants perfection. It leads to the temple, not without honor or glory, but in a light procession. She leaves her father's house gloriously, to the applause of parents, neighbors and all who are united by ties of love. Fathers rejoice with Joachim and Anne with the mothers. The procession of virgins carrying candles before the young and radiant child, as the circle of stars above the moon. And all Jerusalem runs to see this child of three years surrounded by a glory and so many candles. Not only citizens of the earthly Jerusalem, but also those of the heavenly Jerusalem, that is to say the holy angels, a tributary to attend the entrance to the temple of the all-glorious and all-pure Virgin Mary. The Church also sings today at the ninth ode of the canon of matins: front of the entrance to the temple of the Virgin, the angels marvel, surprised to see her advance to the Holy of Holies! And it is wonderful indeed to see the united chorus of virgin land that pure spirits invisible and intangible to participate at the entrance to the sanctuary of the all-pure Virgin Mary surrounded by order of the Lord Vase elected God.
Listen Saint George of Nicomedia: while his parents drove the Virgin to the gates of the Temple, the angels around him and the heavenly powers rejoiced. Without being able to understand the strength of this mystery, the angels served this entry to the temple as good servants obedient to the orders of the Lord. They were astonished to see this child the virtues of immaculate vase, marked with the seal of eternal purity, wearing a flesh that no staining did achieve. They accomplished the will of the Lord, exercising the diaconal. The child was all-pure and dignified conduct the temple of the Lord, honor and glory, by men and angels. In olden days, the ark of the covenant of the Old Testament, which contained the manna, was conducted in the temple of the Lord with all solemnity, before all Israel together. This was merely a foreshadowing of the Ark Alive, the all-Holy Virgin, which she would wear for the true manna, that is to say Christ. We understand why he had the least participation of men and angels to today's feast, which celebrates the all-blessed Virgin will become the Mother of God.
When once we took the ark in the temple of the Lord, David, the earthly king who reigned over Israel, who led the procession. But today, it is not an earthly king who leads to the temple the Ark alive, the Immaculate Virgin, but the King of Heaven Himself, that we pray every day saying, "Heavenly King, Paraclete, Spirit Truth! And the Holy Church testifies that this King was the Head of the king's daughter when she sings: "Holy and immaculate, it is introduced in the Holy Spirit in the Holy of Holies."
David wished to be introduced once the arch of his hymns and countless instruments. The Levites had to prepare to do the singing, sitars, harps, cymbals and psalteries and announce the celebration. But at the entrance to the Temple of the Immaculate Virgin, it was not the songs of the land and the instruments were heard, but rather the joyous hymns of angels who served the unseen mystery. Their heavenly voices, they were shouting at the girl's words Kontakion: "Here it brings the grace of the Divine Spirit, behold the tabernacle of heaven! And yet, the entry au temple de la Toute-Pure ne se fit pas sans les voix humaines, comme le rapporte Saint Taraise, puisqu’Anne s’adressa aux jeunes vierges qui ouvraient le cortège : « Chantez-lui des louanges, chantez-la au son des harpes, acclamez-la de vos chants spirituels, exaltez-la sur la harpe à dix cordes ! » Et l’Eglise de nous rappeler que « Joachim et Anne se réjouissent en esprit avec le choeur des vierges, chantant le Seigneur et la Mère de Dieu aux accents des psaumes ». Le choeur des vierges entonne les psaumes de David et le canon de la fête lui demande d’ailleurs : « Commencez à chanter, ô vierges, tenant en vos mains les cierges ! »
as Saint Tarasius, saints and righteous parents Joachim and Anne had themselves to mouth the words of their father David: 'Listen, O daughter, and incline your ear, forget your people and the house your father, then the King will desire your beauty, for He is your Lord, and He should worship! " (Ps. 14, 11-12).
And here came out to meet the glorious and divine child (as the story of Theophylact), priests who served the temple, welcoming those who would become the Mother of the High Priest came from heaven. And Saint Anne said then, according to St. Tarasius: "Go, my daughter, to Him who has given you to me! Va, Ark Life, to the merciful Lord! Go, Gate of Life, Giver to the merciful! Go, Tabernacle of the Word, to the temple of the Lord! Enter the temple, you joy and gladness of world! "
As for Joachim, he addressed his kinsman Zachary, this great hierarch and prophet:" Receive, O Zacharias, the Tabernacle pure! Receive the Holy Ark and immaculate! Receive, O Prophet, the censer of coals Curtain! Receive, O fair, spiritual incense! And the fair Anne added, according to the account of Saint Germain: "Receive, O Prophet, God-given my daughter! Get it, make us come into this place chosen by God to raise him to the pinnacle of holiness and requires nothing of it as God Himself will not have expected to achieve His purpose! "
St. Jerome noted that once acceded to the temple of Solomon by fifteen steps. The priests and Levites who went to their service will read each of the fifteen psalms ascension.
When the Lord the righteous ancestors Joachim and Anne arrived at the temple, they placed their child immaculate on the first step and it quickly climbed all the steps to the last, without anyone's help, fortified by the invisible power of God. Indeed, the Lord showed His power over the child at a young age, leaving augur the graces that He was much bigger when she provide him reach adulthood. All were surprised to see a young child to climb the stairs as fast and particularly the high priest and prophet Zechariah, who marveled, understood by divine revelation what the future held. Invaded by the Holy Spirit, he exclaimed, as the story of Saint Tarasius: "O, child immaculate, sinless virgin and beautiful girl! You are the ornament of women and girls dress! Blessed art thou among women, glorified for your purity, the seal of virginity! You'll lift the curse on Adam! "And turning to St. Anne, according to the testimony of St. Germain:" O woman, the fruit of thy womb is blessed! Your breast exceeds all others by the honor and glory! The one you we have brought and how glorious is pleasing to God! "Having uttered these words he took joyfully the young child by the hand and led her to the Holy of Holies, saying:" Come, the culmination of my prophecy, come, fulfillment of the promises of the Lord, come, seal the New Covenant Come, Divine Council event, come, fulfillment of the mystery, just a mirror of the prophets, come renewal of what is old, come, light of those who are in darkness, come the new gift and divine! Between joy in the temple of thy Lord! You are now earth and accessible to men, but you will soon be heavenly and inaccessible. Exulted the young child and walked into the house of the Lord as in a palace. By young age, she was already an adult by the grace of God, that God had chosen from the creation of the world.
Thus the all-pure and all-blessed Virgin Mary entered the temple of the Lord. On this occasion, the priest Zechariah was a strange act and never saw: he penetrate the young child in the most secret part of the temple, behind the second veil, the Holy of Holies, where once stood the ark of alliance entirely covered with gold and cherubs of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. There, no woman could enter, or indeed any priest, if not the High Priest once a year. And that place he attributed to the all-pure Virgin as a place of prayer, while the other virgins who resided at the temple to adulthood could be held between the sanctuary and altar according to Saint Cyril of Alexandria and St. Gregory of Nyssa, on the spot where Zacharias was killed thereafter. No virgins could not approach the altar as the priests were forbidden to them. But the all-pure Virgin, the otherwise, received early permission to enter behind the second veil, in order to pray at any time. St. Theophylact reports that Zechariah does so on a mysterious order from God, then it was covered by the Holy Spirit who made him understand that the young child was the temple of divine grace and thus more worthy than he keep constantly before the face of God. Remembering that he was told that the tabernacle was always found in the Holy of Holies, he realized it was a foreshadowing of the young child. Therefore, freed of all kinds de doute, il osa transgresser la Loi et faire pénétrer la Vierge dans le Saint des Saints. Il reçut la jeune enfant dans ce lieu que ne pouvait visiter aucun homme, même prêtre, excepté le grand prêtre une fois l’an, afin que celle qui devait se sanctifier par sa pureté plus que tout être humain avant même de concevoir le Christ et être affranchie par la présence de Celui-ci dans son sein du fardeau de la Loi imposé à la nature humaine pécheresse, celle en qui agissait non pas la Loi mais la perfection de la grâce, n’aie pas à travailler comme les autres vierges puisqu’elle était plus élevée que les anges.
St. Jerome relates that Joachim and Anne, the righteous parents of the Mother of God, offered not only their all-girl blessed the Lord, but also gifts, sacrifices and burnt offerings. Once blessed by the priest and the clergy, they returned to their homes along with their parents and gave a great feast that was another opportunity to celebrate and give thanks to God.
his arrival in the house of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin all-was housed with the girls of the temple. The temple of Jerusalem had once been built by Solomon. Subsequently, after being abandoned, it was restored by Zerubbabel who joined with him many large houses, as evidenced by the Jewish historian Joseph. The walls were reinforced over the entire periphery of ninety beautiful large stone chambers built on three racks. Such large external buttresses, their height was equal to that of the chamber. Various people lived in these rooms, but mainly consecrated virgins for a time in the service of God. To these were added in habitats separated widows who had promised God to remain chaste until their death, like Anna the prophetess, Phanuel daughter. It was also in a third of men called Nazarenes, who lived like monks. All these people served the Lord and derived their livelihood assets of the temple. There were still rooms for the accommodation of pilgrims who came from afar to worship God in the temple of Jerusalem.
As has been said, the young child of three was placed in the home girls. With them, she became initiated at an early age the art of writing and handicrafts. His parents visited him saints and especially Anne, who had his daughter all-blessed and teach. According to the testimony of St. Ambrose, the young child learned to perfection the Hebrew language, writing and crafts. St. Epiphanius adds that she had the wit and fond of the study. Besides learning the Scriptures, she was practicing spin wool, flax weaving and sewing silk. His wisdom astonished everyone. His preference was to anything that might be useful to priests in their service. His mastery of manual work enabled him subsequently to feed honestly when she raised her son and the one who fashioned him with his own hands this tunic that was not sewn but woven in one piece.
St. Epiphanius also states that, like the other virgins, she received the temple his ration of food, but to immediately give to the poor and strangers. Meanwhile, as sung by the Church, she was nourished by the bread of heaven. Saint Germain said that she lived in the Holy of Holies and it was fed by the angel and St. Andrew of Crete says that the food was amazing incorruptible.
course, the all-pure Virgin was assigned a place in the house of virgins, where she could practice in manual labor, but when she was a bit older, she exercised more in the art of prayer and spent whole nights and more Much of his days behind the second veil to pray. For her work, she returned to her room because it was inappropriate to bring anything at all into the Holy of Holies, nor be another activity that prayer. All the Fathers agree that the all-pure Virgin, lived to the age of twelve years in the Holy of Holies, not going out very rarely to return his room.
St. Jerome has left us the schedule of the All Holy in the Temple. From morning until the third hour of the day she stood in prayer between the third and ninth hours, she was performing manual work and practice their reading, then she returned to pray until you see the angel who brought him food. And so she was constantly growing in the love of God. She lived in virginity together with the other virgins, grew and became strong in spirit by their daily operations and the intensity of his prayer was also growing. His strength increases every day, until the power of the Most High came the cover of his shadow.
Saint George of Nicomedia reflects the fact that Zechariah saw with his own eyes the angel to bring him his food: "Day by day she grew in age and she grew as the gifts of the Holy Spirit while she lived with the angels, that Zacharias was well aware. One day he was serving at the altar, he saw someone talk to the girl and make her food. His appearance was unusual because it was an angel. What is this, thought it? What is this silhouette of an angel intangible that speaks to the girl and her presents dishes that feed the flesh? He who by nature is immaterial to the Virgin is a basket material. The appearance of an angel is a rare event in the lives of priests, and even more unusual in the life of a woman, moreover so young. It would have been less surprising to see an angel appears to a married woman suffering from infertility and praying to God for this, as Saint Anne. But a young virgin is not that kind of concern and yet I see that the angel appeared to him constantly. Here's astonishment, Fear and doubt assail me. What does this mean? What the angel comes to announce? What food he makes, which hand was prepared, what it comes granary bread? Angels do not care often these material necessities. Angels feed, it is true, many people, friends with foods prepared by men. Formerly served as an angel Daniel. He could perform the orders of the Almighty through His power, but nevertheless, he used Habakkuk and basket to avoid frightening Daniel by his presence and an unfamiliar food (Dan.14, 33). And behold here the angel appears in person before the young child. This mystery puzzled me. Worthy from his earliest childhood to be served by an intangible! What does this mean? Would that the prophecies come true in it, is this the end of our expectations? Would that this child will take the human nature He that shall come to save the human race? This mystery is announced long ago by the prophets: "He would seek the Word could allow him to achieve? And if that was not one that was chosen to carry out the mystery but rather the child? Blessed are you, people of Israel, since it's about you such seed germinated ! Blessed are you, Jesse's lineage, since it is that you must push the rejection that must offer the world of the flower hello! Glorious is the memory of those who gave birth to it! And as I'm happy, too, who can satisfy me such a vision, and this Virgin deal to prepare to become the bride of the Word! "
And now include the blessed St. Jerome:" Every day, the angels visited. If you wonder how there flowed Early the all-pure Virgin, I would say this: God alone knows, He and the Archangel Gabriel goalkeeper and all the other angels who often came near her to talk amicably with her. Thus the all-pure Virgin, who lived in the Holy of Holies, wanted to live forever in perfect angelic purity and virginity. "
According to Saint Gregory of Nyssa and St. Jerome, the All-Pure was the first to consecrate her virginity to God. In the Old Testament in fact, the girls always chose the wedding was held in higher esteem than virginity. The All-Pure was the first to prefer virginity to marriage, become engaged to God and serve Him day and night.
By the kindness of the Father, the Holy Spirit as it prepared the remains of the Word. That glory and thanksgiving be made to the Trinity, all-holy, eternal and indivisible, and our Sovereign Lady the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, who is praised and honored by all nations in the centuries ever! Amen.
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