Salesian Literature

7.  The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Sermon for the Feast of the Purification, February 2. 1620, concerning the voluntary subjection of Our Lord and His Blessed Mother to the laws of presentation and purification, their practice of humility, various sins of pride, the perfect obedience of Our Lord and His Mother, how we should practice humility and obedience, and the four conditions for praying well, in imitation of the prophet Simeon who held the Divine Infant in his arms.

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God speaks as He acts and acts as He speaks. [Ps. 33:9; 148:5]. In this He shows us that we must not be satisfied with speaking well, but we must adjust our deeds to our proposals and our works to our words if we want to be pleasing to Him.

 

With God every word is act. He desires that, in the same way, our words should be immediately followed by action and the carrying out of our good resolutions. When the ancients would represent a man of integrity they used as a symbol a peach upon which they laid a peach leaf, because the peach has the form of a heart and the leaf of the peach the form of a tongue. This signifies that the man of integrity and virtue has not only a tongue in order to say many good things, but that since this tongue is laid upon his heart, he speaks only according to the wishes of his heart. That is to say, he says only those words which first spring from his heart, which immediately urges him to the accomplishment and effects of his words. For the same reason the four animals had not only wings with which to fly, but also hands under them [Ez. 1:5-8] to help us understand that we ought not to be satisfied in having wings in order to fly to Heaven by holy desires and considerations, if, along with these, we have not also hands which lead us to works and the execution of our desires. It is certain that good desires and holy resolutions alone will not take us to Paradise unless they are accompanied by effects conformable to them.

 

To confirm this truth Our Lord comes to the Temple today to be offered to God His Father, subjecting Himself to the observance of the Law which He had formerly given to Moses, written on stone tablets [Ex. 24:12; 34:1; 2 Cor. 3:7], In this Law there was a great number of particular observances to which our Divine Master and Our Lady were in no way obliged. Being King and Monarch of the whole earth, indeed of Heaven, of earth, and of all that they contain, the Saviour could not be subject to any law or commandment. Nevertheless, because He was to be placed before our eyes as a sovereign and incomparable model to which we ought to conform ourselves in all things insofar as the weakness of our nature would permit, He chose to observe the Law and to subject Himself to it. His most blessed Mother followed His example, as we see in the Gospel of today [Lk. 2:22-38], which proposes to us the Purification of Our Lady and the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple.

 

On this subject I will make three considerations, which I will not dwell upon but only touch on in passing, leaving them for you to ruminate in your mind, as "clean animals" [Lev. 11:2-3,47] do, to make a good and healthy digestion. The first consideration is on the example that our Divine Saviour and the glorious Virgin give us of a profound and true humility; the second, on obedience which is engrafted on humility; and the third, on the excellent method that they teach us for praying well.

 

First, what greater and more profound humility could be imagined than that which Our Lord and Our Lady practice in coming to the Temple: The One comes to be offered there the same as other children of sinful men, while the other comes to be purified! It is certain that Our Lord could not be obliged to this ceremony, since He was purity itself, and it referred only to sinners. As to Our Lady, what need had she to be purified? She neither was nor could be blemished, having received so excellent a grace from the time of her Conception that the cherubim's and seraphim's is in no way comparable to it. For if indeed God prevented[1] them with His grace from their creation to forestall their falling into sin, nevertheless they were not confirmed in grace from that moment in such a way that they could no longer deviate from it. But they were so afterwards, in virtue of the choice they made to avail themselves of this first grace and by the voluntary submission of their free will. But Our Lady was prevented with the grace of God and confirmed in it at the very moment of her Conception in such a way that she could not deviate from it nor sin. Nevertheless both the Child and the Mother, notwithstanding their incomparable purity, come today to present themselves in the Temple as if they were sinners like the rest of men. O act of incomparable humility!

 

The greater the dignity of the persons who humble themselves, the more estimable is the act of humility they make. O God! How great are Our Lord and Our Lady who is His Mother! What a beautiful consideration, the most useful and profitable that could be made, is that of the humility that the Saviour so dearly loved! It seems that it was His beloved, and that He descended from Heaven to earth only for the love of it.[2] [Lk. 1:48J. It is the greatest of all the purely moral virtues, for I am not speaking here of the love of God and of charity. Charity is not only a particular virtue but also a general one, which permeates all the others, and they receive their splendor from it. But as to particular virtues, there is none so great nor so necessary as humility.

 

Our Lord so cherished humility that He preferred to die rather than abandon its practice. He Himself said: "There is no greater love than this; to lay down one's life" for the thing loved. [Jn. 15:13]. Now He truly gave His life for this virtue, for in dying He made the most excellent and most supreme act of humility that could ever be imagined. The Apostle St. Paul, to make us conceive in some degree the love our Saviour had for this holy virtue, says that "he humbled himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross" [Phil. 2:8], as if to say: My Master did not humble Himself for a time only or for some particular actions, but to death, that is to say, from the moment of His conception, and then during the whole course of His life, to death; and not only until then, but He willed to practice it even in dying. And enhancing the greatness of this humility, the Apostle adds: "even death on a cross" — a death more ignominious and full of abjection than any other kind of death.

 

By this divine example we are taught that we must not be satisfied with practicing humility in some particular^ actions or for a time only, but always and on every occasion: not only to death, but to the mortification of ourselves. In this way we humble the love of our own esteem and the esteem of our self-love. We must not amuse ourselves with the practice of a certain humility of demeanor and words which consists in saying that we are nothing and in making many exterior reverences and humiliations, which are anything but true humility. For humility, in order to be true, should not only make us know but also acknowledge that we are true nothings who do not deserve to live. It makes us docile, tractable and submissive to everyone, observing by this means that precept of the Saviour which orders us to renounce ourselves if we would follow Him [Matt. 16:24].

 

There are some who greatly deceive themselves in thinking that the practice of humility is proper only to novices and beginners, and that as soon as they have made a little progress in the way of God they can easily relax in this practice. In fact, esteeming themselves already sufficiently wise, they turn into fools instead [Rom. 1:22]. Do they not see that Our Lord humbled Himself even to death, that is to say, during the whole course of His life? Oh, how this Divine Master of our souls knew well that His example was necessary for us! He had no need of abasing Himself. Nevertheless He desired to persevere in doing this because the necessity was in us! Oh, how extremely necessary is perseverance in this matter, for how many have there been who, having begun very well in the practice of humility, have been lost through lack of perseverance. Our Lord did not say: "He who begins," but "he who holds out till the end" in humility will escape death [Matt. 10:22; 24:13].

 

What made the angels sin except a lack of humility?  Although their sin was one of disobedience, nevertheless to consider it in its origin it was pride which made them disobey.  The miserable Lucifer began to look at and contemplate himself.  Then he went on to admire and delight in his beauty, after which he said: “I will not serve,” and thus he threw off the yoke of holy submission [Is. 14:13-14; Jer. 2:20].  He had good reason to look at himself and consider his excellent nature, but not to delight in it and take empty pride in it.  There is no evil at all in considering oneself in order to glorify God for the gifts that He has given us, provided that we do not pass on to vanity and self-complacency.  There is a maxim of the philosophers which has been approved as good by Christian Doctors: “Know thyself” – that is to say, know the excellence of your soul in order not to disparage nor despise it.  However, we must always remain within the terms and limits of a holy and loving acknowledgement before God, on whom we depend and who made us what we are [Ps. 100:3].

 

Our first parents and all others who have sinned have almost all been moved to do so through pride. Our Lord, as a good and loving Doctor of our souls, takes evil in its root, and in place of pride He plants first the beautiful and useful plant of most holy humility. This virtue is so much the more necessary as its contrary vice is more general among all people.  We have seen how pride was found among the angels and how the lack of humility was the reason for their being lost forever. See how, among men, some, having begun well, are miserably lost through lack of Perseverance in this virtue. What did not King Saul do at the beginning of his reign? Scripture says that he had the innocence of a child of one year.[3] However, he was perverted to such a degree through his pride that he merited to be condemned by God. What humility did not Judas evince while living in the company of Our Lord? And yet see what pride he had when dying. Being unwilling to humble himself and perform the acts of penitence, which presuppose a very great and true humility, he despaired of obtaining pardon [Matt. 27:4-5]. It is an insupportable pride to be unwilling to abase oneself before the Divine Mercy, from which we ought to expect all our good and all our happiness.

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In short, this is the evil common among all people. That is why we can never preach enough and impress upon their minds the necessity of perseverance in the practice of the most holy and most lovable virtue of humility. For this purpose Our Lord and Our Lady come today to take upon themselves the mark of sinners — they who could not sin. They subject themselves to the Law which was made neither for the One nor the other. Great humility to abase oneself thus!

 

The humility practiced by little people is no great thing, nor is it an abasement of much importance in comparison with that of giants. Cats, rats and other such animals which almost crawl on the earth have no great difficulty in rising again when they have fallen or dropped to the ground. But elephants, once they have lowered themselves or fallen, have very great trouble and difficulty in rising and getting back on their feet. Likewise, it is no great thing to see us abase and humble ourselves — the likes of us who are only nothings and deserve only abjection and humiliation. But the humiliations of our dear Saviour and the sacred Virgin, who are like giants of incomparable magnificence and eminence, are of inestimable value. From the moment they first humbled themselves they persevered during the whole course of their lives and never desired to rise again; for Our Lord — and His most blessed Mother in imitation of Him — "humbled himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross" [Phil. 2:8]. But the likes of us miserable creatures who, like rats, cats and other such animals, only crawl and drag ourselves along the ground, as soon as we have abased and humbled ourselves in some trifling circumstance, immediately rise up again, become haughty, and seek to be esteemed something good.

 

We are impurity itself and we desire that others believe us to be pure and holy. Great folly—greater indeed than can be expressed! Our Lady, who never sinned, nevertheless was willing to be accounted a sinner. Consider, please, a daughter of Eve: how ambitious she is for honor and to be esteemed. Indeed, although this evil is general among men, it nevertheless seems that this sex is more inclined to it than the other.[4] Our glorious Mistress was by no means a daughter of Eve according to the spirit, but only according to blood: For she was never anything but extremely humble and lowly, as she herself says in her sacred canticle; The Lord has looked upon His servant in her lowliness. That is why all nations shall call me blessed [Lk. 1:48].

 

I know well that she meant that God had looked upon her littleness and her lowliness[5] but it is precisely in this that we recognize still more her profound and sincere humility. Listen to her, please, as she always depreciates herself, and particularly when the angel announces to her that she is to be the Mother of the Son of God: I am, she says, His servant [Lk. 1:38]. Therefore, to conclude this first point (for we must be brief since this subject comes up so often), we are taught by our Divine Master of the esteem that we ought to have for most holy humility, which has always been His "well-beloved."[6] Moreover, it is the basis and foundation of the whole edifice of our perfection.  This can neither stand nor be raised higher except by means of the practice of a profound, sincere and true acknowledgement of our littleness and stupidity. This practice leads us to a true humiliation and contempt of ourselves.[7]

 

Let us go on to the second point. The humility of our Divine Saviour and His most blessed Mother was always accompanied by a perfect power over both of them that they would rather have died, and even by death on a cross, than fail to obey. Our Lord died on the Cross through obedience. And Our Lady — what remarkable acts of obedience did she not make at the very hour of the death of her Son, who was the Heart of her heart? In no way whatever did she resist the will of the Heavenly Father, but rather remained firm and constant at the foot of the Cross [Jn. 19:25], completely submissive to the divine good pleasure. We can use the same words of St. Paul for obedience as we have for humility: Our Lord became obedient to death, even to death on a Cross [Phil. 2:8]. He never did anything throughout His entire life except through obedience, which He Himself made known to us when He said: It is not to do My own will that I have come down from Heaven, but to do the will of Him who sent Me [Jn. 6:38]. Therefore. always and in all things He looked to the will of His Heavenly Father in order to follow it, and not for a time, but always and even unto death.

 

As to Our Lady, examine and consider the whole course of her life. You will find there nothing but obedience. She so esteemed this virtue that, although she had made a vow of virginity, she nevertheless submitted herself to the command that was given her to marry. Ever afterwards she persevered in obedience, as we see today, since she comes to the Temple to obey the law of purification, even though there was no necessity for her to observe it, nor her Son either, as we have already mentioned in the first point. Her obedience was purely voluntary. It was not less for being voluntary and unnecessary. She so dearly loved this virtue, which her sacred Son had engrafted as a divine graft on the trunk of holy humility, that she recommended no other. We do not find in the Gospel that she spoke except at the marriage feast of Cana in Galilee, when she said: Do whatever my Son tells you [Jn. 2:5], thus preaching the observance of obedience.  This virtue is the inseparable companion of humility.  One is never found without the other, for humility makes us submit to obedience.

 

Our Lady and sacred Mistress was not afraid of disobeying, because she was in no way obliged to the Law, which was not made for her or for her Son. Rather, she feared the shadow of disobedience. For though she, being all pure, had no need of being purified, if she had not come to the Temple to offer Our Lord and to be purified, there could have been found those who would wish to investigate her life in order to find out why she had not done as the rest of women. Thus she comes today to the Temple to remove all suspicion from men who might have wondered about her. She comes also to show us that we ought not to be satisfied with avoiding sin, but that we must avoid even the shadow of sin. Neither must we stop at the resolution we make not to commit such and such a sin; rather, we must fly even from the occasions which could serve as a temptation to fall into it. She also teaches us not to be satisfied with the testimony of a good conscience, but to take care to remove every suspicion in others that will make them disedified by us or by our conduct. I say this for certain people who, being resolved not to commit some sins, are not careful enough to avoid the suggestion they give that they would willingly commit them if they dared.

 

Oh, how this example of most holy obedience that Our Lord and Our Lady give us should incite us to submit ourselves absolutely and without any reserve to the observance of all that is commanded us, and, not satisfied with that, to observe also the things which are counseled in order to make us more pleasing to the Divine Goodness! My God! Is it such a great thing to see us obey, we who are born only to serve, since the Supreme King to whom all things should be subject [Ps. 119;91] was pleased to subject Himself to obedience? Let us then meditate on this sacred example that the Saviour and the glorious Virgin give us, and learn to submit ourselves — to make ourselves docile, pliable and easy to turn in any direction through most holy obedience; and not for a time nor for certain particular acts, but always, during the whole course of our life, even unto death.

 

In the third place let us consider in today's Gospel how we can observe an excellent way to pray well.  Many greatly deceive themselves, believing that so many things are necessary, so many methods needed to pray well. We see some who are very anxious to research all possible means of finding a certain skill that to them seems necessary in order to know how to pray well. They ceaselessly analyze their prayer minutely, prying into it to see if they can make it as they desire. Some think they must not cough or stir for fear God's Spirit will withdraw — very great folly indeed, as if God's Spirit were so delicate that He depended on the method or the countenance of those who pray! I am not saying that we must not use methods which are taught. But we ought not to attach ourselves to them. Nor ought we to esteem them so much that we place all our confidence in them, as do those who think that provided they always make their considerations before the affections, all is well. It is very good to make considerations, but it is not good to attach oneself so much to one method or another that we think that all depends on our effort.

 

There is only one thing necessary to pray well, and that is to have our Lord in our arms.  When we do this our prayer is always made well, whatever method we follow. There is no other technique, and without this our prayers will be worth nothing — nor will God receive them. For the Divine Master has Himself said: No one comes to the Father except through Me [Jn. 14:6]. Prayer is nothing else but an "elevation of our mind to God,"[8] which we in no way can bring about by ourselves. But when we have our Saviour in our arms everything becomes easy for us. Consider, please, the holy man Simeon and how well he prayed when he had Our Lord in his arms. "Now," he said, "You can let Your servant go in peace," since he has seen his salvation and his God [Lk. 2:29-30]. It would be a horrible wickedness to wish to exclude Our Lord Jesus Christ from our prayer and to think that we could make it well without His assistance, for it is a sure fact that we cannot be pleasing to the Eternal Father except when He regards us through His Son, our Saviour [Ps. 84:10; Rom. 8:29]. And this is true not only of men but also of angels, for although He is not their Redeemer, He is nevertheless their Saviour, and they have been confirmed in grace by Him. Just as when we look at something through a red or violet glass everything we see is of that color, so the Eternal Father, looking at us through the beauty and goodness of His most blessed Son, finds us beautiful and good as He desires us to be. But without this artifice we are only ugliness and deformity itself.[9]

 

I have said that prayer is "an elevation to God." It is true, for although in going to God we meet the angels or the saints on our way, we do not raise our mind to them nor do we address our prayers to them, as the heretics have unfairly suggested. We simply ask them to join their prayers to ours in order to make of them a holy fusion, so that by this sacred mingling ours might be better received by the Divine Goodness. God always finds them agreeable if we bring along with us His dear Benjamin, as the children of Jacob did when they went to see their brother Joseph in Egypt. [Gen. 43:15]. If we do not take Him with us, we will receive the same punishment with which Joseph threatened his brothers, that is, that never again would they be admitted to his presence, and they would receive nothing from him, if they did not bring their little brother to him [Gen. 42:20; 43:3].

 

Our dear little brother is this blessed Baby that Our Lady carries to the Temple today and whom she hands over — either she personally or through St. Joseph — to the good old man Simeon. It is more likely that it was St. Joseph rather than the sacred Virgin. There are two reasons for this. First, it was the fathers who came to offer their children, having a greater role here than even the mothers. The other reason is that women were not yet purified and dared not approach the altar where the offerings were made [Lev. 12:4]. However that may be, it does not matter much. It is enough that St. Simeon received this very blessed Baby into his arms, either from Our Lady or St. Joseph. Oh, how happy are they who go to the Temple ready to receive the grace of receiving from this divine Mother — or from her dear spouse — Our Lord and Master! Having Him in our arms we desire nothing more and can well sing this divine canticle: Now You can dismiss Your servant in peace, 0 my God, because my soul is fully satisfied, possessing all that is most desirable either in Heaven or on earth [Ps. 73:25].

 

But please consider a little the conditions necessary for obtaining this favor of taking the Saviour in our arms and of receiving Him from the hands of Our Lady as did St. Simeon and Anna, that good widow who had the happiness of being in the Temple at this very moment. The Church has us sing that St. Simeon was just and God-fearing [Lk. 2:25]. In many places in Holy Scripture this word "fearing" means reverence for God and the things of His service. Thus he was full of reverence for sacred things. Moreover, he awaited the Redemption of Israel, "and the Holy Spirit was upon him" [Lk. 2:25]. These are the four conditions necessary in order to pray well, for we must first have them before we can hold Our Lord in our arms, in which true prayer consists.

 

First, Simeon was just. What does this mean but that he had adjusted[10] his will to God's? To be just is nothing else than to exist according to the Heart of God and to live according to His good pleasure. As for the rest of us, we are that much less capable of praying to the extent that our will is not united and adjusted to that of Our Lord.

 

I want to make myself better understood. Ask a person where she is going; [she answers:] "I am going to pray." That is good. May God grant you the accomplishment of your desire and undertaking! But tell me, please, what are you going to do in prayer? "I am going to ask God for consolations." You have expressed yourself well. You do not, then, wish to adjust your will to the will of God, who wishes that you should have dryness and sterility? That is not being just. "Oh! I am going to ask God to deliver me from so many distractions which come and bother me at prayer." Alas! Do you not see that all of that preoccupation renders your will incapable of being united and adjusted to that of Our Lord, who desires that, on entering prayer, you should be resolved to bear the pain of continual distractions, dryness, and disgusts which will befall you there? He wants you to remain as content with these as if you had many consolations and great tranquility. For it is certain that your prayer will not be less pleasing to God nor less useful to you for having been made with many difficulties. So long as we adjust our will to that of the Divine Majesty in all events, whether in prayer or in any other matter, our prayers and everything else will be both useful to us and pleasing in the eyes of His Goodness.

 

The second condition which we find necessary for praying well is that of awaiting, as did the good St. Simeon, the Redemption of Israel — that is to say, that we live in expectation of our own perfection. Oh, how happy are they who, living in expectation, do not grow weary of waiting! I say this for the sake of some who, desiring perfection by the acquisition of virtues, wish to have them at once, as if perfection consisted only in desiring it. It certainly would be a great good if we could be humble as soon as we had the desire to be so, without any trouble. Again, suppose an angel could one day fill a sacristy with virtues and with perfection itself, and we would only have to go there and clothe ourselves with it as we would with a garment. Certainly, this would be wonderful. But this being impossible, we must get used to seeking the attainment of our perfection by the ordinary ways, in tranquility of heart.  We must do all that we can to acquire virtues by our fidelity in practicing them, each of us according to our condition and vocation. And let us remain in expectation regarding the attainment, sooner or later, of our goal, leaving that to Divine Providence, who will take care to console us, as He did St. Simeon, at the time He has destined to do so. [1 Pet. 5:7,10]. And even if this should be only at the hour of our death, that ought to be enough for us, provided that we fulfill our duty by always doing what lies in our power to do. We will always have soon enough what we desire when we have it when it pleases God to give it to us.

 

The third condition is that, like St. Simeon, we must be God-fearing — that is, full of reverence before God at the time of holy prayer. For how full of respect and reverence should we not be when speaking to the Divine Majesty, since the angels who are so pure tremble in His presence? "But my God! [You may answer:] I am not able to have this consciousness of the presence of God which causes so great a humiliation in my whole soul, that is, in all the faculties of my soul—in short, that sensible reverence which would make me annihilate myself so sweetly and agreeably before God." It is not of this I mean to speak, but rather of that which keeps the supreme part and point of our spirit low and in humility before God in acknowledgment of His infinite greatness and our profound littleness and unworthiness. Oh! How good it is to see the respect with which this holy man Simeon holds the Divine Infant in his arms, since he knows the sovereign dignity of Him whom he holds!

 

In the fourth place,, it is said that the Holy Spirit was upon St. Simeon and that He made His dwelling in him. It was for that reason that he deserved to see Our Lord and to hold Him in his arms. Thus it is necessary for us to make room within ourselves fro the Holy Spirit if we wish Our Lady or St. Joseph to let us hold and carry in our arms this Divine Saviour of our souls. All our happiness consists in this since we can approach His Heavenly Father only through His mediation and His favor [Rom. 5:2; Eph. 2:18; 3:12]. Now what must we do to make room within ourselves for the Holy Spirit? "The Spirit of the Lord fills the world" [Wis. 1:7]. Yet, it is said in another place that He does not dwell in a cunning and deceitful heart [Wis. 1:4-5]. It is a wonderful thing that this Divine Spirit does not hesitate to dwell in us, except for those who are cunning and deceitful! Therefore we must be simple and ingenuous if we wish the Holy Spirit to come into us, and Our Lord after Him. The Holy Spirit seems to be the harbinger of our Saviour Jesus Christ, for just as He proceeds from Him from all eternity as God, it seems that the roles are reversed now, Our Lord proceeding from Him as man.[11]

 

What more shall we now say except that having the Holy Spirit in us during this perishable and mortal life, holding ourselves in great respect and reverence before the Divine Majesty while awaiting with submission the attainment of our perfection, and, as far as possible, adjusting our will to that of God, we will have the happiness of carrying the Saviour in our arms and being blessed eternally by this grace. Amen.

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[1] Preventing grace: the grace that goes before the free consent of the will. It moves the will spontaneously, inclining it to God.

[2] Cf. Sermon for July 2, 1618.

[3] 1 Kgs. 13:1, Douay: "Saul was a child of one year when he began to reign ..." Douay footnote: "of one year — that is, he was good and like an innocent child."

[4] Keep in mind that St. Francis' congregation here is a community of nuns.

[5] Cf. Sermon for July 2, 1618.

[6] The French reads "sa bien cherie," an expression of endearment difficult to render into English.

[7] St. Francis is strong on this point. Humility is the foot-rest of God's mercy toward us as well as the foundation for genuine and lasting growth in holiness.

[8] Cf. The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales on Prayer.

[9] This language, though similar in tone to Luther's imputation language, underlines the mediatorial role of Christ, as the Biblical references, Ps. 84:10 and Rom. 8:29, make clear.

[10] The pun is also present in the original French.

[11] Although the structure is a bit awkward here, St. Francis de Sales is giving expression to this truth; Within the Trinity, the Father begets the Son and together they spirate the Holy Spirit. In the economy of salvation, the opposite movement takes place. We go to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit leading us to Jesus who, in turn, is the way to the Father.

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