A Prayerful Home

~~~ Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary ~~~
~~~ Revelation 10:8-11 ~~~ Psalm 119 ~~~ Luke 19:45-48

My house shall be a house of prayer,

Mary was taken to temple and presented to God
by her faithful loving parents, Joachim and Anne.
They dedicated her to God without fully
 realizing what that would mean for their daughter.
Joachim and Anne were the proud parents of a beautiful little girl
little did they know how much God loved her.
Little did they know that their daughter
was chosen to be the mother of Jesus.
God chose them to be her parents because
they already had a deep faith.
God knew they would pass on their love of the Scriptures.
Mary grew up in a loving family, a house filled with prayer.

As many parents experience, sometimes things
 happen to your children that you cannot prevent.
Sometimes the joy you had when they
were young turns sour as they make mistakes.
Happiness turns to sorrow as they experience set backs
 in their lives...their careers, their relationships, etc.

Imagine how Mary's parents must have felt when
 she shared with them her visit with the angel of God.
They were indeed going to be grandparents,
but this was no ordinary child.
Their daughter was going to be the mother
 of the Son of God...the Messiah.

“Take and swallow it.

It will turn your stomach sour,
but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.”

Mary experienced both the sweetness of giving
 birth to the child Jesus.
Mary also experienced the great sorrow of having
 to witness her child be crucified.

Throughout her life Mary would
 taste the sweetness of loving her son, Jesus.
Along with the sweetness she also had many occasions
when she felt her stomach turn sour. 

How was she able to endure all this agony?

Her parents prepared her for whatever life would bring to her.
Her parents knew if they could teach their daughter to love God...
to learn from his holy words...
she would be equipped to accept the life
God would lay before her.

The Presentation of Mary in the temple
 set the tone for the rest of her life.
Her parents presented her to God to make her
into the person he wanted her to become.

Mary's parents made it possible for her
to say 'yes' when the angel
Gabriel came to her side.

As parents, making our home a house of prayer
 might just be the most important thing
 we can give to our children.

Sometimes I wish that I would have understood
just how important praying with my
children was when they were young.

If you want your family to be more Blessed

take the steps to set aside the time
to make prayer a priority

in your home.

~Peace~