Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time I

November 21, 2025 – Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Hello and welcome to the Word, bringing you the Good News of Jesus Christ every day from the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province. I am Fr. Karl Esker from the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, NY. Today is Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Our reading today is taken from the holy gospel according to Luke.

Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.

The gospel of the Lord.

Homily

The celebration of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary began in Jerusalem in the 6^th century and then slowly spread through the Christian world. The story does not come from the Bible, but is based on a third century document that tries to fill in the blanks in the lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, that are not told in the Gospels. It is a devotional work and can be fanciful at times. The story of Joachim and Ana presenting Mary in the Temple in Jerusalem at three years old is based on the Old Testament account of Samuel’s presentation in the Temple and expresses the truth of Mary’s giving herself in service to God.

This brings us to today’s readings, where in the gospel, we hear of Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple by driving out those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” Once he had restored the sacred space of the Temple, Jesus began to teach the people there.

The first reading from the first book of Maccabees has a similar message. After Judas and his brothers had driven out the pagan invaders who had profaned the Temple, they purified and rededicated the Temple, so that sacrifices could once again be offered to God. This is the origin of the feast of Hanukkah, which the Jewish people celebrate to the present day.

From this we see the necessity of a sacred space where the faithful can safely gather to worship and offer prayers to God. Of course, our heart is the first sacred space, where we offer ourselves to God in obedience to the commandments of love of God and love of neighbor. But it is difficult to love our neighbor if we do not first pray for and with our neighbor. And in the busyness and noise of our daily lives, we need churches and temples to help us create the space where our hearts feel the presence of God and find the peace to speak to God.

The presentation of Mary teaches us that she learned at an early age to open her heart to God and participate in the sacred space that was the Temple. This forms the basis for her receptivity to the message of the angel in the annunciation and her response: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Just as Mary learned as a child to respond to God’s calling, the children of our Christian community need to do the same. How do we bring up children to recognize God and revere the sacred spaces? One way is for parents to teach them their prayers and to pray with them. Another is for the children to accompany the family to church from the time they are little. Mary grew up in a devout and faith filled family. Today’s children should have the same opportunity.

May God bless you.

Fr. Karl E. Esker CSsR

Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help

Brooklyn, NY