What would your life be like if you were always told the best option? Imagine if you were simply told what was true or good in every matter, from the best way to get around rush hour, to the most challenging matters of faith. Would you even have faith? 

Say it’s the early afternoon. You had a light lunch, so now you feel like having a snack. You head to the fridge to scope out the situation. Two contenders immediately present themselves: leftover cheesecake from a party the other night, and a bag of baby carrots. You mull over the merits of each option. The bathroom scale has ticked up a bit recently. Thanksgiving won’t help things, and it would be a good idea to try to ease up calorie intake before Christmas rolls around with all its cookies when–WHOOSH! 

You’re blinded by a flash of light. As your vision recovers, you see that an angel of the Lord is hovering over your kitchen sink. The cabinets have swung open, the curtains are flying. You drop face-down to the ground, feeling your sins burning like scarlet before such a creature of pure light. You hear a voice that rends ear and soul alike… 

“DO NOT BE AFRAID.

THE CARROTS ARE GOOD FOR YOU.

TRY THEM WITH SOME HUMMUS.”

The angel departs, dimness follows. The sun is shining through your kitchen window, but even that seems dark compared to the heavenly glory of moments ago. A small container of hummus is now sitting on the counter. You have made your choice. Carrots it is.

Mary’s life on the outside seems to be full of moments like this scenario. In her Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son” (Luke 1:31). Glory shines in a humble Nazarene dwelling, she gives her Fiat, and it is accomplished. What about when Jesus grows up? Mary knows he is the Son of God—he is trustworthy. When Jesus says he did not break the neighbor’s window, Mary can believe him without hesitation! This can leave us wondering; does Mary really have faith? Does Mary have a faith anything like my own? My faith does not look so glorious, or feel so certain. My faith in God seems just as plagued by mundanity as my dietary choices. 

In fact, Mary’s faith is like ours, albeit to the highest degree. Today is the Memorial of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary. This day celebrates the tradition that Mary, at a young age, was presented in the Temple at Jerusalem. Her presentation was an offering of herself to God, the dawning of a life of virginity and study of Scripture. The memorial commemorates an incredible act of faith, but one that is done in obscurity, and without external glory. Mary’s presentation in the Temple is an example to us of faith without flash.

When Mary was presented in the Temple, her faith was much like our own. She was a young girl who as yet knew no angels on a first-name basis. Neither did she yet have the God-man as a son. Instead of being filled with moments of glory, her life of faith was silent. Yet this silence cultivated a great love. Instead of the fireworks of angel choirs, Mary tended the warm hearth of God dwelling within her. Well before shepherds and angels would welcome her Son, for all her childhood she thought of the things of God, and “kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

Many aspects of Mary’s early life reflect our own experiences. Her faith was first taught to her by loving parents. It was the faith of a daughter, who understood that God is a loving Father. It was a faith rooted in quiet meditation on Scripture, and silent prayer with God. It was a faith without flash. Even without external signs and wonders, Mary did not hesitate to give herself to God, because she believed God would keep his promise. “The promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever” (Luke 1:55). This is the promise of a Savior, and it points to the final purpose of Mary’s presentation. She prepares to one day become the Mother of God.

When we need an example of faith, we can look to Mary without hesitation. Her presentation shows that, even as a young girl, she had a faith strong enough to cast herself into the arms of the Father. Mary’s trust in God would flower in the birth of Christ. Through that trust, she is now exalted as the Queen of Heaven. Christ wants to transform us through faith in him. His Mother, our Mother, has gone before us. What is stopping us from following her?

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Image: Titian, Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple