Today, 21st November, is Presentation Day. Because St Patrick's Convent School was founded by the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM) I thought a post about Presentation Day and the founding of the Presentation Sisters in Newfoundland would be appropriate. The Newfoundland Convent has the distinction of being the first Presentation House outside Ireland and also the first in North America.
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| Painting of the Presentation of Mary into the Temple. This painting is the work of a member of the Presentation Community at the Motherhouse, Cathedral Square. |
Just in case we may have forgotten what 'Presentation Day' actually is, I am posting an excerpt from "The Church's Year of Grace" by Pius Parsch.
"Presentation of Mary
Sacred Scripture contains no text concerning the event commemorated in today's liturgy. For something of a historical background one may consult the apocryphal works, particularly the Protoevangel of St. James (ch. 4:1ff). After an angel had revealed her pregnancy, Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Soon after birth the infant was brought to the sacred precincts at which only the best of Israel's daughters were admitted. At the age of three she was transferred to the temple proper (7:2). According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel (8:1)."In the East, where the feast, celebrated since the eighth century, is kept as a public holiday, it bears the name, 'The Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple'. It was introduced at Rome by a Cypriotic legate to the papal court of Avignon in 1371. In 1472, Sixtus IV extended its observance to the whole Church. Abolished by Pius V, it was reintroduced some years later (1585)."
Sacred Scripture contains no text concerning the event commemorated in today's liturgy. For something of a historical background one may consult the apocryphal works, particularly the Protoevangel of St. James (ch. 4:1ff). After an angel had revealed her pregnancy, Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Soon after birth the infant was brought to the sacred precincts at which only the best of Israel's daughters were admitted. At the age of three she was transferred to the temple proper (7:2). According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel (8:1)."In the East, where the feast, celebrated since the eighth century, is kept as a public holiday, it bears the name, 'The Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple'. It was introduced at Rome by a Cypriotic legate to the papal court of Avignon in 1371. In 1472, Sixtus IV extended its observance to the whole Church. Abolished by Pius V, it was reintroduced some years later (1585)."
The following video is another of the excellent videos by my friend Ed O'Neill. It is a very interesting video about Mother Bernard Kirwan and the founding of the Presentation Sisters in Newfoundland. In the video, Ed interviews the late Sr Perpetua Kennedy, visits the Presentation Convent in Galway from where Mother Bernard and her little band of pioneers set out, and also visits Mother Bernard's grave in Port Kirwan, Fermeuse, on the beautiful Southern Shore of Newfoundland. Please take the time to watch the video. You will be glad you did!
Thanks again, Ed, for allowing me to repost your video. And a very Happy Presentation Day to everyone.
