Passionist Saint Vincent Mary Strambi gives this account of the devotion of St. Paul of the Cross to the Presentation of Mary:
He prepared himself for the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the temple… by a fervent novena. He desired that the religious community of the Retreat of Monte Argentario, whose church is dedicated under the title of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, would make this novena with him, using the following ritual: After the Blessed Sacrament had been exposed for adoration and the appropriate prayers had been said, Psalm 65, Cry out with joy to God, all the earth, O sing to the glory of his name, was to be sung. In this psalm Paul recognised the way in which God had led him. The psalm also reminded him of the exceptional graces he had obtained through the Blessed Virgin, who had always helped and protected him…. On the day of the feast, he seemed to be totally penetrated by a spirit of tender devotion. Even on his deathbed, he recalled: “The day of the Presentation was always a most holy and solemn day for me.”
Homily on the Feast of the Presentation here
St. Paul of the Cross and the Feast of the Presentation here
The Feast of the Presentation and the Passionists here
The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary here
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