Feast of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple – November 21.
The Virgin Mary is the living shrine of the Word of God, the Ark of the New and Eternal Covenant.
The story of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple has come down to us through the apocryphal gospels, notably through the Proto-Gospel of James (where it deals with the birth of the Virgin and Christ) and through the gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, which is 7th century text based on it). Additionally, testimonies and oral tradition also shape our understanding of the event.
A divine messenger, the Angel of the Lord, appears first to St. Joachim to announce to him the conception and future birth of Mary despite the advanced age of her barren mother, St. Anne. The angel indicates to Anne that when the child has reached her third birthday, the little girl must be taken to the Temple to serve the Lord day and night with fasting and prayer.
When she was received at the Temple, Our Lady entered the service of God. That is, a soul incomparably holy entered the service of God.
Thus it was a young child who would climb the 15 steps of the Temple (according to Psalms 119 to 133, known as “Songs of Ascents”). While her parents waited at the bottom of the steps dressed in festive clothes (as was customary), Mary climbed these steps alone, which was interpreted as a sign of the perfection of her soul. Once the sacrifice was accomplished and the vow was pronounced, Joachim and Anne return home alone. Mary was then raised among other young virgins until the age of 14.
The cult to Our Lady the Mother of God was born in the East; from there also we received the feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, where it was celebrated from the end of the seventh century. In the West, Pope Gregory XI adopted the feast day in 1372 at the pontifical court of Avignon.
A year later, King Charles V introduced the feast of the Presentation at the royal Chapel in Paris. In a letter dated November 10, 1374 to the masters and students of the College of Navarre, he expressed his desire that such a feast should be celebrated throughout the kingdom.
